The Talisman by Stephen King, Peter Straub Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Talisman
Book Review: A Great Epic By Two Masters
Summary: 5 Stars
Take Stephen King, the greatest novelist of our generation, and mix him with Peter Straub, the most underrated writer of our time, and what do you get? You get a great coming-of-age epic novel about one boy's discovery of adulthood. Jack is on a mission; he must find a hotel that holds a power source which will enable him to save his dying mother. But things aren't that simple; there are parallel worlds in the universe and Jack has to jump from one world to the next in order to reach the black hotel. In these worlds, he encounters friends as well as dangerous enemies. He will be face with horrible situations and he will be put on the verge of death many times. Furthermore, he must be careful to stay out of his uncle's way, the very man who is trying to catch him and kill him.
The book is incredibly well thought, full of beautiful imagery and always compelling. This is a great fantasy/drama that is always surprising and never predictable. Straub and King have written one of the best novel of the 1900s. Let's just hope that the sequel will live up to our expectations!
Book Review: A Roller-Coaster Ride of Eeriness and Beauty
Summary: 5 Stars
The Talisman is one of those rare books in which the main character immediately becomes yourself. Jack Sawyer is a lonely preteen boy: taken out of school to an isolated resort hotel with his dying mother. Then he meets Speedy Parker. The eccentric older man with knowledge of something otherworldly that Jack himself will very soon become acquainted with, whether he likes it or not. When I began to read about Jack's decision to take on the quest of two worlds to find the Talisman, I honestly thought he was somewhat vacuous for leaving his dying mother behind like that all alone when he honestly had no clue what he was up against. As I kept reading though, I began to understand for myself why Jack Sawyer took on this dangerous quest. I won't talk much about that because it would give some things away to the person who hasn't read it yet. But towards the end of the book, I forgot that I thought of Jack as foolish before, because I absolutely fell in love with him. He's the epitome of adventure to every aspiring young boy or girl out there and he's the absolute portrayal of courage and strength.
If you're a Stephen King fan, you'll most definitely love this book. It contains moments of terror, happiness, beauty, drama, and love that all join together to create a great work of literature. Even if you're not a Stephen King fan, the Tom Sawyer character you see in Jack Sawyer is so striking that you'll most likely fall in love with Jack and this book as much as I did.
Book Review: A Tale of Fantasy
Summary: 4 Stars
What a great book, I did think however it was quite longer than it could have been with all the little obsticles Jack has to overcome, but I guess it just adds to his quest. It was a great story, check it out if you want something to keep u busy for a while and for a great book.Book Review: A Tolkein Trilogy Clone
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this when it first came out in paperback, 1984. At the time I was a huge Tolkein fan and had read his Lord of the Rings trilogy at least 4 times. By the end of the first chapter of Talisman I began to see a heavy Tolkein trilogy influence in the storyline and this influence continued through the entire book. I think this factor took some of the magic out of the story for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I don't believe that King and Straub were intentionally plagarizing Tolkein, I think they were just huge fans and The Talisman was their way of expressing this.
Book Review: A Young Boy's Life OnThe Road? That's Asking For Trouble!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a collaboration between Horror writers Stephen King and Peter Straub and as a result is neither "fish nor fowl" and is very jarring to read as the book shifts between the two voices writing this book. The reader is introduced to a young boy named Jack Sawyer (haven't I heard that surname somewhere before?) who has the task of saving his dying mother by hitting the road and visting two alternative worlds. Why on Earth any decent mother would allow her young son to face the predatory dangers of Life On The Road is beyond me and this fact is conveniently overlooked by the authors.I give this book 5 stars because King and Straub have taken the time to write this potboiler instaed of just publishing their laundry list which would no doubt make it to the Bestseller List.