Happy October - Wee competition for Stephen King fans

Happy 1st of October, we love the spooky month and got new Scream (the movie) themed slippers for the occassion, any excuse really lol. Even Luna is getting in amongst it, she suits the wee pumpkin.

So if you have been around here a while you know we LOVE Halloween, spooky and Master King is responsible for our love of both reading and horror. We love supporting small businesses where able so I often buy our bookmarks etc from there. I got this fabulous Stephen King bookmark and decided to get a second for giveaway.

I have my own version of this keyring on my Vegs bag, it has lasted ages considering how much travel/wear and tear so decided to get another one. Themed from The Shining, the hotel The Overlook.

It is two sided.

The keyring is plastic and the bookmark is material, both are as pictured.

To enter, as always, use the Rafflecopter, complete the entries you want, the more you complete the more entries you have. As these are lightweight items I will open this to worldwide. I wish I could make all giveaways open to all but with postage costs rising and rising I can only do as and when. Good luck if entering and thanks for supporting the blog, us on our other social media platforms and interacting. It always makes us happy when folk reach out for a recommendation or to tell us they loved a book they bought we recommended. Books have always provided an escapism for me and I have loved them since I was a wean so connecting with so many bookworms, across so many genres/countries is always a smile raise for us!


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The Shining by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over a few months

Pages - 659

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote...and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.



My Review

This is a re read, I haven't read it since I was a kid. I love the movie (Kubrick version only recently seen the other one) and as I was back home I wanted to read it again. There is so much I forgot about the book like actually don't even remember reading but it has been a long time.

You get a bit of history on the Overlook, I really wish we would get a more indepth backstory though as the darkness is so fascinating especially the hold it can have over people. So for anyone not familiar with it Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy and little boy head to the Overlook hotel for Jack's new job, caretaker over the winter, isolated just the three of them. Jack is a recovering alcoholic, when in the grip of booze he lost a lot and has been making it up to Wendy and Danny since. The Overlook is more than just a hotel it is home to a darkness that can influence the people who spend time there and when the people are special, like little Danny the hotel and its spirits want him.

The book features dark themes, King's books always do, not just the supernatural but the evil and darkness within humans. We also have the good too, lengths some people will go to to protect others. We learn about the Shining and how extraordinary little Danny is and the more time he and his family are in the hotel the more creepy things happen.

The thing with King is he creates creepy, atmospheric books that creeps you out, baddies that are terrifying because they aren't always of our world but some are and equally as scary. The Shining is a classic, I loved it when I was younger and I think it still holds up all these years later, 5/5 for me. If you really want to creep yourself out, read it when staying in a hotel, every time I visit one, the corridors, no matter how it is decorated I always envision The Overlook.

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The Bachman Books by Stephen King aka Richard Bachman

The Bachman Books by Richard Bachman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over months

Pages - 704

Publisher - PLUME

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Omnibus collection of four early Bachman novels (Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man) and the essay "Why I Was Bachman"


My Review

Four novels by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King, Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man. I apparently read these years ago but didn't remember and rebought another, then found my original.

Rage is about a high school shooting/hostage situation with the gunman being a student and we are in the class with them all as the situation progresses. Tense, shocking, teens and the book has since been removed from publications.

The Long Walk, the contestants literally walk, they are allowed three warnings to speed up to the allocated time/speed and if they fall under it again, they are shot. There can be only one winner, it is pretty dark and shocking.

Roadwork is one man vs the big business. His life is being turned upside down, a new motorway is being built and his home, everything heads south. A descent into madness, when what you own/love is threatened and you decide to go take matters into your own hands.

The Running Man, I LOVE this movie but my God the book could not be more different. Still a game show called The Running Man, still running for your life but you are out in the world and need to post tapes (that aye sure they don't track). Ben Richards could not be more different from Arnie's portrayal. It is also quite a dark tale and yet you could see something like this flying these days an the gen public reaction to it. 4/5 for me, I love King's books, they provide an escapism when you most need it, same as when I was a kid, he got me hooked on reading and horror.

