End of Watch by Stephen King - last part of the The Bill Hodges Trilogy

The story of a retired detective Bill Hodges came to an end. The story, which began in the novel Mr. Mercedes, continued in Finders Keepers, has its finale in the End of Watch. This is my review.

I have written several times about Stephen King, and every time I emphasized that I love his books (I read all, see my ranking of his novels), and I am constantly impressed by the hard work, diligence and creativity of the writer.

End of Watch isn't one of his best works, but keeps level - it is a well-written and well-told story of a detective mixed with elements of the paranormal. Specialty of Stephen King :-)

If you have enjoyed Mr. Mercedes (see review) and Finders Keepers (my review), it seems to me that I no longer have to convince you to read this book.You buy it, I'm sure :)

On the other hand, those who did not read about the adventures of a retired policeman, I encourage to read the first part. Of course each of them can be read as a stand-alone story, because Stephen King smoothly weaves the most important information about past events, so even if you do not know the fate of previous heroes of "End of Watch", you will learn everything necessary. But it has its minus - if you decide to then read the Mr. Mercedes or continuation - disappears element of surprise, because you will know exactly what happened.

Different points of view
End of Watch for me it's also a good example of how to in novels refer to the past and not to get bored readers who read the earlier books, and tell important information to readers, who do not read previous titles.

King uses an interesting method - an event that we know from the first part tells from the different perspective - we know what's going to happen, but we look at it from another angle, because the author also focuses on other characters.

End of Watch it's a good book, therefore, I recommend :-). And I am glad that the author is already working on another novel! It is to be titled Sleeping Beauties. Interestingly, Stephen King will co-writes it in collaboration with his son Owen. Planned premiere - somewhere in 2017.

Buy End of Watch on Amazon! >

Book review: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King

In 2010 came out very good collection of short stories by Stephen King called Full Dark No Stars. Since then, the writer published several novels and prepared a new volume of stories - The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

In The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (see description on Amazon) there are twenty short stories, each one has an introduction, where King tells us how he came up with the idea, and why he decided to write it down.

The author devotes a lot of space reflection on death, suffering, aging. And it's not surprisingly, you have to remember that King has almost 70 years old. The writer himself, however, points out that he looking mainly for a good story, so looking into these categories - unfortunately, some stories are weak or have a bad ending.

This does not change the fact that Stephen King once again proves that it is an extraordinary observer of daily life and has an incredible talent for concise, short dialogues that reflect the great character of the people and the relationships between them.

I love the work of King (see my rating of his books). Would I recommend The Bazaar of Bad Dreams? Only those who already know other collections of the author and want to learn what's new Stephen King wrote. To everyone else I can recommend the previous volume of short stories - Full Dark No Stars, which are very, very, good.

I think that The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is not a book for people who previously did not read other works by King, because I am convinced that this only discouraged you to read another books by Stephen King.

Writer admits he is primarily a novelist and loves long stories that allow readers to sink in the world. They are like a marriage, while the sort story is only like fleeting romance :-)

Which stories I liked the most and deserve attention in my opinion? I will mention seven: Premium Harmony, Ur, The Dune, Bad Little Kid, Blockade Billy, Obits and That Bus Is Another World.

Buy this book on Amazon.com  >

Finders Keepers by Stephen King - book review

Stephen King's latest novel is really great. One of my favorite writers once again proves that he can still create a compelling story that you want to read through as soon as possible.

Although this is a continuation of the novel Mr. Mercedes (see review), which is the first book where retired detective called Bill Hodges appears, you can read Finders Keepers even without knowing the previous history.

I emphasize this because latest Stephen King's novel is better and I would not want anyone to discourage from Finders Keepers just because they don't know Mr. Mercedes. This is an independent story, in which Bill Hodges appears only on the second plan.

Finders Keepers - description of the book
In the latest novel written by Stephen King the most important characters are: Morris Bellamy and Peter Saubers. The first one kills world-known writer - John Rothstein in 1978.

Bellamy did not kill for money or because Rothstein has stopped writing books, but because in his last book the famous character that this writer had created - the nonconformist Jimmy Gold - has sold himself for a career in advertising.

However, Bellamy wants to know how the story of Gold ended. That's why he breaks into Rothstein's house, forcing him to reveal where he keeps a safe full of manuscripts and money, and when he kills him.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is captured and locked away for another crime he committed.

Decades later, in 2010, a teenage named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that detective Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after serving a thirty-five years sentence.

Buy this book! (on Amazon :))
I recommend Finders Keepers by Stephen King, because it is well written, interesting thriller. I like that the story is stretched over several decades and told from several perspectives. More over, it is impossible to accurately guess how the story will end.

Stephen King talks about the obsession with literature, which can be so overwhelming that it becomes more important than reality and sometimes even can push somebody to madness. In this novel an author was murdered by a fan, who did not like the ending of his book!

I have already written in the post about Stephen King, that I am full of admiration for his hard work, passion and ideas. I love that he likes to write so much and wants to continue doing so, because it makes him happy.

I am glad that Stephen King does not retire. That's why I cannot wait for his next book :-)
See Finders Keepers on Amazon >

Interesting biography of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak

Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King is an unauthorized Stephen King's biography written by Lisa Rogak. If you want to know how Stephen began his career, reach for this book.

For forty years Stephen King published books that have sold in hundreds of millions of copies. I'm a big fan of his work and I've read all this novels, short stories and books (like Dance Macabre and On Writing). See my top ten best novels by Stephen King >

I also read the biography of the King of Horror written by Lisa Rogak. Even if you know facts from King's life from e.g. Wikipedia or this autobiography On Writing, you should read this book. Why? Because it is well-written, contains lots of anecdotes and comments of King's friends and family.

Rogak writes also how Stephen King fared with fame, fans and critics. Besides, there is a lot of information in it about the circumstances in which Stephen King created his stories, so you can look at his novels with a completely new perspective.

This is a official description of a book:
"One of the most prolific and popular authors in the world today, Stephen King has become part of pop culture history. His best-selling novels such as Carrie, It, Christine, and many others have captured the imaginations of millions of readers. But who is the man behind those tales of horror, grief, and the supernatural? Where do these ideas come from? And what drives him to keep writing at a breakneck pace after a thirty year career?

In this unauthorized biography, Lisa Rogak reveals the troubled background and lifelong fears that inspire one of the twentieth century's most influential authors. Despite his dark and disturbing work, Stephen King has become revered by critics and his countless fans as an all-American voice more akin to Mark Twain than H. P. Lovecraft. Haunted Heart chronicles his story, revealing the character of a man who has created some of the most memorable and frightening stories found in literature today." (from Amazon)

Stephen King still writes
This is a good book, but you have to remembered that Rogak has written it in 2008, when Stephen King published Just After Sunset - collection of short stories. Since then a lot has changed. On the market there are seven new novels by Stephen King. Latest novel - Revival - which is the seventh since 2008, has premiered on the 11th November this year. A new collection of short stories and several TV series based on his work also add up to his achievements.

It is clear that Stephen King, though sometimes he says that he plans to retire, still does not meet his threats, right? :-) Although he could live a comfortable life with what he has earned, still he creates and shares with readers the new great stories.

I read "Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King" with curiosity and I recommend it to anyone.

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King - book review

I love Stephen King's books. I'm always impressed by his hard work, imagination and skills to create an interesting story. Mr Mercedes, his latest novel, is another of them.

If you want to know why I'm such a big fan of the works of this author, see my ranking of best books written by Stephen King.

Is it worth to read Mr Mercedes? I'm convinced that the answer is: yes. This is the most straight-up mystery-thriller in King's bibliography and it's good.

In Mr Mercedes we have a classic battle between good and evil: on one hand, there is Brady, who plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over many innocent people, and escapes. One year after the police still doesn't have any suspects.

On the other hand, there's Kermit William Hodges, a retired cop, who is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges decides to catch the killer, before he strikes again. William has no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands of people.

This is only a brief description of the book Mr Mercedes (see full description), but from the beginning we know who is the killer, so no spoilers here :-). The bigger question is whether and how Hodges will connect all the information and find Brady?

The action takes place over almost 500 pages, but we are not dealing with painstaking police work, but more of a psychological war between the murderer and the detective. The book is very well written, has interesting plot, characters and dialogues. 

That's why I think that Mr Mercedes is successful King's debut in a detective genre, but if you want to know best works of Stephen King, I encourage you to read titles from my ranking of King's novels.

If you are going on vacation, a long journey or just want to read a good crime book, go ahead and reach for the Mr Mercedes. It will most certainly catch your attention.

Joyland by Stephen King - review

Finally! There is a new book written by the king of horror. Stephen King - to the delight of his fans – still writes great novels. His latest one - Joyland - is a must read for everyone who likes crime and mystery!

Some time ago I wrote about 10 best books by Stephen King. I think that if someone did not read his earlier novels, he should start with any of the previous titles.

However, if you already read some of the books written by King you should reach for the Joyland immediately, because in tis one the writer confirms that he is a great author with extraordinary imagination and workshop skills. He perfectly creates the characters, a mood and a story.

What is Joyland about? 
"Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever" (see full description on Amazon).

Interestingly, the book is available only as a paperback. Why this decision?

"I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book." - said Stephen King.

What is my opinion about Joyland? The book is great, I highly recommended it. So if you have a birthday soon and the family asks you what you would like to get for a present - Joyland is a good answer :). Everyone else should buy a novel for themselfs, for example on Amazon :)

Stephen King - top 10 best books

I waited a long time to write about one of my favorite writers, because I love most of Stephen King's works and it's very difficult to pick his best works from over fifty books which he wrote. 

Almost all of them I read with great pleasure and I think that most deserves attention. But to encourage people, who don't know his books at all or are wondering what to read next - this is my top ten Stephen King's best novels.

I think that each book written by Stephen King have memorable characters, excellent atmosphere and dialogues and great plot. Without hesitation I can even say that some of his works (such as The Stand) are the most important novels of the twentieth century.

Why I love King? For his passion, hard work and that he always surprised me, because each book brings something new. That's why I encourage everyone to read his books!

