babsie126's review against another edition
3.0
I think I'm not much of a Steven King fan. I mean, this one wasn't bad, but it was way longer than it needs to be. So many words. Anyhow, don't let this review turn you off of any of his stuff, cuz well, you know yourself better than I do.....
happplyoldfashioned's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Fast paced, gripping with lots of twists and turns. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
The journey was better than the ending but still a five star read.
The journey was better than the ending but still a five star read.
sora112's review against another edition
4.0
Classic King crime novel with supernatural touch. It reminds me of Mr. Mercedes trilogy and kinda continues the story, Holly Gibney plays important role in this, which I is great since I find Holly awesome. I loved the start, the setting, where boy gets brutally killed and raped and the coach, loving father and generally man respected by everyone seems the one who did it. Everything turns out not as simple but I personally admire how King shows one event leading to the downfall of the whole family. It was tragic and powerful. And generally this story has lots to think about afterwards: morality, regrets, broken people and events that cannot be erased no matter how much time passes.
I didn't like the supernatural element that much. Especially how random and predictable the whole encounter with the main antagonist seemed. And at times storytelling felt a bit slow. But generally it was very gripping read, I couldn't read this book as fast as I wanted but my thoughts returned to it many times and that means a lot.
I didn't like the supernatural element that much. Especially how random and predictable the whole encounter with the main antagonist seemed. And at times storytelling felt a bit slow. But generally it was very gripping read, I couldn't read this book as fast as I wanted but my thoughts returned to it many times and that means a lot.
smagdarine's review against another edition
3.0
the title took a good chunk of the book to pay off & make sense, but...overall incredibly mystifying and tragically horrifying
suzreadz42's review against another edition
4.0
Such a creepy book, a monster that will haunt you for days!
atullio's review against another edition
4.0
To be honest, this is the VERY FIRST King book I have read. My oldest brother has been a long time King fan and my mom has read some of his books as well. I actually asked her which of his books I should attempt to read first, as we have very similar reading habits. All she told me was, "NOT PET CEMETERY!!" as that one gave her nightmares and I'm a big chicken.
It definitely took me long enough to finish this book, though. Almost a good three months! I wasn't reading the book the whole time, but the point still stands. The first half of the book was sloooooow going for me. The summary of this novel seemed to be similar to books that I already read in the thriller category, so I decided to give it a try. At first I was going to give this book a lower rating because I just couldn't get into it. It did grow on me later on in the book, somewhere after the 50% mark. However, just reading through typed up interviews was yawn inducing for me. It picked up when more things started to happen, but then the "straws for eyes" description started to freak me out and I left off right around the 50% mark, OOPS. Reading during the daylight hours while at work is what made me finish this book in the last two days, which I'm glad I did.
I wouldn't say the book itself wasn't especially CREEPY, I was just creeped out by the description of the outsider's eyes for some reason, especially when it was said by a child. The acts the outsider committed were horrifying, yes. But as the characters in the book pointed out, these are acts that are ALSO committed by regular, every day humans... or so we assume.
I loved that King used children stories and myths to form his outsider, his mythical creature of this story. Some stories, like one that was told in the book, where the creature is not ALWAYS the bad guy, but used as a lesson learning device to make siblings nicer to each other... instead of, you know, a mystical being who rapes and eats people.
.....That's a big leap, now that it's RIGHT THERE. I feel like that's very King-like, though.
Overall, it was a good story. I didn't absolutely LOVE IT, but I didn't hate it either. I don't think I will be reading it again. I honestly don't know if I'll be reading a King book again, either. I guess time will tell.
It definitely took me long enough to finish this book, though. Almost a good three months! I wasn't reading the book the whole time, but the point still stands. The first half of the book was sloooooow going for me. The summary of this novel seemed to be similar to books that I already read in the thriller category, so I decided to give it a try. At first I was going to give this book a lower rating because I just couldn't get into it. It did grow on me later on in the book, somewhere after the 50% mark. However, just reading through typed up interviews was yawn inducing for me. It picked up when more things started to happen, but then the "straws for eyes" description started to freak me out and I left off right around the 50% mark, OOPS. Reading during the daylight hours while at work is what made me finish this book in the last two days, which I'm glad I did.
I wouldn't say the book itself wasn't especially CREEPY, I was just creeped out by the description of the outsider's eyes for some reason, especially when it was said by a child. The acts the outsider committed were horrifying, yes. But as the characters in the book pointed out, these are acts that are ALSO committed by regular, every day humans... or so we assume.
I loved that King used children stories and myths to form his outsider, his mythical creature of this story. Some stories, like one that was told in the book, where the creature is not ALWAYS the bad guy, but used as a lesson learning device to make siblings nicer to each other... instead of, you know, a mystical being who rapes and eats people.
.....That's a big leap, now that it's RIGHT THERE. I feel like that's very King-like, though.
Overall, it was a good story. I didn't absolutely LOVE IT, but I didn't hate it either. I don't think I will be reading it again. I honestly don't know if I'll be reading a King book again, either. I guess time will tell.
laurab2125's review against another edition
5.0
I devoured this book. Loved the tie-in to the Bill Hodges series (though if I hadn't read that, I think this book might have fallen just a bit flat). Great plot, great character development. Definitely one of SK's better books.
tallguyreads's review against another edition
3.0
A very good book by King. I think the ending could have been a little better and more drawn out as it seemed pretty anti-climactic for me, but as always, another book by King that I really enjoyed!