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The Science of Stephen King by Meg Hafdahl & Kelly Florence

The Science of Stephen King: The Truth Behind Pennywise, Jack Torrance, Carrie, Cujo, and More Iconic Characters from the Master of Horror by Meg Hafdahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 4 days

Pages - 264

Publisher - Skyhorse

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Gothic media moguls Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence, authors of The Science of Monsters and The Science of Women in Horror, and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called “the best horror film podcast out there” by Film Daddy, present a guide to the Stephen King stories and characters we all know and love. Through interviews, literary and film analysis, and bone-chilling discoveries, The Science of Stephen King delves into the uniquely horrific Stephen King universe to uncover the science behind the legendary novels that have become an integral part of modern pop culture, answering such questions as:
What is the science behind time travel and parallel universes like in The Dark Tower series and 11/22/63?
How does lack of sleep affect the human body like in Insomnia?
Is it possible for horrific creatures to exist like in Nightshift?
What is the science behind curses and legends like in Dreamcatcher and Thinner?
Join Kelly and Meg as they learn if we all really do float down here!



My Review

Ha I am a complete muppet, the SCIENCE of Stephen King and I didn't tipple there would be science in it lmao. I just saw Stephen King and was immediately interested. I have loved Stephen King and horror since I stumbled across him as a kid (I know I know). So Hafdahl and Florence have created a book that looks into some of our best King stories and looked into some of the science behind the heart of some of these books.

For example, IT we all know is a killer who takes the shape of whatever the children most fear but often, whilst toying with the losers club it takes the shape of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. This section offers a wee bit on the book itself and looks into coulrophobia and the history of clowns and why something that is meant to make us smile brings fear to so many. This is what the authors have done, they break the book down into decades, 1970s to 2010s. We get a bit of history on the main man himself and then a look at (some of) the books from those years. What the story is about, each chapter is titled but if you haven't read that story you will find a spoiler or two as they examine and chat about the story, the central theme and history/science around that topic.

I won't go into every story but Cujo, they obvs talk about the story itself, then look at the history of dogs and their relationships with humans, rabies and snippets of King's personal battles along his career.

Throughout the book we also get wee snippets of facts, information, titbits scattered throughout the pages, relevant to whatever that chapter is discussing. Whilst I was expecting the book to be something very different (I thought it was going to be in depth study/facts about the books/characters) I really enjoyed it. Information and facts about King I didn't know, facts/information/science and history relevant to each of the stories selected - like really interesting stuff from periods of history that I want to read more into. We have a very morbid history in some places do us humans and I am interested to read more. 4/5 for me, first time reading these guys works, they have other books I would be interested in checking out. If you are a fan of Master King, his works and some shady history of humanity you will absolutely enjoy this book, a keeper for me!

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Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over a week

Pages - 640

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror.

In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest...and confront their own collective heart of darkness, where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast.

In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and as haunted -- as their own lives.

And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable book's denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.

Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new book will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave.



My Review

The book is split into two timelines if you like, the first is when Bobby Garfield is an 11 year old kid, a bit miserable but ok with his lot. When he gets a new neighbour, Ted Brautigan, things change for him. His mother, a very unlikable character although I did feel sorry for her for a wee bit, judges Ted quickly although happy to let her dislike slide when she needs a babysitter, honestly not a fan of that woman, at all! Anyway Bobby goes through a lot in a short space of time, love of books, realization of his mothers character, first attration/kiss, first heroic action and a glimpse of some of the horrors out there.

The other parts of the book split into short stories looking at characters who were in Bobby's childhood, college, addition, post war and then bringing them full circle to Bobby coming home. The book has nods to some of the happenings in other King's books and I always find that genius considering how many he has written and managed to intertwine or just brief inclusion/reference. If I am honest the men in yellow coats, first story, was my fave of the lot, the others were ok and it isn't until you get to the end you get the others, well that was how it was for me.

I read this years ago and re read it because I actually remembered very little of it, I think I will watch the movie too and see how that fares. 3/5 for me this time, I love King, he introduced me to reading and horror as a kid, I have keepers of most of his books and some still to read. This isn't a keeper, nor one of my faves but I am glad I read it.

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The Outsider by Stephen King

The Outsider by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 561

Publisher - Scribner

Source - WHSmith (special purple edition)

Blurb from Goodreads

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.


My Review

Oh you guys I love Stephen King and it has been longer than I would have liked since I read him. Here we see ourselves visiting a small town, a small child's body is found, murdered, brutalised, violated, ruined. The little league coach is ID'd by locals and evidence is irrifutable that Terry Maitland is the killer. Friend, teacher, kids coach, everyone knows Terry, they know what he looks like, they haven't got it wrong but Terry maintains his innocence and can prove he wasn't there. Can one person be in two places at one time and if so, who is the other Terry?

Oooft this kicks off quickly, the find of the child is horrific and the details aren't spared for what he endured so this is your FYI. The rage is high and Terry is arrested in a very public manner, sure the cops have eye witnesses and evidence so they KNOW he did it. As the investigation unfolds and Terry maintains his innocence people are torn and split between what they saw, what they know and the man they have known and loved, trusted with their kids for so long.

This is a great tale, it has the spooky elements we have known and loved from King, also a character from a previous book(s) turns up which I hadn't read so I am hoping I haven't spoilered it for myself. Crime, investigation, public trial and then the spooky other, two men with one face? Or a sick killer who has fooled the people he has known and loved for years. I loved it, you are back and forward, you feel the angst for the characters, the questioning, the proof, the evidence, doing what is right, justice for the child.

The bits with the child thankfully aren't many as they are graphic, you get the old hairs on the back of your neck standing up. Outrage for some of the characters, rage at some antics and question but what if you were them. I love a book that does that and carrys you along, I have been a King fan since I was a kid - I grew up on King and feel in love with his writing from a very young age. I think this is one of those stories that you can't help but love, devouring each page because you have to know where is it going. At one point I gasped out loud, I couldn't believe what I had just read nor what it meant for the turn the story was going to take. An author that can do that to you is absolutely deserving of the title Master, he is brilliant, 4.5/5 for me this time. Also, there are a few editions of this book, red cover, blue, black and then WH Smith did an exclusive purple edition (check my instagram @always_reading) beautiful and purple is my fav colour so I had to buy that one. I cannot wait to read more of King, I have a handful left I haven't gotten to yet, the man has a way with words!

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The Mist by Stephen King

The Mist by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 176

Publisher - Scribner

Source - Gift from O/H

Blurb from Goodreads

In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody, begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins. She insists a sacrifice must be made and two groups—those for and those against—are aligned. Clearly, staying in the store may prove fatal, and the Draytons, along with store employee Ollie Weeks, Amanda Dumfries, Irene Reppler, and Dan Miller, attempt to make their escape. But what’s out there may be worse than what they left behind.

This exhilarating novella explores the horror in both the enemy you know—and the one you can only imagine.


My Review

I seen the movie years ago so I knew the story and I think I got this mixed up with another book but still knew the jist. A mist comes and with it some unimaginable horrors, we see a group of survivors trapped within a supermarket. Glass windows, fog covering the sight to outside, pack mentality kicks in and it is only a matter of time before "they" get in.

This is such an atmospheric read, claustrophobic, terrifying, they are stuck indoors, the crowd eventually split over what they feel is right and should be done. When pulled from "civilisation" and their lives at risk sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

The monsters are horrific, the killings brutal, the breakdown of humanity equally as frightening because you can believe it. Tense, gory, King has a way with words and you find yourself turning the lights up and having a look out your window to make sure there is no strange fog coming. My issue with it, as with a few of King's books is how he wraps it up, I also wanted to know definitively what happened to some other aspects but overall I enjoyed it 3.5/5 for me this time. I really need to re watch the movie and I heard there is another version so I need to track that down and maybe re read afterwards.

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Stephen King themed giveaway

Happy June you beautiful people - sorry that is me just getting the June giveaway up however, I think you might agree that is is worth waiting for. I have also decided to make it International so sharing the joy worldwide!



Little miss paws had to get in on the action as usual lol, don't worry that is my postcard her wee claws are reaching for.







So, up for grabs is, one brand new paperback book of "Joyland" by the master of horror himself, Stephen King. The Pennywise (new Pennywise) clown postcard I bought at horror con, I bought a few knowing I would pop one up as a giveaway. And finally a wee spooky magnetic bookmark to go with it because who doesn't love a wee bookmark and magnetic is one of my fav types.







The giveaway is as listed and seen in the photograph. As I said I will open it up worldwide so everyone has a chance to get it, I know there are a fair few followers of the blog scattered around the globe and it is always nice to allow everyone the opportunity to win. I did a wee collage of the items so you can get a better look.







I have loved Stephen King books since I was a kid, it was his books, IT in fact, that got me hooked on reading and horror! I hope you guys have a great day whatever you are up to, thanks for taking part in the giveaway and supporting the blog. As always, enter using the Rafflecopter below, the more entries you complete the more times your name goes into the draw.



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IT by Stephen King

It by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - dipped in and out over 6 days

Pages - 912

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Blurb from Amazon

To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It is the children who see - and feel - what makes the small town of Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurks, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reaches up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .

Time passes and the children grow up, move away and forget. Until they are called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirs and coils in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.


My Review

This is a re read for me, I read it as a kid (yes I had no place reading such a book at a young age but it began my love of reading and horror), re read it seven years ago and again in prep for the new movie. There is a killer in Derry Main, supernatural and targeting kids, killing them in vicious and terrifying ways. With the killing of young Georgie it kicks starts something IT (the monster) could never have foreseen. Georgie's brother Bill and his friends go on a journey of terror and with a beautiful childlike innocence to confront IT and make a pact for the future, if IT comes back they will too.

The book is split over two timelines, back in the 50s when it all first happens and in the 80s (present day) where the group are now adults and called upon from their pact they made when kids. The killer takes the form of many, Pennywise the clown being one of the most that we readers and fans of the movie know best. But IT has many forms and has gone unchallenged for a long long time. Bill, Ben, Eddie, Bev, Stan, Mike & Ritchie are brought together in friendship and fear to form the Losers Club, they are uniting against the local thug and unknowingly IT. A tale that covers so so much, yes it is a horror and yes there are some claustrophobic gut churning moments of absolute terror but there is also so much more. Friendship, loyalty, innocence, love, racism, marriage, violence, abuse, supernatural and that is just scratching the surface. I loved this book as a kid although I was caught up in the horror side of it. As an adult the other themes really stand out, the racism is horrific and really strong through a huge portion of the book.

I only got to read this in snippets as I have had work and other things on, but I found myself sitting at 3am not realizing how many hours had passed as you just get absorbed into the story. I know some folk have mixed views on how the book turns and wraps up, I think because this was pretty much one of the first books I ever read it will always have that power for me. Clowns are particularly frightening for so many folk, I never had issues with them but Pennywise is indeed something else. I have this book in hardback and ebook and it is absolutely a keeper for me, master King has long been one of my favourite authors and I still have a few of his I haven't gotten to yet. 5/5 for me this time, absolutely not for the faint hearted of easily offended and it is a huge book at almost 1000 pages, if you like King or horror I think you will love this one!

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The Stand by Stephen King

The Stand by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Publisher - New English Library

Pages - 1415

Blurb from Goodreads

When a man crashes his car into a petrol station, he brings with him the foul corpses of his wife and daughter. He dies and it doesn't take long for the plague which killed him to spread across America and the world. From the author of The Tommyknockers, Misery and Pet Sematary.


My Review

A military containment fails and Captain Trips gets out, a flu that wipes out most of humanity. What is left splits into two groups, one heading to Las Vegas to see him, Randal Flagg causer of nitemares or Colorado to Mother Abigail, a beacon of hope doing the Lords work. A whole host of characters, trying to stay alive because in a world where there is only good and evil, there are more scary things than the plague.

I read this years ago as a teenager, King is or was a huge favourite of mine so a perfect choice for Halloween reads. There is a lot to take in as characters and locations change but you soon get settled in and read as the world fall apart. This is the first time I have read the uncut version however it has been so long since I read the normal version I couldn't honestly say whats new and what wasn't.

Some of it is tough going, violence, murder, sexual abuse, evil, good and thats just some of it. I am sure most people are familiar with the tones of Kings work so you know what you are in for. The Stand is a great Apocalyptic type tale with many dimensions, the fall of society, the attempted rise of society, the battle of good and evil, the trials and sacrifices and of course love, betrayal, relationships and lies. 4/5 for me this time, I love King so of course I will be reading him again.

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Review - Under The Dome by Stephen King

Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 7 days

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Pages - 877

Blurb from Goodreads

There's a reason why Stephen King is one of the best selling writers in the world ever. He knows how to write stories that suck you in and are impossible to put down. The New York Times describes it as a 'relentless tidal pull' and Stephen King has done it time and time again with stories like The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, The Green Mile and The Stand.

In Under the Dome, he has produced another riveting masterpiece. The end of every chapter hooks you into the next, drawing you inside a psychological drama that is so rich, you don't read it, you live it.

It is the story of the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine which is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No one can get in and no one can get out.

The normal rules of society are suddenly changed and when food, electricity and water run short, the community begins to crumble. As a new and more sinister social order develops, Dale Barbara, Iraq veteran, teams up with a handful of intrepid citizens to fight against the corruption that is sweeping through the town and to try to discover the source of the Dome before it is too late . . .



