The Dark Half

Not one of my favorite King novels, it was dark and very violent and not fun at all. Many of his books have a least a but of humor in them but this one was just dark and creepy all the way through. Of course it was well written and very suspenseful. I really love Stephen King and have read just about all of his books, though some I like more than others.

I rated this as OK for 2 reasons; (1)I read it years ago and never finished it because (2), it was too confusing and bounced around too much. The movie version was much easier to keep track off. Well, another book to donate to Goodwill, but devotee of King might enjoy it. Lately, I prefer his son's book, pen name Joe Hill.

This was a great book violent and mesmerising but to many misspellings and it really took away from the book it took longer to read cause I gave up on it do to the grammatical errors I guess it was not proofread I don't blame Stephen king he wrote a fantastic book but it needs to be fixed this kindle edition was just bad

I love Stephen King but this book was barely readable due to the MANY typographical errors. Every time he wrote Cl, it became a D (close=dose). There were many other errors as well. I don't understand why Kindle readers have to wade through this when the printed books (rarely) have such errors.

Excellent. Fun. Very hard to put down. Interesting. U will love this book. Stephen King has made history again. How he does it I don't know. He just keeps getting better and better. I'll never look at birds the same way again. LOL. Thank You Stephen King. Again!

While not his best book, it was still an interesting read. It was also difficult to see how it was going to end which added to the pleasure. I liked how the characters tied into "Needful Things" as well. It was a very nice connection.

Read this for the second time after about ten years and I had just finished re reading "Needful Things" which takes place in Castle Rock. This book introduces you to alan Pangborn the Castle Rock sheriff. Great read and recommend it.

This racks up at an impressive 3.5 stars. The reason why I didn't give this a 4 or 5 is because I felt King missed the boat a bit in not going into full explanation how Thad's evil half becomes grown human being that looks like him and people could identify. Had King went about the business making Stark into some form of Frankenstein creature (after the nasty fetus was removed), I would had found that more of a gratifying page turner. But other than that the more graphic scenes are well done. George Stark is quite the bad guy how he goes about his violent agenda. You can tell by reading King pours a lot of his emotions in the Thad character during this time period (as it's been said his own pseudonym name Richard Bachman was also exposed). The book isn't my favorite King read but it's still solid a one.

I was disappointed in this Steven King book. I thought it was a little too far out even for King. My biggest disappointment was reading a book published with so very many typing/spelling errors. Does anyone proof read or at least use spell check anymore??? I can't help but feel I over paid for this one.

I absolutely love this book. It was the first King book I read many years ago and it started me off as a constant reader. I decided to recently purchase the kindle version of this book so that I could read it again. As most Kindle users are aware of older books that have been adapted the Kindle format seem to suffer from some pretty bad errors. This one, however, seems to take the cake. There are many horrible transcription errors that are so bad they take you right out of the book.

Altogether, a very interesting exploration of the "dark half". My only concern is that the ending lacks either hope or optimism.

It otherwise works as an effective thriller, and is one of the less gratuitously shocking entries by Stephen King. Scary, gripping, witty, and sadly underrated.

The abundance of typos in this kindle edition makes this fantastic Stephen King novel hard to read. The kindle people should be ashamed of themselves for publishing something with this many errors!!!! I say buy it in book form.

Good lord this book is full of typos. I'm not knocking the quality of the story since it was impossible to read through all the mistakes. I'm talking typos in every single paragraph. DON'T BUY THIS KINDLE VERSION!!!

When I ordered the book it read that its condition was excelent and new but when I received it the cover was wrinkled and bent up and the pages were yellowed. I wanted to give this as a Christmas gift.

A dissenting opinion. Like The Shining, The Dark Half explores the novelist's commitment to truth and to "lies" (King's word) and the mysterious, sometimes savage forces that propel his or her writing. If the comparison seems far-fetched, consider an idiosyncrasy: each includes a character named Wendy -- not a particularly common name in fiction or in fact -- and describes the novelist as reliant on, or in the case of Jack Torrance, enslaved by, drink. (In The Dark Half, Thad Beaumont's reliance is firmly behind him, but we're reminded of its existence more than once.) The two protagonists are fathers whose children are important to them: in The Shining, Danny, a portrayal of childhood so brilliant that Dickens would have applauded, and no praise can be higher. In the more plodding and literal Dark Half, the Beaumont twins are infants whose role is simply to underline -- with depressing literalness -- the twin theme and at the proper time, to be threatened by the bizarre villain. In neither book is the novelist/father a hero; in both cases he can be chilly and distant even before alcohol and supernatural forces overwhelm him. The Shining is a gem I would recommend "even" to my snobbish academic friends and colleagues; The Dark Half I would recommend to no one. George Stark/Alexis Machine is a cartoon version of a villain who belongs in the oeuvre of Mickey Spillane, not Stephen King. Indeed, the novel admits as much in the Everyman Sheriff's final rumination: "You [Thad] don't understand what you are, and I doubt that you ever will. ...Standing next to you is like standing next to a cave some nightmarish creature came out of. The monster is gone now, but you still don't like to be too close to where it came from. ...[E]ven if the cave is empty forever, there are the dreams. And the memories. There's Homer Gamache, for instance, beaten to death with his own prosthetic arm. Because of you, Thad. All because of you." "Beaten to death with his own prosthetic arm": the novel's problem with over-literal violence in a sentence. Thad doesn't set out to create a spree killer of astonishing brutality, but his "dark half" takes over, and all reticence is lost. Surely art, even King's, costs less than the innumerable victims Thad Beaumont's "twin" piles up. And surely their deaths need not be accomplished or portrayed so graphically and crudely. (It's sometimes forgotten that in Oedipus Rex, the violence is accomplished offstage. Reticence worked more than two thousand years ago; it works now.). King has said that given the choice he'll always "go for the gross out." In this novel, he does so with a vengeance both literal and figurative. Some of us prefer the King of The Shining, and more recently, The Revivalist, another meditation on the cost of art to its addicted protagonists. A minority opinion, perhaps, but not, I think, an indefensible one. Let's hear it for the more disciplined King whose violence is as much psychological as literal. In The Dark Half, the violence is literal in the extreme.

There were soooooooo many errors on the Kindle version which made this very hard to read! It was as if this was just "spell-checked" by a computer and there was no human check at all. It was like a huge decoding effort during the entire read. The worst was at the end when the character "Stark" became "Start". It was frustrating but other than that it was a great story. SK has a vivid imagination and it comes out in this book!!!!

When novelist Thad Beaumont dreams up pseudonym George Stark, he allows a different side of his imagination to emerge and, weirdly, the books ‘Stark’ writes turn out to be way more successful than Thad’s usual fare. However, when the writer decides to get rid of his other half, things don’t go to plan, and a series of gruesome murders threaten to land Thad in jail, if not the nearest asylum.

Whenever I read a Stephen King novel, I’m always rewarded with great writing and sharply-drawn characters, and this one is no different. King’s own foray into the world of pseudonyms (as alter-ego Richard Bachman), was the inspiration for this tale of dark deeds and deadly doings. Taking the idea of ‘killing off’ the Bachman side, King has his hero Thad Beaumont put out press releases and stage photographs at the dead writer’s graveside. Unfortunately, that’s when things begin to go wrong.

I loved this book – it kept me guessing all the way through, wondering if King’s hero was just completely mad, or if his belief in the reality of George Stark was justified. As always, the writing is tight and clever, though it also had me laughing out loud in places, which is nice.

A must for fans of horror, murder and imaginary authors coming to life and killing loads of folk.

Some of Stephen King's best novels are partially based on his own experience. "Carrie" was inspired by a religious-fanatic evangelical in which he wondered what her kids would be like. King and his family lived near a real pet cemetery, and several of the events at the beginning of "Pet Sematary" derive out of that experience. "The Dark Half" came into being in part because of King's pseudonym, Richard Bachman. In the early 1980's after King was established as a bestselling writer, he allowed several of his early unpublished novels to be printed as paperback originals as long as they didn't have his name on them. He used the name "Richard Bachman". Around 1987, a bookstore clerk in Washington D.C. noticed similarities between Bachman's and King's styles. He phoned the publisher, and eventually King revealed that yes, books written by him had been published under the name Richard Bachman. The photo used on the back dust jacket flap of "Thinner" was of an insurance agent of King's literary agent.

The idea of a writer with a pseudonym became the germ from which "The Dark Half" sprang. Thaddeus Beaumont is a respected university professor and writer of esoteric books which are critically acclaimed but none are bestsellers. A young man then walks into the professor's office with a trashy novel by a bestselling author name of George Stark. He asks Beaumont to sign it. At first Beaumont claims he has the wrong author but eventually the young man convinces him that he knows the professor's secret: For the last several years, Beaumont has been writing under a pen name, George Stark. Unlike those with Beaumont's name, Stark's novels are trashy crime bestsellers, sort of late 20th-century noire, filled with men, guns and women in scanty clothing. The "hero" of most of Stark's novels is a violent protagonist named Alexis Machine. Unlike the characters of Beaumont's other books, Alexis wears leather pants and boots and sports an automatic handgun. Turns out, so does George Stark.

Beaumont, his wife and a few close associates stage a mock funeral for Stark, including a tombstone placed in a cemetery. Then a series of killings begins to occur around Beaumont. The "grave" of Beaumont has been vandalized, and It appears someone is walking around claiming to be George Stark and wanting revenge on his "other half". This is one of King's more effective novels which similar to "Misery" centers on writing how an author's work can seem to have a life of its own. Like "Misery" in which the writer character Paul Sheldon has no control over his no. 1 fan, Annie Wilkes. Similarly, the George Stark novels have a following, and a disgruntled pseudonym made flesh is out for revenge.

This book takes a fresh and interesting approach to the Jekyll and Hyde story, when a writer (Thad Beaumont, mispelled I'm sure}decides to divorce himself from his pseudonym aka George Stark and to hold a mock funeral for this writer of substantialy darker fiction than his own.
Unfortunatly, Thad has already indulged this darker side of his psyche on too frequent a level and suddenly the make believe grave of his make believe author is found open with footprints leaving the scene. Could this be some joke? Perhapse in this world but in the ,miraculous world of Stephen King..I think not!
A monsterous game of cat and mouse follows and the result is an exciting, grotesque, and genuinly creepy novel.
Hidden more subtly beneath the story of this book is once again a social statement about the way we deal with the different sides of our personalities and also the idea of the Celebrity and the life given to it by the public.

3.5 Stars

This REALLY is one hell of a crazy-ass read, and it all begins with an eleven year old boy's excruciating headaches that lead to surgery, bizarre results, and the freakish sparrow phenomenon afterward.

...Now this young boy Thad began writing weird stories at an early age and as he grew up decided to use a pen name for a period of time......sound familiar?

...Anyway, the time came to bury the alias and one George Stark with full honors.....grave, headstone and publicity to boot.

...As the story progresses, a grown up Thad with wife and twins (now writing under his own name) begins to re-experience awful headaches in addition to frightening dreams. Injurious things start to happen....grotesque murders begin, and most ominous of all "The sparrows are flying again."

Overall, I really enjoyed this one albeit thought it a bit drawn out. Was torn between three and four stars for a good while, but that extra dose of KING weird with the scads of creepy birds late in the story and....the final warning nudged my rating up.

(some gore and super ickiness in this one folks)

The Dark Half was one of the last outright horror novels Stephen King wrote before he went into a more contemporary phase with books like Dolores Claiborne, Gerald's Game, and Rose Madder. It was also written in the wake of having his pseudonym of Richard Bachman exposed after several books published under that name. A bookstore clerk, based on his own suspicions, hunted down publishing information that named King as writer of one of the Bachman books. King, likely sensing that his secret was on borrowed time anyway, allowed the clerk to interview him, leading to the rest of the world discovering Bachman's identity. The Dark Half was obviously inspired by this turn of events. In the book, the main character, author Thad Beaumont, writes much more violent stories than his usual fare under the pseudonym George Stark. After Stark's identity is exposed similarly to Bachman's, a series of brutal murders begins that target the people involved in Stark's “demise.” It quickly becomes apparent that Stark has somehow crossed over from the imaginary world and become real, and is none too happy about being killed off as a publicity stunt. One would have to imagine King excising some of his darker feelings about being outed as Bachman through this story. Considering the disturbing nature of Stark's murders, you'd have to assume that King was harboring some anger and resentment over the situation. His reasons for using the Bachman persona were to avoid over-saturating the market with his own name, and to see if he could succeed a second time in the literary world as an unknown. He was getting close, as Bachman's last book, Thinner, sold much better than the first four, and King was actually planning to publish Misery as Bachman. We're left to guess at what would've happened, but at least the whole episode gave rise to a pretty good Stephen King book. The Dark Half is an entirely creepy and suspenseful read, and marked the end of an era in King's career.

Stephen King has written several books whose central character is a fiction writer. That's not surprising, given that he is a fiction writer himself. The best of these, I think, was "Bag of Bones," but "The Dark Half" comes in a close second, along with "Misery."

In "The Dark Half," author Thaddeus "Thad" Beaumont decides to kill off his pseudonymous other half, "George Stark," after a law student (who has discovered that Stark is really Beaumont) tries to blackmail him. Beaumont nips his would-be blackmailer in the bud by going public, to the point of having an article in "People" magazine in which "George Stark" is buried, complete with a headstone declaring that he was "Not a Very Nice Guy."

However, Thad quickly realizes that instead of killing George Stark, he has somehow brought Stark into real, physical being-- and that the lives of his wife, his children, and himself are in danger. To save them and himself, he must find a way to kill Stark for good... but how can he kill someone who was never alive to start with?

The book is much more fast-moving and suspenseful than many of King's other books, and the George Stark character is truly scary.

King does make a couple of blunders in the book-- not major blunders, but the kind of small, annoying blunders that irritate the hell out of someone who knows better. In the scene where sparrows are attacking the house, he describes them as having yellow beaks. They don't. Sparrows have black or dark-grey beaks.

In another scene, Thad is preparing to type. King says, "Then he laid his fingers in the touch-typist's 'home' position on the middle row of keys, although he had given up touch-typing years ago." That's ridiculous. NO ONE who has mastered touch-typing would ever give it up in favor of the much slower, more frustrating, and more error-prone hunt-and-peck method. In fact, giving it up would require "un-training" oneself, which would probably be more difficult than learning touch-typing in the first place. It would be like "un-learning" how to walk or how to ride a bicycle.

Aside from those two small things, the book is good and I recommend it.

Stephen King has written several books whose central character is a fiction writer. That's not surprising, given that he is a fiction writer himself. The best of these, I think, was "Bag of Bones," but "The Dark Half" comes in a close second, along with "Misery."

In "The Dark Half," author Thaddeus "Thad" Beaumont decides to kill off his pseudonymous other half, "George Stark," after a law student (who has discovered that Stark is really Beaumont) tries to blackmail him. Beaumont nips his would-be blackmailer in the bud by going public, to the point of having an article in "People" magazine in which "George Stark" is buried, complete with a headstone declaring that he was "Not a Very Nice Guy."

However, Thad quickly realizes that instead of killing George Stark, he has somehow brought Stark into real, physical being-- and that the lives of his wife, his children, and himself are in danger. To save them and himself, he must find a way to kill Stark for good... but how can he kill someone who was never alive to start with?

The book is much more fast-moving and suspenseful than many of King's other books, and the George Stark character is truly scary.

King does make a couple of blunders in the book-- not major blunders, but the kind of small, annoying blunders that irritate the hell out of someone who knows better. In the scene where sparrows are attacking the house, he describes them as having yellow beaks. They don't. Sparrows have black or dark-grey beaks.

