Book Details
| Title: | Billy Summers | |
| Author: | Stephen King | |
| Times Read: | 1 | |
| Last Read: | 11.20.21 |
Other Books Read By This Author (26)
- 11/22/63
- Bazaar of Bad Dreams
- Blockade Billy
- Cell
- The Colorado Kid
- Doctor Sleep
- Duma Key
- Elevation
- End of Watch
- Fairy Tale
- Finders Keepers
- Full Dark, No Stars
- Holly
- If it Bleeds
- The Institute
- It
- Joyland
- Just After Sunset
- Later
- Lisey's Story
- Mr. Mercedes
- On Writing
- The Outsider
- Revival
- Under the Dome
- The Wind Through the Keyhole
| Date Read | Note |
| 11.20.21 | A sniper assassin tries his hand at writing while he waits for his target. This has some elements from previous King work... I got a strong 11/22/63 vibe for the first part where Billy's settling in and neighbors and whatnot while waiting for his target. I got a tiny bit of Drawing of the Three with the relative innocent falling in with the expert marksman, and of course the tiny references here and there to the Overlook hotel topiaries and Hemingford Home in Nebraska. As I was finishing this up I was getting ready to say how Stephen King books are not really horror anymore. They are very readable and I find enjoyable dramas, some with or without supernatural elements, but not so much, like... I just think back to how hardcore his first ten or so books are. Those books had serious edge, and I think he's really showing his mellowed age with the last phase of his career... maybe everything post Dark Tower. As a case in point, the climax of this story is written such that you know everyone makes it out alright... but then the last chapter changes that, invalidating most of what I was getting ready to write! So he's still got some tricks up his sleeve, which I appreciate. I do still think he's ratcheted up the humanity on pretty much all of his characters to the point where, even faced with pure evil, you feel like King cares too much about his people to REALLY upset us readers. But there's no rule saying he has to write whatever or even that he should... the books are still good, so be it. And he's still so dang prolific that there's always the next one if this didn't give you what you wanted. That's not the case here by the way. I liked this and liked spending time with Billy and Alice and much of the book just flew by. |
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