Duma Key: A Novel
by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: King has done it again. CD version is great
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd like to make it clear that I listened to this book (unabridged audio CD) so my experience may be different from those that read the physical book. This review is for those thinking about the audio version.
Avoiding a plot rehash, which has been done so many times here, the quality of the reading is in this case is excellent. John Slattery does an excellent job and that's a very important point. Too often an otherwise great book can be ruined by an incompetent reader (CD version of Wicked comes to mind). For most of us, this will be quite engaging and enjoyable listen.
I often find that when listening to a book rather than reading it yourself the story takes on a completely different quality. If you're able to simply listen and let the story unfold, it can be a rich experience (driving means your main focus should lie elsewhere). For me audio books often allow more acceptance of the characters as they are (or as read); their dialog, described mannerisms, etc. are simply a given there is no need to start filling in these blanks for yourself. The characters come alive in a new live and fresh way.
I've read some other reviews here that criticize the lack of Miss Eastlake's character development, the affected dialog of Wireman, the ending, etc. With audio, we can, and should, judge these aspects for ourselves. For me these weren't a problem. The reader/narrator makes it more comfortable and more believable. The story flows like a good story should, slower at first while principal characters are established, picking up speed as the environment and circumstances develop, and ultimately culminating in an unavoidable and turbulent head long rush over the falls.
In short, I throughly enjoyed Duma Key and can easily say that if you're a King fan, you absolutely will not be disappointed. It's and extremely enjoyable story and highly recommended to all audio/King fans!
Book Review: Duma Key Is Just OK
Summary: 3 Stars
Really, that's what it all boils down to. It's not great. It's not bad. It's just sort of all right, kind of. I really wanted it to be good. He's got good stories still knocking around in his noggin, I just wish he'd tell them. Instead, I felt like we'd been down this road before in some of his earlier books.
Pre-cognitive abilities? Dead Zone
Getting a group together to kill a baddie who's living in some watery underground area? It
An artist trapped in a haunted, solitary environment? The Shining
Talking dolls? Uh, take your pick
Amputated body parts? Misery
There just wasn't a ton of new ground explored here and that's too bad. What was even worse was that it took over 600 pages to get to that conclusion. There was so much fat in this one, it might have worked better at about 400 pages, tops. Did we really need to know that much about the history of Duma Key? Cut out that whole expository section with Mary Ire and you lose 30 pages right there. How much did the "How to Make Art" (or whatever those sections were called) add to the story? How much did they help develop character or advance the plot? There's another 40 or so pages gone. Less is more. I would have loved to see a whole lot less of a lot of things in this novel.
I'm sure it's just me, but I'd love to see him abandon all elements of horror/fantasy/mysticism and go back to focusing on stories. I think of some of his stories I like best and I find myself remembering The Body and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. And yes, I know, they're both from the same collection (and they're both of a much more reasonable length), but there's something so honest and straightforward and original about the storytelling that makes me wonder if those are the things he should be exploring. Not baddies. Not monsters. Not reinterpretations of myths. Just stories.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Book Review: A Lesser Effort
Summary: 4 Stars
This book starts out very well. It tells, with breath-taking clarify, a story of a man injured in a terrible accident whose life subsequently comes apart. He flies to refuge on Duma Key -- a small Florida island, where he begins to draw. And his drawing begins to unleash something ominous.
There's a lot to recommend this book. The characters are strong and there are some generally creepy moments. I read the last half of it in one day, so it definitely held my interest.
However, the middle section of the book, dealing with an art show, gets very slow. This is a problem I've rarely had with King despite the length of his books. The creepy atmosphere was almost absent in these middle passages as was any sense of narrative urgency. Even the climax takes its time, dragging it out. And the denouement, confined to a few pages, was unsatisfying. The book just sort of trails off, with a few "where are they now" notes about the characters. There's absolutely no unfolding of the emotions of the characters.
I was also bothered by the lack of originality. Large sections of the plot are recycled from other King works. (minor spoiler warning). We've seen almost all of this before. A red-cloaked figure (the Crimson king), dangerous figurines (Desperation), the power of drawing (the Dark Tower). The story actually reminded me a great deal of Bag of Bones, complete with malevolent controlling spirit and the woman trying to give subtle clues to the hero.
So yeah, it's good. But it felt hollow. And rather unworthy.
PS - Please ignore the complaints about King "injecting politics" into the story. There are a couple of throwaway lines scattered through the book, tiny political musing by the main character. They didn't bother me at all and my politics are very different from King's. People need to quit being so sensitive.
Book Review: King Goes Too Far ... Again.
Summary: 3 Stars
Up until about 5 years ago, I read everything that Stephen King wrote. I was a fanatic about his early work. However, it seems that about ten years ago, King went beyond horror and beyond supernatural and into the realm of just plain silly. This work is almost a microcosm of this transformation.
In works like The Shining, Misery, Dolores Claiborne, Gerald's Game and Cujo, King demonstrated an ability to be absolutely horrifying without resort to actual corporeal monsters, aliens or supernatural beings. Some of his short stories, such as The Long Walk (written as Richard Bachman) were magnificent looks into human psyche. Even books such as Carrie, Salem's Lot and his masterpiece The Stand included supernatural features without "jumping the shark".
It is my observation, however, that virtually all of his most recent work has devolved into the realm of just plain silly. The Gunslinger serial is a perfect example.
The first half of this novel is vintage, old school King. Entering the mind and life of a successful building contractor whose life has been turned upside down by a tragic workplace injury. The writing is outstanding. The story moves along well and the suspense builds. About two-thirds of the way through the book, we go from minor instances of supernatural occurence to the now standard, present day King formula of absurd, corporeal beings that can only be termed as laughable. "Big boy, frog beings with TEEFES". Please.
If you like the Gunslinger series, or some of King's most recent work, this will be right up your alley. If you prefer the earlier King, you will be pleasantly surprised by the first two-thirds of the book, only to be dumped into "Gunslinger" mode for the last 150 pages. King is one of the few writers that doesn't need monsters to be absolutely horrifying. Someone needs to tell him that.
Book Review: Loved this book
Summary: 5 Stars
Another book, another classic. That seems to be the phrase people always say whenever a new Stephen King novel comes out. That was certainly the case when Duma Key was released, much to the delight of his many fans out there, including yours truly.
I pre-ordered it on Ebay and when it came to me in the mail, I was shocked to see that it was a hefty 600+ pages. But when I actually started reading it I found I couldn't put it down. I found myself gobbling up the pages by the hundreds. That is the greatest testament, I think, to the greatness of this book.
The protaganist, Edgar Freemantle (also the narrator), met an accident at work and it turns out he lost an arm. And subsequently, his wife. He, unable to deal with the loss, wanted out by way of suicide but decided to head to Duma Key to 'heal up' instead. And that's where the strange SK happenings started.
I won't spoil the story here, but I'll just say that if you love SK books you will be in familar turf here. This story is similar to many of his recent works. And fans of his 'first person' books or works will likely find the first person narration of the story to be very familar as well. SK fans will gobble up this book, I practically guarantee it.
However, there is a flaw I need to point out, the over-saturation of imfomation. I found myself refering back to past events just to get my facts right on more than one occasion. It disrupted the reading experience overall and I think Stephen could've made it alot easier on the reader in regards to the information provided to them.
That said, I don't think there's much else to criticize the book for. The only other thing, perhaps, would be that the book eventually ends. Sad really, I loved this book too much.