| Desperation: ***1/2 |
| I really appreciated the thoughtful exploration of spirituality King gives us with this novel. Not to mention all of the unbelievably sick, unbridled nastiness. |
Stephen King makes me run hot or cold; there's not often any middle ground.
Desperation's got the goods. It vividly brings to mind every awful, paranoid fear you've
ever had upon seeing the flashing blues in your rearview and then midway through its
page count, it enters a whole new weird vista that's completely consistent with
everything that's preceded it. It's a lean, nasty joyride; one that feels like it rockets by
even at almost 700 pages.
We begin with Mary and Peter motoring through the Nevada desert in a car
belonging to Mary's sister. They're coming in close to the town of Desperation; these
days, just a place you do not want to be. 'Cause getting stopped by the only law in
Desperation is a bitch. Especially after a baggie full of the sister's weed turns up in the
trunk. Now it's off to the pokey and before Mary can get acquainted with her cell, Officer
Friendly takes a moment of quality time to gut shoot Peter. Pretty damn arbitrary? You'll
have to read the book, but everything happens for a reason in Desperation.
Mary's not alone in lockup. The Carver family's been taken captive, though their
young daughter apparently wasn't of any use to the cop either; she died after being
flung down a stairwell. Then there's the townie sharing young David Carver's cell, and
they'll be joined shortly by fallen literary light and asshole sans peer John Marinville.
The situation might not be completely hopeless. Steve, Marinville's assistant/babysitter
on this book tour, has been following his boss from a discreet distance and he's picked
up Cynthia, a charming young lady who was hitching on the highway. Before getting
tossed into his cell, Marinville got a short burst off to Steve over his cellphone, so Steve
knows that Marinville's in a fix and he has a rough idea of where to find him. Plus,
David's had a recent conversion to Christianity and while praying in his cell, an escape
plan comes to mind that while insanely risky, just might work.
David's conversion and the themes of faith and spirituality are given considerable
weight and dealt with intelligently and open-mindedly. David's guidance from the Lord
gives King a countervailing balance against the evil permeating the town, but it's also a
springboard for thoughtful musings on faith and the nature of God that's surprising
coming from a go for the throat horror novel. A very agreeable surprise. All of
Desperation's characters are compelling in their own rights. The petty, the abrasive, and
the cowardly, just as much as the heroic. King makes them empathetic even when
they're not particularly likeable and when the novel's pivotal moments come and give
these folks the opportunity to rise to the challenge, the scenes that come out of them
are truly engrossing. This cast is full of surprises and how they'll react to the horrors and
dangers confronting them is consistently unpredictable.
The prose is sharp, mordantly witty, and wonderfully evocative of Ass End of
Nowhere locales off lonely stretches of road. While Desperation never scared the crap
outta me, there was more than enough suspense and tension that I was revved up
enough to feel compelled to keep turning the pages. It's a really good outing from King;
likely good enough for even non-fans to find entertaining.
-Maneating Lemur (11/7/08).
Desperation's got the goods. It vividly brings to mind every awful, paranoid fear you've
ever had upon seeing the flashing blues in your rearview and then midway through its
page count, it enters a whole new weird vista that's completely consistent with
everything that's preceded it. It's a lean, nasty joyride; one that feels like it rockets by
even at almost 700 pages.
We begin with Mary and Peter motoring through the Nevada desert in a car
belonging to Mary's sister. They're coming in close to the town of Desperation; these
days, just a place you do not want to be. 'Cause getting stopped by the only law in
Desperation is a bitch. Especially after a baggie full of the sister's weed turns up in the
trunk. Now it's off to the pokey and before Mary can get acquainted with her cell, Officer
Friendly takes a moment of quality time to gut shoot Peter. Pretty damn arbitrary? You'll
have to read the book, but everything happens for a reason in Desperation.
Mary's not alone in lockup. The Carver family's been taken captive, though their
young daughter apparently wasn't of any use to the cop either; she died after being
flung down a stairwell. Then there's the townie sharing young David Carver's cell, and
they'll be joined shortly by fallen literary light and asshole sans peer John Marinville.
The situation might not be completely hopeless. Steve, Marinville's assistant/babysitter
on this book tour, has been following his boss from a discreet distance and he's picked
up Cynthia, a charming young lady who was hitching on the highway. Before getting
tossed into his cell, Marinville got a short burst off to Steve over his cellphone, so Steve
knows that Marinville's in a fix and he has a rough idea of where to find him. Plus,
David's had a recent conversion to Christianity and while praying in his cell, an escape
plan comes to mind that while insanely risky, just might work.
David's conversion and the themes of faith and spirituality are given considerable
weight and dealt with intelligently and open-mindedly. David's guidance from the Lord
gives King a countervailing balance against the evil permeating the town, but it's also a
springboard for thoughtful musings on faith and the nature of God that's surprising
coming from a go for the throat horror novel. A very agreeable surprise. All of
Desperation's characters are compelling in their own rights. The petty, the abrasive, and
the cowardly, just as much as the heroic. King makes them empathetic even when
they're not particularly likeable and when the novel's pivotal moments come and give
these folks the opportunity to rise to the challenge, the scenes that come out of them
are truly engrossing. This cast is full of surprises and how they'll react to the horrors and
dangers confronting them is consistently unpredictable.
The prose is sharp, mordantly witty, and wonderfully evocative of Ass End of
Nowhere locales off lonely stretches of road. While Desperation never scared the crap
outta me, there was more than enough suspense and tension that I was revved up
enough to feel compelled to keep turning the pages. It's a really good outing from King;
likely good enough for even non-fans to find entertaining.
-Maneating Lemur (11/7/08).