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A review by joshkiba13
The Talisman by Peter Straub, Stephen King
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