The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Mar 06, 2018 Lyn rated it liked it

Weird book.

The great thing about us residents of the country of READING is that we are a diverse, eclectic bunch. We like and dislike all sorts of different books and for different reasons. Sometimes a few of us will like a book or writer, but for completely different motivations and coming from different perspectives altogether.

“It had great action”

“There was wonderful characterization and dialogue”

“It was a clever allegory and well written.”

Etc. etc.

And so we come to Stephen King’s 1984 collab ...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, 2022-shelf, fantasy, horror, epic-fantasy

Truly wondrous. My memories of my first read of The Talisman definitely do NOT do the original justice. The re-read also comes on the heels of a vast re-read of all the other SK reads with their connections to DT and the fact that everything follows the beam.

Of course, I may have judged this book entirely on its merit compared to all the other SK books I had read up to that point by 1989 when I read this last.

The obvious: this is a straight adventure novel that takes place half the time in 1980 Truly wondrous. My memories of my first read of The Talisman definitely do NOT do the original justice. The re-read also comes on the heels of a vast re-read of all the other SK reads with their connections to DT and the fact that everything follows the beam.

Of course, I may have judged this book entirely on its merit compared to all the other SK books I had read up to that point by 1989 when I read this last.

The obvious: this is a straight adventure novel that takes place half the time in 1980s America, following a 12-year-old's fraught adventure across the dark continent from coast to coast, and half the time in a magical mid-world version that was just as dark as our side. All of this makes this book a bonafide Epic Fantasy to me. Only, it's called the Territories, here.

Dark forces, heavy magic, the erosion of reality and goodness, the whole quest structure, much bigger in fact than Jack Sawyer trying to save his mother, is just as classic a fantasy as you might imagine, but it's not derivative.

Indeed, between the YA core, the better treatment of Holes, the true nastiness of the human spirit, and the feel of On the Road mixed with dark doppelgangers, twinners, everywhere, I have to say I like this BETTER than most modern YA by a long stretch.

But here's the best part: It was written with Peter Straub and SK and published in 1984, exactly two years after SK's first Dark Tower came out. Back in the day, I would have only been able to make a tentative stab at the connections. The Blasted Lands are the Wasted Lands, both quite an accurate representation of middle America, the Territories resemble Midworld, and the references to MANY Territories are also a giveaway.

But here's the really fun part: from the rest of the DT series, we get all the references to the train, wizard and glass, a different representation of The Rose, chittering spiders on the Tower itself, and so many other aspects that make THIS novel, the Talisman, almost a straight prototype for the full epic of The Dark Tower.

I do NOT recommend reading this book before the full epic of DT, mind you. I love the easter-egg hunt and the analysis too much.

BUT, if you're a big fan of SK's new book, Fairy Tale, this is a great follow-up and continuation and a slow build-up for everything else. Or as any fan of SK knows, everything follows the beam. It doesn't really matter where you start. It all builds and gets you to the same nexus in the end. ;)

My appreciation for this novel is, however, vastly improved. I'm kinda geeking out over it now. Other than the DT, itself, it is the closest we get to the full saga, and I wonder if that was kinda how it had to be. The publishing industry didn't really want to give DT a chance at the time.
...more

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Sep 28, 2022 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I wanted to read this book to honour the co-author, Peter Straub, who passed away this month.

Yes, I'm aware I should read King's books in a more chronological order but I'm a mood reader and things keep coming up that then give the perfect excuse to pick up this or that book. ;)

Anyway, a short summary:
There is a 12-year-old boy called Jack (yes, I was thinking of the lyrics "hit the road, Jack") whose mother is dying from cancer. In order to save her, he's trying to find the titular Talisman he ...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Chris Haught rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-owned-hardcover

This is one of those rare moments when I bump a 4-star that I read many years ago up to 5-star. Usually a book isn't quite as magical on the second read, though with authors like King the rating normally stays the same as before.

But here, I realize that I underestimated just what The Talisman did for me. More than once I thought that it felt like Tolkien. I was often reminded of The Dark Tower (which I had not yet read during my first visit to the Territories). A Mark Twain boy's adventure even ...more

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Jan 09, 2023 Justine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sk-readers, 2023-read

4.5 stars

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Jun 30, 2023 Susy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, horror

4 stars
A reread though it's been such a long time since my first read that remembered nothing about it. It's an adventurous story, with elements of both horror and fantasy. I loved Jack and his travelling companions. As always King describes everything elaborately, making it possible to just about feel like you are there right next to Jack/Jason. Again, a book that is not to be read in a rush, but rather taken the time for!
The world, its characters, the way of speaking, the type of adventures, e ...more

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