#allthebookreviews: Desperation by Stephen King
Desperation
by Stephen King
Jessica and I's reread of The Regulators and Desperation is at a close! We both still hold our original opinions of her preferring The Regulators and me preferring Desperation, but we both agree that both are amazing books that don't get enough love.
Get our full thoughts on Desperation below!
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publish Date: February 20, 2018 (first published September 24, 1996)
Paperback
624 Pages
Standalone (mirror book to the Regulators)
Genre: Horror
Stephen King’s #1 national bestseller about a little mining town, Desperation, that many will enter on their way to somewhere else. But getting out is not easy as it would seem…
"I see holes like eyes. My mind is full of them."
For all intents and purposes, police officer Collie Entragian, chief law enforcement for the small mining town of Desperation, Nevada, appears to be completely insane. He's taken to stopping vehicles along the desolate Interstate 50 and abducting unwary travelers with various unusual ploys. There's something very wrong here in Desperation...and Officer Entragian is only at the surface of it. The secrets embedded in Desperation's landscape, and the horrifying evil that infects the town like some viral hot zone, are both awesome and terrifying. But one of Entragian's victims, young David Carver, seems to know—and it scares him nearly to death to realize this truth—that the forces being summoned to combat this frightful, maniacal aberration are of equal and opposite intensity...
My Review:
Ah Desperation! So good to reread you again. It has been around 20 years since I've read this book and while I still prefer this over The Regulators, I didn't <i>quite</i> enjoy it as much as I have in my first round. You certainly can't take away from King's ability to weave a tale, insert gore, religion, faith, horror and bloody ooziness into one solid crazy ass novel.
Some people have issues with the religious aspect of this book. I am not a religious person by any means but this never really bothers me when reading books, especially horror books as this can be seen quite a bit with the whole good vs. evil aspect that's a common theme. Some aren't as blatant about it as Desperation is, but it's still there. I still put it all in a fiction category and enjoy the read for what (I think) it's mean to be.
While I did enjoy The Regulators a bit more my second time around, Desperation still holds its place in my heart between the two. Why? Well, we get more background on each of the characters, a more defined and "mature" Tak and a more developed story over all. (Not gonna lie though, I did miss the "fun" aspect of the Motocops though).
I don't believe either of these books gets enough love.
★★★★
Jessica's Review:
DESPERATION versus THE REGULATORS, this is a debate you're one side or the other. Most people prefer DESPERATION, and after my second read, this one is still in second place for me. There is no doubt that King has created another incredible and wild story here and I think both of these books deserve more love than they get.
We are treated to the same characters as we are in THE REGULATORS, only some things are slightly different (adults are now kids, etc). Taking place in the utterly hopeless town of Desperation, all hell breaks loose for some unsuspecting travelers.
The readers are brought through a true good vs. evil story. I understand the incorporation of faith and the religious themes, but there were times it kind of took me out of the story. I will say though, it didn't as much this second time around as it did the first. With this being significantly longer than it's sister book, we do get more character development and I did enjoy this different version of Tak.
Overall, DESPERATION is another solid installment from Stephen King. Full of horror, gore, good and evil, the power of faith, all in a desolate setting. This one isn't as quick as THE REGULATORS, but one I still highly recommend picking up.
4/5 stars
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