In another scene, Thad is preparing to type. King says, "Then he laid his fingers in the touch-typist's 'home' position on the middle row of keys, although he had given up touch-typing years ago." That's ridiculous. NO ONE who has mastered touch-typing would ever give it up in favor of the much slower, more frustrating, and more error-prone hunt-and-peck method. In fact, giving it up would require "un-training" oneself, which would probably be more difficult than learning touch-typing in the first place. It would be like "un-learning" how to walk or how to ride a bicycle.

Aside from those two small things, the book is good and I recommend it.

Stephen King's book: The Dark Half had me riveted from page one. This 'creepazoid' of a story was hard to put down. With scenes that burst to life and characters that are genuinely incomparable, The Dark Half makes for twisted entertainment. This page-turner gave me the chills every time one particular appeared on the page. I couldn't read this book in the night--not because of the blood-curdling gore but because George Stark is the last fictional person I wanted to think about before I fell asleep! Overall, The Dark Half by Stephen King is compelling, dark and intense, (extremely intense!) and it still grabs you by the shirt front, drags you in and never lets you go. The scenes are so well-written that you feel as if you're in the book, witnessing everything taking place real time (i.e., fictional time in the fictional world), where you're scared of George Stark as much as everyone who knows he exists. And the ending....downright creepy, but good riddance!

I would definitely reread this book and would highly recommend it to readers who don't mind reading a dark, gory story!
5 Stars

The Dark Half was one of the last outright horror novels Stephen King wrote before he went into a more contemporary phase with books like Dolores Claiborne, Gerald's Game, and Rose Madder. It was also written in the wake of having his pseudonym of Richard Bachman exposed after several books published under that name. A bookstore clerk, based on his own suspicions, hunted down publishing information that named King as writer of one of the Bachman books. King, likely sensing that his secret was on borrowed time anyway, allowed the clerk to interview him, leading to the rest of the world discovering Bachman's identity. The Dark Half was obviously inspired by this turn of events. In the book, the main character, author Thad Beaumont, writes much more violent stories than his usual fare under the pseudonym George Stark. After Stark's identity is exposed similarly to Bachman's, a series of brutal murders begins that target the people involved in Stark's “demise.” It quickly becomes apparent that Stark has somehow crossed over from the imaginary world and become real, and is none too happy about being killed off as a publicity stunt. One would have to imagine King excising some of his darker feelings about being outed as Bachman through this story. Considering the disturbing nature of Stark's murders, you'd have to assume that King was harboring some anger and resentment over the situation. His reasons for using the Bachman persona were to avoid over-saturating the market with his own name, and to see if he could succeed a second time in the literary world as an unknown. He was getting close, as Bachman's last book, Thinner, sold much better than the first four, and King was actually planning to publish Misery as Bachman. We're left to guess at what would've happened, but at least the whole episode gave rise to a pretty good Stephen King book. The Dark Half is an entirely creepy and suspenseful read, and marked the end of an era in King's career.

There were soooooooo many errors on the Kindle version which made this very hard to read! It was as if this was just "spell-checked" by a computer and there was no human check at all. It was like a huge decoding effort during the entire read. The worst was at the end when the character "Stark" became "Start". It was frustrating but other than that it was a great story. SK has a vivid imagination and it comes out in this book!!!!

While I still enjoyed this book quite a bit, it did not hold up on the re-read as well as I remembered it. The premise of an author's abandoned pseudonym coming back from the grave to claim it's own glory is still rather awesome and I find this to be an extremely entertaining story, but it's not nearly as riveting as I had in mind. Thad Beaumont and the rest of the cast of characters are fantastic as is par for the course for almost any King novel and I would read stories about his characters even if the storylines weren't as good as King's usually tend to be.

The Dark Half is a fast-paced book and keeps the reader going by the sheer force of the crazy events taking place in Thad Beaumont's life. In this case, I almost felt that things were happening a bit to fast and crazy at times and that I needed to slow it down a bit myself in order to better enjoy the novel as a whole. Maybe it's because I HAD read this one before, but at times the pace almost seemed to be a bit overwhelming and I just wanted some sort of an aside to calm things down for a little bit.

Overall, a very enjoyable novel (even on the re-read) and one that I'll pick up again one day down the road.

This book has one of my favorite introductions. I loved how Thad Beaumont suffered severe headaches as a child only to discover what doctor’s believed were tumors were actually parts of his twin brother that his developing fetus had absorbed early on during pregnancy. Years later, after carving out a successful career for himself as you would have guessed—a writer—his twin brother’s spirit (or something along those lines) manifests itself in his identical form. Basically, what happens is that Thad had been channeling his brother through his pseudonym, George Starks, and after the public found out that he and George were the same writer, Thad comes out and officially declares that George Starks is dead and even has a funeral for him. In some type of supernatural twist this gives life to George. He emerges from the grave and goes on a homicidal rampage.

I personally enjoyed this novel. I felt that King did a great job of developing his characters, there was good pacing, and, like I mentioned, I loved the opening to the novel. Feel free to check it out.

When promising young novelist Thaddeus Beaumont began to suffer from writer's block, he took the cue from one of his favorite writers and decided to try writing under a pen name, George Stark. Unlike Thad's earlier books, Stark's novels were darker and more violent, something the public seemed to crave since Stark's books were much more popular than Thad's had been. After a while, Thad himself seemed to grow darker, as if Stark's forceful personality was somehow overpowering the mild-mannered persona of Thad Beaumont. When a crazed fan uncovers the link between Beaumont and Stark, and blackmails the writer, Thad decides it's the perfect time to bury his dark half once and for all. It never occurred to Thad that George Stark might not want to go away.

When Thad received the blackmail threat from his obsessed fan, Frederick Claussen, he wasn't sure if he was afraid, outraged, or just plain relieved. It was the latter emotion that eventually won out, however. Thad had been having more and more difficulty suppressing his darker side lately, and was afraid that George Stark might one day overwhelm him completely.

People magazine quickly picked up the story, sending a small crew to the Beaumont's summer home near Castle Rock, Maine, for an interview and photo shoot. The centerpiece of the magazine article was a photo of Thad and his wife shaking hands over a phony gravestone bearing the epitaph, "George Stark - Not a very nice guy," at the local cemetery.

A few days later, Castle Rock's groundskeeper found something very strange at that cemetery. At first it looked like some of the local kids had been playing pranks again, digging holes at the cemetery. Upon closer inspection, however, it didn't really look like someone had dug a hole, but more like someone had pushed their way out of the ground, with a single set of footprints leading away from the site. Then the old timer realized that this was the spot where People magazine had staged their publicity photo; he was present at the event and remembered it well.

And then the murders begin. Frederick Claussen is the first to die, then Thad's agent, the photographer and interviewer from the cemetery, and a girl from the publisher's accounting department who, as it turns out, is the one who leaked information to Claussen. In other words, everyone who had anything to do with Stark's "death." It doesn't take Thad long to figure out what's going on, as crazy as it sounds, but how will he ever convince the police that he and his family are in danger?

Of course we all know now that Stephen King himself used to write books under the pen name Richard Bachman, to whom The Dark Half is dedicated. You can't help but wonder how much of Thad Beaumont's turmoil Stephen King experienced during this period of his career. Taking a slightly wider view, I think many of us have, at one time or another, felt the two halves of our personality vying for control. That's what makes Stephen King's work so universally appealing: he speaks to us in a language we can understand, about topics we have all experienced, albeit perhaps not to the extreme level that his characters have.

The climax of The Dark Half is one of Stephen King's best and most exciting in my opinion. King sometimes struggles with his endings, but he nailed this one, and I love the way he wrote it: It is told from two different perspectives, and King keeps bouncing back and forth between them, giving an almost stereoscopic view of the exciting finish.

Narrator Grover Gardner began is career in audiobooks in 1981 with the Talking Book program for the Library of Congress. Since then he has recorded more than 650 audiobooks, and has done work for all of the major audiobook publishers at one time or another. During his career, he has won 20 Audiophile Earphone Awards.

I only recently heard my first Grover Gardner audiobook, and he is really starting to grow on me. He reads very naturally, and doesn't begin to drone after a while like some narrators I have heard.

The Dark Half is an excellent audiobook from what I think of as Stephen King's classic period. I highly recommend it. By the way, if you wan to find out how Thad Beaumont's life turned out after this story, read Bag of Bones.

Stephen King has two types of novels. The first type are his long, epic stories that stretch on for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of pages, delving into the past, present and maybe even the future of his characters. The second kind, my favorite kind, are fast paced, heart racing stories. The Dark Half is one of those stories.

The Dark Half moves quickly, keeping a tight focus on a core set of characters, and the building threat as George Stark enacts his plan. The cast of characters is well developed, and King manages to keep the story interesting, and engaging without spending too much time wandering in the characters' histories.

This book is also gory. Far gorier than I was expecting. George Stark is one brutal creation, and hacks, slashes, shoots, scalps and beats his way through the novel, leaving an ever growing body count in his wake. In a way, George Stark is kind of like King's take on Freddy Krueger, but even more sadistic.

While this isn't King's best book, it is a very entertaining, strong piece of horror fiction that seems to get lost in the large library of King's work. I recommend it highly, especially before diving into Needful Things, as the events of this book are referenced constantly (and a major character plays a large role in both stories.)

Aside being no less than good ever, there are two other defining characteristics in Stephen King's writing:

1) Sooner or later, his stories feature the "great reveal" an element or occurence that is nothing less than attention grabbing AND

2) His periodic recourse to previously trod literary ground.

An example of the first characteristic is probably best described by Stephen King himself when he discussed what writing from other authors he liked. He pointed to the story Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury and said that he liked the scene in it depicting the mortality merry go round where run forward it would add years to someone's life and run backward it would take them away. In explanatory material to his story The Langoliers King said that he started the story from the simple vision of a women behind an airplane door looking out over the caption "no shooting stars here."

An example of the second characteristic in Stephen King's writing is where he'll recourse to previously trod literary ground like in Salem's Lot where he gave one of his takes on the Vampire Story. Another example is his 2006 book The Cell where he gave his take on the Zombie Story.

To my eye this book displays both characteristics of Stephen King's writing. The first is the agency by which Stephen King's protagonist gives birth to his Evil Other. To me, the scene where this occurs ranks right up there in terms of being memorable with even the images one gets from Ray Bradbury in Something Wicked and even Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun. (Out of deference to new readers of this book I'm being detailed here so that when they read this book they can experience the full measure of Stephen King's reveal for themselves.)

The other characteristic here is Stephen King's retooling of the Dr. Jekyll story. It's to King's great credit that even when he's retrodding familiar literary ground he still manages to make his ideas seem fresh and powerful.

All these things being said this book is still not among Stephen King's very best. But the good thing about Stephen King is that even at his less than very best he's still better than pretty much anyone else.

This is one of those books where, after you finish reading it, you wish you could forget everything and then read it all over again.

I hate those people who will pick up a book by Stephen King and then say, "But it wasn't scary! It's supposed to be SCARY!" Their brains are unsurprisingly underdeveloped. Lots of his stories aren't scary, but that doesn't mean they aren't still good stories. Some of the not-scary ones are even--dare I say it--GREAT. Here's a spoiler for you if you haven't read The Dark Half yet: it isn't scary. Creepy, yes, but not scary.

This is more of a suspense story. You will definitely be wondering what's going to happen next and how in the world is it going to end. Sometimes it's nice to just pick up a classic.

THE DARK HALF by Stephen King.

I didn't feel that I "really liked it" which is my definition for 4 stars, because at times things felt a little slow. But it was very good with good ideas.

A scary guy is killing people. The victims have links to Thad who is an author. There are paranormal elements to the bad guy, but it doesn't feel supernatural. He is cunning, strong, and can frequently sense what others are thinking. It's hard to beat a bad guy who can sense your thoughts.

This is not the "exciting chase scene" type of book. I liked that clues were slowly uncovered during the story. The best parts were the creative ideas: how the bad guy came into being, his motives, his actions, and how he was beaten in the end. I liked watching what he did. His actions were smart and well done.

This story introduces Sheriff Alan Pangborn who is the official closest to figuring things out. He is also the hero in the sequel "Needful Things."

Most of the story is told in 3rd person, various characters. But once I was disconcerted when a scene was told in 1st person Thad. It may have been done more than once, I don't remember. Other scenes were 3rd person Thad. I'd prefer the author stay consistent with 3rd person throughout.

In the author's note, he says he took the name Alexis Machine from the book "Dead City" by Shane Stevens. It's a neat name. I'm glad he gave credit to the source. It reminded me of someone suing J.K. Rowling for using the name Harry Potter. Makes me wonder if there are copyright issues with character names. Common character names and the same book titles are used all the time. Just wondering.

The narrator Grover Gardener was excellent.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person most of the time, 1st person at least once. Unabridged audiobook reading time: 15 hrs and 20 mins. Swearing language: strong, but rarely used, includes the female slur cu**. Sexual content: none. Setting: mostly 1988 Maine plus New York and Washington D.C. Book copyright: 1989. Genre: paranormal crime suspense. Ending: good for the good guys.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Stephen King books, see my 5 star review of Carrie posted 5-11-12.

This review may not be the most objective, seeing as how it's a re-read for me, but I still enjoyed it. Here we have another Stephen King book about a writer, most of which include some of my favorites characters (write what you know). There is another parallel; the "death "of a pseudonym, similar to the revelation that Richard Bachmann and Stephen King are the same person.

Stephen King gives us his amazing voice here. I think one should always read his books aloud. He always uses great vernacular, funny stuff, and I prefer to call him a storyteller, instead of an author. He also taps into the edging out of that rational voice in our heads whenever we face something inexplicable. I think that's why people can get sucked into his stories; they start off so "normal" . Characters don't become immediately converted to belief in whatever monster or horror is in front of them. They take as long to come around as any of us would. There's also some good meta-references here--like when the s*** hits the fan, Thad Beaumont talks about how he's not reacting how the people do in the kind of books he reads and writes. Kind of a dig from Stephen King to writers who don't care about realism in their books, especially in regards to the unbelievable stuff.

Just when I thought I was desensitized to violence, out comes a scene, like the one with Donaldson, and delivers all the visceral thrills you'd expect from King. In additional to the traditional thrills and expected gore, this is also a book about keeping secrets from the ones you love to spare them, a writer's struggle with books he wants to write and the books his public wants him to write. Also, [SPOILER] it made me want to rent Cheech and Chong's THE CORSICAN BROTHERS

I felt the spell was broken, for some reason, when the story switched to Stark's voice. There were some mistakes in the digital transfer. "h" becoming "b", "t" becoming "f", "e" becoming "c", "l" becoming "t" and "cl" becoming "d". Also, some words or phrases in either bold or italics, and where they began were not transferred correctly. Other than that, a good Stephen King read with a clever concept and conclusion.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of talking about how incredible this man is. How terrifying and shocking and thought provoking I find his books. How they light this intensity in me while I’m reading, and capture me so completely I don’t even realize the passing of time.

The book is about a man who’s pen name comes to life. Weird? Yes. Who thinks of that? Better question; who turns that into one of the most brilliantly horrifying things I’ve ever read? Only King.

One of my favorite things about the novel is how everything is unfolded. You’re told things at the beginning, forget about them, and then 300 pages later realize how important that small mention was. There’s such control in that, such clarity from the very first pages. It gives each word weight and depth and meaning even when you don’t know it at first.

This is, however, maybe almost too grotesque for me. It’s really graphic violence; the kind of violence that in a movie you would turn your head away from, but you’d still be able to hear it. That’s what reading this book is like, except you can’t turn away. You read each line and your stomach churns but you have to keep going because the story is so riveting.

