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zone_a3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Gaslighting
nicoletiff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
lay_kone's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
On a re-read this book hit me so much harder than the first time around. I was disgusted, horrified, frustrated and felt tears welling at multiple times. The characters all work so well together and their interactions and inner monologues really led the story. Within the genre this is a five star for me.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
sp0okysandwich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
donnyeatsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
zakcebulski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am so fucking glad that I have had a redemption arc with Stephen King. When I started reading his works I was not super thrilled with them, and admittedly did not care for a handful of his books. However, recently, I have been burning through his stuff.
This book takes place in Desperation, Nevada off of U.S. Highway 50, or... the most lonely highway in America.
The story starts off wit ha series of character introductions in a series of vignettes which introduce the main cast of the Carver family- Ralph, Ellen, David and Kristie, Author Johnny Marinville, Johnny's assistant Steve and his friend Cynthia, Paul and Mary Jackson.
The are all accosted and arrested under extremely dubious means by the terrifying Collie Entragian and are locked up in Desperation.
This plot, to me, is immediately interesting and gripping. It is up to the characters to not only escape their imprisonment, but also to escape Desperation and the Terminator-like killing machine that is Entragian.
I have to say that the atmosphere in this story is absolutely fucking amazing. I think that King did an exceptional job at making this whole town feel like a cat and mouse game wherein there is a maniacal killing machine.
The desolation of the town is due to Entragian killing all of the other inhabitants of the town. There is a feeling of mystery in this book as we do not know whether Entragian is going on a killing spree because of dual personalities, or something else. In fact, King does a wonderful job of laying down red-herring breadcrumbs that will lead to the reader wondering what in the fuck is going on.
The violence in this book is extremely vivid and is written in a way by King that masterfully conveys the brutality of each of the kills. I think that this helps illustrate truly how dangerous the killer is. I also love how it gradually becomes more and more clear that something more than meets the eye is ravaging the town of Desperation.
One of my biggest gripes with King's works is his characters. Starting off I did not like many of his fan favorite characters. The Creed family, Paul Sheldon, many of the characters in It ... however, in this book, I actually quite liked everyone. I thought that they acted more or less believable in spite of the circumstances.
I liked how each of them felt like a character who was experiencing growth. Especially Johnny Marinville. While I did feel like his change of heart was like... very sudden, I still liked that he went from a egotistical dirtbag to a guy who was willing to indulge in reformation.
The biggest issue, to me, with this book is that it felt a bit like The Stand - lite. Like, it is a fight between good and evil, but without the super virus. I liked the infection aspect of it, as it called to mind The Thing but, I just wish that that was played with a little bit more. I felt like the whole idea of God being used as a means to win was the point of the book, but, I still didn't love it because I felt the tension ebb away. I suppose I can't be too upset as King literally has a kid who is a hyper-Christian as a main character, but, I just felt like I saw the ending coming from long before it happened.
I thought that the history of the story was truly very interesting. I liked the worldbuilding that King added to here, and, when I go and read more of his works I am interested if any of these aspects will be incorporated in to his other books.
I am glad I overcame whatever differences I had with King and am now a fan of his!
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
imurdaddy_69's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Gore
readergirl_87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage