Black House

I finished this book last night and I must say, it was very good. I liked it every bit as good as the first entry, The Talisman. I say again: Stephen King and Peter Straub work together with very good results. I recommend this along with The Talisman to all fans of Stephen King and Peter Straub.

P.S. I suggest you stop at page 639 (this paperback edition has 659 pages) in the book and draw your own conclusions about what happens next. The last 20 pages are really not worth reading.

I loved it. I read it in 3 days. :) Highly recommended piece of literature.

This was one of the most suspenseful novels I have read in a while. I love the way Stephen King writes characters and develops them. He describes them and then uses their dialogue and thoughts to reveal more about them. I enjoy that the characters in his novels are children as well as adults. Having said that, I thought Tyler Marshall had some deep thoughts for 10 year old. And of course, King is able to create another villain seeped in wickedness.

This novel is the sequel to the Talisman (where we first meet Jack Sawyer). In Black House, Jack Sawyer has forgotten his past, but moves to a location that is close to the Territories where he had his childhood adventure. It is in this Wisconsin town that a serial killer begins killing children and befuddles the local cops. They call on Jack, now a retired ace detective, to help them. However, since this novel is by King, we know the villian is more than a villian. The plot is good, but it is the characters along the way that make the novel so enjoyable. Henry Leyden is a blind man who is the epitome of cool. Dale is a good, but overmatched police officer. I think one of the reasons I like King's novels is that characters grow as the plot grows. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoyed the Talisman.

I had a very hard time getting past the first 100 pages. I'm not sure that it's up to the level of the Tallisman, but it's still a good read.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Twenty years after Jack Sawyer saved his mother and her Territories "twinner" from death he has no memory of the amazing events that unfolded the year he was twelve. But now a rash of cannibalistic murders of children of Farmer's Landing threatens to bring everything back.

Jack recently retired from the LAPD, escaped to Farmer's Landing, believing the idyllic setting would do wonders to help him overcome the strange feeling he experienced on his last case before retiring. When his good friend, the sheriff in town requests Jack's help in finding the murderer known as "the Fisherman, Jack resists at first. But strange events, beginning with the arrival of a "gift" - a child's shoe with the foot still in it - and leading up to the disappearance of Ty Marshall, one of the local children, drag Jack in to the middle of things. Now no matter how hard he tries to deny it, Jack's memories are coming back as he realizes his knowledge of the Territories may be crucial in saving Ty.

With the help of friends, old and new, Jack must find the key that will unlock the doors to his memories and lead him once again in to that other world where things are strangely different yet similar. Now he must confront the Fisherman and the mysterious Abbalah, otherwise known as the Crimson King, on their turf, and face the biggest battle of his life before everything in both worlds, and infinite others, is destroyed forever.

I read The Talisman for the first time several years ago and ever since then have been eager for more adventures in the Territories. I finally got my wish when Black House was released several years ago. But it got put on the back burner for other stories, not the least of which were the remaining books in the Dark Tower series. Ever since the conclusion of that all time favorite collection of mine, I've been dying for a chance to return to that world. I finally decided it was time to revisit the Territories, first by rereading The Talisman then continuing with Black House.

Make no mistake, the references to the Dark Tower saga abound here, most obvious in the form of the Crimson King. We don't get to see Roland here, as this is truly Jack's story but a passing mention of this favorite "hero" of mine and his ka-tet made me smile. Even some of the places Jack visits, avid Roland fans will recognize. King has been known for years to tie numerous books of his to that alternate world but Black House probably has the strongest references. You'll definitely want to read this book for its own hero's quest, but you'll get the added pleasure of seeing all the connections to the Tower as well.

There are many different storylines combining here to make the wonder that is Black House. Even I got confused a time or two with what exactly was happening and I am already familiar with this universe. So newcomers to the land of the Territories may find themselves a little lost time and again. Have no fear though everything is tied up beautifully and when mysteries are revealed and secrets uncovered, everything falls into place perfectly.

Along his journey to find answers and solve a serial murder case, Jack is assisted by all manner of people. There is Ty's beautiful but disturbed mother (and her twinner) who knows what needs to be done, even if she can't do it herself. We meet Henry, Jack's dearest friend, a blind local radio DJ who has so many personalities he pulls out for his work that you can't help but wonder what he will do next. He also offers a unique perspective to the case of the Fisherman and is probably the one person who won't find Jack crazy when his link to the territories is revealed. Then there are the eclectic members of the local biker gang who have their own personal stakes in the tracking of a murderer. Of course you can't forget Ty, who unfortunately is at the center of everything now happening in Farmer's Landing. And what of the talking crow, Gorg, and his evil master?

I was most definitely not disappointed in Black House, though the slow start to the book had me worrying it wouldn't live up to my expectations. After taking a long time of introductions to all the characters by an omniscient narrator, events unfold at a rapid pace, keeping me engrossed through the end. The mood is suitably twisted and eerie, guaranteed to appeal to fans of horror and dark fantasy. Whether a fan of Stephen King, or Peter Straub, or both, you can't help but be sucked in to a world where roads vanish if aren't careful, demons haunt the days and nights in disguise, and one unusual Black House is a doorway to another world.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2007. All rights reserved.