My other favorite part about this book was the supernatural elements it drew upon. They’re unexpected, but completely feasible somehow. It’s not an overused or cliche kind of supernatural force, it’s unknown which makes it so much scarier. Seriously an amazing book.

The Dark Half is a great book, is really interesting, fast paced and in depth. As long as the book is, it winds up being a very quick read becasue you get so into the book that you just refuse to put it down.

The book follows an author (Thad) of a popular horror series. Thad is looking to put an end to the series by killing of his man antagonist "Alexis Machine". Thad is a novelist who writes two series, 1 series is a not so popular love based series, the other is written under his pen name "George Stark" and is the ultra violent Machine Series. It is shown that his wife noticed a distinct difference in Thads personality when he was writing as Stark, as if he were a second personality, and she was relived when he ended the series. As the book progresses the town Sheriff finds a series of murders all of which have Thad's fingerprints all over them. As the book progresses it is revealed that George Stark has been brought to life (it is not explained how) and that Thad shares a psychic link with him to include feeling pain and sharing thoughs, as if he was Thad's twin. (i'm going no further than this because aside from the first page, this notion is revisited and I dont want to put a spoiler)

Through out the novel Thad is shown to have a connection with a specific type of bird (i dont remember what kind) but he ultimately has the ability to control them to some degree. The meaning of these birds is also revealed torwards the end of the book and directly ties into the plot. The end of the book is phenominal, not really much of a surprise ending but defianately and intense perfectly written ending!

Definately pick up this book and read it. It is a great read and you will not be disappointed.

This was a frustrating book to read. I have read and liked many King books, and liked others not so much, but have never disliked any of them. But, even when with the stories I liked less than the others, it was a matter of personal taste rather than a failing on the part of King as a writer. His characters have always felt like real people to me with real faults and virtues and reactions. Their lives could be my life or that of someone I know, and the relationships between characters was always believable and often pleasing to read. King's stories feel like they are character driven, with real people at their hearts. However, I did not have the same feelings about characters in the Dark Half. I felt like King TRIED to create characters in his usual fashion and have the reader relate to them as they usually do. But, I felt like this failed. I felt like the plot was driving the characters, often forcing them to make decisions (decisions that HAD to happen to further the plot) even though such decisions and actions were in my opinion out of characters for them. King TRIED to make these decisions seem rational and reasonable but the lengths he had to go to and the acrobatics he had to go through in internal dialogue or dialogue to do so were often convoluted and unrealistic. I liked the plot and the premise behind it. I liked it so well that I was able to get past the irritating failures of characterization and paragraphs of unrealistic rationalization, but it has left a shadow on a otherwise good book.

And, lastly, the Kindle addition has many irritating typoes that seem to have come from faulty text scanning. As an example: about 90% of the word "close" appeared as "dose", "corner" as "comer" and last but not least "God the Almighty" was "Cod the Almighty". I paid paperback price for this Kindle edition. It frustrates me to no end that publishers can have such blatant disregard for their customers that they would present such a slopy, lazy edition for sale. If I'm going to pay the price of a paperback for an electronic edition, I expect at the publisher to AT LEAST have someone proof read the darn thing. I'm not saying I expect perfectiong. Most books have at least a few mistakes, but the Kindle edition of The Dark Half sometimes has multiple examples on a single page. I have paid 99 cents for self published books with better proofreading (though admittedly most have been terribly) so I know it can be done. Publishers have people whose JOB IT IS to proofread, so do us all a favor had do it! Show your customers and readers a little respect and put forth this minimum amount of effort.

I doubt it's possible to read The Dark Half 25 years later and not do so knowing the background between Stephen King and Richard Bachman, but I'm also not sure that knowing so diminishes the read. The pace is truly relentless in the first half of the book, but it will please fans of King's ghoulish scenes of the macabre just as much as the latter half will entertain readers who latch on to the elements of hope and moments of fantasy that are present in his best works. I think it shows a lot of talent by King that Alan Pangborn, pre-Needful Things, is not as warm and accessible to the reader as we'll find him later in life - here he is still a consummate lawman but seemingly unversed in the truly strange that goes hand-in-hand with the truly horrible in the town of Castle Rock. Full of suspense, it will not disappoint.

I really enjoyed this book. The premise caught my attention right off the bat and I had high expectations when I started it. Thankfully I was not let down. Thad Beaumont decided to change up his writing and take on the pen name George Stark. After some success he feels it is time to let the name fall and put to rest George Stark. As soon as the article comes out announcing the Death of the fake author, strange murders begin to happen. The evidence is puzzling, and it seems that Thad, whether he knows it or not, is the key to solving these bizarre and strange murders.

For the most part the story was very engaging and held my attention. There were only a few areas that I found myself getting lost as my attention wandered and it really didn't advance the story. Still the story was thrilling and creepy. Yet another good one by Mr. King. I will say, it was not the usual creepy I am used to with him. Instead of sending me checking the doors and windows, I was left with this cold feeling. Almost the same feeling as one would describe as "felt like someone walked over my grave". I really enjoyed it and the ending was very intense. A very good read and I am so glad I finally got around to reading it.

I've read this novel twice, once in about 1998 and again a couple weeks ago. This novel is clearly in dedication to Richard Bachman, and shows that pseudonyms don't die easily. I thought the opening part of this novel was excellent with the brain operation young Thad Beaumont had when he was twelve years old, weeks after writing his first short story that awoke his "twin". During a brain operation, in which doctors felt a tumor was the source of severe headaches and his occasional bout of hearing sparrows in his head, the doctor saw that there was not a tumor at all; but a "twin" who never got completely absorbed when Thad was born. The shocked doctor found a couple finger nails, an eye, part of a nose ... all in his brain!

Despite the operation, this "twin" was never killed. It comes back when Thad attempts to kill his pseudonym by burying him after he had written yet another best seller. Thad is forced to do so because of a potential blackmailer, who found out that George Stark IS Thad Beaumont. Fact is, George Stark was a great writer and wrote what readers wanted to see, where Thad Beaumont could not come close to the success when he published his first two novels under his own name, neither of which were very popular.

Another twist was when, 30 years later, Thad and his wife Liz, observe their twins when one of them falls and bruises her leg. The other twin has the exact same bruise in the exact same spot despite not falling. So you know by now that George Stark really exists and cannot be buried or killed.

Then a series of murders shows up and all of the finger prints show that Thad is the culprit. Alan Pangborn, who you may recognize from King's other novels such as Needful Things, investigates and simply does not believe that Thad is telling the truth and becomes very suspicious that the killer really is Thad.

I won't reveal much else because it really is a high drama, fast paced story that keeps you glued all the way through. It is a combination of a crime thriller with plenty of horror. My disappointment, like with other King novels, was the ending. It seemed rushed. You be the judge when you read it, but overall it is a good novel and belongs in the top twenty of King's best. Yet, it will never compare to The Stand, IT, Salem's Lot, The Shining, among others.

THE DARK HALF

Written by Stephen King

**** Out of 5

The plot is fairly simple, but effective; Thad Beaumont is a writer who is married with two children, which happen to be twins. Thad is a writer had some minor success, but he created a pseudonym George Stark and wrote a couple of highly successful crime novels. But when someone finds out Thad and Stark are one in the same he attempts to blackmail Thad, but Thad along with his wife Liz come out to People's Magazine and thus have a fake funeral for the late George Stark. But some how George Stark comes to life and begins to kill people in connection with Thad and his alter ego George Stark

The Dark Half may not go down as Stephen King's best novel, but I do think it's one of his most entertaining novels. The Dark Half is quite an easy read and it's one of those books you can read chapter after chapter not realizing how much you've read. Like I said this isn't King's best book, but it might be his easiest read.

I'd probably rate Stephen King as my favorite author (if not him Vince Flynn). But the only problem I have with King is sometimes he overwrites and his books and they are longer than they need to be. While any book I have read by King that I felt was a little too long it never made me like the book any less so I suppose no harm, no foul. The Dark Half was about 467 pages and that was perfect the length. The Dark Half moves at a rather quick pace and I thought it might burn out, but it never does. Though personally I thought the last 150 pages or so were a bit of a letdown and the ending was too vague. While there is some closure there were still some unanswered questions, but the story is wrapped up in Needful Things and Bag of Bones since events from The Dark Half are brought up. But I would have liked more closure. But despite these problems I had this was still an amazing novel by King.

What makes King's books work so well are the characters he creates and that are what makes his books so great. If you are writing a book or making a movie the characters are always the most important. You cannot write a great book or make a great movie with forgettable characters; you can create something entertaining, but not great. And for me most movies or books that I find the scariest are the ones where I liked the characters. It may not be due to it actually being scary, but when you find yourself attached to the characters that is what makes it scary or suspenseful since you don't wanna see anything bad happen to them.

The Dark Half has some really great characters even if they aren't the best developed characters Stephen King has created. Thad Beaumont is the best developed of the bunch and is highly likeable and sympathetic, his wife Liz may not be King's strongest character, but she also is highly likeable and Sheriff Allan Pangborn is a solid character and like Thad is the only other character developed. Even if these three main characters don't have as much depth as other characters from King's books they are however among King's most interesting and likeable and that is what elevates The Dark Half big time.

Like I said The Dark Half may not be Stephen King's best novel, but it is one of the most entertaining one. The pacing is excellent and you'll find yourself reading chapter after chapter. There really are very little moments I would say were slow; The Dark Half is almost always interesting. Like I said however I felt the last 150 pages or so fell a little flat and I wasn't too fond of the vague ending. But don't let any of that turn you away from this. The Dark Half is yet another winner from Stephen King!

The Dark Half was made into a movie in 1993 with Timothy Hutton as Thad Beaumont and it was written and directed by George A. Romero.

I hadn't read a Stephen King novel in many years, but I grabbed this one on a lark several weeks ago and I'm glad that I did. "The Dark Half" is a disturbing psychological thriller set in the late-1980s. The characters and setting are standard King fare. The protagonist (an author) leads a bucolic life (in Maine) but is haunted by a demon (who won't go away) until he's exorcised (in the exciting climax). It definitely works well. Despite the formulaic approach, there's plenty of originality to keep the story interesting.

"The Dark Half" isn't one of King's more successful books. It's no "It", and it doesn't shine like "The Shining". The action slows down in the middle of the story, becoming borderline boring. And a key character, Alan Pangborn, comes across as wooden and fake. But for the most part it's a good read. The cookie-cutter elements and the slow-paced middle chapters are fairly minor blemishes. The final chapters offer more than enough suspense to offset any shortcomings in this otherwise very enjoyable novel.

With The Dark Half I begin to delve into the work of Stephen King. This novel attempts to answer the question "where do you get your ideas from?", only King answers the question in a rather twisted way. Thad Beaumont is your mild mannered author and college professor. He has written one literary novel to great critical acclaim but poor sales and another literary novel to nothing more than poor sales. As George Stark, however, he has written three crime thrillers to great commercial success. The money, as they say, poured in. Up until the opening of The Dark Half, Thad had kept secret that he was the man behind George Stark, building a wall between that fictional author and his own life and work. Rather than allow another man to expose Thad as Stark, Thad allows People Magazine to do a feature on Thad as George Stark and the death, if you will, of George Stark.

Outside of an opening interlude into Thad's childhood, which is very relevant, the true beginning of The Dark Half is Thad and the fictional death of fictional George Stark in People Magazine. Then people start dying. Brutally. Creatively. The suspect: Thad Beaumont. His fingerprints are on the scene and except for the first murder, there is motive. The killings are connected to the outing and subsequent elimination of George Stark. The police initially think that Thad is responsible, but Thad wonders if it isn't George Stark, Thad's literary alter ego come to life.

Despite having to answer how a pen name for an author can come to life and kill, The Dark Half is a reasonably straightforward Stephen King novel. The focus for the first half or so of the book is mostly on Thad and his family and the police interactions with them, with the murders happening off the page. We see some set ups for the killings, but the deeds are done out of sight. As the novel progresses George Stark takes a stronger role in the story. The Dark Half contains several grotesque descriptions and things have the potential to get incredibly nasty in a hurry, but in terms of overall gore and disgust, The Dark Half is a fairly tame novel. It is written in a matter of fact manner which gives the feeling of King telling the reader the story rather than crafting it with sentences and ink on paper. It has that easy reading feel and moves along at a reasonably brisk clip.

The Dark Half is unlikely to hold up as one of Stephen King's strongest or "best" novels, but it was an entertaining read, reasonably well crafted with some dramatic tension. What could have been a real...oh, I'll just say it...nail biter, is tamer than I had anticipated. The Dark Half may not be the best starting point for new readers of Stephen King, but one also does not have to be a King aficionado to enjoy it. Stephen King is a talented storyteller and even in what must be one of his lesser efforts, King is still capable of taking the reader along for a ride. Some rides are just more exciting than others. The Dark Half is a solid piece of work, but not an exceptional piece of fiction.

-Joe Sherry

So I'll admit that I didn't read this of my own volition. My husband is a big Stephen King fan, so after years of begging me to read one of his books, I finally conceded. The Dark Half is the book he handed me. I think he only wanted me to read it because he shares the same somewhat rare name of the main character.

Anyway, Stephen King can write. There's no denying that. However, he is overly and excessively verbose. At times his descriptions bordered on word vomit. I appreciate the particulars of stories and what not, but S. King took it to the nth degree and managed to be detailed within the details. Maybe that's the whole point of the book since the main character is really two characters and is therefore thinking crazy thoughts as he teeters on the edge of sanity. But, it bugged me. At 431 pages of small print text, this book is no quick read. Had he removed even a 1/4 of the details, it would have made the book a bit more enjoyable since it consumed several hours of my life. Describing a minor character and his/her thoughts and the reasoning for his/her thoughts was just too much for me (ex. some childhood accident caused a character to react a certain way which led to King describing the entire childhood memory down to the color of the character's shoes). I'm also a prig and don't like to read an inordinate amount of cussing in a book. My virginal eyes can only handle the f-bomb so many times within 3 pages of text. In certain chapters, King dropped it every other paragraph.

Additionally, I didn't get creeped out at all which was a little disappointing. Maybe if every other page wasn't running off into some random tangent, I would have been a little nervous. As it were, I didn't care what happened to any of the characters except for the baby twins, William and Wendy. I liked them. They never spoke and didn't have any memories to drone on about.

I'm sure I'll read another Stephen King book in the future--if for no other reason than my husband has a bunch queued up for me. Next time I'll try to avoid the ones he wrote when he was high as a kite from cocaine. Maybe those are shorter.

This book far surpassed the movie. Stephen King's writing can be intense, but listening to it in my car to and from work was just the proper amount of time and break. The Sparrows and the end were a magnificent touch. I have read of such cases where a twin embryo is absorbed by the other twin. The Stephen King touch of developing this into a living entity here but not here is phenomenal. The knowing of each other's twin keeps the reader in suspense. The mystery begins with a physical resurrection of a character that isn't truly alive in the sense of a carbon based unit. The character forms into a physical representation of a character of Thad Beaumont's books, but really is the evil twin of Thad Beaumont. The mysterious stranger appears and begins a killing spree that is connected in every respect from fingerprints, blood type, DNA, and voice prints to Thad Beaumont. When the killing ceases, the entity focuses on Thad Beaumont and threatens his wife and twin children Wendy and William. George Starke, the character wants Thad Beaumont's life and appears to be getting it. Only the limited control of the psychic connection of the sparrows could save Thad's life and world. The ending is fantastic and you can never look at a sparrow in the same way again.

