Desperation by Stephen King (1996, Hardcover)

I picked this up almost as an afterthought at a discount store simply because the price was too good to pass up. I normally read a book first before purchasing (I have to set some limits on the buying otherwise the books would take over), but I lucked out with this gem.
Stephen King knows how to tell a great story. He gets to the heart of the reader by describing elements in a story than anyone can relate to. His magic is in the interpersonal relationships of everyone in each story, and an almost exhaustive attention to detail that is never boring but engaging. Trying to explain what this book is about would make it sound rather silly, (a group of people in a mining town are kidnapped by an alien being that "uses" their bodies to destroy the town and everyone in it). King knows people and writes about people. The story shows how this setting transforms the people involved, and how they work together to try to defeat this evil being. This is another great King read, long and rambling but utterly engaging and compulsive, and worthy of a spot in any King library.

What could befall a crotchety, middle-aged author if he were to decide to ride a motorcycle across the country to gather material for a collection of short stories? Stephen King fans should find this among his better writings. The antagonist is absolutely rotten... literally. Ancient evil in the desert, a motley group of hopeful survivors and a boy who receives divine messages are the thread King uses for this tapestry. It's one of his longer novels, and I wasn't sorry in the least. (There are some cross over characters in this one, mainly from The Regulators.)

A story about a small town called Desperation where evil and good wage a war that only King can tell so graphically.

It's a story of a small mining town and the discovery of an old pit where many chinese miners lost their lives due to the tak and can taks found in the ground during a dig. Tak and Can Tak being Gods of the underworld. As it possesses the strongest bodies it can find, it doesn't realise that there is a greater God then it.

Truly King at this best. Will have you reading it until well past your adult bedtime. And staying up even later with the chills.

I really like hard cover books. It was hard for me to find this where I live, no one carried it. I was glad to find it on Ebay for such a good price.
The previous owner kept good care of it. I read a lot of Stephen King and have enjoyed DESPERATION from begining to end. Any King fan would certainly have this in their collection I am sure.

The other half of a two parter, (the other half being "The Regulators"), this book is pretty good. Suspenseful, with a thought provoking story. The characters are well developed (one of Stephen King's strengths is creating "real" characters, in my opinion). Don't forget to read both books!