Scan barcode
demonprodigy's review against another edition
i feel. so incredibly bad not finishing this, but it's just not grabbing me even as far in as i am! it doesn't feel at all like the talisman, which is the main reason i picked it up - i genuinely loved the inventive energy of that one, and the road-movie structure, and the concept of the territories, and the writing style, but. man. this is a sequel in that it is about the same lead, and the territories still exist, and "flipping" is still a thing, but it's missing all the charm and excitement of its predecessor. (which, i get on some level - jack IS an adult now. but also: there's a reason the Adult Sections of it aren't as engaging as the childhood sections. so.) also, i just Do Not Care about the dark tower, and this has a lot more dark tower stuff than expected. ):
nextjamesrobert's review against another edition
3.0
You know, this was so far off from what I was expecting, and it's hard to rate. Do I think it's a bad book? Not at all. In fact, I enjoyed a lot, but I think the story went in a different direction than it should have.
Now what do I mean by this?
Well, if you've read The Talisman and know nothing about Black House going in you're going to be expecting a lot of the formula to remain consistent, world jumping, new lands, new beings, but this was severely lacking in those elements and in a lot of ways was more of a drama. Again, nothing wrong with that, but man, I wish Mr. king and Straub would have stuck to the more fantastic elements that made me love The Talisman so much. So while the Talisman is one of my favorites, this one is just going to be a like for me.
I am just one man. My review may match your expectations, or it may not, but nevertheless, give it a shot and come to your own conclusion!
Side note: Mr. Frank Muller did a wonderful job. RIP both him and Mr Straub.
Now what do I mean by this?
Well, if you've read The Talisman and know nothing about Black House going in you're going to be expecting a lot of the formula to remain consistent, world jumping, new lands, new beings, but this was severely lacking in those elements and in a lot of ways was more of a drama. Again, nothing wrong with that, but man, I wish Mr. king and Straub would have stuck to the more fantastic elements that made me love The Talisman so much. So while the Talisman is one of my favorites, this one is just going to be a like for me.
I am just one man. My review may match your expectations, or it may not, but nevertheless, give it a shot and come to your own conclusion!
Side note: Mr. Frank Muller did a wonderful job. RIP both him and Mr Straub.
justinstaack's review against another edition
4.0
8 Punkte
Die erste Hälfte ist so überladen mit Charakteren, dass ich nie wusste wer wer ist. Erst am ende habe ich zum teil gewusst wer gemeint ist, wodurch ich aber keine Bindung zu den Charakteren aufbauen konnte.
Die erste Hälfte ist so überladen mit Charakteren, dass ich nie wusste wer wer ist. Erst am ende habe ich zum teil gewusst wer gemeint ist, wodurch ich aber keine Bindung zu den Charakteren aufbauen konnte.
loreopoly's review against another edition
3.0
as much as i love kings writing style i have NEVER liked straub's so their colabs are always bitter sweet for me. i love love love kings parts and then have to wade through straub's but that's just the way it goes!
bethanyellen73's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
paradiseprogram's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lesserjoke's review against another edition
3.0
Most of Stephen King’s books connect to his other stories in one way or another, a process that’s aided by his Dark Tower series positing that all worlds are intertwined. Sometimes these connections between stories can be as simple as a passing reference to a place or a character from another Stephen King book, but at other times the crossovers are more substantial. Black House falls squarely into this latter category; I would personally recommend reading it (along with the King books Hearts in Atlantis and Everything’s Eventual) between the 4th and 5th Dark Tower novels. There’s a portion of Black House that takes place in the world of the Dark Tower, and the novel provides a lot of information about the villain from that series known as the Crimson King.
Even aside from the Dark Tower connections, Black House is a solid thriller -- and a significant improvement over King and Straub’s previous collaboration, The Talisman. (In fact, although Black House is technically a sequel to The Talisman, I’d recommend people just skip that book and go straight to this one. There are few enough connections that you won’t get lost, and The Talisman is just not very good.) The child hero from The Talisman is now an adult detective, and he’s tasked with tracking down a cannibalistic serial killer preying on his town’s children. In the process, he crosses over into End-World from The Dark Tower books and faces off against some of the servants of the Crimson King. This novel had a lot of gore even for its authors, but if you can get past that, I’d recommend Black House to any fan of Stephen King and/or The Dark Tower.
Even aside from the Dark Tower connections, Black House is a solid thriller -- and a significant improvement over King and Straub’s previous collaboration, The Talisman. (In fact, although Black House is technically a sequel to The Talisman, I’d recommend people just skip that book and go straight to this one. There are few enough connections that you won’t get lost, and The Talisman is just not very good.) The child hero from The Talisman is now an adult detective, and he’s tasked with tracking down a cannibalistic serial killer preying on his town’s children. In the process, he crosses over into End-World from The Dark Tower books and faces off against some of the servants of the Crimson King. This novel had a lot of gore even for its authors, but if you can get past that, I’d recommend Black House to any fan of Stephen King and/or The Dark Tower.
stephbond's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
driz91's review against another edition
4.0
Read for background in DT series, and was not disappointed by the abundance of crossover in concepts (ka, slippage, breakers, etc). Stands well on its own and Sawyer is a gunslinger in his own right.