This is a great book.It puts you to think and it makes you ask yourself the question,could this be real?It is simply about a writer having a pen name which he writes under,but shortly after announcing the "death"of his pen name Killing starts to happen.The story is great there is a lot to it like for example when the writer(Tad Beaumont)was small he had surgery and this surgery proved that he had a twin brother!This fact however has a little or alot to do with the story,it depends on how you look at it or read it as the case may be...But the important thing to this is get started with this book because it is really good.The beginning might be a little slow but it is worth the read.I read this book over a year ago and it is still in mine mind,it is so tempting to write a review about it and share its greatness with other readers,sadly I cant remember all the details about the book,but I do know it is good and I would definitely recommend it for new and old readers alike...Enjoy.

Here is another piece of information,taken from my research:"The Dark Half is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1989. Publisher's Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second best-selling book of 1989.

Stephen King wrote several books under a pseudonym, Richard Bachman, during the seventies and eighties. Most of the Bachman novels were darker and more cynical in nature, featuring a far more psychological sense of horror than visceral. When King was discovered to be Bachman, he wrote The Dark Half in response to his outing.

King decided to use the idea of a writer having an alter ego to write novels. Thad Beaumont lives in the tiny Maine town of Ludlow (the setting of Pet Sematary and about an hour away from the fictional town of Castle Rock, often used in King's novels). His alter ego is George Stark, who writes gritty crime novels about a violent killer named Alexis Machine, which are very popular and successful. When it's learned that Thad Beaumont, who writes cerebral literary fiction, is really Stark, he and his wife Elizabeth decide to stage a daylight funeral for Stark. His epitaph at the local cemetery says it all: NOT A VERY NICE GUY.

However, that is not the end of Stark and over the weeks to come he resurrects himself from his mock-grave and kills, gruesomely, everyone he perceives responsible for his "death". Thad, meanwhile, is plagued by surreal nightmares and is soon visited by Sheriff Alan Pangborn (a main character in the novel Needful Things), asking questions Thad can't, or doesn't want to, answer.

Thad experiences blackouts and comes to discover that he and Stark share a mental bond. He begins to find notes from Stark written in his own handwriting. The notes tell Thad what activity Stark has been engaging in. Observing his son and daughter, Thad notes that twins share a unique bond. They can feel each others pain and at times appear to read the others mind. Using this as a keystone to his own situation, he begins to discover the even deeper meaning behind himself and Stark.

Pangborn eventually learns that Thad had a twin. The unborn brother was absorbed into Thad in utero and later removed from his skull when the author was a child. He had suffered from severe headaches and it was originally thought to be a tumor causing them. This leads to questions about the true nature of Stark, whether he's a malevolent spirit or Thad manifesting a multiple personality.".....enjoy...Nigel.

The story behind The Dark Half is as interesting as the novel itself. Here's what I've gleaned from King's notes in "Nightmares & Dreamscapes," as well as from interviews he's done over the years:
In the early `80s, King was working on a crime novel that he intended to publish under his Richard Bachman pseudonym. The novel was going to be titled "My Pretty Pony," and it was about an independent hit man named Clive Banning. In the story, Banning was hired to gather together a group of fellow hit men for a big job. Their mission was to kill a large gathering of mob bosses, who would all be attending a wedding. Banning and his men perform the job, only for Banning's clients to pull a double-cross. First they kill off Banning's associates one by one, and then they come for Banning himself.
Apparently King completed six chapters of the novel, one of which was a flashback of Banning's to a time when he was a young boy, and his grandfather told him about the nature of time. This chapter was eventually published independently under the title "My Pretty Pony," appearing in both an expensive, limited-edition pressing, and "Nightmares & Dreamscapes."
Thinking the novel itself wasn't any good (which is a shame, because it sounds excellent), King lost interest in writing it. Apparently he toyed with the idea of re-writing it and publishing it as "Machine's Way," under the name "George Stark," which was - get this - RICHARD BACHMAN'S pseudonym. I guess King eventually came back to his senses, and dropped this idea as well; having a pseudonym for your pseudonym is a little psychotic. It was around this time that King was discovered to be Bachman, and he dropped the idea entirely for a few years.
Finally, King decided to combine all of these divergent stories into a straight-up horror novel that would also deal with authors and their pseudonyms. Making George Stark the crime-writing pseudonym of his main character, literary author Thad Beaumont, King used portions of the "My Pretty Pony" novel (including the gory wedding hit) as excerpts from Stark's novels. Ever since I first read The Dark Half when it was published, these excerpts have been my favorite part of the book. This just makes me wish all the more that King would've just finished, and published, "My Pretty Pony" in the early `80s. The man has a great crime novel in him, and this could've been it. It's unfortunate that he decided it wasn't up to par.
As for the Dark Half itself, it's actually one of King's better horror novels. The idea of an evil pseudonym who somehow comes to life and wreaks havoc was obviously vivid in King's mind, and it comes across so on page. King intended to have the book published as a collaboration between himself and Richard Bachman, which is such a goofy idea that it's actually pretty neat. King's publisher's rejected the idea, though, and all Bachman got was an acknowledgement on the dedication page.
In a confusing side-note, King stated in an interview in the early `90s that he was going to publish a novel called "Steel Machine," which is the novel Thad and Stark collaborate on in the end of The Dark Half (we get to read pieces of it in the book). Apparently King's publisher came up with the idea of King writing one of the George Stark books himself, and in this interview King claimed it would be "Steel Machine." However, in the Notes section of "Nightmares & Dreamscapes," King states that the George Stark book he was going to write after giving up on "My Pretty Pony" was "Machine's Way." But regardless, I think it's too late, the time's passed, and I doubt we'll ever see any of these novels, whether "Steel Machine" or a completed "My Pretty Pony," in print.

I've read several Stephen King books, but by no means all, but out of those several i have read, this one is definitely one of the absolute best (and all of them are very good) but this was simply blew me away. i can't reaally find the words to describe how good it is...(don't you find that? whenever you really love a book, you really just cannot think of the words to express that love.)
Thad Beaumont has written four novels under the name "George Stark" but now he wants a change. so he "kills" Stark, and begins to write under his own name. BUt is Stark really dead? Of course not! this is a Stephen King book! the pseudonym miraculously comes to life, and goes on a killing spree, determined to gain revenge on all those who had a hand in his "death". His ultimate goal, however, is to force Thad into writing another novel under the name George Stark, so as to bring him back to life...
It's a stunning book. You should probably read this book and "Misery" back to back, as the two kind of compliment each other. "misery" is a novel about the fan's obsession with writing and the writer, and "The Dark Half" is about the writers obsession with writing and ultaimtely, their own inner self.
This is not exactly a scary book, but it is definitely Kings most tense and thrilling. The plot is taut and exciting, and it's full of some really likeable characters.
George Stark is evil personified...the scenes in which he viciously slays the people who had a hand in his "death" are so gorily described, they may well have your stomach churning.
But of course, it wouldn't be a Stephen king novel without a little something supernatural, and King provides that in the form of the sparrows. I shan't elaborate any further on that point, apart from just to say if you thought ravens were supposed to be jarring, you aint seen nothing yet.
This book is excellent all the way thorugh. Some of Kings books tend to be a little slow to start (which is understandable, because every plot needs decent groundwork) but this one just leaps straight in after about 20 pages, and the relentless pace never lets up. i raced through this book. couldn't put it down.
The book is exciting, tense, well written, chilling, creepy, and Kings best work, i expect. I severely doubt that i will read anything better by Him, as this book has surpassed all my expectations...

Stephen King is much more than a schlockmeister. He uses his books to examine the human condition and see where we are lacking. For years, I avoided him because I was under the impression that he wrote the literary equivalent of the Friday the 13th series, albeit with a much higher page count. The first story I read was his prequel to the Dark Tower series that appeared the "Legends" anthology back in 1998. I bought that book for the other authors, of course, being a fan of epic fantasy. I thought, "Stephen King in a fantasy anthology?"
I read the story since it wouldn't cost me anything extra to do so, and loved it. Shortly thereafter, I made it my mission to read the entire series. When I'd done so, and couldn't stand to wait another five years for Part V, I decided I'd give some more of his stuff a shot, so I read the complete volume edition of "The Green Mile." After that, I was hooked.
"The Dark Half" is just the latest book of his I've read. It's not my favorite (that goes to the entire Dark Tower series) but it's not my least favorite, either (that would probably be Cujo, if only because I knew how everything came out, thanks to references in "Needful Things"--fair warning if you've read neither about the order there).
I guess what it boils down to is this: if you've read several of his other novels, and enjoyed them, you'll enjoy this one. I don't mean that it's a rehash, but that it has the elements of every good King story: interesting and imperfect characters, realistic relationships between those characters, lots of background on those characters and why they act the way they act, and a story that deals with the supernatural in a perfectly plausible way.
If, on the other hand, you've read his stuff and can't stand it, for whatever reason, you probably won't like this one, either.
If you've never read his stuff but you're the type that can suspend your disbelief long enough to ask "What if?", then I believe you'll enjoy it.

THE DARK HALF, which was published in 1994, and bought/read by me during the following year, is a fantastically twisted journey of a writer's alter-ego somehow coming to life and wreaking havoc. Actually, it's not so simple: is George Stark simply a character that Thad Beaumont made up, or was he really the blinking-eye twin that had been removed from Thad's brain, and subsequently buried, when he was 12?
THE DARK HALF is part of The Castle Rock series (CUJO was the first, NEEDFUL THINGS was the last); although it begins in the town of Ridgeway, New Jersey where Thad Beaumont grew up, most of it indeed does take place in the fictional Maine town made famous worldwide by Stephen King. After settling down, marrying and becoming a famous Horror/Mystery/Suspense author (hint, hint), Thad's world is suddenly turned upside down when he receives a very confrontational visit by Sheriff Alan Pangborn (who, in true Stephen King fashion, would pop up again in NEEDFUL THINGS), who matched up Thad's fingerprints exactly to those found at a completely grotesque murder scene. After vociferously defending himself, Thad begins to realize that this isn't just a simple case of mistaken identity. Something else is happening. He convinces a skeptical Sheriff Pangborn to bear with him as he begins to unravel the mystery, and the evil, that is THE DARK HALF. Thad's dark half is known as the murderous George Stark, a man with no soul (literally), who is unafraid of anything and will kill with reckless abandon.
THE DARK HALF is a completely fascinating read. Even at nearly 500 pages, it never becomes boring. However, those of you with weak stomachs should probably not read it, as it is undoubtedly the most graphically violent novel Stephen King has ever written---and that is saying a lot! For the rest of us, however, it is
MOST RECOMMENDED; AGES 18 & UP

This book is essential in Stephen King' world. It deals with fundamental problems. First it deals with the problem of writers who use pen-names. The pen-name becomes somewhat of a real character, a real person. Never use a pen-name, except if you have something to hide, because sooner or later you'll have to kill him, to bury him and he may come back for a vengeance on you for his annihilation. And that's what happens. Then King uses an important twist in his vision of man : man is always double in a way or another. Here he carried, when a child, his own twin in his brain and this twin had to be surgically taken out and destroyed. This is some kind of medical twist that has a certain amount of believibility. But when the killed his pen-name, and character of thrillers, he comes back for a kill. So he follows the author and kills in the most ruthless way all the people who are close to him. But he carries his finger prints and he signs all his crimes as being those of the author. This one has to evade the police surveillance he is under to manage to trap his double and to bring him to the house where he is going to kill him a second time. And there comes the magic. The life of the one means the death of the other and vice versa. So when the double starts writing, the writer starts dissolving. But nature, the nature of the indians and the nature of all mythologies, has a solution to such a situation : sparrows. And a myriad of sparrows come from hell to take the double back to hell where he belongs. This is a re-write of the famous scene by Hitchcock but with the mythical dimension it does not have in Hitchcock's films. The book is very powerful because of the enormous quantity of details and personal reflexions that were dropped in the film. The author gets a real depth in all that, and what a depth. Please read the book. It is a hundred times better than the film. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

During the seventies and eighties Stephen King wrote many books under another name called Richard Bachman and it was with this book, "The Dark Half", that King finally admitted his alter ego and amazingly he wrote that plot into this book.

Released in 1989 and later made into a theatrical film the story deals with a writer whose books don't sell well, but as soon as he uses a pseudonym and writes really gothic horror tales the sales of his novels skyrocket. It is then that he goes on a killing spree.

"The Dark Half" is creepy, involving, scary and a book you simply cannot put down and King gives it so many twists and turns you need to keep up with the book every chance you get.

One of my favorite Stephen King novels hands down.

The Dark Half by Stephen King is a tale about author Thad Beaumont and his ever-lovable and psychotic murdering twin, George Stark.

George Stark is actually Thad’s pen name, but when he decides to call the Stark novels quits, he goes public with his alter ego and holds a symbolic “funeral” for good old George. Unfortunately, George Stark comes to life, digs himself out of the grave, and goes on a rampage, slaughtering everyone responsible for making Thad kill off his alter-ego. Before long, Thad realizes that, ultimately, he is responsible for George Stark’s “death” and soon, Stark will be coming for him as well.

To make matters worse, George Stark is not only Thad’s twin, he’s also Thad’s genetic double, right down to his fingerprints. Once the murders begin, Thad becomes suspect numero uno when the cops find his prints all over the crime scenes. But does Thad have an alibi, and does Stark come for his head in the end? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out, of course.

I’d rate The Dark Half as an average book. I suppose it’s an interesting and unique idea for a story–pen name comes to life and all. And King does try to back it up with a medical explanation. However, once you get past that, this is nothing more than a story about a madman on a killing spree. The writing is solid but tends to drag, and I didn’t identify with Thad Beaumont. By the by, as a reflection of King’s real life drug and alcohol problems, Thad is an alcoholic, as are many of King’s protagonists.

The last novel I read was The Regulators, and this is much better. The plot was suspenseful and exhilarating; a return to the Stephen King novels I enjoy. Although none of King's stories are real, The Dark Half is considerably closer to reality than The Regulators, and I think that is what makes some of King's novels better than others. He takes a horrible, impossible idea, and gives it a reality. The closer it comes to actual reality, the less able I am to dismiss it completely, the better the novel. King always impresses me with his ability to describe characters and give them life. He does not use cookie-cutter characters to carry out his plot; each character has a different voice (excepting William and Wendy). Another thing I enjoyed about this novel was the lack of a child hero.

What is this novel about? Thad is an author who garners moderate acclaim, but is a terrific success when he writes violent novels from an alter ego. However, Thad pronounces this identity dead and will no longer write novels with it. What would happen if this alter identity rises from imaginary death into real life. Would it be angry with Thad for trying to kill it? Would he be angry with those who allowed Thad to kill it? I thought this novel was very well done and I enjoyed it immensely.

This book is pure vintage King, with lots of gore and chills thrown into a plot that raises questions about the human identity, among other things.

Thad Beaumont is a popular author who has recently laid to rest a darker pseudonym, George Stark. It soon becomes apparent that George Stark is not willing to be shunted aside so easily, and Thad finds himself in the middle of a sinister tale himself, beginning when a corpse enters the scene with Thad's bloody fingerprints all over it.

This book shares the autobiographical basis that always seems to come through whenever King takes us into the mind of a novelist. As in "Secret Garden, Secret Window" and "Bag of Bones," questions are raised about where the inspiration for a story truly originates, and we get a realistic view into the life of a writer.

Thad's splitting headaches, blackouts, and seemingly supernatural encounters with scores of birds lay the groundwork for some very original (and sick) plot turns.

This won't go down as one of King's best works, but it is a great example of the type of work that he's known for. It's not an epic, or a mountain peak, but is rather the solid foundation upon which his best works rest.

I recommend this for any fan of horror or King who's just looking for a good, solid read.

