Does this book get better?

[the_last_gunslinger]

I'm twenty pages in or so, and though I don't necessarily think it's a bad book, but it really isn't holding my attention. Part of the problem, I think, is that it doesn't really read much like a Stephen King book, and that might be because it was a joint venture.

I'm just wondering if the action picks up. So far, I'm only able to read about five pages at a time before turning to something else.

[Bryan James]

I can't remember the first time I read it...and it's been a long time since I last read it...but the seaside condo/shanty beginning with Mom was fairly bland. Once the kid hits the road, it's hard to put down.

BJS

[wally wonder]

i've read it four, five, maybe six times. loved each reading. it's an incredible tale. be sure to finish and pick up black house next, another great yarn. check out the sun dog when you get a chance. some connections there that are fun. and if we're good, we'll get a third. there's some weird sh!it that happens in talisman that you'll want to read. plus the whole idea of twinners. some great characters that you don't want to miss. keep at it and withhold your judgment until you're done. :y:

[michal]

Books can't really be "Bad", but they can be Not Right for you in a certain time frame or in a certain point in your life. I think you should try some more -I love this fairytale style story, but if you're still fighting it in another 20-30 pages, let it go and try again in a few months or years.

Good stories end up changing (at least to you) to fit what you need.

[the_last_gunslinger]

I can't remember the first time I read it...and it's been a long time since I last read it...but the seaside condo/shanty beginning with Mom was fairly bland. Once the kid hits the road, it's hard to put down.

BJS

I'm hoping so. I've been looking forward to reading it for a very long time. And it seems to have high praise from most of King's fans. It'd be a shame to have it turn out to be a dud.

I can see that it is getting incrementally better. That's a good sign.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Yes.

Long days and pleasant nights

[Felipe]

The Talisman is one of the best book of the Stephen King...

[Lily Sawyer]

Oh, boy, this book gets better.
Stick with it.
You won't regret it.

Right here and now.

[thymeoperator]

i really thought this book started out slowly too, myself. it took me about 100 pages to get into it. once i did, it flew by - i LOVED it. it's amazing.

[Spideyman]

Keep reading. Give the book a chance to set the tone, develope the charcters, pull you in and then .... away you go on a real adventure.

[Doc Wilson]

Oh boy, does it ever. Don't give up on it till you meet Wolf.

[BTRNYC]

I struggled through the first 200 pages or so.

Liked it, but not my favorite of SK's.

[thymeoperator]

actually, i realised halfway through that the beginning that i struggled with would probably be fascinating and go by in a breeze on a rereading, because it only was slow due to me not understanding what was going on yet.

[MyJadedEpiphany]

Oh yes...please don't put it down!! I'm begging you!! :biggrin2: Joint ventures can be a little disconcerting at first but it will definitely get better as you read. The Talisman is quite up there in my list of favorites....possibly my top three. I hope that you manage to discover how incredible it really is!

[thebarbster24]

It gets a lot better once jack is on the road. Stick with it and only if you don't like it once you encounter Wolf, then it might not be a book for you. For me, it's awesome.

[God]

I didnt care for it myself, I got most of the way through and still didnt finish it. So imo no it doesnt get better, but everyones opinion is different. I think the thing is, I just dont like Peter Straub. I read Koko and thought it was pretty good, but the I tried to read Floating Dragon, and didnt finish it either:dunno:

[lisalieth]

Seriously - this book and the Stand were the two that found me daydreaming at stoplights - I couldn't completely make the leap back to the real world until I had finished the books...

[glyde69]

The first two times I picked this up, I couldn't get past page 50. Finally, I pushed past it, and it turned into one of King's greatest books, hands down.

Read it a good three or four times since. Highly recommended.

[Angel182308]

I just got done reading it and I was impressed. It gets better as it goes along.

[91rewoT]

Absolutely! Hang in there, though it does have a bit of a slow start, you'll forget all about that once the journey begins! You may even find a favorite King character in this book, as I did. This is an awesome story!

[runningman]

It does start slow, but if you get past the slow part you might have a hard time putting it down. I did.

[ChristineB]

This can be a problem with many of SK's longer novels for some people. As a rule of thumb I hold judgment on any of his novels until I have made it through the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the book, he is such a master of character developement that you have to give him that time to do his thing or you may end up missing out on the best story you ever read by putting it down early.

[laxauburn]

I just started reading The Talisman for my first time tonight...it certainly does start out slow, but there's no way I'd considering putting it down. I can definitely tell it's going to be awesome.

[Scott C]

Wolf!!

[Bryan James]

"The Talisman" is an old-timey wooden rollercoaster on a grey day grimed up damn good by saltslick blown in from the beach mixed with the grease of ten thousand panicdropped corndogs and some windlost ballcaps.

It smells like life.

~BJS

[Teddy Duchamp]

The Talisman is one of my favourite books, possibly second only to the Stand for me.

But that being said I do remember finding it very tough going at the beginning. I'd say keep going till Jack hits the road, and if you dont like it after that maybe its not for you.

But I absolutely LOVED it - right here and now!

