Reviews

Der Outsider by Stephen King

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katreviewsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

“There is no end to the universe.” - Bill Hodges from The Outsider

The Outsider was the first book I’ve ever read written by Stephen King. It took me a little less than a month to finish it, I’m not gonna lie to you. Normally a book this size would’ve taken me a week at most, but I just couldn’t get into this one in the beginning. It starts off with interview chapters, which I thought was a neat idea. However, as I continued throughout the book all of the information I was obtaining that pertained to the investigation bored me. I found myself wanting to put this book down at times, just walk away and never think about it again. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Perhaps this book is too advanced for my reading skills, or maybe I’m too young or too skeptical to understand it. All I know is that things only started getting interested when Holly came into the picture. She is absolutely my favorite character, I love a bad ass woman. The supernatural portion really dragged me in, and that’s what Holly was there for. She was there to convince the group of men to believe, to really think. That’s what brought them to Texas, trust and belief in Holly. El Cuco reminded me of Shapeshifters from Supernatural, and perhaps that’s what he was. Perhaps he was just a little more complex. When Ralph and Holly finally caught up to him and ended his existence, I was relieved. Extremely grossed out, but relieved. I’m hoping I won’t have Ralph’s maggot dreams passed onto me. What an awful thing to dream about. A bit I don’t get though is Ralph saying I love you to Holly. Is it a sisterly love? Strictly Platonic? Or is there more to it than that? I may never have the answer. I have heard lots of wonderful things about Stephen King, and how he can truly scare you, make you think. This novel has managed to make me think, truly, if we humans are all that is out there. It has made my skin crawl and now I’m concerned I may not get enough sleep tonight. If you haven’t read this and have the patience to sit through the investigation (tread lightly for those with weak stomachs), I’d recommend this.

skroot's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I'm rating it a 4.25, which is a disappointment considering it was shaping up to be a possible 5 star read at first. I absolutely loved the first half of the book. I loved the detective mystery that was unfolding, and even though I knew the story would eventually

Spoiler

go in a supernatural direction,

(which I was actually okay with), I thought the execution fell flat.

I didn't think the latter half was bad and is still definitely worth a read, but it was a little disappointing. I think this could have been an amazing book had it not switched directions halfway through.

cconlon's review against another edition

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1.0

I could not get into this book. It was a serious disappointment. I found the plot very hard to follow and there was a lot of unnecessary additions. Disappointment for me personally. Definitely a DNF