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cheval6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
The book is REALLY slow at some points, but it has its moments. I personally felt like the ending should have been more substantial and didn't leave me with much to think on, and I also felt like the story was more compelling in the beginning than at the end. Overall, I would say it's worth reading and I still did like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use and Pedophilia
maclunkeyy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
tifftastic87's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A chosen one, a quest, an evil uncle.
Jack Sawyer is the kid all of us in the 90s played pretend at. We were given a magical quest by a mysterious traveler and there were to be no shortcuts. Jack's road is a bit darker than I'm sure most of us pretended, it is a King story after all, but it is both a coming of age tale and a chosen one quest. Being able to flip between our world, or the 1980s version of our world, and a parallel one called simply "the territories" Jack is special because he doesnt have a "twinner" and thus is single natured. His whole goal is to save his mom, and her twinner the Queen of the Territories. Everything tries to stop him. Nothing is easy and he wants to give up many many times. But he presses on.
I loved this as a teen, I loved it just as much as an adult. I sobbed, I laughed, I rooted for Jack and shouted at the villain. I would definitely read it a third time.
However, there are some questionable themes. Jack is only 12 and he gets beaten, propositioned, exploited and stalked. He is set on his mission by a common trope of King's "the magical black man." These things are hard to listen to and some made me cringe pretty hard, but the story itself is worth it.
Jack Sawyer is the kid all of us in the 90s played pretend at. We were given a magical quest by a mysterious traveler and there were to be no shortcuts. Jack's road is a bit darker than I'm sure most of us pretended, it is a King story after all, but it is both a coming of age tale and a chosen one quest. Being able to flip between our world, or the 1980s version of our world, and a parallel one called simply "the territories" Jack is special because he doesnt have a "twinner" and thus is single natured. His whole goal is to save his mom, and her twinner the Queen of the Territories. Everything tries to stop him. Nothing is easy and he wants to give up many many times. But he presses on.
I loved this as a teen, I loved it just as much as an adult. I sobbed, I laughed, I rooted for Jack and shouted at the villain. I would definitely read it a third time.
However, there are some questionable themes. Jack is only 12 and he gets beaten, propositioned, exploited and stalked. He is set on his mission by a common trope of King's "the magical black man." These things are hard to listen to and some made me cringe pretty hard, but the story itself is worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Police brutality, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit
ggcd1981's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
O Talismã foi uma experiência decepcionante para mim. Eu tinha algumas expectativas pois o resumo era interessante e tinha curiosidade sobre a escrita de Peter Straub mas a obra em si não atendeu essas expectativas. O enredo da obra segue: Jack Sawyer, parte de Arcadia Beach, New Hampshire, em uma tentativa de salvar sua mãe Lily, que está morrendo de câncer, para encontrar um cristal chamado "o Talismã". A jornada de Jack o leva simultaneamente a cruzar os Estados Unidos e pelos "Territórios", uma estranha terra de fantasia que se passa em um universo paralelo ao dos EUA de Jack. Indivíduos nos Territórios têm "gêmeos", ou indivíduos paralelos, em nosso mundo. Nascimentos, mortes e (é sugerido) outros eventos importantes da vida geralmente são paralelos para esses “gêmeos”. Esses indivíduos paralelos também podem "flip" ou migrar para o outro mundo, mas apenas compartilham o corpo do análogo de seu universo alternativo. Quando flipped, o gêmeo, ou a pessoa real, começará automaticamente a falar e pensar no idioma de onde está inconscientemente. Em casos raros (como o de Jack), uma pessoa pode morrer em um mundo, mas não no outro, tornando o sobrevivente "de natureza única", com a capacidade de alternar corpo e mente entre os dois mundos. O protagonista de O Talismã é Jack Sawyer, um menino de 12 anos que é enviado em uma missão para recuperar esse talismã e salvar sua mãe, Lily Cavanaugh Sawyer, da doença. O garoto é enviado nessa jornada por Speedy Parker, um funcionário do parque de diversões próximo a o hotel em que Lily e Jack estão hospedados. Speedy é velho e sábio e tem conhecimento sobre os “territórios”. Ao longo da jornada Jack encontra e viaja por um tempo com duas pessoas separadamente. Primeiro Wolf, um lobisomem de dezesseis anos, acidentalmente puxado dos Territórios para a América por Jack ele adota o protagonista como seu “rebanho” (nos Territórios os lobisomens em sua maioria cumprem o papel de pastores reais ou