A review by bbrassfield
Desperation by Stephen King

4.0

Tak! Once upon a time when Desperation was first published, I read the first chapter. Then, for reasons I no longer remember, I closed the book and didn't reopen it until about a month a go. The first 100 pages or more are pretty brutal and frequently disgusting horror. The reader has no real idea of what is going on until King starts to describe the transformation that is happening to the deputy, which is clearly supernatural. It takes a little longer for all of the pieces to come together but once you understand the overall parts of the story, Desperation is a unique horror story and unlike many of King's story, this one is set out west in Nevada. The desert and the creatures that live in the desert like scorpions, fiddlebacks and buzzards give the writer new ways to conjure fresh horror! The mining aspect of the story is very well done and frames the overall arc of the story. Desperation also deals with God, and perhaps something older than God in a very interesting way that I won't spoil here. Suffice it to say I found the conversations the characters have around the supernatural to be very realistic. Desperation, perhaps owing to its title, also serves up a fair amount of grief. It is not an easy read in this department, but a worthwhile one for the Stephen King fan. Just don't let the beginning put you off too much. There is a worthwhile tale here.
(Also, I have no idea what the fuck Tak is.)