This book was the first book I ever read by Stephen King and that may have something to do with my liking it so much. It isn't really that scary but it is captivating. The bi-polarisms of writing are written in thought provoking, disturbing passages and if you are possesive of any intelect you will find this funny, yet disturbing (provided you have ever taken writing seriously). The dark humor of George Stark and his portrayal of Thad Beaumont's evil twin is nothing short of fun reading, and although you may be shocked by his actions you are never really surprised! "The sparrows are flying again" is one of those quotable passages from King (of course "Redrum" will probably keep the crown in that department) that sticks with you and becomes synonymous with the title of the book. I read this book after sneaking it off of my Dad's bookshelf when I was about 10. A rebellion for being grounded at the time (don't ask). I sat down and read it in about 4 hours. Maybe it was because it was something I wasn't supposed to do that I cherish this book and associate it so well with my pre-adolescence. Maybe it really is as good as I think it is. No matter, my opinion on this book stands as is. this is a great book, maybe more aptly described as fantasy suspense than horror fiction-but it is good. And one of my neighbors drives one of those Tornado cars, the kind that Goerge Stark drove. But this one is green. But maybe it was painted... Read this book at all costs if you call yourself a fan of Stephen King, or if you have ever been just a little frustrated by the writing process and those unseen forces that seem to be working against you.

Just as the title of this review points out, this is not so much a review of the book itself (which I would rate 4 stars) but of the Kindle edition of The Dark Half.

First off, I have to profess to being a life-long Stephen King fan. I may have missed a few short stories along the way, but I have read all of his novels, and the majority of his collected works. With the exception of a few phases in his writing, I have gladly followed him on his journey.

For at least 25 years, I have been the type of person that MUST own all the works of my favorite authors, and I must have them in hardcover when possible. I initially dismissed the idea of the Kindle, as I'd never really enjoyed reading for any period of time on a screen. I felt it was convenient to be able to read something in that fashion, but to read for pure enjoyment, I needed to feel the weight, to hold the book in my hands, and physically turn the pages. So I continued to build my library, much to the chagrin of my friends and family when it came time for me to move.

All of this changed, however, once I actually broke down and bought a Kindle. After taking the plunge and buying a few books, seeing the ease and immediate gratification of downloading and the ability to sync my library and last page read across multiple platforms (Kindle, tablets, Android phone, PC), I was hooked! Reading on the Kindle screen was not so bad at all, and after a while it became my preferred way to read fiction. I am probably the marketing department's dream come true, as I am now slowly re-purchasing books that I already own in hardcover. For the majority of my book collection, I no longer have the need for the physical book itself. My friends will sure be happy, if I ever move again!

All this brings me to downloading and reading The Dark Half. I bought this book and read it long ago, around the time it was initially released in hardcover. While it is not my favorite Stephen King book, I do enjoy it quite a bit. I have been on a bit of a Stephen King streak recently, the last 8 or 9 books read being King books, and after recently finishing up Tommyknockers, I had the itch to read The Dark Half. Buy Now with One Click, and away we go.

I am at the point now where I probably own 30+ Kindle books. Occasionally, I have seen a typo or two. I can see especially with some older books, how the character recognition process may inadvertently mis-key a letter here and there. When it happens, it is maybe once or perhaps twice in a specific book, but that is it.

That is not the case with the Kindle edition of The Dark Half.

Typos abound! Sometimes 3 or 4 or more on a single page. I have easily seen 30 or 40 or more so far in this read, and I am about 65% through the book. There are many repeats of the same type of typo, for example, the letters "cl" in most cases are showing as a "d" (so the word "close" appears as "dose"). There are many, many others, but the cl/d typo runs rampant and unchecked throughout the book. Someone really should manually go through and fix this, or allow purchasers to highlight and flag (and maybe even correct) typos. There should be some sort of automatic update service as well, so that as the book is corrected, it Whispernets right to your Kindle.

Overall, I can let one or two typos slide... it's not going to ruin a book for me. But my feeling is, if I am going to pay $7.99 to download a book, someone should make sure it is free of typos. It salts the wound even more when it is a book I have already purchased in hardcover, so here I am paying more money for what is pretty much a defective product.

In many ways, it's very hard to understand how Stephen King, a decent family man and a law-abiding citizen, can come up with stories that have, in addition to remarkable characterization and wonderful prose, unbelievably gruesome and violent scenes a common reader would never have imagined on his own. This novel is an endeavor King makes to shade some light on the cognitive processes inside his brain.
For that end he tells the story of Thad Beaumont, a bestseller author - only thanks to his pseudonym, George Stark. King illustrates a creepy tale about Beaumont's dark half / twin brother that comes to life and wears a devilish form when "his" other half decides to terminate his fictional existence. This is a brilliant means in demonstrating the duality of King's personality, which stands on even a higher ground as King himself has had a nom de plume - Richard Bachman - and evidently he writes from a first-rate experience.
If you want to know how some people can write about things that are completely detached from their world - try King's explanation.
=============================================================
By and large, this book is a fast read. There is a certain amount of depth to it, but much less than what his fans would expect; the best way to describe it is to call it "a psyichological action novel with a few horror twists". The major events are set in a scope of two to three days and as a result the rhythm is quick and leaves little room for thorough character development; I have almost zero information about the major events in Thad's childhood that shaped him as a man, not to speak about a better and fuller characterization of his wife, father and mother, not to mention the Sheriff that was an integral part of the story. In other novels, King has demonstrated his talent to orchestrate complicated creations that had it all - they have been a lot longer, but it was always worth the extra reading effort.
Strange enough, the mysterious character the pseudonym author in book created strikes me as a very interesting, but sadly it is the least developed character of them all. The good news, however, is that King has borrowed this character from the novel "Dead City" by Shane Stevens to pay tribute to this author, so anyone can read more about the notorious Alexis Machine...
============================================================
In the past I was told that this book is one of King's scariest. It could have been the case for me - had I read it a few years ago - but it is certainly not the case today. Maybe I got so used to King's style that he can't really get under my skin as he used to - I guess I grew up.
Yet, now that the horror he tries to create is not so horrifying anymore, I can pay a closer attention to his language; the man really knows how to describe things. King's admirable ability to put what he sees and feels into words is a wonderful way for the reader to learn and improve his own means of expression.
For that and for the above positive points I recommend this book as a pastime and a light read.

I loved this book. It was more gruesome, and more of a crime novel than others. Explaining how Stark comes out of Beaumont's subconscious is sketchy. King dialogue and developing internal tension in Beaumont make this a good read. Definitely has influences from Koontz. Machine Dreams is about how the most graphic of writers sell more books than quiet docile types. He may be the devil, the dichotomous underling lurking in the shadows to take, take, and rob and pillage others. The chase from Pangborn, the fiery personality of Liz, the references to his own Richard Bachman, and description of how one sells a book are all fodder for page turning power. Arsenault and the guy who gets beaten to death with his own arm are described beautifully. King knows his characters inside and out, and makes sure, the logical steps to solve their mental fugure are taken. Split consciousness, is a subject he explored in The Dead Zone, and The Shining. Why does King write horror? Does his own mind need this furious id to balance out dreams or nightmares? It seems to me that The Dark Half pinnacled two decades of a explosive writer and his own hellish publications. For the guy who read this at a track meet, I say, be careful, George Stark could be lurking around every bend.

The Dark Half(1989). Stephen King's Nineteenth Novel.
In many ways, 'The Dark Half' is King at his most personal, and his most revealing. As any of his "Constant Readers" know, he wrote under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman for many years. Richard Bachman, very much like Thad Beaumont's Dark Half, was in many ways, Stephen King's Dark Half, where the world was in a state of pessimism, and the endings were never happy. So, in many ways, Stephen King's alternate personality is the direct inspiration for this book, Richard Bachman being in direct relation to George Stark, a pessimistic alternate personality of Thad Beaumont. The Dark Half has gone on to become one of Stephen King's most admired novels of the 80's, right along novels such as IT, The Talisman, and Misery.It is one of his most memorable, telling the reader a grisly fact they will never forget: 1 Out of Every 10 Women have twins, but one of them sucks up the other In Utero. At its time of release, The Dark Half debuted at #1 on the New York Times List, and showed Stephen King's popularity was fully intact, and gave him his Ninth Bestseller. The Dark Half was also made into a movie, and it still stands as one of the best. Read on for my review of The Dark Half-
Plot-
Thad Beaumont, Husband of Liz Beaumont, and Father of Two Twins(Liz and Wendy), appears appears to be normal to the outside world, a humble Writing Professor and a Novelist(Popular with critics, but poorly selling), living his life alone with his family in Ludlow without a care in the world. But he has a secret, that few people know about, and that secret is that he is George Stark, Bestselling Author of Dark Grisly Thrillers, Thad Beaumont's Alternate Personality, or in this case, his Dark Half. Thad, after being blackmailed, decides once and for all to put George Stark to rest, because when Thad is Stark, he isn't himself, but a half-crazed writer. So amidst heavy press, Thad Beaumont tells the world that HE is George Stark, and that George Stark is dead. Thad Beaumont's quiet life is turned upside down when his part-time Handyman, Homer Gamache, was found beaten to death, with his fingerprints all over the Crime Scene. Thad doesn't know what to think, and soon his past will come back to haunt him. Early in his life, Thad Beaumont suffered headaches, and finally a convulsion(Brought on by the sound of sparrows), and doctors discovered and removed an eyeball and two fingernails from his brain, the leftovers of his would-be twin. Police are baffled at Thad's case, because he had alibis the night of the murder to attest he was at a party, and they learn more murders(Of people Thad knew) have taken place in New York, with fingerprints of Thad included, but Thad wasn't possibly there. So, along with the help of Sheriff Pangborn, Thad sets out to unmask his silent killer, and he begins to think that maybe it is the person he once killed: George Stark. As Stark inches nearer and nearer to Thad, he and his family's life will come down to his bravery, and if he can defeat his Dark Half.
Writing/Opinions-
The Dark Half, much like Stephen King's Gerald Game, centers around Stephen King's ability to tell a story, and focuses less on Writing Mechanics. Although there are subtle similes/metaphors here and there, unlike many of his novels, grisly and humorous descriptions are the main draw here, and his descriptions of Sparrows might make you think twice about going near them. He tells the story straight out, and unlike "The Tommyknockers" or "IT", King doesn't care about side-plots, he focuses his story on Thad and George Stark, and the reader is enthralled every page from the mysterious beginning to the macabre end, and it is impossible to put this book down. In many ways, this is a Thriller, but towards the end of the novel, Stephen King reverts to his Horror ends, and his Disturbing End might give Fainthearted readers a sleepless night. I must remark how The Dark Half, unlike many of his novels, has an ending that PERFECTLY complements the plot, and I found myself smiling at King's carefully plotted ending, reveling in Horror's King's cleverness.
Overall, I found The Dark Half to be an excellent read, enthralling and mysterious, and hard to put down. After reading the dissapointing "Bag of Bones", "The Dark Half" really showed that Stephen King, while he has his lows, always has his undeniable highs.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! FANS OF STEPHEN KING, THRILLERS, HORROR, AND MYSTERIES WILL HIGHLY ENJOY "THE DARK HALF", AND THIS IS A GOOD START FOR STEPHEN KING NEWBIES. 4 STAR AVERAGE?? I THINK NOT!
Also Recommended-
Misery-Stephen King
From The Corner of His Eye- Dean Koontz
Mr.X- Peter Straub
Thanks For Reading!

I thought this was one of the better ones that King wrote in the late 80's. It has a chilling premise, very great detail, a very realistic villain (no pun intended), and thrills and chills that will make you have a hard time going to sleep at night. It reminded me a lot of King's novella Secret Window, Secret Garden from his novella collection Four Past Midnight but both were equally entertaining. It's too late now but if I could I would have changed my rating for Four Past Midnight to 4 stars instead of 3 on my review. Why are you even looking here and reading this when you could be reading one of King's best books yet? Go read it! Buy it from a book store or online maybe even borrow a tattered copy from your friend but just read it! You will NOT be dissappointed!

I'm a big fan of Stephen King's books, but I would rank THE DARK HALF somewhere around the middle of his body of work. The novel is well written as a whole, but I felt the plot was somewhat predictable. This is one of the novels where the reader knows exactly what's going on, and is several steps ahead of the characters. As a result, I felt there wasn't a great deal of genuine suspense or surprise in this work.

Also, as another reviewer commented, the characters in THE DARK HALF don't have quite as much depth as characters in other King novels. I didn't feel like I really knew that much about Thad Beaumount or his wife. This is a shame, because King is normally quite good at creating three dimensional characters that seem like real human beings.

Overall though, THE DARK HALF is a good thriller and it's hard to deny the visceral power of King's writing. But if you're looking for a great King novel, however, my advice is to go with masterpieces like SALEMS LOT, THE SHINING, THE DEAD ZONE, THE STAND, MISERY, THE GREEN MILE or IT.

The Dark Half by Stephen King is an excellent book filled with horror and suspense. The story is about relatively unknown author Thad Beaumont, who rises to fame after he reveals that he is actually the famous author George Stark. After coming out as Stark, Thad decides to bury the pen name forever, but George has different plans. Thad’s old pen name suddenly comes to life and he is not happy about being killed off. He decides to seek revenge on those responsible for his demise. Stark goes on murdering his enemies, leaving behind only blood and Thad’s own fingerprints.
I found this book to be very exciting and interesting. I really enjoyed the way King created the plot for this book, about an author’s alter ego coming to life. I think it is a very interesting spin on the horror genre. I also think the plot of the story is very neat and extremely intricate. I really like the way that King creates a psychological link between Thad and Stark. It helps to create an interesting relationship with the two since they are technically the same person. Thad has dreams and somewhat out of body experiences where he is with Stark and can see what he sees. I like the way King uses these events to create an excellent use of foreshadowing. King does a lot of foreshadowing through the book and it really helps to deepen the plot and create dynamic characters. I very much enjoyed this book and would highly recommend this book to anyone who is into horror and suspense stories. I would also recommend this book to anyone who is looking to start reading books b a new author, Stephen King’s work is very good and The Dark Half is an excellent representation of his amazing writing ability.

The first book that I ever read by Stephen King was "Desperation", and from then on I couldn't stop reading his very entertaining novels. When I started reading "The Dark Half" I didn't have very high expectations, but I knew the 'master of horror' wouldn't let me down. He didn't, yet I have to admit it wasn't one of his better books. There were so many times the novel just seemed to drag on and bore me. The murders were very graphic, though, and the conclusion was well worth the strenuous wait.

Quick-paced crime thriller: That's the best description of this magnificent novel. Located of course in Maine, this time in Castle Rock. Both this book, and 'Needful Things' have several characters in common. Unlike another pair of novels, 'The Regulators' and 'Desperation', the characters in question preserve their personality and biographies throughout the novels. Although after finishing 'The Dark Half' you may have an impression that all is well that ends well, read its sibling novel to get to know that this isn't so at all. I have found the 'Half' colorful and enchanting. This novel bound me to itself, so that I felt compelled to finish reading at one shot. Chances are you will too. King often utilizes one writer's trick of emphasizing character's persistent thoughts in separated lines or special type. In 'Carrie' it was for instance "dirtypillows", in 'The Shining' it was "redrum", and here it's "the sparrows are flying again". These mantras remain rooted long after reading the book in question. The writing technique is very convincing, serving as a complement to sequential presentation of words spoken and thought. How many times a day you use one expression in your head's voice and quite another goes out of your mouth? Coming back to the main plot of the book, one can imagine how much pissed off King must have been when his Bachman pseudonym was revealed to the public. On the other hand, the book suggests that he had some bitter thoughts observing the divergence of the volume of sales of his Bachman books and the ones written under his proper name, respectively. Well, all is well that ends well at least in this respect. Years later, in 1995, he exhumed his Bachman pseudo to write a companion novel to 'Desperation'. It was very handy and King used it in a brilliant way, indeed. Hence, reading 'The Dark Half' in 2000, one can look at the bitter writer's experiences with some perspective. As for the book itself, I claim that few writers have King's talent to write books you can't put down, and at the same time be able to amaze the reader with both descriptions and dialogues. Let me use a cliché: we don't read King for blood or any other feature like this. We read him because virtually each book of his carries the stigma of good literature and uniqueness. We read his books because He wrote them, no matter what the book is about. Don't we? So what? Well, LONG LIVE THE KING!