My Review


A small town, Chester's Mill is going about its everyday business when a massive dome encases and surrounds the whole town. When everyone realizes what has happened they start to assess the damage and tend to the wounded. It isn't long before chaos follows, the rules of civilization go out the window and murder, deprivation and power come into play. How long will it last, who will survive?

I had this book for ages, since it came out, on my tbr list. I hadn't read it as it got so many mixed reviews from "it reminded me of when he did the stand", to "It was so crap I couldn't finish it". Now as you may have noticed, the The Dome has started on TV and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next so I bumped the book up. Don't read it for this guys, the only things the same is the town, dome, some of the character names and Big Jim. All other relations, connections and pretty much the story line goes in a totally different direction but anyway, I digress.

We have our first kill on page 20 so the story kicks in really quickly, the actual Dome happening is very graphic and bloody. The town descends into anarchy quite quickly to be honest and "the police" becomes a law unto itself. There are a lot of characters in this wee town and at 877 there is a lot going on, relationships, deceit, problems, skulduggery and murder. There are chunks of the book that are a bit long, some people hated that, I found it added to the atmosphere and picture of what was happening although it made for slow reading at times.

It is graphic, there is sex, murder, lies and some parts of it did have faint echoes of The Stand for me, a group of people cut off from civilization as we know it, no Government or real police within the actual town. It shows the many sides, some wonderful, strong, brave and some dark, evil and nasty sides of human beings and how quickly things can turn without social boundaries and civility. Not up in my top 10 Stephen King books but I still quite enjoyed it, I was disappointed with a few things and the ending irked me a bit but it is what you prefer as some people loved it, 3/5 for me this time.

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Review - Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2.5 days

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Pages - 482

Blurb from Goodreads

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.



My Review

I loved the Shining, who didn't - it was a Stephen King masterpiece and had some very unforgettable characters. The story picks up right where the shining left off, the aftermath for Danny and his mum after the hotel burned down. Danny isn't completely free from his trauma and people from the original story turn up whilst he is still young and we are catching up. Then we move on to Danny being an adult, a drunk and a disappointment when something happens that makes him sort himself out and settle in one place. We flip to Rose the hat, leader of The True Knot, beings that where once human that now live of the essence of kids with the shining. Introducing Abra Stone, a kid with the shining, making Danny's look like a flash in the dark in comparison. Before long, these three become linked and it is a matter of life and death, a battle against evil and survival of the fittest, who will survive?

Aw I was so happy to finally get my copy of this, it isn't often I pre-order anything but I wanted this since I heard Mr K was writing it. Not only do we get to reacquaint with wee Danny who is now a grown up, we get to see the effect that crazy hotel had on him and if he still shines as an adult. He isn't the only character from the past to pop up and I loved not knowing who was coming next.

Rose the hat is evil, however she has her own band of "family" so you get to see two sides of her, the one that will do anything for her crew and the one that kills and tortures innocents. Abra reminded me a bit of Carrie but without all the negativity and social awkwardness, she has the shining in bucket loads, has an amazing ability that of course freaks her parents out. She is a great wee character for someone so young and has bounds of personality that wee Danny lacked in the original book.

The story has a fair amount of building to do as we meet new characters and learn about Danny as an adult, however I found this fascinating to see his progression however some may feel it a little slow in parts. This is not a super scary book by any means, there is supernatural activity and beings, there is murder and some horror but nothing compared to the shining or indeed some of his other works. I personally wouldn't call it a horror as I am used to his stuff being much stronger and darker but it would be classed in that genre due to some of the content.

There is definitely parts that keep you on the edge of your seat, I couldn't put it down as I wanted to find out what happens to all of the characters. The more they interact the more the tension builds and you cannot wait for everything to come to a head. For all the fans of the shining, I think you will really enjoy this book, it is a different feel altogether as I remember being scared senseless reading the shining. Doctor Sleep doesn't have the terror or maybe it is just as I am older and read so much now but it does make the hair on the back of your neck stand at parts and keeps you hooked. Was it worth the wait? I think so, I really enjoyed it and will revisit some of his older work, 4/5 for me this time.

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Review - The Wind Through The Keyhole by Stephen King (Dark Tower Series)

The Wind through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 1 day

Blurb From Amazon

For readers new to The Dark Tower, THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is a story within a story, which features both the younger and older gunslinger Roland on his quest to find the Dark Tower. Fans of the existing seven books in the series will also delight in discovering what happened to Roland and his ka tet between the time they leave the Emerald City and arrive at the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis.

