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 :)

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! :)