[morganelafee]

I'm glad to see that i.m not the only one who thinks that the beginning of this novel is boring. I usually read very fast, about a page a minute, but this one was tough to start( I started it in november '09 and got to page 75 only yesterday I even put it aside for months and i .ve read other books between, what i NEVER do, because i think that when you read a book, all your attention should be given to the story). The story is getting more and more interesting around page 55.Maybe that's why DT is my favorite books of all time, but that's not what we are talking about here!
Dont worry Mr. King, you're still on the top of my list anyway, it's not 60 boring pages or so that will make you scroll down from my top 3!

[GNTLGNT]

I know this is an older post, but I hope for an update...did you finish the book? I know it's a slow slog in the beginning, but once you catch the scent of "The Territories"-your reading life is changed forever(melodrama intended)...

[fljoe0]

Does it ever get better. I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one that had trouble starting this book. I just finished reading it last night. I'm not sure if there are others like me but I own a bunch of books I've never read. I will go to the bookstore and pick out a few books, read a couple of them go back to the bookstore pick out a few more and read a couple and so on and so on. Then I'll try and stop myself from buying anything for a while and catch up but I never get completely caught up. So anyway back to The Talisman. I have owned this book since the 80's (in hardcover, so I must have got it when it was just released) and had never read it. I started it several times and got through 50 or 60 pages and ended up going to something else. Lately, I've been coming to this site and noticed this book is a favorite of almost everyone so I started again last week determined to finish it. I spent 2 or 3 days to get to page 100 which happened Friday (I don't know if it's the typeface but this is one of those books that seems to take longer to read per page than others, this 640 pages is like a 1000 page book). Once I crossed the 100 page barrier the story really started heating up and there was no more stopping, I did 200 pages Sat, another 200 Sunday and polished it off yesterday. What a great ride it was. This is one of my very favorite SK books. I picked up Black House and am ready to start that one tonight. If they ever do TV for this, an HBO series structured like Carnivale would work great. This book would divide into (13) 1 hour episodes very well.

[RGKID144]

SO im brand new to the forums, but hello all. Im about halfway through with The Talisman page 350 about, and truthfully its my least favorite of King titles I've read so far. This is my 6th title I believe. However, for some odd reason I cannot explain, but I simply cannot put it down regardless. Im not impressed, the writing styles somewhat off from normal King(Perhaps its Straub?), the scenes dont stand out to me as other of King's novels Ive read(IT, Stand, Salem's Lot etc.), but I simply must finish and cannot put it down. Go figure?

[Teddy Duchamp]

SO im brand new to the forums, but hello all. Im about halfway through with The Talisman page 350 about, and truthfully its my least favorite of King titles I've read so far. This is my 6th title I believe. However, for some odd reason I cannot explain, but I simply cannot put it down regardless. Im not impressed, the writing styles somewhat off from normal King(Perhaps its Straub?), the scenes dont stand out to me as other of King's novels Ive read(IT, Stand, Salem's Lot etc.), but I simply must finish and cannot put it down. Go figure?

Earlier on I said it was my second favourite work by SK - but I do know what you mean about the writing style. At the beginning when Jack "flipped" into the territories I found the "olde English" way of writing that he had a bit "grating". And it grated a bit more because it was a mixture of modern and Olde English................something like that can be enough to throw me off and make me stop reading, but I stayed with it and didnt even remember it by the time I got to Oatley!

But you know what - its so subjective that no one should ever feel "guilty" for not liking something. Personally on here I think its fabulous that we can critique work while still remaining "fans" - Im sure Stephen would be the last person to want someone blindly saying they "loved everything about everything" he wrote. Keeps us all on our toes!:grinning:

[RGKID144]

SO, I just finished, and regrettably the book does not get any better. Im not trying to discourage future readers of this novel because every one seems to love this book, so dont take my word for it. Unfortunately, the book just did not cut it for me and my personal interpretation of it. I didnt fall in love with a single character including Wolf, but he was cool. IT seemed to me that there were so many plotholes and elemental disfigurements that just did not make sense, I had a very hard time imagining all of the creatures, and quite frankly didnt get enough of the grotesque aspect of the novel which is the only part I really enjoyed. LOVED the changing of Richard and and Speedy and such, but just wasnt enough. Sloat was not evil enough for me nor did they show any destruction on his part. (barely any- dont want to spoil). I apologize for the negative rant, but this is truly the first King novel I have not enjoyed. Every turn of the page I wanted to stop reading, but do not have it in me to stop reading a novel. Thats my piece. Others seem to love it, so read away! Im beginning Carrie tonight; I hear great things. Have a wonderful night all!

[Shell*STBD]

I just finished reading the Talisman (like 10 minutes ago), and must concur with the few that didn't enjoy it. I am blaming it on Peter Straub (never read him)! :P This is the first King book I have read in at least 15 years, but I really enjoyed Carrie and the Shining and many of his short stories. I can't wait to start another one that I will love (suggestions?) to get back on track.

I found Wolf annoying and the Blasted Lands seemed... under-developed or something. I don't want to say "juvenile", but... I don't know. Didn't grab me. I think I got a bit of a sci fi vibe, and I hate sci fi.

I know many people loved it - my mother included, she got me into King and it is her copy I read - but to each their own! I couldn't wait to get to the end (not in a good way), but I did finish at least. I didn't hate it!