Reviewed by clementine on
Looks like I'm going against the grain here! I'll disclose upfront that I didn't read the other two books in this trilogy (I was bored at work and we had this one so I read it), so that might have an effect on my opinion. However, the plot was definitely coherent without having read the other two and I didn't feel that I had big gaps in my understanding.
I've actually never read any of Stephen King's fiction before. I really liked On Writing - I thought it was interesting, engaging, and funny. I'd actually be interested in reading some of King's more iconic novels, because I really felt like this book was lacking. Personally I don't find his prose particularly amazing - it does the job, but I don't think it's anything to write home about. I've always had the impression that his work is more about the concept and plot than the writing itself.
Although I haven't read any of his other novels (though I have watched the X-Files episode he directed!), I'd say the plot falls a bit short here in comparison to some of his most famous works. Perhaps it's just that I entered this series at the end, but I didn't think the plot was particularly clever. There were no real twists; everything was forecast quite clearly from the beginning. The paranormal element actually seemed quite overdone to me. It was a variation on a theme that I've seen a million times. All in all I didn't think it was particularly thrilling, which is a disappointing coming from probably the most famous living horror/thriller writer. And I thought the end was kind of cheap, to be honest.
The characters were okay - they each had distinct personalities and they were likeable but flawed, but not totally developed. This wasn't really a character-driven book, anyway, and they were probably more developed than they had to be.
This book was really just okay to me. I don't think it was terrible, but overall it was pretty flat.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 3 February, 2017: Finished reading
- 3 February, 2017: Reviewed