Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Dark Half (G.K. Hall Large Print Book Series) by Stephen King, Gorman ISBN: 0-8161-5109-1 Publisher: G K Hall & Co Pub. Date: March, 1991 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (101 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: The duality in King's personality.
Comment: In many ways, it's very hard to understand how Stephen King, a decent family man and a law-abiding citizen, can come up with stories that have, in addition to remarkable characterization and wonderful prose, unbelievably gruesome and violent scenes a common reader would never have imagined on his own. This novel is an endeavor King makes to shade some light on the cognitive processes inside his brain.
For that end he tells the story of Thad Beaumont, a bestseller author - only thanks to his pseudonym, George Stark. King illustrates a creepy tale about Beaumont's dark half / twin brother that comes to life and wears a devilish form when "his" other half decides to terminate his fictional existence. This is a brilliant means in demonstrating the duality of King's personality, which stands on even a higher ground as King himself has had a nom de plume - Richard Bachman - and evidently he writes from a first-rate experience.
If you want to know how some people can write about things that are completely detached from their world - try King's explanation.
=============================================================
By and large, this book is a fast read. There is a certain amount of depth to it, but much less than what his fans would expect; the best way to describe it is to call it "a psyichological action novel with a few horror twists". The major events are set in a scope of two to three days and as a result the rhythm is quick and leaves little room for thorough character development; I have almost zero information about the major events in Thad's childhood that shaped him as a man, not to speak about a better and fuller characterization of his wife, father and mother, not to mention the Sheriff that was an integral part of the story. In other novels, King has demonstrated his talent to orchestrate complicated creations that had it all - they have been a lot longer, but it was always worth the extra reading effort.
Strange enough, the mysterious character the pseudonym author in book created strikes me as a very interesting, but sadly it is the least developed character of them all. The good news, however, is that King has borrowed this character from the novel "Dead City" by Shane Stevens to pay tribute to this author, so anyone can read more about the notorious Alexis Machine...
============================================================
In the past I was told that this book is one of King's scariest. It could have been the case for me - had I read it a few years ago - but it is certainly not the case today. Maybe I got so used to King's style that he can't really get under my skin as he used to - I guess I grew up.
Yet, now that the horror he tries to create is not so horrifying anymore, I can pay a closer attention to his language; the man really knows how to describe things. King's admirable ability to put what he sees and feels into words is a wonderful way for the reader to learn and improve his own means of expression.
For that and for the above positive points I recommend this book as a pastime and a light read.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good book but...
Comment: This book was a good book but I found it some what difficult to read. I thought the book was written differently from other SK books. It seemed like SK had a quota of large words per each page which sometimes jumbled up sentences and took a while to get used to. After about the third chapter I adapted to the style of writing.
This book was more of a mystery/suspense/thriller book rather than horror. Some of the scenes were haunting but more suspenseful and thrilling. This book reminded me of Pet Semetary. If you like the traditional SK, horror and easy reading, I wouldn't highly suggest this book; but it is a good short read.
What I did like about this book was it had little cursing, sexual scenes, and those annoying long flashbacks. That is great, no flashbacks! None!
Overall this was a good book but I enjoy the more traditional horror SK books. If you are like me I highly suggest: IT, Salem's Lot, Misery, The Shining, or Christine.
Rating: 4
Summary: Creepy in all the right ways
Comment: Stephen King is much more than a schlockmeister. He uses his books to examine the human condition and see where we are lacking. For years, I avoided him because I was under the impression that he wrote the literary equivalent of the Friday the 13th series, albeit with a much higher page count. The first story I read was his prequel to the Dark Tower series that appeared the "Legends" anthology back in 1998. I bought that book for the other authors, of course, being a fan of epic fantasy. I thought, "Stephen King in a fantasy anthology?"
I read the story since it wouldn't cost me anything extra to do so, and loved it. Shortly thereafter, I made it my mission to read the entire series. When I'd done so, and couldn't stand to wait another five years for Part V, I decided I'd give some more of his stuff a shot, so I read the complete volume edition of "The Green Mile." After that, I was hooked.
"The Dark Half" is just the latest book of his I've read. It's not my favorite (that goes to the entire Dark Tower series) but it's not my least favorite, either (that would probably be Cujo, if only because I knew how everything came out, thanks to references in "Needful Things"--fair warning if you've read neither about the order there).
I guess what it boils down to is this: if you've read several of his other novels, and enjoyed them, you'll enjoy this one. I don't mean that it's a rehash, but that it has the elements of every good King story: interesting and imperfect characters, realistic relationships between those characters, lots of background on those characters and why they act the way they act, and a story that deals with the supernatural in a perfectly plausible way.
If, on the other hand, you've read his stuff and can't stand it, for whatever reason, you probably won't like this one, either.
If you've never read his stuff but you're the type that can suspend your disbelief long enough to ask "What if?", then I believe you'll enjoy it.
 |
Title: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King ISBN: 0451156609 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: December, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
 |
Title: Needful Things by Stephen King ISBN: 0451172817 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 06 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
 |
Title: Misery by Stephen King ISBN: 0451169522 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
 |
Title: The Dead Zone by Stephen King ISBN: 0451155750 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
 |
Title: Firestarter by Stephen King ISBN: 0451167805 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
