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Book Review: ‘Pet Sematary’ by Stephen King

5th Aug 2024Leave a comment

For the next book of 2024, I decided to reread Stephen King’s ‘Pet Sematary’.

I first read ‘Pet Sematary’ between thirteen and fifteen. Around the same time, I read ”Salem’s Lot’, and the two books moved me unlike anything else. ‘The Shining’ was my first King book, but these two novels marked the point where I fell in love with his writing. They showed me that horror books for adults can be vibrant yet grim, full of hope and fear. It was the first time I ached for characters when tragedy befell them. I’ve always maintained that these two books are my favourite.

So, with that said, does the book live up to the hype I’ve had in my head for half of my life?

One hundred per cent.

The story follows Louis Creed, a doctor who moves – with his young family – into an old house in Maine. Across the street, a kind old couple, Jud and Norma, live. And up the hill, into the woods, there’s an odd place where generations of kids buried their deceased pets.

The book is beautiful and horrific. The pages rip by, and before you know it, you’re deep in the woods of the novel. The terror is palpable – there’s a reason why King thinks this is his scariest book. And the sorrows are so deep. Even though I already knew the events of the book, they struck me as hard as they did seventeen or so years ago. I was a little scared – in more than one way – to reread ‘Pet Sematary’. I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the book I had made it out to be in my mind. What a silly notion; this is Stephen King, after all.

‘Pet Sematary’ is one of the best from the best, and it is an absolute must-read.

Book Review: “Dreamcatcher” by Stephen King

6th Apr 2023Leave a comment

For book ten of 2023, I took on Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher.

I’d heard in circles—and from King himself—that Dreamcatcher wasn’t anything special. Some considered it poor, as far as King’s standards go.

The story revolves around a group of boys/men (it bounces forward and backwards in time). This group once did something heroic as children, and that action now affects them as adults. In the present, they are on their yearly hunting trip when a bewildered man stumbles out of the forest. In the snowy stillness, the man rants and raves about lights in the sky and clutches his bloated gut.

Having demolished it in a few days, all I can say in response to the criticisms of this book is: “Huh?” I adored Dreamcatcher. It had everything that made me fall in love with King’s writing in the first place. Excellent horror, gross-out scenes, unpredictable twists and turns? Check. Fantastic characters, unpulled gut punches, and incredible tension? Check. Sure, the middle slows down the action, but it’s so King can weave the threads together for the finale.

The ending hit me like a ten-tonne truck, and I dare anyone to read the last 20 pages or so and not have goosebumps.

Undeserving of its less-than-stellar reputation, I can give Dreamcatcher two thumbs up.

Book Review: “Gerald’s Game” by Stephen King

15th Jan 2023Leave a comment

For my second read of the year, I took on Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game.

I read this couplet’s other half (or should that be its other dark half?), Dolores Claiborne, about a decade ago. I adored that book, and—surprise, surprise—I also loved Gerald’s Game.

The setup is fascinating. King sets the novel in a single room with a woman chained to a bed. As a writer, I’d never dare such a novel out of fear of boring the reader. After all, how much can one write about a woman lying in bed? But King is no ordinary writer, and Gerald’s Game grips the reader like anything else to which the man puts his mind.

I am a hardened horror fan, having loved the genre since I was a young boy. Yet, there are moments in Gerald’s Game that made me squirm. Fair warning, it’s not for the weak of stomach!

As I’ve always said since I picked up The Shining at the age of 13—in an almost religious mantra:

King is king.