I am not exactly a Mr. King's "number one fan" - though I have already read at least 10 of his books - but a "good stories's fan", and I firmly believe (no doubt) this is a best one.
The power of the book resides on its ability to keep the reader in-tone, no-chance to leave. Anyone who ever touched its pages is a living witness of the violent and so exciting experience that only a Stephen King's story like this can produce in open, healthy minds.
In general, the plot is a little heavy, but the "originalidad" of the whole story is a five star quality. Furthermore, (and this is only a very personal op) it is obvious that the novel itself is some kind of autobiographic stuff, with King revealing the dark side of himself to the anxious reader that wants to be able to discover throughout the book the tombstone of its own dark brother.
To Conclude, this is hardly the best book of King, but of course is a good one.
Highly recommended!

I only ended up reading this one because I have a habit of wondering almost-aimlessly in a small local library, where I tend to end up by the fantasy/horror -shelf because I used to look for Lovecraft's books there; now I have already read all I could find, and often end up taking something else from there. In any case, that I happened to read The Dark Half was certainly not an unfortunate coincidence. It is hardly epic, and certainly not scary (then again, I am never scared by books), and is admittedly a bit long (not meaning it has got too many pages, more like having more pages than it would be interesting enough to have), but then again it *is* reasonably interesting, and (at least nearly) every page has something in it that justifies its presence.
The Dark Half is like a combination of crime and supernatural tale, with the addition of strange medical facts that are, as far as I know and I think I know well enough, realistic enough except where they have a combination with the supernatural. If there was not for those silly birds it would work perfectly, and they do not ruin it either. It's not brilliant, but, well, good enough for four stars.

When Thad Beaumont was 11 years old, he underwent brain surgery to have a benign tumor removed (which turned out to be the unabsorbed tissue from his unborn twin), but now, more than two decades later, Thad's dark mind has created something even more monstrous: George Stark, the pen name Thad has used for the past several years but has just recently retired. Even though George Stark began as a fictitious disguise, he has gradually become very real, turning into a cold-blooded killer and leaving a trail of blood and guts in his wake as he tracks down Thad and his family in Castle Rock, Maine. And as the death rate goes up, so does the suspicion surrounding Thad as being the one who committed these murders (after all, both men have the same fingerprints, and George isn't even acknowledged as being real yet) and very little seems to separate Thad and his family from being George's next victims.
"The Dark Half" is a relatively fast-paced horror story. I was able to finish it within a week and a half, unlike some King books I've read that take me a good month or more to finish, i.e., "It" (and I'm still working on "The Stand"). The similarities between Thad's situation and King's own writing career (his disclosure of writing as Richard Bachman) makes "The Dark Half" a great deal more eerie. After reading this book, I'd recommend watching the 1993 movie starring Timothy Hutton. I saw it beforehand, but it didn't ruin the suspense for me. The book and movie are somewhat the same plotwise.

The Dark Half is an enticing novel written by the eye-opening Stephen King. His awe-inspiring writing keeps you on your toes throughout the entire book, and then he hits you with a creative conclusion to the story.

The main character of the novel is Thad Beaumont, an author. When he writes under his own name, his books are peaceful and thoughtful. His writing is as innocent as an adorable, petite baby. When he writes under the pen name of George Stark though, his books are violent and gory, but they make him more money. At one point, he decides to no longer write under the name of George Stark, because he and his wife both agree that while he is writing a book under George Stark's name, his attitude changes and he is not nearly as friendly. He oftentimes becomes violent and can be mean to people. After choosing only to write under his own name, George Stark comes to life and causes a boatload of destruction. Beaumont must do whatever he can to stop him.

This book is an amazing fiction novel with a well thought of plot. I enjoyed the entire book, not just the middle or end. The Dark Half is the best book I've read in recent years. The characters really come to life and I feel like the book actually means something to me. I recommend this novel to all people who don't mind violence and to anyone who enjoys never putting a book down.

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but for some reason this book frightened me more than any other of King's works. My heart was literally POUNDING my chest at several points, and I let out a loud gasp (despite being in public) at one section.

That said, the basic premise of the book really doesn't make sense, which is why I'm only giving it four stars. You do sit and ask yourself, "But WHY would this happen?" And the bit about finding the empty grave was a extremely cliche. You can do better than that, Mr. King.

However, I thought the fear of harm to one's children was exploited more skillfully in "The Dark Half" than in any of King's previous works, including "Pet Sematary" (a book I found so unrealistically melodramatic I couldn't get into it). Despite its flaws, I highly recommend "The Dark Half."

I read this novel when it was first released and was instantly caught up in pure terror. This book grabbed me by the throat and held on. I carried it everywhere. The violence and fury was relentless and without pity. I was scared to death all through the book. The Dark Half unnerved me and I was delighted to find it was the beginning of the end of Castle Rock. I just remember being constantly terrified and chilled to the bone. Stark will go down in my book as the true proverbial boogeyman because he caused me to stay in a tense mood the entire time.

This SK book seems to flow more smoothly than some of his others. There is not one point in the book that appears to go nowhere (as can be the case in his other books). While I enjoy all of King's fiction, many of his reads are quite a commitment at 700+ pages. The Dark Half is average length, but evil and exciting until the end. If you are unsure about trying King, I would suggest this book, or The Eyes of the Dragon, first. It has a great story line about a writer's evil alter ego (sound familiar?) and some of the supernatural that surrounds it. Without giving too much away, the writing is superb - great character detail, and if you're not up all night trying to read it, you're not doing something right.

Stephen King had an excellent premise here, and a great story he managed not to overwrite. So why only three stars? Something about the writing made the book fall very flat, and I can't identify exactly what it is; one of my friends--a big King fan--said she expierienced the same thing. Something about the way the words were assembled just has a warm-milk effect on you creating a degree of bordom and sleepiness. This is a shame, too, because the plot is excellent; the ending is certainly interesting and unexpected (a la Daphne de Maurier, and I don't mean anything to do with Rebecca; but like Rebecca it does have something to do with a Hitchcock movie--intrigued?) I would say that if you are a fan of King, this book is worth the reading though it may be a bit tedious. If you are a lover of great plots and are completely unaffected by how prose is written, then this may be a five-star book to you.
Enjoy.

Stephen King’s The Dark Half is a very mysterious read that seems like there is no clear ways to prove the main character (Thaddeus Beaumont) is innocent. Heinous murders happen and all the evidence points to him. During the murder scenes of the book King describes the murder and after math in vivid detail but still leaves just enough room for the reader to imagine the detail. Character development is started from page one and continues throughout the story. While I feel like parts of the book felt very real some explanations for supernatural events left me disappointed and expecting more. Along with that the ending seem to come very slowly with a lot of build up just to end flatly. While logical it left ne wanting more meat at the end than just the obvious one. Overall I enjoyed the read and I feel like it is a great book for those wanting to get into Stephen King.

If there was a 3.5 star rating I 'd like to apply it here. The Dark Half is a good, clean cut read, but it did not astonish me with the thought provoking cleverness of other King works. Dare I say it, this book was "fun"...
I actually got a kick out of the Stark / Machine character. His parts of this book read most quickly for me. The self contained parody of this point was humerous too - the hyper-violent Stark books were best sellers vs. Thad's own work, which failed to capture interest. What also humored me was the reality that this nasty thug of an antagonist just wants to write his own hyper-violent stories.- which sell!
I did like the generated suspense of Thad's completely UN-believable explanation and how he tries to clear it with the Sheriff. I found this element of the plot to be the most gripping and closest to achieving "suspense".
Sadly I thought the ending here was rather lame and predictable. There were also a lot of pages of mediocre action here, which felt like reading through particle board to get to the pine.
If The Stand is a Grand Slam home run a la SK, this one's a nice solo shot to center-field, though not necessarily a game winner.

Thad Beaumont, writer, uses a pen name, George Stark. He's horrified when, having discarded his nom de plume, he discovers that George has come to life, as the alter-ego of himself. Worse still, his alter ego is a murderer, signing his name to his atrocities and leaving Thad Beaumont to pick up the blame. Beaumont needs to trap his `twin' but, in order to do so, must first evade police observation. At last, they are alone together. Or are they? The sparrows are flying again.
The Dark Half is one of King's most powerful, but under-rated, books. As usual, the narrative is filled with authoritative detail and personal reflection. This is a scary book - a book with real depth. King, as usual, writes in criminal ease and keeps his reader hooked to the end. I highly recommend it as one of King's most thought-provoking novels.

...or you'll get really frightened. In fact, read it at a track meet (preferably as a scorer) during the dull bits (of the meet). Suck on some unshelled sunflower seeds, but spit them out, don't actually eat them. And turn away from the light... to the dark.
I did all those things, and they enhanced this book. Seriously, though, this is a good horror mystery book. It's only my 2nd by King (1st was "Four Past Midnight"), but I really liked it.
I liked the switching back-and-forth between Beaumont and Stark, the weird sparrows, and the bizarre conclusion. I also liked everything else about it. Like Alan Pangborn.
One of my greatest blessings/curses is that I'm a hyper-fast reader, and actually started and finished it during the meet.
King, you did a great job. Everyone-- read this!

Sometimes, Stephen King can be complicated. Desperation, for example, is quite possibly the best examination of Christian morality that you'll find in popular fiction (or anywhere, for that matter), and Misery manages to construct a fairly accurate, if obvious, allegory of the writer's relationship with his fans. The problem that these novels have, of course, is the fact that the message can, at times, interfere with the story, which (let's admit it, folks) is what a lot of people read Stephen King for.
We don't have that problem with this particular book. For once in his long career, Stephen King managed to maintain the authoritarian discipline over his more verbose reflexes to write a story that was JUST a story. He doesn't let himself get sidetracked with backstory, theorization, or philosophy--his first and only focus is to tell the story from beginning to end, and that is just what he does, in masterful fashion. For those of his readers, like myself, who enjoy these literary sidetracks, this can come as a bit of a disappointment (though not much of one), but for people who like to simply dig into their books and forget all that coffee shop, art undergraduate bull [...], this is right up their alley.
This presents a bit of a delimma to me, then, since I generally enjoy reflecting on the deeper message and understanding that King is trying to convey in these reviews. There is one here, sort of--while I don't quite agree with George Stade's view (I think that he might just be weaving some of this from some pretty thin thread), there are some statements to be read about the author's relationship with himself, if you're of the mind. The great thing about The Dark Half, however, is that you don't HAVE to go looking for these things.
In that sense, I really have to say that this is one of Stephen King's best books, at least in terms of the discipline and focus that he brought to the writing. You can see elements of Richard Bachman in this novel (the style is fairly reminiscent of Thinner, a much poorer effort) alongside King's usual voice and presentation, and the combination works out well in the end.
Don't get me wrong--there are knocks to be made against this book. Most of these are of the usual variety for King--the ending is weak, brand names seem to pop up with every odd sentence, etc. Fortunately, the good of this novel far outweighs the bad, in the end. All things considered, I'd say that this is a book that would be good for ANYBODY, dedicated King fan or not, to pick up to simply take an afternoon or two off or pass a long plane ride. While you may not remember it for the rest of your life, it should certainly keep you entertained, and maybe even give you something to think about in the process.

This is one of my favorite books by Stephen King but I think sometimes its gets overlooked. The Dark Half is about author Thad Beaumont who has made many fans and $$ with his books using a pen name, George Stark. When Thad decides he wants to "kill" Stark off and write on his own again, that's when the trouble begins. Stark doesn't want to die and in a sense comes to life and starts killing people who helped in his destruction and all this leads back to Thad. There's lot's of murder/gore and Stark is a frightening character that you'll have to read to find out more about. This book is really creepy and well written and it has Sheriff Pangborn, from Needful Things, is an earlier role which was fun to read. I really like this book and it still remains what of my favorites.

I was prepared to love this book forever, to keep it in my library alongside my other favorite Stephen King books (Misery, The Shining, The Long Walk, Apt Pupil). I was riveted by the twists and turns, the idea of the evil dead twin coming back to life had me on the edge of my seat. This book was going to be my new favorite!

But Stephen King was SERIOUS about the birds. The damn birds.

I'm okay with a little silliness in my books. I'm okay with the supernatural. As long as it's a good, compelling, human story, I'm good.

BUT THOSE DAMN BIRDS.

I saw it coming, and I thought, "Oh no, that's too ridiculous. Stephen King would never put anything that ridiculous in a book."

HE SURE DID.

He also made me enjoy Stark's character, and sympathize with him to the exclusion of everyone else. By the end, I couldn't stand any of the protagonists. Least of all Liz, who couldn't do anything but shriek about her babies. Why are women in Stephen King books always so BAD at processing what's going on around them?

I wish I could go back and tell myself, "Don't do it, don't get invested, write your own ending. Without sparrows."

Yes, this new cover wreaks. The old one was very interesting, and had a much better photo of a younger, more handsome Stephen King on the back. I am reading this currently and I love it. I reccomend this, but if you get it for your kids, 13 and older. There is a scene where a man (oh, but who?) is stripped naked and tied to his chair, his penis cut out and is shoved in his mouth, his tounge tacked on the wall, and something (oh, but what?) is tacked to his chest. Nasty. I cringed. I want to see the movie after I read this book. Do not read this if you are easily grossed out. The excerts from Machine's Way were disgusting. Speaking of which- This book is SO real, I thought this was a true story... until like page 40, which is quite a ways into this book. Very, very real. I caught myself biting my fingernails, I want Liz and the twins to be okay! This is my first King novel, I am not finished, and yet- I sit here in suspence. Get it from the library, I hate this new cover.

This is a great story of darkness and fear.

The true strength of this tale is that it continues to influence authors today, from the amazing A Gathering of Twine (The Spirals of Danu) to the sublime Echoes of the Fall

Thad Beaumont thought that he had created the perfect pen name... but it turns out that his alter ego will not be killed off so easily.

Gritty, and terrifying, this book whose legacy endures today. Fantastic.

A rare three-star effort from Stephen King, the problem with THE DARK HALF is the semi-serious tone of the author. It's like he's acknowledging the absurdity of the plot and that the whole thing is really a metaphor for the relationship of an author to his works (and characters). And these characters are unusually shallow for a King novel. Compare this to the believability of BAG OF BONES--now that's a novel where King seems to care deeply about his characters and he skillfully grounds the fantastical elements of the book in a rich sense of reality. All of that is missing here.

I'm not a King reader, but I do know of his former pseudonym Richard Bachman, and it's partly this knowledge that makes The Dark Half go down so deliciously. This book is, of course, the result of King's now exposed alter ego: In his non-fictional On Writing, King imagines Bachman to be a rather unpleasant man, with his own history and back story. A fiction suit, if you will.

The plot of TDH is similar. Thad Beaumont is a writer whose pseudonym, George Stark, takes on a life of his own after Beaumont decides to expose his actual identity. Stark then goes on a killing spree in an attempt to reach Thad and maintain his existence in 'the real world'. And, like Bachman, Stark is not a nice man.

