Scan barcode
joshkiba13's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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? No
3.5
". . . that was the Talisman. The axle of all possible worlds. How many worlds? God alone knew . . . A universe of worlds, a dimensional macrocosm of worlds---and in all of them one thing that was always the same; one unifying force that was undeniably good, even if it now happened to be imprisoned in an evil place; the Talisman, axle of all possible worlds."
This is one of those books I think I liked a lot more after finishing it than while reading it. It was indeed quite lengthy (Stephen's 6th longest book, in fact), and for a while it felt like King and Straub were just letting the story roll, seeing what happened. Once completed though, I see how it all flowed together and am able to appreciate the whole better.
This story has a lot of heart, which is something I always appreciate about King's work. Our protagonist is 12 year-old Jack Sawyer, whose mother, a "queen of the Bs" actress is ill with cancer. Jack finds out about a parallel world called the Territories, through which he may br able to find a mystical cure for his mother: the Talisman. We follow young Travelin Jack as he crosses from New England to California, also flipping over into the Territories on occasion in search of this magical object.
I reeally enjoyed Morgan Sloat as a villain. The brief interlude chapters from his perspective gave such interesting background on his past with Jack's father and their discovery of the Territories. Morgan was despicable, vile, and like all King villains, utterly hateable.
King and Straub's descriptions of evil were actually some of my favorite passages from the novel. Here's a few snippets:
"Like a human earthquake, like a man crumbling apart over the fault-line behind his eyes, like something all wound up and waiting to explode . . ."
"The lighter's flame danced deep in his black pupils, each deep spark a twinner of the other."
"A grin surfaced on his face, the corners of his mouth twitching irregularly, as if strings were attached to them, strings that were being pulled by a puppeteer who wasn't particularly good at this job."
"And he, Morgan Sloat, would finally have the canvas his talents deserved. For a second he saw himself spreading his arms over starry vastnesses, over worlds folded together like lovers on a bed, over all that the Talisman protected, and all that he had coveted . . ."
"But when you saw one of these trees obliquely, out of the side of your eye, then you saw a living creature in torment---the straining branches were arms thrown up over an agonized face caught in a frozen scream . . . They were cursing, pleading, howling at him---their unheard voices hung in the air like smoke."
The entire concept of Twinners was super interesting, and the connection between Jack and the Territories prince Jason proved for an interesting story which unfolded a tad at a time.
While the majority of the book was a slow burn, the last 100 pages were a frenzy of action, serving as a very satisfying climax to all that had been previously built up. That'd when it all added up for me; the detours to the Sunlight Home and Thayer school suddenly didn't feel like detours. The way everything came together made it all worth it. That's not to say it was borning though. I enjoyed reading about Jack's time at the Oatley Tap and at the Sunlight Home.
The descriptions of the Talisman and its infinite reach really reminded me of Roland's conversation with the man in black at the end of The Gunslinger, as they discussed the universe and the Dark Tower. Speaking of, I'm looking forward to seeing how this novel relates to King's multiversal magnum opus as I continue my journey toward the Tower.
I really enjoyed Jack as a character. Like many young fictional protagonists, he has to grow up quite fast in spite of everything around him. But he still retained a child-like sense of humor, thinking of references to media even in the midst of life threatening circumstances. He was in love with his mother and determined to save her, and he was oh so sweet to his childhood friend Rational Richard. And the wayJack's taking care of Richard (his herd) mirrored Wolf taking care of Jack was heartwarming .
Also in the climax,once Jack had the Talisman it was fun to jump perspectives and see all the places and people he'd met meet their positive or negative fate in one way or another .
Couple of gripes:
I thought it unlikely that in hitchhiking, Jack would run into so many predatory men. And it also feels homophonic to have every gay man in the story be predatory. I do realize the story is 40 years old, but still.
This is nitpicky, but having the werewolf character be named Wolf was very silly and felt a tad lazy.
I think it would have been easier to connect to the story early on if Jack had a liiitle more to go on about what he was looking for. Speedy Parker basically told him there was a magical cure in California, now go! I wish we'd had a little more to go on, but it worked out in the end.
