I’ve actively avoided Stephen King books for the same reason I stay away from the horror genre- I like my sleep. So, I made certain that this was not that. The only thing that made me want to read it was the Time Travel/Alternate World element, as I had just finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. And man! This was a can’t-put-downer.
World-building: I am not American but felt like a tourist expertly guided by King as he kept sprinkling bits and pieces that MADE that era. I did Google many of the terms eg.,the cars, so many songs & artists, outfits, parlance etc. Some references I understood, some I inferred. I really was transported there. And the way he brings to life >!Derry, Fort Worth, Dallas & especially Jodie!< \- 10/10.
Story: Premise is simple without revealing too much. Really nothing to expand on there. You can easily Google it.
Progression: It does slow down a bit down the middle, but this is pretty common with novels. At least the ones I’ve read. But dull moments are rare, & quickly covered by the plot or the ancillary descriptions. The ending. Nailed it. Mix of emotions of all types. Sadness, happiness, longing- all in one. Read the last few chapters with a fast-beating heart.
Characters: The only genre I dislike more than horror, is Romance. Movies are fine, but I CAN’T read the love stories. But *law!*, I’ve never been affected this much by characters’ love for each other than >!Sadie & Jake’s.!< Their arc is some of the best character developments I’ve ever read or seen. The love, pain, anger that they feel, you feel with them. You root for them to win. Their whole journey is so fulfilling & the payoff is more than earned.
Tone: At first, it is the standard level of mystery as in any time travel book. But as soon as >!Jodie!< is introduced, you forget the the TT part like that. You’re supposed to be pissed off at that, but you aren’t. Instead, you’re engulfed in the coziness of the environment, people & the dialogue. >!I really wanted to live there & – not gonna lie – meet Sadie for the first time!<
An amazing read. Now I’m definitely off to find more of King’s books.
by CurseNeverDyin
3 Comments
Blake Crouch did an AMA here in /r/books [you might want to take a look](https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/gab306/im_blake_crouch_author_of_many_bestselling_books/) 🙂 . [Here’s a full list of our upcoming AMAs](http://www.reddit.com/r/books/wiki/amafullschedule)
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I have a love-hate relationship with Stephen King’s books.
I *loved* 11/22/63 (and a few others), but *hated* Pet Sematary. I vowed never to read Stephen King again after reading Pet Sematary. Decades later, I finally broke that vow with 11/22/63 and I’m glad I did. It was so good. If you are a parent or plan to be one, do not read Pet Sematary.
The tv mini series was pretty well done, too, imho.
I read Billy Summers not long ago. Also not horror, very good.