Stephen King Book Reviews:

BLACK HOUSE

BAG OF BONES

BLOOD AND SMOKE

COLORADO KID

CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF

CARRIE

CUJO

CELL

CHRISTINE

DANSE MACABRE

DARK HALF

DEAD ZONE

DESPERATION

DIFFERENT SEASONS

DOLORES CLAIBORNE

DREAMCATCHER

DRAWING OF THE THREE

EYES OF THE DRAGON

EVERYTHINGS EVENTUAL

FIRESTARTER

FROM A BUICK 8

FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT

GERALDS GAME

INSOMNIA

HEARTS IN ATLANTIS

IT

MISERY

Stephen King Book Reviews:

NEEDFUL THINGS

NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES

ON WRITING

PET CEMETERY

RAGE

REGULATORS

RIDING THE BULLET

ROADWORK

ROSE MADDER

SALEM'S LOT

SKELETON CREW

SONG OF SUSANNAH

STORM OF THE CENTURY

THE DARK TOWER

THE GREEN MILE

THE GUNSLINGER

THE LONG WALK

THE PLANT

THE RUNNING MAN

THE SHINING

THE TALISMAN

THE TOMMYKNOCKERS

THE WASTE LANDS

THINNER

TOM GORDON

WIZARD AND GLASS

WOLVES OF THE CALLA

 There’s a belief among some writers and readers that it’s almost impossible to create both a chilling and compelling female villain within a story. Stephen King completely blows that theory to shreds with the appearance of one of his most demented villains, Annie Wilkes, in his novel, Misery. A three dimensional, disturbingly real character, Annie Wilkes gives Pennywise from It and Randall Flagg from The Stand a run for their money.

The story begins when Paul Sheldon, author of a successful bodice ripping series based on the character of Misery Chastain, crashes his car during a winter storm and renders himself unconscious. When he comes to, he finds himself seriously injured and at the mercy of one Annie Wilkes, who just so happens to be his number one fan.

Again, King isolates and nearly destroys his hero, leaving him only with the company of terror as he realizes that Annie has no intention of notifying the authorities and intends to keep him in her “care” for as long as it takes for her to delve into the darkest places of her psychosis. Annie grows more irate and uncontrollable when she reads Paul’s latest manuscript in the Misery series in which he kills off the character of Misery.

Demanding that Paul resurrect the character of Misery in order to save his own life, Paul begins writing to buy time for himself. Equipped only with an aging typewriter as his weapon, Paul slowly begins to realize that getting out of his current situation alive will be a more difficult task than any situation he’s put his characters through. Growing more irate and demented by the moment, Annie looms over Paul, physically abusing and torturing him until the very end in a climatic moment that is trademark King.

Misery is one of Stephen King’s most fully realized works to date. The characters are vivid and well drawn and make the action pop right off the page. King takes his two time tested themes – isolation and desperation – and makes them work alongside the characters to make Misery a suspenseful, thrilling addition to Stephen King’s bibliography.