Duma Key

"It's been too long since I've finished a King novel, I've been waiting to finish this one a long time. I had to re-get it on Libby and it took FOREVER. That's why I finished it today even though I started it on August 29th. I was into it; I feel like it had the same style for me as "The Shining." What I mean by that is that it's a very long and detailed build-up to the end of the book where a ton of things happen very quickly. You are slowly but surely introduced to the horror of the book, which was more effective for me than it was in "The Shining." I think the horror was on point, as well as a cast of characters you feel for. Another thing I felt was very interesting was how King wrote about coping with extreme hardships in life, I understand some of this novel had to have been based on some of his life-altering moments. I feel that the car crash he was in was personified in this novel. The things he writes about moving on with life hit me hard. I can't begin to understand what it would be like to be that utterly devastated by something, especially the horrible thing that happens to Edger near the end of the novel. The art aspect of this novel was something I wasn't accustomed to and therefore found interesting, and I think Percy is a grand villain and one of the scariest King has written. My critique of this novel is something many critique King for, it was longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed the novel for sure, but I think this one was bogged down a little. I think it took too long to get to the ending and could have cut down on the elaborate setup as well. I just thought the action was too spaced out sometimes and I found myself zoning out. This won't be my last time reviewing a King novel, until next time. (ATY #23)"

""I know about shadows...You just want to be careful they don't grow teeth."<br/><br/>I don't want to say a lot because I went into this book fairly blind & I think it's better that way. This book is amazing, and it's now one of my favorites, King or non-King. This is definitely one I would reread, and it goes on the list of books that I feel have made my life a little better. This book gives you ALL the feelings, and is such a vibrant story. It was beautifully written & deserves all the stars."

"My favorite king book!"

"This one took plenty of unexpected turns, loved every moment. Finally finished reading it recently, shortly after becoming a painter unexpectedly myself, totally added another layer of eery fun."

"Delightfully creepy! A bit of a slow burner, but once the groundwork is laid, the story picks up a shocking momentum that plunges the reader into a dark and chilling tale of dark forces waking to unleash horror. "

"“A man who was trying his best not to be sad anymore—who was trying to remember how it felt to be happy.”<br/>⭐️⭐️⭐️<br/>I am so mad at the ending of this book! I fully thought this was going to be 5 stars. I absolutely loved the first half, but then the second half slowly began to fall apart, and the actual ending was so disappointing. The sinister nature though out was perfectly menacing. The idea of haunted art is something I’ve always wanted to read about and I was so excited when I realized that is what this was. Also, these characters are some of my absolute favorites from King. However, the direction this ultimately took was just really not for me and kind of dampened the rest of the story."

"I really loved this one."

"Very good. This book had the feel of some of Stephen King's older works. I enjoyed it VERY much."

"Been awhile since I read a 5-star King book. Loved this one. Shockingly underrated - when mentioning I was reading this book most people hadn't read it or even heard of it. I honestly think this could be in his top 10, or possibly even top 5, at least for me subjectively. This was my first read of it and I was glued, especially by the time I got about halfway done."

"This might be my favorite King book so far. "