I'm not going to call this a review, and I'm not going to give the book a rating, because I gave up reading it. I hate to do that, and I don't do it often. I actually had given up reading King's novels years ago because they just started to seem too much the same. I think the last one I started was The Stand, and I didn't finish that, either. But this was recommended and loaned to me, so I decided to give it another shot.
And not much has changed. Except the names and broad strokes of the story. Otherwise, it's King's (admittedly very successful) usual formula. And, yes, I know, you could walk into my house, look at my bookshelves and say: "You complain about King using the same plots over and over. What about that guy? And those? And that set over there?" And you would be right. I think it's more that some authors resonate with some readers, and others don't. We are willing to forgive some of that with the ones we enjoy, and tend to get frustrated with the ones we don't. Stephen King just does not resonate with me.
That said, I am willing to admit the guy can write. His characters, while all just a little bit odd (some more so than others), are dimensional and seem like real people. He certainly has a good handle on small town Maine life. And his creepy stalker characters are really creepy.
I just couldn't get around the "been there, read that" feeling, so I stopped about halfway through. If you like King's stories, that's great. I have no problem with anyone who does. They just are not for me.
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