guarda-costas e, ademais das fases de lua cheia, às vezes, sob estresse, mudam voluntariamente para a forma de lobo). Wolf serve como companheiro do protagonista por uma parte da missão. Wolf é gentil, leal e amigável, embora sua natureza de lobo apareça ocasionalmente. O segundo companheiro de viagem de Jack é Richard Sloat, seu melhor amigo. Richard rejeita tudo que é mágico, fantástico ou que não tem uma explicação cientifica imediata, mas é fiel a Jack apesar do protagonista ir diretamente contra os desejos de seu pai Morgan Sloat. Sunlight Gardener é um personagem que é um subalterno de Morgan tanto nos EUA e nos territórios. Nos Estados Unidos Sunlight é o líder de uma instituição religiosa de correção de delinquentes juvenis onde jovens são sujeitos a tortura e lavagem cerebral. É nessa instituição que tendo sido capturados Wolf se sacrifica para salvar Jack. Morgan Sloat, também conhecido como Morgan de Orris nos Territórios, era o parceiro de negócios do pai de Jack e o homem responsável pela morte do mesmo e de seu gêmeo assim como o gêmeo de Jack. Nos Territórios, ele é um feiticeiro. Morgan é o principal antagonista e persegue o garoto, tentando impedi-lo de encontrar o talismã. Seu objetivo final é trazer armas para os Territórios e destruir o Talismã para que ele possa governar os Territórios com punho de ferro após a morte da rainha (a gêmea de Lily), e, eventualmente, o multiverso. No final da obra, após uma batalha final contra o protagonista, ele tenta destruir o Talismã, porém este reflete o ataque de Morgan de volta, incinerando e matando ele e seu gêmeo instantaneamente.
A princípio esse livro me interessou mas houveram muitos pontos fracos que influenciaram meu aproveitamento: os personagens Wolf e Richard foram irritantes e por muito tempo foram mais um obstáculo para Jack do que companheiros uteis de viagem, os dois eventualmente acabam ajudando mas foi no limite de “too little too late”; a atmosfera do livro não foi magica o suficiente o que é decepcionante considerando que a obra fala de um mundo alternativo e mágico, mas King e Straub mostraram o mínimo desse mundo e sua magia; a escrita foi muito dispersa e houveram longas cenas que não contribuíram em nada; pelos pontos fracos já mencionados a intriga do livro sofreu e em nenhum momento me senti realmente curiosa sobre a história; a lógica interna foi praticamente não existente, as coisas aconteciam por conveniência, por intenção do autor e não por progressão lógica. Personagens sabiam das coisas, sentiam as coisas ou coisas simplesmente aconteciam “porque sim”, e nenhuma explicação era dada tornando a história e lore complicada de compreender. Por todas essas razões o livro me frustrou e não me diverti tanto quanto em outros livros de King. Quanto a Straub acredito que vou dar outra chance ao autor especialmente a suas obras como autor único. O livro foi funcional, contou uma história, mas não foi particularmente divertido. Dou 2.5 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Drowningbiblio_creep's review against another edition
2.0
I was interested at the beginning, but then it just dragged on, and on, and on. Could have been a decent book of it had been edited down by about 300 pages, and if some of the slurs were removed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Pedophilia
shiv91's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
4.75
I really enjoyed this book. King really is a master at descriptions and world building. I often felt like I was there with Jack on his adventures. It was a great mix of fantasy/horror and I loved all of the characters. The "bad guys" were well written and exactly what I wanted from villains.
The only reason I didn't give the full 5 stars is because the book had very rare instances of seeming to go on a bit in terms of getting to the end of the main protagonists goal.
I plan on getting the sequel to see where Jack ended up so wanting to continue is always a good sign!
The only reason I didn't give the full 5 stars is because the book had very rare instances of seeming to go on a bit in terms of getting to the end of the main protagonists goal.
I plan on getting the sequel to see where Jack ended up so wanting to continue is always a good sign!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
bohemian_yogini's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
kelsjargon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Violence
oliviasbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This tome had a great start. The first half of the book was adventurous, original and fun. The characters were were fascinating and the two worlds were teeming with drama. Then part three began and it all went south. Part three was too long and lacked originality, I was genuinely bored reading it. The ending was interesting but again was too long and detailed, there were so many different aspects coming together at the end that it was difficult to keep up with and follow the plot. It is a shame the second half was so tiresome, but alas it did ruin the story for me and I was glad to be finished.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry