Duma Key: A Novel

A great read, one of my favorites by the king of horror. i read it in 3 days which for me is an amazing feat.

Duma Key - All of the characters are interesting, I wanted to meet them in person because they become so real.

The story at times seemed wordy but a slow atmosphere is sometimes what is needed and it kept me interested in a hard to put the book down way until the very end and then I wanted more.

Duma Key - experience the read

There are a lot of ghosts and goblins toward the end, but the very end is quiet, understated. Not a bad job. The first hundred pages are extremely good, and I'm sure the next five hundred would be a treat for a horror fan. I'm not one, really, but I thought the story ticked along quite well anyhow, with lots of interesting observations about painting and pain, gaining and losing. He's a good solid writer who's been through a lot, and puts it down honestly.

Like most of his books, it's way too long for my taste. But that's what makes horse races. I'm glad I read it.

Joe Haldeman

I have been a King fan for years, The Shining is my favorite, but Duma King is in a class by itself. The story grabs you and takes you on a ride with death. I could not put this book down!

Edgar Freemantle has suffered a horrible accident: he lost his right arm, and took a pretty good knock on the head. Now he's subject to fits of rage, and his memory is shaky. His two kids are away at college; his wife decides she can't handle him like this and leaves. What else is a man in his position (and with his wealth) to do but move to God's Waiting Room?

Down in Florida, Edgar finds himself renting a luxurious house on Duma Key, a privately owned island cut off from the tourist crowds. He befriends his neighbors: Wireman, a witty Farmer's Almanac type guy who throws out bits of knowledge like popcorn in a movie theater; and Elizabeth, an elderly woman slowly losing her mind...who also happens to have a dark secret that even SHE isn't fully aware of. In this new paradise, Edgar begins to paint...only his paintins are good, REAL good, too good for someone who just picked up a brush. And they tell him things, things he couldn't possibly know. As the painting begins to consume him, as he gains new knowledge of Duma Key's history, Edgar begins to suspect he was DRAWN to Duma Key, that something wants him here...and wants to keep him here, too. Forever.

"Duma Key" isn't truly scary, at least not until the final third (when, yes, you'll be checking over your shoulder for sand-covered ghosts; think of that sketch with Leslie Nielsen from King's "Creepshow" film). It IS, however, a good character study--Edgar's storytelling (and King's prose) is right-on-the-money. "Duma Key" isn't really a horror novel, it's more a psychological thriller. You won't get quite as caught up in it as Edgar does with his painting, but the novel is superbly written, and you'll definitely be left wanting just a little bit more--as is always the case, in King's novels. That's probably why the guy's managed to sell so many books. That, and pure talent. That's a factor.