Black House

I've been waiting for this book ever since I finished "The Talisman" -- way back when it was first published. Now Jack and I are both in our early 30s. For me, reading "Black House" felt like seeing an old childhood friend again after far too long. But we barely had time to catch up before the story took off, like an inexorable dark train carrying us to parts unknown."Black House" was totally absorbing. I didn't want it to end, and yet I couldn't resist staying up until 5 a.m. finishing it. The characters are great -- especially the motorcycle gang who help Jack solve the crime, and his friend Henry, a blind DJ. King and Straub are both masters when it comes to creating a wholly believable place, and they've done it again, both with the small Wisconsin town and its mirror image in the Territories.The ending suggests that King and Straub have more stories to tell us about the Territories and its' inhabitants. I hope they don't wait another 20 years to give us the next story ... but "Black House" was worth the wait.

"Black House" was a wonderful journey for me. I loved "The Talisman" and read it once a year. I actually made the hair stand up on my neck in several places. I was so happy that Straub and King decided to bring Jack back. I fell in love with him, silly as it sounds, but he has turned into the man that only a boy who experienced what he did could be.I enjoy trying to see where King wrote and where Straub wrote. Straub is not as macabre as King, but it all went together so nicely I couldn't really tell. I loved the references to the "Dark Tower" series and actually was moved to pick those up again. I kept looking to see how many pages I had left and feeling bummed cause I was going through it so fast.Oh yeah, I loved the smart bikers and Henry. I could picture all of their faces so clearly.

Absolutely blew my mind. I knew that the Talisman was a precursor to the Dark Tower series (like an experiment, your toes slipping into the cool, dark water of the lake, before you plunge in to the depths). This is really an installment of the Dark Tower series - not revolving around Roland, although we do hear of him in passing - but this book answers many of our questions and introduces us to what I believe will be one of the key players in the upcoming showdown with the Crimson King: little Tyler. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him, or of Jack and Sophie for that matter. I bought this book yesterday when it was released, and read it almost completely in one sitting - I stayed up until 4:00 AM, and only went to bed because I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. In preparation for the release I reread the Talisman, finishing it on Thursday night. So I have only one little tiny exception to make: "When I was six, when Jacky was six..." Jack didn't begin migrating to the Territories (or the Daydreams, as he called them then) when he was six; he had already been there by that time. When Jack was six, he discovered that his father & ole Bloat knew about it. But this is not a story about the Territories anyway, this is about the Crimson King and the Dark Tower. Thank you, SK & PS for writing an incredible page-turner and taking my mind of the horrors of OUR world for a day. Sorry if this review is a little disjointed; I'm still reeling. But for those of you on the fence, BUY THIS BOOK! It will thrill you, terrify you and leave you gasping for more.

I was extremely excited when I first heard this book was being released, but as the release date grew closer I began to have feelings of trepidation. The Talisman has been one of my favorite books since it was released when I was fourteen. Jack Sawyer has always been one of my favorite of Stephen King's characters (ok, I realise that this is a collaboration, but I tend to view it as more of a Stephen King creation. This is probably grossly unfair to Peter Straub, but there you have it.)My great fear was that I wouldn't like Jack as an adult. That there was no way that these two could top the marvelous quest that was The Talisman. Then I heard that Black House would be tied into the Dark Tower series. I wasn't sure how to feel about this either. While I feel that the Dark Tower will prove to be the greatest of Stephen King's works, I have always viewed The Talisman as something altogether seperate, and magical.My trepidation increased.Then I decided to just let it go, made a concious effort to view Black House as something unto itself, to not hold it up to the Talisman, or anything else for comparison. I am very glad I did this.I spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning reading this book, and let me tell you it was wonderful. Jack Sawyer, a little older, a little wiser, a little more lonely and scared, but still the boy with the good heart, grown into a man of integrity.I will not give away plot points in this review, but let me just say a couple of things. The connection to the Dark Tower series is done very well, revealing some important information without taking you to far afield, and making this into an actual Dark Tower book. It is more akin to Insomnia - related, but not overwhelmingly so.The characterisations in this book are wonderful. I was a little afraid there, because I was disappointed in that aspect of Dreamcatcher. These characters are like people you would meet on the street. They have their strengths and weaknesses, fears and hopes. At the top of the list is Jack, who after all of these years remains someone I would really like to hang out with.This is not a rehash of the Talisman. The Talisman was a quest novel, while this is something different. There is a questing element in this novel, but it lies within Jack. His quest is to come to terms with himself and his past. Outwardly, this is more of a crime novel that veers into alternate realms with great effect.I had great difficulty in putting this book down. Until I realised that I less than 100 pages left, at which point I became afraid to finish. I didn't want it to end, you see, and to me this is the greatest compliment I can give a book.This was a wonderful addition to the Talisman, and to the Dark Tower pantheon. It has whet my appetite for more of both. Hopefully the wait will not be too long.

This books is... intense, to say the least. The novel picks up some years later after Jack Sawyer has completed his quest, and is now a retired LAPD officer living in Wisconsin. There's plenty of description above so I'll go into the less mentioned, but more important details of the story. King finallys brings us into the world of the Dark Tower again, and taking off from "Low Men in Yellow Coats", from Hearts in Atlantis, we learn who and what the Breakers are, and some more of the mystery around the Crimson King is revealed to us. After being so wrapped up in the story of the last gunslinger and his quest, this has been the most highly anticipated book of the year for myself. My only regret was that I couldn't be more objective in this review. On a note, readers not familiar with the Dark Tower storyline, or who have not read The Talisman, may be a little lost initially, but will nonetheless find this a compelling read. For those fans like myself, who have gleaned small bits of the story from many of Kings books over the years, this is an essential read to bring you further.