jonssweater's reviews
31 reviews

Batman and Robin have an Altercation by Stephen King

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Premium Harmony by Stephen King, Steve Powers

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.25

He should’ve burned this. Christ, I didn’t think King could write a story I hated, but he succeeded here. 

The Running Man by Stephen King, Richard Bachman

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Did not finish book.

I couldn’t read all of the short stories because I’m still not up to date with the series that If It Bleeds (short story) is a part of. I wish that it’d just been released as its own thing separate from the other stories (which I read and enjoyed).

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

3.0

The Long Walk by Stephen King, Richard Bachman

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

What kind of ending was that?

Dune by Frank Herbert

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

This feels like something I would’ve written when I was twelve. The whole “mental age of a twelve year old” bit pissed me off so bad. Tell me you don’t care about disabled people without telling me you don’t care about disabled people. I hope the show’s better.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

Gwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

A boring, seemingly pointless follow-up. A good few heart-warming moments scattered throughout. This is one of those “no plot, just vibes” types of books, which was not what I had anticipated considering the first book and the description (which makes this narrative sound far, far more interesting than it actually is).

I felt like I was just waiting for the end and waiting for something interesting to happen simultaneously.

The “mystery” (if you can even call it that) is barely touched on in comparison to the other meandering slice-of-life plot beats, and is resolved in the most random, contrived way possible.

I can only hope that the third book in the series with Stephen King’s return to the character brings something more exciting and mysterious like the original entry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore and Medical content

Minor: Misogyny, Vomit, and War