Anyway, I'm not sure it's one I'd read again but I did enjoy it quite a bit, especially in hindsight after seeing the whole picture. After thr Tower, I'll be interested to see what became of Jack Sawyer in his sequel, Black House.
This is one of those books I think I liked a lot more after finishing it than while reading it. It was indeed quite lengthy (Stephen's 6th longest book, in fact), and for a while it felt like King and Straub were just letting the story roll, seeing what happened. Once completed though, I see how it all flowed together and am able to appreciate the whole better.
This story has a lot of heart, which is something I always appreciate about King's work. Our protagonist is 12 year-old Jack Sawyer, whose mother, a "queen of the Bs" actress is ill with cancer. Jack finds out about a parallel world called the Territories, through which he may br able to find a mystical cure for his mother: the Talisman. We follow young Travelin Jack as he crosses from New England to California, also flipping over into the Territories on occasion in search of this magical object.
I reeally enjoyed Morgan Sloat as a villain. The brief interlude chapters from his perspective gave such interesting background on his past with Jack's father and their discovery of the Territories. Morgan was despicable, vile, and like all King villains, utterly hateable.
King and Straub's descriptions of evil were actually some of my favorite passages from the novel. Here's a few snippets:
"Like a human earthquake, like a man crumbling apart over the fault-line behind his eyes, like something all wound up and waiting to explode . . ."
"The lighter's flame danced deep in his black pupils, each deep spark a twinner of the other."
"A grin surfaced on his face, the corners of his mouth twitching irregularly, as if strings were attached to them, strings that were being pulled by a puppeteer who wasn't particularly good at this job."
"And he, Morgan Sloat, would finally have the canvas his talents deserved. For a second he saw himself spreading his arms over starry vastnesses, over worlds folded together like lovers on a bed, over all that the Talisman protected, and all that he had coveted . . ."
"But when you saw one of these trees obliquely, out of the side of your eye, then you saw a living creature in torment---the straining branches were arms thrown up over an agonized face caught in a frozen scream . . . They were cursing, pleading, howling at him---their unheard voices hung in the air like smoke."
The entire concept of Twinners was super interesting, and the connection between Jack and the Territories prince Jason proved for an interesting story which unfolded a tad at a time.
While the majority of the book was a slow burn, the last 100 pages were a frenzy of action, serving as a very satisfying climax to all that had been previously built up. That'd when it all added up for me; the detours to the Sunlight Home and Thayer school suddenly didn't feel like detours. The way everything came together made it all worth it. That's not to say it was borning though. I enjoyed reading about Jack's time at the Oatley Tap and at the Sunlight Home.
The descriptions of the Talisman and its infinite reach really reminded me of Roland's conversation with the man in black at the end of The Gunslinger, as they discussed the universe and the Dark Tower. Speaking of, I'm looking forward to seeing how this novel relates to King's multiversal magnum opus as I continue my journey toward the Tower.
I really enjoyed Jack as a character. Like many young fictional protagonists, he has to grow up quite fast in spite of everything around him. But he still retained a child-like sense of humor, thinking of references to media even in the midst of life threatening circumstances. He was in love with his mother and determined to save her, and he was oh so sweet to his childhood friend Rational Richard. And the way
Also in the climax,
Couple of gripes:
I thought it unlikely that in hitchhiking, Jack would run into so many predatory men. And it also feels homophonic to have every gay man in the story be predatory. I do realize the story is 40 years old, but still.
This is nitpicky, but having the werewolf character be named Wolf was very silly and felt a tad lazy.
I think it would have been easier to connect to the story early on if Jack had a liiitle more to go on about what he was looking for. Speedy Parker basically told him there was a magical cure in California, now go! I wish we'd had a little more to go on, but it worked out in the end.
Anyway, I'm not sure it's one I'd read again but I did enjoy it quite a bit, especially in hindsight after seeing the whole picture. After thr Tower, I'll be interested to see what became of Jack Sawyer in his sequel, Black House.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Suicide
Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual violence
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
shiv91's review against another edition
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
caspian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racial slurs
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
More...