Like most people, I’ve really only ever read the big ones. Salems Lot, Misery, Pet Cemetery, It, The Shining. I was gifted Billy Summers by a friend, we often swap books after we finish them. I will say, I’m used to him portraying a nightmarish paranormal world. An assassination thriller set in modern day was not what I was used to from him.
But it worked, in my opinion it was a fun read. He made the main character as likable as you can make a hired killer. You understand his motives, you respect his process, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a big screen adaptation soon. It feels a lot like Leon The Professional if we got to spend a little more time with Leon while he was still doing his thing. A lot more realistic too.
I don’t understand why plots like these always have a damsel come in tgat needs saving or romancing. “The Town” did the same thing, we’re here for the bank robberies, the characters are interesting because they’re bank robbers. So when Billy brings in a victim of sexual assault and goes on a small revenge side quest after committing a high profile assassination, I rolled my eyes a little.
But overall, I enjoyed it. There was more than enough to humanize the main character. And the ending was satisfying.
by PerpetualConnection
23 Comments
I’ll be honest I stopped reading after the romance started. I really loved the book beforehand and was so annoyed that it was shoehorned into an otherwise awesome concept and character
one of my favorite stephen king books!! i
JJ Abrams is making the movie. The worst Stephen King book I’ve read. The romance is problematic.
I like Billy Summers but I think if you read more King you wouldn’t rate it so high.
One of the worst King books I’ve read.
I didn’t read Steven King before because I thought he only wrote horror, but then I read Billy Summers and I actually really enjoyed it, not the best book ever but it was a fun read! Now I’m reading my second stephen king that is Holly , and I’m halfway and so far so good I’m enjoying it more than Billy Summers! (yes I know its a trilogy but I don’t like horror books)
I read Billy Summers and to me it felt like Stephen King put a bunch of plot elements from previous books in a hat, pulled some out, and then had an assistant put them together
I have read all of Stephen King’s books. Billy Summers is my favorite.
I guess it’s like watching Stephen King grow and change as an author.
I’d rank Billy Summers in the bottom 10% of his stuff. Which makes it better then 90% of the other stuff coming out these days.
I bought Billy Summers, read it, and enjoyed it.
A year later, I saw it on my shelf, couldn’t remember a single thing about it based on the title, read it again, and enjoyed it.
Now a year later, saw this mention and I **still** couldn’t remember a single thing about the book based on the title.
It’s as if it has a memory spell cast over it.
It may be the **worst named** Stephen King book ever. It’s like he named The Stand “Dreaming” or The Green Mile “Mortality”.
I don’t about great but it’s in his Hall of Very Good
Who’s Steven King?
[Billy Summers](https://www.reddit.com/r/stephenking/comments/15jvajb/billy_bummers_a_predictable_boring_book_full_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) is not great.
Literally finished it last night, and I enjoyed it pretty well. Not my favorite but definitely worth the read.
I mean, it’s only a couple of years old, and it’s not very flashy or intense compared to a lot of the big hits. It’s probably roo early to call it overlooked.
I liked it a lot, and if nothing else, it avoids a lot of the old writing traps King sometimes backs himself into – without spoiling anything, I really appreciate that the ending doesn’t make me want to throw the book across the room lol
I agree that this does get overlooked, but there are a number of factors there. Fist of all it’s a relatively new book, only published 2 years ago. So hard to compare it the overall lasting impression of a work like The Shining, which has had over 50 years in the marketplace to make an impact. Another point is that King is such a good writer. Even a “bad” King book is enjoyable to read. Tommyknockers, Under the Dome , come to mind (and are just my opinions). And as to your impression of King’s work as being primarily supernatural oriented, and I understand that impression, keep in mind that some of his best works have no supernatural element at all. Just look at the movies made from them: Stand by Me, The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Cujo.
Billy Summers was my second King book and I loved it! Not what I was expecting it to be. So now I am reading more and more of his work and having a great time so far b
Stephen King*
I love King, but for me it was like “okay, grandpa has watched Barry”
I liked the part on the mountain with the Overlook. The cabin gave me the CREEPS
I listened to this on audio and I liked it ok I guess for something easy to listen to but imo it does not stand up to his greats I thought a lot of it was corny and overworked
Having spent a decent amount of time yesterday defending *The Stand*’s climax, I’d like to point out *Billy Summer*’s lazy prose, ridiculously convoluted and illogical assassination set-up, the spurious gender politics of its ‘romance’, the book’s almost complete lack of pacing, and the fizzled-out irrelevant nonsense of its Easter egg to another King novel.
The ending, as usual with King, is pretty good.
Because it’s one of his weakest? Along with Mr. Mercedes? I genuinely thought he hired a ghostwriter for those two, the writing isn’t like his usual style at all. Also, be honest if it wasn’t a King would you have given it the time of day? The way he kept refering to Majarian’s guys as hardballs and the way the time in Irak is either called the sand or the suck (which one is it?), bleh. I love King and read every book he puts out but some of them are misses and that’s okay.