booksandcatsgalore's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sgenheden's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
elentikvah's review against another edition
2.0
Horror is the genre for July in the Discomfort Zone Book Club, and it is truly in my "discomfort zone." Starting in June, I had multiple conversations with friends that led to a lot of thought about what horror is as a genre.
In my attempts to find a book that I could tolerate, I asked my spouse for a recommendation (which I knew would be a SK book!), and I searched online for something that would qualify as "light" horror (as I already knew that I wasn't interested in anything truly hardcore). I found Coraline by Neil Gaiman online, but it was not available to borrow, so when my spouse suggested The Regulators by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King, I decided to try it.
Honestly, this was a ridiculous book. Initially, I really struggled with how autism was used as the vehicle for this diabolical evil, Tak. With the ending, I think the obvious love between Audrey and Seth was the ONLY redeeming value to this story, and the ending is tragic. By the end of the book, the violence and gore had simply turned into a cartoon of horror - I was so uninvested in most of the characters that seeing yet another one die was blase.
I have been told that to truly enjoy this story, I should read its twin Desperation. Maybe I will, but not right away...
All that said, this was one of the most amazing use of multiple POVs over ~400pages to cover only a few hours one afternoon on Poplar Street - WOW. That feat of writing alone was worth the time.
The true takeaway for me from this story, is that given the near cartoonish nature of this story, I have recognized horror as a genre. Some of my favorite stories are seasoned with it - The Word and the Void series by Terry Brooks comes to mind immediately - while I occasionally enjoy the seasoning, I definitely do not enjoy it as the whole meal...and total side note, I still don't like Frank Peretti's The Oath. <gags>
Rating: 2/5 stars "it was ok"
12 hrs and 11 mins / 452 pages
Audiobook / Kindle
In my attempts to find a book that I could tolerate, I asked my spouse for a recommendation (which I knew would be a SK book!), and I searched online for something that would qualify as "light" horror (as I already knew that I wasn't interested in anything truly hardcore). I found Coraline by Neil Gaiman online, but it was not available to borrow, so when my spouse suggested The Regulators by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King, I decided to try it.
Honestly, this was a ridiculous book. Initially, I really struggled with how autism was used as the vehicle for this diabolical evil, Tak. With the ending, I think the obvious love between Audrey and Seth was the ONLY redeeming value to this story, and the ending is tragic. By the end of the book, the violence and gore had simply turned into a cartoon of horror - I was so uninvested in most of the characters that seeing yet another one die was blase.
I have been told that to truly enjoy this story, I should read its twin Desperation. Maybe I will, but not right away...
All that said, this was one of the most amazing use of multiple POVs over ~400pages to cover only a few hours one afternoon on Poplar Street - WOW. That feat of writing alone was worth the time.
The true takeaway for me from this story, is that given the near cartoonish nature of this story, I have recognized horror as a genre. Some of my favorite stories are seasoned with it - The Word and the Void series by Terry Brooks comes to mind immediately - while I occasionally enjoy the seasoning, I definitely do not enjoy it as the whole meal...and total side note, I still don't like Frank Peretti's The Oath. <gags>
Rating: 2/5 stars "it was ok"
12 hrs and 11 mins / 452 pages
Audiobook / Kindle
cms_books's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
abookishkindofgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
taylorhohulin's review against another edition
3.0
It's really hard to give this book three stars. There's so much I like about it. To do a mirror re-telling of another book, recasting the same characters in different roles is just a cool idea to begin with, and doing it with Desperation, one of my favorite Stephen King books, is even better. The story is tight and fast-paced, with not an ounce of fat on its bones. There's even just a glimmer of suburban-tinted dark humor.
And yet...
There were elements of this book that just didn't work for me in a really big way. While I liked the shape of the book and the flow of its plot, the decorations around everything didn't fit. The whole element was too much of a tonal clash for me, and then having feature so heavily in the plot to defeat the villain just didn't land like it should've. You have those elements coupled with violence that stepped into gratuitous territory a handful of times, and it just didn't work. Maybe leaning a little harder into the dark comedy aspect would've helped.
A quick and easy read, but my recommendation would be at least to read Desperation first. In my mind, it's the better version of this story.
And yet...
There were elements of this book that just didn't work for me in a really big way. While I liked the shape of the book and the flow of its plot, the decorations around everything didn't fit. The whole
Spoiler
cartoon characters killing everyoneSpoiler
Ex LaxA quick and easy read, but my recommendation would be at least to read Desperation first. In my mind, it's the better version of this story.