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Desperation (1996)



Before reading: I've been so excited to read Desperation even though I don't know too much about it. Why? Because this is the first time we are getting back-to-back related books. Now, I'm not going to go too much into that here since Desperation came first but I will delve more into that in my next post! Besides that, what do I know about this book? Not much. I know that it is about a town with a bunch of characters...classic. I am a sucker for King towns and books about people living in those towns. I also know that people have strong feelings about this book and the one after it. Some people love this one and not the next one. Some people love the next one and hate this one. Some people love both. I'm hoping to be the latter! 

After reading: I have such a love/hate relationship with that after-reading feeling. It is somehow both a fulfilling and an empty feeling. I suppose it is a testament to King's talent that he is able to instill that feeling so often. The good news is, the next book should fill that void. Per usual, this was a really great book. I hate that it took me an entire month to read (I just don't have the time!) but at the same time, I didn't want to leave the story and secretly enjoyed it lingering. I wouldn't place this amongst King's bests, but it is pretty solid. As I was reading this one I began thinking that I might even recommend it to a first time King reader. Desperation is everything you want in a King book. I've said it a million times but I absolutely love when King has a large ensemble town-based story and that is what we got here, just trimmed down a little. If you are a fan of The Stand, The Mist, and or Needful Things (just to name a few) then you'll love this one. King also does supernatural horror really well and this will itch that scratch if that is what you're looking for. This also brought back the familiar good vs evil trope that King likes to play with. This was a very good and very enjoyable read. I did not take too many notes because I was just enjoying the ride. I saw someone else describe this book by saying it starts fast and never stops and I think that is completely accurate.

My first note was a thought I had throughout the book, which is that it is so cinematic. Apparently there was a movie made from this before, but I think it needs to be done again and done better. When you read it you can see it play out so vividly. I need to see this come to life on the big screen! We also got a few references, but not as much as most other King books, overall it was very much a standalone story (not counting the one that literally came out with it). The biggest one was that we had a character from our last novel, Rose Madder, Cynthia, who was a minor character in RM and she was one of the main characters in this one. I thought that was fun and I was excited when she popped up. There were also small references to Misery, The Stand and The Tommyknockers (kinda) which were all blink-and-you'll-miss-them types. Not a reference because this book came out 20+ years after this one but it reminded me a lot of The Outsider. 

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was a story you could immerse yourself in and now I'm sad that it is over. Or is it? 

Up next is...well, well, well...look who's back from the dead, it is none other than Richard Bachman. 

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