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His strange paintings seem connected to his new home on Duma Key in Florida, and have a weird power to them. The are a few slow parts in the second half, but mostly, I enjoyed this novel, and the reader was excellent. I listened to the audio-book, and really enjoyed it. The supernatural creeps into the novel long after we care about the lives of Edgar, his family, and the other characters on Duma Key. It's a fun story. Like the best of Stephen King, it's a story about a person we grow to care about before it gets bizarre. The main character, Edgar, has suffered a brain injury, and after it ruins his health and marriage, Edgar discovers an amazing artistic talent.
His writing is great. I couldn't get enough of the main ones and I felt deeply connected with them as though I couldn't wait to hang out with them again.Bravo Mr. them. Think of Salem's Lot for example. Not for me.Lastly, it's a very rare day when a book makes me look over my shoulder a couple of times as I read it. well, duh.
King. I'm not going to offer you any insight that hasn't already been covered to death by the vast number of reviews here. Simply put: I like this book.I've never been a King fan in horror. Was it too long and bloated.
Fine writing with the ability to make you wonder "what." "when." and "how." and then make you say "oh,no." (in the good way). It is what it says it is. Somehow he struck upon a nerve or something of mine and after a particular scene I will admit I felt those prickly hairs on my neck stand attention. Bravo.
When I say loved I mean l-o-v-e-d. When you're reading about vampires who knock on your window to come in you can't help but wonder why this is horror. I also loved the characters. I liked his other work, but found some of his horror to be too weak for me (the sort of book that has a back cover review that says "chilling" "blood curdling" and the rest and then is far from it).
Duma, to my amazement, did it. But Duma doesn't make false promises with gut wrenching horror. is what you're probably thinking and you're right.Now Duma Key is what I'd normally consider weak horror, but it isn't for other reasons. In fact, if Salem's Lot weren't written so well I'd be trashing it.
Don't take my word for it, though, if you're a horror fan, read it for yourself. I enjoyed this book, the suspense was like a twisting spiral staircase, leading you to the top then heaving you over the railing.
The dialogue was unnatural and at many moments, downright corny; the witty discourse is absent in DUMA KEY, although King does attempt it. look at his older works, which is still fresh and exciting, even decades later. I know now why I stopped reading King books years ago. It is time for him to move on into new territory or just put down the pen. I could have put the book down halfway through and walked away but, against my better judgment, I gave it a chance.If you are a first time King reader I would not start with Duma Key. A lot of the writing here felt like unnecessary filler in an attempt to develop some of the characters. He could have achieved the same development in numerous less pages.
It was more straining than fun. Overall, I was very happy to finish the book.
For one, as other reviewers mentioned, it was about 300 pages too long. The climax was quite anti-climactic (actually, it was downright silly) and in the end I cared very little for how things ended up for the characters.
I think he has overstayed his horror writing welcome. The story did have some good moments, but they were few and far between and not really scary.
I can't say that DUMA KEY was a terrible novel but there was much wrong with it.
But the characters don't really develop much.
If this Persephone is a mythological character, are we expected to be so well-versed in mythology that no explanation is required. Oh, and the book's climactic scene in the well or pit or whatever it was with the little Perse figurine was just plain dum-a** (bad pun). I object. Please, save yourself the torture. His singular writing style is up to par, and the protagonist's construction accident is a clever reference to King's real-life brush with death. Wow, can't fathom how this dreck rates 4 stars. This is literally one of the worst books I've ever read. Nothing - I mean absolutely nothing - is explained at the conclusion.
We'll never know. I also thought the way King killed off a key character toward the very end was gratuitous - what was the point. Not only has he lost it, I think his ego has gotten so out of control that he treats his readers with actual contempt. Reading (or re-reading) any of King's masterpieces from the '70s and '80s is time better spent. I forgave King the egomaniacal, preachy mess that was "Insomnia" when he came back strong with "The Green Mile," but this is it for me, I'm done. Who is this spirit named Perse. I know that's harsh, but after finishing this book I was really P.O.'d. And I'm saying this as a (former) die-hard King fan.
I became a huge fan of King several decades ago upon discovering such classics as Pet Sematary, The Mist, The Dark Half, and Thinner. Why does she have it in for these people. But the rest of the so-called plot gets an "F." 600-plus pages is a lot of time to invest for absolutely no payoff. Why is she doing the things she's doing.
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