This Russian Doll of a novel, a story within a story, within a story, visits Mid-World's last gunslinger, Roland Deschain, and his ka-tet as a ferocious storm halts their progress along the Path of the Beam. (The novel can be placed between Dark Tower IV and Dark Tower V.) Roland tells a tale from his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt ridden year following his mother's death. Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter, a "skin man," Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast's most recent slaughter. Roland, himself only a teenager, calms the boy by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime, 'The Wind through the Keyhole'. "A person's never too old for stories," he says to Bill. "Man and boy, girl and woman, we live for them." And stories like these, they live for us.

My Review

A story within a story within a story, however it works really well. When I first described it to someone they said it must be really confusing but it actually isn't. The book starts with Roland and his ka tet traveling along the path to the Dark Tower and having to hide out due to some adverse weather. Whilst waiting it over Roland tells of a story from his past (and another story within that story).

The first story is about a town being attacked by "the skin man" a man who takes forms of vicious blood thirsty animals and sets upon the people, Roland is sent by his father to deal with it with his friend and fellow Gunslinger. The second is a story his mother used to read to him as a child which is where our book gets it's title.

When I started it, it has been a while since I visited the dark tower series and wasn't too sure about some of the language they use (coming from a different time and place it is different) but after a few chapters I had settled in fine and lost in the story. I have always liked Stephen King but think even those who aren't fans may enjoy this book as it can be read as a stand alone. The only thing I would say for the Dark Tower fans is that we only spend maybe 50 pages if your lucky with Roland and his ka tet which I was a bit disappointed with (you always want more of your loved characters), the main bulk of the story is about the two stories Roland is telling. Although that said the first story is from Roland's actual past so it does offer some insight into why he is the way he is which fans will enjoy. Overall I liked it and found it hard to put down so 4/5 for me.

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Review - 11.22.63 by Stephen King

11.22.63 by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Blurb from Goodreads

This enhanced edition includes the trailer and a short film written and narrated by Stephen King, which gives a unique insight into '11.22.63'.

WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless . . .

King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

With extraordinary imaginative power, King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.

My review

I have been looking forward to this since I heard it was getting written. A story with time travel and heading back to when Kennedy was around with the chance to change the future, fabulous idea. Jake is a great character who changes and grows and he goes through the mind boggling experience of time travel whilst trying to keep his mind focused on the task in hand he can't help but get caught up in other peoples lives.

The only thing that might annoy some readers is that the story doesn't just go straight to Kennedys assassination, there is a whole chunk (3 quarters of the book) of what he does until that time, the characters he meets and relationships he builds up. However I really liked that aswell as the characters all play an important part to the story and for a small part we have a link to one of Stephen Kings previous books, I love when a character from a previous story shows up (even if in passing or a small part).

I have often heard people say Stephen King isn't as good as he once was however I would say pick this up and give it a go, it will restore your faith and rekindle the love for Stephen Kings writing. 4/5 for me.



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Review - Mile 81 by Stephen King

Mile 81 by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Blurb from Amazon

A Stephen King eBook Original Short Story featuring a never before seen excerpt from 11.22.63, Stephen King's new full-length novel coming in November.

With the heart of Stand By Me and the genius horror of Christine, MILE 81 is Stephen King unleashing his imagination as he drives past one of those road signs . . .

At Mile 81 on the Maine Turnpike is a boarded up rest stop, a place where high school kids drink and get into the kind of trouble high school kids have always gotten into. It's the place where Pete Simmons goes when his older brother heads off to the gravel pit to play 'paratroopers over the side'.

Pete, armed with only the magnifying glass he got for his tenth birthday, finds a discarded bottle of vodka in the boarded up burger shack and drinks enough to pass out. That's why he doesn't notice a freshly mud-spattered station wagon (which is strange because there hadn't been any rain in New England for over a week) which veers into the Mile 81 rest area, ignoring the sign that reads 'closed, no services'.

The driver's door opens but nobody gets out . . .


My Review

It has been a wee while since I read a Stephen King short story and I really enjoyed this one. Despite the "monster" not being given a where it came from or why or anything in depth like that I really enjoyed it. We are introduced to the main character and given a sense of his character as with the other characters who briefly appear. It is decent paced and the only moan I have is as with some of his other books which is not having complete closure and every angle covered however some readers prefer this. Very quick read, I think I read it in just over an hour - not one of his best but pretty good for a short story and its pretty cheap too, 4/5 for me.

Also there is a preview of his new novel 11/22/63 which is due for release in November.



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