This last element is the triumph of TDH. Stark is nasty, ruthless, clever, and great with kids. And wonderfully so. The things he does are intolerable, obviously, but he is written with a dark wit and even some sympathy that makes him more than a razor-wielding serial killer. We know what kind of car he drives, what his bumper sticker reads, what kind of pencils he likes to write with. We even get to spend some time inside his head. King also adds excerpts from the 'books' that Stark writes (or, the books that Thad pretending to be Stark writes, before he came alive and started killing people). He's not faceless, but as a murderer, he remains tantalizingly just out of our reach; and his search for creative autonomy from his creator is an intriguing sub-plot that many artists will be able to empathize with. His relationship with the meeker Thad is carried out excellently, though sometimes I found myself wishing King would stop being so subtle and just let Stark and Thad duke it out in their own private hell.

The supernatural elements are both beneficial and detrimental to the plot. If, as the cop character suggests, Stark was merely some psycho who was upset that Beaumont stopped writing Stark novels, this would have been a much less relevant read. The fact that Stark is, in fact, a product of Thad's overworked imagination and is even part of his personality, puts TDH in a good position to explore the nature of the subconscious, alter egos, and what happens when fantasy is taken too far.

However, there are some parts that slow the story down. There is simply too much justification and exposition given to Stark's existence. The enigma of the sparrows is fascinating while unsolved, but the book would have been cleaner without the mythos and psychic connections, and much of the build-up ends up leading to disappointing deus ex machina devices. King takes things too far and too messily, when I would have been content to just suspend my disbelief and take it as granted that Stark could pull himself out of Thad's internal netherworld.

Another thing that bugged me was the cop character, Alan. The POV switches around, letting us catch glimpses of the plot from the eyes of different characters. This got cumbersome after I had to continually wait for Alan to catch on to what I and everyone else already knew. The pacing started to drag near the end and, worst of all, Stark's POV is left unattended for the last third or so; this was not only inconsistent, but reduced the character to just slightly above the level of your everyday supernatural maniac. This is rectified just in time, but though the ending is great fun to read, it simply didn't fit in with whatever messages King had been leading up to with Stark and his not entirely unsympathetic goals. It seemed like a triumph of style over substance, if you catch my drift.

Despite the minor cop-outs, the POV meanderings, the clumsy supernatural explanations and the drag just before the climactic finale, The Dark Half is a juicy tale with some excellent characters. Fans of the explorations first undertaken in Misery might appreciate this supernatural dark half.

First off I must confess that I am a huge Stephen King fan. I honestly don't think that King has ever written a "bad" book. Some may be better than others, but even at his weakest King is better than 95% of the popular writers out there today. The Dark Half is King at his best. A truly sacry book that delivers a message at the same time. You don't have to be a Literature major to analyze the point King is trying to make here about the writing process, but that does not make it any less clever. I think that The Dark Half has gone under rated because it was released at a time when King's domination of The Bestseller Lists was starting to peak. Do yourself a favor don't miss out on this great book. You will not be disapointed.

Stephen King can take practically any set of words and make them into a terrifying story. "The sparrows are flying" takes on a whole new level when Thad Beaumont absently minded scrawls down the words. The scare is immediately on as we know that Thad is being hotly pursued by an evil twin that has somehow found footing in our world.

I love just about every fiction piece Stephen King has ever written (exception-the fantasy stuff). Dark Half is a fun, but still tension loaded psychological novel written to precision.

When I first started it, I expected this book to be really good. It had a good premise and a chilling prologue.
It did in fact have some good parts, but unfortunately there are also a lot of parts that drag. There are numerous occasions of the characters just sitting around saying that they don't know what is going on which is repetitive and boring to say the least.
And unfortunately the characters in the book also aren't quit up to par with Stephen Kings normal variety of great characters. I just didn't feel that I knew them as well as those in his other works. The main character and his wife are so similar that it is bothersome at times.
It all comes out to an average read. It is not near as good as Kings other works. In fact, being the big King fan that I am, this was probably my least favorite of his works so far...

A note to Mr. King: Just because a story idea can be written as a novel doesn't mean that it should be. This book has no business being a novel. There simply isn't enough material here for much more than a really good novella. Don't get me wrong. I have read and enjoyed many of King's works. But far too many of them, beginning with this one, are little more than inflated short stories. King is best writing good, short, nasty stories of people doing terrible things to each other, like The Shining, Pet Sematary, Christine, Carrie, Delores Claiborne, etc. His big novels (like Salem's Lot, IT, and the ridiculously overpraised The Stand) soon become predictable, and downright boring. The Dark Half has one or two cool moments, but it is the last King novel I will read, at least until he learns (or remembers) that there is more to writing than filling up paper.

Don't get me wrong, I thought this was a pretty good book, but it just didn't get as good as I had hoped. I thought the plot was original and I thought it moved at a swift pace, but there were flaws. The main Character, Thad, wasn't very likeable or even very developed. The villain, George Stark, was. He was my favorite character, and was one of those people who had a distinct personality. After reading this book, you'd know you were speaking to George Stark if he called you on the telephone. THE DARK HALF, by Stephen King isn't a scary novel, but its strength will force itself under your skin and intrude your most pleasant dreams. THE DARK HALF is wild and fun, but is disappointingly far- fetched; something only Stephen King could write. Read it today!

As a horror writer, I often mentally go places normal people just would not go. Those deep, dark places in the back of your mind where the monsters hide. But what if those deep, dark places were real? The Dark Half answers that question as only King can. I tend to favor King's more concise works, and this is one of my favorites. The tension builds slowly and methodically, like a jungle cat slowly stalking its unwary prey, until the climatic ending pounces on you out of nowhere. The reader is left with the terrifying question at the end, what if we aren't alone in our minds, and who else is there? This is required reading for Horror 101. A classic.

I was told by various people that The Dark Half was the best book that Stephen King had ever wrote, being a big fan of his work, I was eager to put this theory to the test, to see if it really matched up to classics like IT and The Shining. The concept of the book is very interesting, with the operation part, which I found enthralling. It begins a little slow paced but the action soon hots up, and with many of Kings works I feel that he beats about the bush too long and draws you away from the main plot with unecessary story lines which often act as confusing red herrings and annoy and confuse the reader, however this is not to detract from his considerable writing talent. The Dark Half did not waver from the plot though, it stayed very much along one line of thought and was very impressive all round, it was a good read, and although it took a while to get into it soon became that I couldn't put it down. However if you are expecting something on par with IT then think again, this book is fantastic but IT was just in another class completely. Good Reading

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=ZikvWB48LCQ
Please people with the money, if you buy a new book, include a used one in your shopping cart. That will help the store enormously in their storage, and it can help you too. At some places the price can’t lower to lesser a penny. Take a used book for a 0.01$ anywhere.
It has many usage including, “Cash4Books.net”
Recycle or Burn it for survival heat. Use two books as spacers to raise your monitor because it’s always better to view at eye leveled to the center of your screen. Even better, send it to donation, any library would take it, or the third world too.
Do not fear a book because it has no teeth!!
When you open your used book, wear gloves if you have to, then you’ll realize, “This book ain’t that back after all.”
Good read and peace!!
- Ricky

Have you ever read any books that had to do with murder?
The part of the story that stuck out the most was when homers pick-up truck is found when the bloody fingerprints of the perpetrator are all over it . Also when he suddenly thrust into a dream so bizarre that neither criminal sciece nor his own sharp mind can make sense of it.
One character that stood out the most was Homer because he is the Murder and know one knows. It was scary not knowing who he is going to kill next.
I recommend this book to everyone because its intrigueing."The Dark half" also pulls you in like your'e apart of the story.

i love this book. it's truly, truly creepy and it tackles the subject that is most uncomfortable...death and your inner demon. what if death somehow unleash this monster? what will you do if there's someone who is *so* like you that basically nothing can differentiate the both of you? it's really scary and i wasn't able to sleep at all the time i started to read this, which was years back. king is an excellent executor in both details and style that he manages to keep readers rooted until they finish the whole thing. the question is, how different are you from your own self albeit it being your dark half?

This one was by far the best he's ever written. I Could not put this one down. George Stark was a part of Thad's imagination that made me wander what exactly was going through the mind of Stephen King and if it was really this demented. I still get scared every time I see a flock of birds on the ground. Definately do not read this book at night and try not to be alone when you read it, it's not for the squeemish or ther young. However if you like being scared the way I do than make the time to read it. Keep the popcorn and soda within arms reach and don't put it down for even a minute!!!!!!!

This book was a good book but I found it some what difficult to read. I thought the book was written differently from other SK books. It seemed like SK had a quota of large words per each page which sometimes jumbled up sentences and took a while to get used to. After about the third chapter I adapted to the style of writing.
This book was more of a mystery/suspense/thriller book rather than horror. Some of the scenes were haunting but more suspenseful and thrilling. This book reminded me of Pet Semetary. If you like the traditional SK, horror and easy reading, I wouldn't highly suggest this book; but it is a good short read.
What I did like about this book was it had little cursing, sexual scenes, and those annoying long flashbacks. That is great, no flashbacks! None!
Overall this was a good book but I enjoy the more traditional horror SK books. If you are like me I highly suggest: IT, Salem's Lot, Misery, The Shining, or Christine.

I love this book because Stephen King penned one of my most favorite villains, George Stark, a bold, witty but mean son of a gun. Even in the midst of the most evil of his acts, the man can come off with a rather dark sense of humor, as is witnessed in a grotesque aftermath of the murder of a man who tried to extort the main character. There are so many good scenes in this book that I could just go on. To sum it all up: the plot is original, suspenseful. Stephen King is at the top of his form here. The action leads to a very satisfying conclusion in the end. I highly recommend it.

This yet another good Stephen King thriller, mixing crime fiction with supernatural elements as only he can. My only complain with the book is that the explanation for the real world existence of "The Dark Half" isn't explained very well, which is unfortunate, since it is a major plot point for the book.

This was written after King's pen-name (Richard Bachman) was revealed. You can see that this was King's way of dealing with the loss of his "other half."

This book isn't one of King's classic horror tales like Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand etc. but it doesn't dissapoint at all. The plot was very interesting and the last one hundred and fifty pages went by in a breeze. There isn't a lot of horror in this book, but there is some that will keep you sound and alert, even at 12:00 AM. King delivers again with another good book. Even though it isn't my favorite King novel, it was still a pleasure to read.

The book is a thriller with lots of gore. When Thaddeus Beumont was young, he had a "tumor" removed from his brain. He lived his life as an author under the pseudonym George Stark. George Stark's books were best sellers until Thad decided to reveal who he was and begin to write under his real name. In People magazine, he made a public "death" of Stark. After the article was printed, people with any affiliation with Thad, were brutally murdered. Thad believes the man is Stark. But George Stark was never a real person- or was he?

THE DARK HALF reviewed by CHRIS KENT
In Stephen King's The Dark Half the main conflict is between a writer named Thad Beaumont and his alter ego, which Beaumont has used as his pen name to get other books published. King has had personal experience in writing under a pen name. That name was Richard Bachman. King wrote five novels under this name including Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, and Thinner. Little was known about Bachman except were he came from and what other work he had done, which is also the case with Beaumont and his alter ego George Stark. When both King and Beaumont decided that they no longer needed the alter egos they killed them off. That is were the similarities end.
King uses a variety of complex characters throughout the novel. Of course one is Thad Beaumont who has to figure how he was going to be able to defeat Stark. Next there is Thad's wife Elizabeth (Liz) who has to try to stay calm and sane, while watching out for her twin children. Third, is Sheriff Pangborn who is trying to rationalize everything that is happening, and eventually he changes his thoughts and thinks about impossible. Finally there is George Stark. Stark is portrayed as the "bad guy," but he is fighting for his survival. As pointed out several times in the novel Stark asks Thad if he would do everything needed to insure survival. You can imagine what Thad's answer was.
A struggling author who needed to get himself out of writers block finds that he can escape his problems by writing under a different name, but when this alter ego becomes a physical being will Thad Beaumont be able to escape? It seems like a far-fetched idea for a novel, but King really came through. Giving more than enough insight to details of every character makes it possible to believe. One of the skills every great author must have. Some might think that a few of his details are a little to graphic, so if blood and gore is not your forte I would not recommend this novel. It is not just another horror novel though; it deals with very important moral issues. The main one being that you should never change who you are. Although it may seem better to try to be something your not, but eventually you will regret it. Thad's "battle" with Stark can also recognized as an internal fight. Possibly fighting his inner demons and by fighting them he will become a stronger, better person. Giving Beaumont a sense of achievement that was earned by who you really are and not who you can act like.
In the end Thad realizes what he will have to do to defeat Stark, but is not sure if he will be able to complete the task. He feels that he has no choice because there are more important things in his life like his wife and children. If no action is taken by Thad, Stark will surely kill them as he did Thad's agent and publisher. Beaumont is willing to put himself in position in which he can fail. This is the key point for Thad where he transitions from someone who is afraid to fail to someone who will always express his opinions and those who are confident in themselves, some may say cocky, come out on top more often than not.
I would highly recommend this book who likes other novels by King and if not familiar with his works I would still recommend it. You will become acquainted with one the best modern horror writers ever. The only dull moment is at the beginning when the story is being set up, but what book isn't? There is enough action to fulfill your every want and need while entertaining your brain because like a lot of kids now days you are watching television. more than reading. A very exciting ending completes the novel and makes me wish there was a sequel.

This one kept me on the edge of my seat. Please, forget the horrible movie that was later made from this work, like many of Kings work it was butchered on screen. The book itself is wonderful example of why millions find his work so entralling. I think Stark is without a doubt one of Kings best villians. (rumor had it he had contemplated writing a book under the stark name...pity it never surfaced I can only imagine the severity of the violence that it would have held.) Just remember...the sparrows are flying again.

A novel about the struggle between a man and his "dark half." Writer, Thad Beaumont, decides it's time he puts a rest to his pen name "George Stark." In a strange series of events, you find out that George Stark has come to life. The story alternates between George's view and Thad's view throughout their struggle to destroy each other.

This book, for me at least, was for the most part not too difficult a read. Stephen King has great diction. Some of the words he uses to describe things are extremely effective. These words give the book that extra edge in creating a suspenseful (and often times gruesome) situation. The novel is also one that you don't want to put down. In fact, in the prologue starts you with a little taste of what is to come in the rest of the book. In those first 10 pages you just know that you have to find out what it has to do with the story. You must be warned though, this book is not for those who are faint of heart or have a weak stomach, it's quite graphic. Another interesting thing King does is he splits up the book not only into chapters but also what could be considered two "acts." Before and after each act are parts from the stories that the characters in the book have written. This really gives you a good sense of the contrast between the characters and how each of their minds work. Also, once you get a little ways into the book you are now working with two points of view, that of Thad and that of George. This again gives you a great sense of what is going on. Once the two characters are both introduced into the book they are far apart. As the story progresses they gradually come together and their stories meet. Stephen King has an impeccable ability to keep you interested in what will happen next, even in the down time when nothing thrilling is happening.

This was a great novel by King. Many people may say it was great but one of their least favorite by King, I disagree. It is rather a shorter story than many of his more in-depth novels but it keeps your attention throughout the entire plot. You can basically get the idea of the story from this site so I am not going to get in detail about that. Yet, it does focus a lot on King's own life regarding his other pen name, Richard Bachman. Overall I though this was a great read and definitly had the suspense.

