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abudd2348's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
meesasoup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder
reading_ivy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Rape, Suicide, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder
leweylibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I learned from book club that one of the characters that was basically the MC during the second half is a reoccurring character in King novels, as were some of the other characters, which explains A LOT. One of my complaints while reading was that a character would say something with no context or explanation, and yeah that makes sense now lol. I did appreciate his dog at The Shining movie by one of the characters, I lol'd at that.
There was definitely some language and one character in particular that felt... offensive. Sure, the town is small and conservative, but that's not a blanket excuse that makes it all okay. Especially the one character, it feels like a lazy caricature of Native Americans. The murder that starts the book off is also explained in... gruesome detail and involves a child, so be wary of that.
The one thing I will say to King's credit is I have never disliked reading one of his novels. They are incredibly readable.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality
ok_kenz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
jackiea3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
tillyjay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Car accident
Minor: Mental illness, Vomit, and Stalking
anniehowe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, and Murder
jadams89's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Mental illness, Excrement, and Grief
egyoder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Separately, I would enjoy both of these books. I love a good thriller where there's a perfectly natural explanation for everything, and have enjoyed King's supernatural villains. However, when half the book is like "there were tons of witnesses to the crime! but he has a perfect alibi! how could this be??" and the second half is like "it was a monster that can take on people's faces," the mystery ends up falling flat (because this is the most obvious explanation next to secret evil twin) and the monster story isn't much good either because it comes out of nowhere.
I also found this book rather formulaic. The monster was just a bit too Pennywise. Jack's whole thing was just a bit too Trashcan Man. This book is set in 2018 but still reads like it's set in the 80s--but with references to iPads and Donald Trump, which feel jarring instead of realistic. AND they should market this as a follow-up to the Mr. Mercedes series... I had no idea, and felt a bit thrown off.
I still do like King's writing a lot, and I enjoyed most of this book, but found it more of a letdown than I'd hoped.
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Cannibalism
Minor: Body shaming and Cancer