After a long struggle with myself and looking over and over his bibliography, here is the list of top ten best novels by Stephen King:

1. The Stand (see description)

2. Misery (see description)

3. The Shining (see description)

4. It (see description)

5. The Green Mile (see description)

6. The Dead Zone (see description)

7. Duma Key (see description)

8. Under the Dome (see description)

9. Carrie (see description)

10. Salem's Lot (see description)

And special mention: The Dark Tower series.

Of course, it would be easier to write which King's novels you shouldn't read (for example: The Regulators, Dreamcatcher or Roadwork), than which ones you should, because where are so many good books written by Stephen King – e.g. I didn't mention the Firestarter, Pet Sematary, Lisey's Story, Bag of Bones, The Long Walk, Cujo or 11/22/63, which I recently finished reading. All whose titles you should also read, because they are great!

My list also don't include collections of short stories (I recommend them all, but especially Night Shift, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Skeleton Crew, Full Dark, No Stars, Hearts in Atlantis and Different Seasons). In my list of best books I chose only between the novels. 

About non-fiction - Danse Macabre and On Writing - I will write in in the future, because these titles require "special treatment" :).

If you are looking for full Stephen King's bibliography – visit his official website :). 

Which is your favourite book by Stephen King? And those of you who haven't read any book written by this author I encourage to do so. Check the Amazon website which Stephen King's books are available today!

Christmas presents ideas: best books for gifts

Christmas is getting closer and closer, that's why friends are asking me about some good new crime book or thriller, which they could buy as a gift for their dad, sister, son, aunt or grandfather :). Since I now have a blog, instead of responding them individually, I can give them a link to this post :).

I know that it's difficult to advise a specific title, not knowing anything about person who will get it. Besides, if the main criteria is the "novelty" of the book, I must base on the author's previous works, because I simply can't read all the latest novels which interest me as quickly as I would like to.

I would rather recommend a great book that was released e.g. a year ago, but then I hear the argument "he/she may already have this title".

So I looked through the list of newly published books and created a list of bestselling authors, whose names should be widely known. There is also no fear that it will be a poor novel, because these authors always guarantee a good reading experience. Even if one of them is in weaker form, he still manages to write in such a sugestive way, that is hard to divert attention from the novel :).

So which is the best book as a present for Christmas? :) Here is my list (in alphabetical order by author):

1. Zero Day by David Baldacci (see description)
2. The Affair by Lee Child (see description)
3. The Drop by Michael Connelly (see description)
4. Edge by Jeffery Deaver (see description)
5. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton (see description)
6. The Litigators by John Grisham (see description)
7. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (see more about this novel in my previous post)
8. Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson (see description)
9. The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (see description)

And finally – I pick one proposition for an exclusive gift. Do you know someone who constantly talks about the very popular Stieg Larson's trilogy – Millenium, and always say that one day he will buy it, and finally read it? You can get him Millenium for Christmas! :)

10.  Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy Deluxe Boxed Set: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Plus On Stieg Larsson (see description).

Why I decided to put the titles in alphabetical order? Because it is difficult to compare these books. Some people like King, so probably will be glad to recieve his latest novel, others prefer legal thrillers, so will be content, when they will see cover of newest Grisham's novel, still others want more action, that's why Jeffery Deaver or Lee Child will be the best choice for them (if you have 100% certainty that person, which you want to buy a gift to, didn't read any of Jeffery Deaver's book, see my selection of his the best top ten novels).

Each of these authors is a solid writer, which guarantees a good, enjoyable time while reading. So I encourage you to see the descriptions of each of these books. This will allow you to choose appropriate titles for your loved ones! :)

Recently bought: 11/22/63 – new novel by Stephen King

One of my favorite authors is Stephen King. I think he's one of the best living writers in the world. So don’t be surprised by the fact, I will be writing about him quite often.  But now I'd like to just share the news that I bought his latest book :).

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books. I have read most of them and I think that almost all of them are great. Of course, few of them are not so good as e.g. Misery, The Stand, It, The Shining or The Green Mile (just to mention a few :)), but still enjoyable to read.

What’s the plot of 11/22/63 about? "On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King's heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination" (description from Amazon).

Like you can see, one question has become the starting point for King to write almost 900 page novel. This is another example that "What if", as I have read in many books about writing, is a great method for writers to get an idea for a book or simply start to write one. 

But back to King :). Most of his novels and collections of short stories are a masterpiece. I like to go back to them from time to time. Now, for example, I re-read The Stand - suggestively written vision of the end of civilization because of biological weapon. If someone did not read this book - I encourage to do so!

As soon as I finish The Stand, I’ll start to read his latest novel :). I hope it will be as good as his recent books like Under the Dome and Duma Key. Both are long (I like this very much :)), interesting, have credible characters and a story that you will remembered for a long time.

Shortly speaking - Stephen King is in sensational form. And I don't mean only his novels, but also short stories. His Full Dark, No Stars (a collection of four novellas) can authentically terrify you  (I especially like the first two stories - 1922 and Big Driver).

If any of you have already read 11/22/63 – leave comments about it, please. From what I see on Amazon - with over 260 reviews, the vast majority of users (over 180) gave the book five stars. Nice:).