The infamous George Stark is dead. A plethora of famous novels are attributed to his creative genius and a group of unforgettable but violent characters are fastened to his writing hand. Just yesterday, a man named Thaddeus Beaumont, unknown for his financially failing work of fiction, The Sudden Dancers, uncovered himself as the real George Stark. The George Stark trilogy, a continuous tale of homicides describing the antics of a sadistic killer named Alexis Machine, is noticeably contrasting to Thad's other works. Thad believes George Stark is buried and dead, but a series of unsettling events straight after the riddance of his brutal brother pseudonym begin to worry him. Followed by the murder of a couple certain publicists involved with the destruction of George Stark, Thad is certain that his alter ego has been revived, and is out to get him.

A memorable novel by King, the author describes the inner battles a fiction writer has with his creative genius. The Dark Half realistically describes the hypothetical Madman inside a writer, who only emerges when he is writing. George Stark, the Madman of the novel, sickened by his lowly place in life rises for revenge against his ungrateful host, Thaddeus, who casted him away. The Dark Half is a beautifully written story of suspense and the evil that resides in every one of us.

Who is more deserving of Thaddeus' body, the man who wrote the works that grossed millions on the market, or Thad himself? Pick a side, and then pick up this overwhelmingly powerful thriller.

WARNING: Not for the weak of heart

"I'm back from the dead and you don't seem glad to see my at all, you ungrateful son of a bi$ch." During a time when folks began to question Stephen King's story telling ability, the "Master of Horror" pulls yet another ace from the deck. The Dark Half is a strong novel, similar to a short novella, "Secret Window, Secret Garden" from another SK book, Four Past Midnight. However, after reading the first couple hundred pages the close association with that story ends and The Dark Half begins. This novel is a nice breath of fresh air compared to other work that King released during this time period such as: The Tommyknockers, Needful Things, Dolores Claiborne, etc. Its unique style screams Bachman and displays Steve King's uncanny ability to write beyond the "typical monster under the bed" yarn, while capitalizing on his untapped ability to write a great crime novel. With a little mythology and telepathy thrown in to boot, The Dark Half delivers a prominent yarn, that will keep the reader engaged from start to finish. The only major problem I had with the book was the short, abrupt ending, which always seems to plague most of King's work (as his fans love to point out).

King entertains and enthralls in moments of The Dark Half, too. That Beaumont, the college professor type, and George Stark, a rough Mississippi boy... King is playing with dualities here, different facets of our selves, repressed parts of the psyche... If you like most of King you will probably enjoy this; if you are iffy on King, then maybe you should go to one of the classics like Dead Zone, Shining, Cujo, Firestarter, etc...

I was enthralled by the premise of this book...We all have "dark halves" we fear yet embrace. Don't be put off by the gory operation at the beginning of the book, read on. Tad Beaumont is a lyrical interesting character, the use of the birds, the colleague, the sheer evil of George Stark all combine to make a fast exciting read. The book is absolutely delightful and makes you think. Read "Insomnia" to find out what became of dear Mr. Beaumont.

A truly remarkable piece of workmanship. A Master in his domain. A horror tale that all writers, no matter what you write, should read. The breaking loose of an alter ego of a popular writer is the beginning of a string of gruesome murders. The only person who can stop it is the very man who spawned the psychotic abomination. Beautiful! It kept me sleepless for nights, and I loved every minute of it! It holds a special scare for us other writers.

The Dark Half is the first Stephen King novel I bought. For some reason the little paragraph summary on the inside flap of the book caught my attention, and the book undoubtedly carried it through.

The plot was very clever and well thought out. I was impressed to say the least. The concept in this book was a great one as well and it gave me a very good idea of Stephen King's style. It's not one of his strongest books, but its brilliant nonetheless. I was amazed by this book and it only made me want to go out and buy more King novels. The only thing lacking is the character development which really shows in King's later novels. This is one of his earliest works, so it lacks in areas where his latest don't. But its always fun to read an author's earlier books, even when they aren't as good as the new ones. It just gives you a nice perspective, Anyways, I highly recommend this book, its well worth your time and I hope you are as dumbfounded by it as I was.

Just finished this book and i must say that this is not one of the best books i've read by King but it has an interesting plot and in the end it's a good way to spend sometime.
The mark probably would have been a 3,5 but i chose to give its a 4 stars mark.
Now the next Stephen King's book i'm going to read is : 22/11/63'

I found this work to be a narcisistic glimpse of King's out of touch sense of self importance. The main character, a fiction writer, embodies super powers and creates that which wasn't there.

My criticism comes from a place of love as I respect many of Mr. King's other literary works. He just annoyed me with how important he thinks writers of fiction are.

I'm an aspiring writer myself and a big fan of King. this is one of my favorites because of the way it tries to explain the process of writing, the way you almost have to become a different person when you do it. It was grusome, but youe expect that from King. More importantly was the way it seems to reflect his own experience with having a pseudonym controversy. Very personal. And for that reason it's also very, very good.

If you are a true Stephen King fan (and I have been reading himfor many years), this book is one not to be missed! It flows soeffortlessly from beginning to end without a pause, that you will want to read until you have finished it. However, I would give the movie version a miss, as it loses something in the translation. But for avid reader's of this brilliant writer, this book is one to own, and read time and time again.

Most SK novels grab me in the beginning few paragraphs. This one didn't and I struggled to keep my attention to it the entire way through. The story was creepy (as most of King's work is) but overall not as engaging as many other King books I've read. I'd recomment readers new to Stephen King avoid this one early on or you might get a sour taste of this great author.

This book takes a fresh and interesting approach to the Jekyll and Hyde story, when a writer (Thad Beaumont, mispelled I'm sure}decides to divorce himself from his pseudonym aka George Stark and to hold a mock funeral for this writer of substantialy darker fiction than his own.
Unfortunatly, Thad has already indulged this darker side of his psyche on too frequent a level and suddenly the make believe grave of his make believe author is found open with footprints leaving the scene. Could this be some joke? Perhapse in this world but in the ,miraculous world of Stephen King..I think not!
A monsterous game of cat and mouse follows and the result is an exciting, grotesque, and genuinly creepy novel.
Hidden more subtly beneath the story of this book is once again a social statement about the way we deal with the different sides of our personalities and also the idea of the Celebrity and the life given to it by the public.

I have been reading Stephen King since I was 15 years old, I'm 34 now. In my opinion he is the best writer ever. This is a great book I stayed up until the middle of the night finishing it because I got so into it! Highly recommend

it wasn't very full-throttle so to speak. The first half of the book is amazing, it's intense, suspenseful, exhilirating, and mysterious, but the latter half loses all of that. There are two climaxes in this book, and the first one is the more thrilling. I think Mr. King could have cut a lot out of this book since the second climax was not as electrifying; everything had already been revealed, no mystery, nor suspense. The last action of the book was the equivalent to taking a quarter and rubbing off the film on a scratch-and-win lottery ticket.
Despite that, i do recommend the book. It's an age-old tale of Frankenstein, and shed's some light on what we create, and how other's indulge in that creation. A great companion to Misery

This book gives readers what they want. Not many other authors have that ability like Stephan King. This book is a chiller filled with lots of detailed parts. This story moves forward and never lets up on the suspense. A young boy named Thad born in 1960 had two things happen to him. The first had shaped his life; the other had almost ended it. To find out how read this horrorfying story by Stephen King.

As a fan of SK, I try to read whatever he puts out and am rarely disappointed. This is another of his many good, but not great books.
It moves quickly through the story of a writer who's psuedonym takes living form and begins menacing real people. Its well written and an enjoyable read. Some plot lines are left dangling, but all in all the ending is a good payoff and you'll be glad you read it.

What I really liked about this book was how the reader kept switching from Thad Beaumont's mind into George Stark's mind.
I was envisioning King writing the book when Beaumont was the center of the story, and Richard Bachman writing when Stark
was the center of the story. George Stark has to be one of the scariest creatures ever invented by Stephen King.

I thought even though this book wasn't as long as It or The Stand, it was still to me, a bit of too much wordy nonsense. If this were shortened and revised or changed to a novella, it would be much better. Overall, it is a famous worldwide masterpiece that I would reccomend to anyone who has an appetite of being scared.

Even though the beginning was kinda slow,it picks up pace towards the middle giving quite a few chills at places. The plot is unpredicable but loses suspense in the end. Actually,this is my first Stephen King book ....so I can't compare it with his other ones....I would love from you what SK book you think is the best!

One of the first SK books I read. Great Plot, very creative :), and easy to comprehend! This book may give you chills during a few chapters, and will have you trying to figure out what comes next! Overall great characters, storyline. If you've never read a King book, this would be a good one to start with!

If you are a king fan but don't have a lot of time to read I highly recomend The Dark Half. King characteristically goes back and forth between many main characters which can get confusing. The Dark Half is very refreshing in that the plot is simple and he only follows the thoughts of the hero and the villan who's lives parallel because they are one another. King shows his talent by keeping this one basic rather than covering it with intricate writing. A quick edge-of-your-seat read.

this is just one of those books that doesn't stick with you. i'll have to admit it was pretty entertaining, but i just can't remember much of the plot! oh, now i sound reliable! i wouldn't totally bash it, but there are definetely better things out there. [plus, all those weird king/bachman references are a little more than creepy! :) ]

A classic King novel. I enjoyed it, although it's not my favorite. It's fast-paced and creepy. About a novelist who is being harassed and pursued by a killer, one that seems to know him well. The ending was pretty satisfying and the characters were interesting and believable.

I love almost everything written by Stephen King. My very favorite Stephen King novel is IT. Without a doubt my favorite of his short novels is The Dark Half. It's a terrifying look at the reality that we all have a dark half and we need to be vigilant about keeping it burried.

THE DARK HALF-----4 ½ STARS

From the prologue to the epilogue, this book was one hell of a psychological thriller!!!!!
King completely had me fooled. I thought that I knew what was going to happen, but I didn't!!!! I am not going to give any spoilers away, but this book WAS NOT like Secret Window. The ending of this book was GREAT. I really enjoyed this one; I cannot understand how some people say that THE DARK HALF fell short. There are no boring moments, and you just want to turn the page to see what is going to happen next. GREAT read!!!! GO PICK IT UP NOW, and if you have read it already, RE-READ it!!!!

I have just started INSOMNIA, look for my review shortly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the store SUCKS!!! THEY WONT LET ME POST REVIEWS ANYMORE!!!!!!

This is the first time I've read a novel by King, and I must say I was impressed. I normally don't go in for Novels where the authors name is printed larger than the title; it reeks of commercialism, of trying to sell a book based on the authors name alone. But damn if King isn't one hell of good writer.I'm one of those "literate" types who is loathe to succumb to anything as popular as Stephen King. In doing so I think I've forgotten how fun it can be to read a book for pleasure. Sure, there are themes in the book like the duality of man, an artists relationship to his art, etc., probably semi-autobiographical at some points too, but as I read this book I actually found myself having a great deal of fun. It's damned creepy too.

I never found a dull moment. This is a great book, but not my favorite King novel. The only things that keep me from wanting giving this five complete stars is the continuous use of profane words and the somewhat over detailed gore, but I will give it a five out of five anyway. Other than that, it is a great book. The ending is one of the best I have ever read. Highly recomended to everyone.

I have read all Stephen King's books at least once and have enjoyed his writing style for many years. Whoever put this Kindle version together should be flogged! I can stand a couple of typo's once in a while but this is almost unreadable. If I wasn't enjoying the story so much, I would have given up after the first couple of chapters. Should get a refund for this one.

A short story made long with endless and cumbersome writing. There may be a good story here but King missed it. Years went by before I was talked into reading King again. That book was Insomnia. Haven't read King since. Shame since I used to read everything he wrote.

I've been a 'constant reader' since I was 12, and this is still one of my favorites.
Stephen King's characters are very complex, George Stark is greatly developed, he really shows what a dark half is about.
This is really a great book, completly unpredictable, and it isn't spoiled with a lousy ending, like so many good books do.
This is what I call a complete book. Two thumbs way, way up!

One of my favorite King books. A solid story about a character a writer has created coming back from the dead and holding the writer to ransom. Easy to read and in the style of the older 50's -70's private eye stories, but with a twist. I thought this book flowed well story wise and was fairly short when compared to some of his other works.

This was a SCARY book. if you read this book you will be checking the door and such for a while after you put it down. some people say that it starts of bad but i dissagree it starts of great and once your finched reading part two you are scared out of your skin! this book was a Compelling novel that roars toward on all 12 cylinders and dosent let up! so you better buy this book because i garuantee that you will not be disapointed!

A very good fast read. Stark is a great character. King always seems to make one character in his books stand out farther than anyone else. Stark was my farorite in this one. Read the book, but stay away from the movie.

I would honestly say, "The Dalf Half" is the best book I ever read." Right from the start it was full of great plot twist and turns, it keep me reading for about 450 pages and I'm an A.D.D. thirteen year old. The book itself is about an author who dumps his pen-name to dodge blackmail and framed and terrorized by someone/thing that he has know all his life.

When I started this book, it was pretty good, but it just dragged on too long. During the second half of the book, I already knew what was going to happen and it got so boring that I didn't even finish it.

I reitirate my statement above as I feel that the Dark Half is one of his gretest achievements. He makes the reader get completely involved in the story line and brings each of his characters to life with the utmost of skill. The suspense and fear gradually increases through the plot to a climaxtic BANG right at the end. More of the same please....

The title of the novel tells it all: The Dark Half. Although I don't fully understand the plot, I enjoyed it very much. I think this book was darker-sided than other Stephen King novels. I would've given this book rating five stars if it made better sense. Or maybe I need to read more books. But besides that, it's an excellent first King novel to read, to see how brilliant novels he can write.

Absolutly Intriguing. This book opens your mind to a new depth of terror. Steven King yet again shows HIS dark half with this truely outstanding book. This book keeps you thinking even after you are finished reading it. If you are not truly afaraid of the last chapter, then you are not human...

This was the first book I read by Stephen King and it's still my favourite. The story is great and belive me when I say I couldn't put it down. It is really an exciting book and there was no boring part for me. I am planing to read it again soon. I would highly reccomend it to all Stephen King's fans.

This was one of the worst books ever. This isn't scary or creepy. This is disgusting! For your information I hate all the books by Stephen King (except Pet Sematary) so it wasn't surprising that this one was from deep...

This was my favorite Stephen King book, and I've read most of them. With the inarticulate humor of Thad's twin, and the murders created by him, the book is AWESOME!!! It will be forever and always my favorite book. I would like to say hey to Mr J if he ever reads this, so hey!!

The book Reads fast but I was expecting more of a twist. I just was not fulfilled with the ending and was hoping that something crazy would happen. All in all a average read but don't go into it expecting something more that it is.

Its damn good. Stephen King has the best climax and plots. It really Rocks and the Reality is to much. It's a very good and unexpected ending with Stark-MR.KING-YOU ARE NOT THE BEST IN HORROR-YOU ARE HORROR

This was the first king book I've read, And at the time, the best book I've had the pleasure of reading, (until I read Green Mile by King), from the minute you find out whats in Thad's head(more way than one) your glued to it, I mean, this book was great.

ok i dont know why but when i read STEPHEN KING's HORROR books i end up hating them.............
ok i know right STEPHEN KING writes only horror BOOKS!! but as far as i am concerned i dont conside some of his best works Horror.....
Green Mile wasnt horror, Dolores Claiboren wasnt, Insomia wasnt.......
ok my point is I HATED this BOOK........
it wasnt even believable.........
it starts as very interesting, but as the pages fly by and the climax is near it just geta bit too messy.......
though the migrane and the birds thing was good....
it again was bad in a way.........
the horror and the supernatural gets a bit too much...
at least for me it did............
all in all dispite the fact that this was a easy read....i dint like it.......
its more like i hated it.......
i dint like the ending..........
but none the less its written by Stephen King..........
and it does have its moments............
1/10