To say I'm mind-blown is the understatement of the year!

Possibly one of my favourite King novels, this story takes the reader on an intense and thrilling journey.

Most of the events unfold in a bedroom, where Jessie has been handcuffed to the bed. Her husband lies dead beside her, and there is no one around to unlock her. Just imagine the horror and helplessness of finding yourself in such a situation.

I'm not going to say more, as I definitely don't want to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that the twists and turns in this novel are completely unexpected. I was on the edge of my seat, my nerves on high alert, until the very last page.

King has once again proven himself to be a master of the thriller genre, creating a story that keeps the reader engaged and guessing until the very end.

I'm revising my previous estimation of this book up one star.

Let me be a little spoilery here. The re-read of this book was actually rather satisfying. It's not just a novel about survival and the various crappy things men make women do to satisfy themselves. It's also a rather moving novel that delves into the theme of keeping or losing one's sanity in the face of numerous expectations.

Think about the sheer horror of being handcuffed to a bed with no hope of salvation because your lover has just passed out, or watching a dog devour your husband while you're parched. But it's so much more than that. It's about memories, other humiliations, and the arduous struggle to find oneself through a truly hellish ordeal.

Moreover, I kind of like the fact that we're dealing with a very Poe-ish or Aristotelian art-ethic in this book. It's highly focused in time and place, compelling us to explore the deep recesses of the subconscious. I find myself appreciating this aspect even more now than when I was younger.

Either way, I also relished the almost tacked-on feel of the extended denouement. It really gave a sense of reflection and of rebuilding her defenses after they had been completely stripped away, both literally and figuratively. I felt the power of the positive reversal.

Now, I should mention that I'm revising this from three stars to four mainly because the novel is good on its own merits. However, when I initially gave it three stars (from memory), I did so based on my enjoyment in comparison with the rest of Stephen King's works. It's not his strongest novel by any means, but it was still quite enjoyable.

I think I'm really going to enjoy the movie in a few days.

I was disappointed. With the exception of a few pages, the entire book is dull and tiresome due to its details. I think it's the worst book by Stephen King (among those I have read).

The story seems to lack a clear and engaging plot. It meanders through a series of events that don't really build up to anything significant. The characters are not well-developed either, making it difficult for the reader to connect with them.

Moreover, the excessive focus on details often slows down the pace of the narrative. It feels like the author is trying too hard to describe every little thing, rather than simply telling a good story. As a result, the reading experience becomes a chore rather than a pleasure.

In conclusion, while I have enjoyed some of Stephen King's other works, this particular book was a major letdown for me.

WOW, this is really the cruelest book that I have read so far. It is extremely gripping and definitely not for the faint of heart. :/ The story was TOP-notch. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning to the end. The author did an excellent job of creating a vivid and intense world that pulled me in and refused to let go. The characters were well-developed and their struggles and emotions felt so real. I found myself completely invested in their fates. The plot was full of twists and turns that I never saw coming, which made it even more exciting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller or a dark and gritty story. Just be prepared for a wild ride!

This book and I have a rather long and interesting history.

When I was approximately 9 years old, my mother granted me the permission to read books from the “adult section” of the library. She even gave me a note to hand to the librarian and all. So, after summer recreation, I entered the library with great anticipation, determined that I was ready to explore the works of Stephen King. My sister had read his books and claimed that they were far better than the RL Stine ones. I had already devoured all the Goosebumps and RL Stine “teen books” (not sure if they have any special names) and was eager to move on to what I thought was the good stuff.

Well, I was at a loss as to which King book to start with, so I simply grabbed the first one I saw. It was a hardcover, a nice thick volume with a set of handcuffs on the cover. I nonchalantly sauntered up to the counter and handed the librarian my card, the book, and the permission slip signed by my mother who worked across the street. I got checked out without any issues and walked the steep hill back to my aunt’s house, excited to delve into this book on a hot summer afternoon. (I like to think that the librarian had no clue what the book was about, and even with my permission slip, she would have stopped me HAD she known its contents, though I don't know for sure.)

What a huge surprise awaited me. I hadn't read very far before coming across a line that mentioned someone’s fist being inserted in places I was not overly familiar with. I nervously looked around the room, making sure no one else had read the line I just did. Then, I quickly closed the book and headed back down to the library. There, I turned in the book, explaining to the librarian that I wasn't quite as ready for Stephen King as I had initially thought.

Fast forward to the present. I decided that I had better read this book before it gets completely butchered in Hollywood. I’ve had it on my Kindle for a while and finally made up my mind to read it. I got off to a slow start because of the release of Mr. Mercedes and then later, the release of Four. If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be brutal. It was undoubtedly one of the most fear-inducing books I have ever read. It made my skin crawl, my heart ache, my stomach knot, and my hands shake. I was scared in every conceivable way, and my heart broke for Jessie and all the磨难 she had endured in her life.

There were parts of this book that I really struggled to get through. The sequence where you learn what happened to her on the day of the eclipse was the most disturbing thing to read. The secret that she was so ashamed of, the burden that was placed on her at such a young age, it just tugged at my heartstrings.

As if being handcuffed to a bedpost wasn't bad enough, Jessie has to witness her dead husband and all the things his corpse attracts. The mind doesn't crack as quickly as we might think it would, or in Jessie’s case, as quickly as she needs it to. She yearns for the sweet escape that insanity would bring her. Instead, she is forced to recall the worst moments of her life, hear voices in her head, and see a walking nightmare of a man standing in the corner of the room while she lies there like a piece of meat on display in a case. But wait, is that a man? Or just a shadow? Is she hallucinating? Maybe she’s delusional from the lack of food and water….is that a footprint?

What I can tell you is that this book had me scared beyond comprehension. I didn't want to get out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom; I almost envied Jessie’s shackles. I slept with a flashlight on the nightstand the entire time I was reading this. (No, that’s not a joke). I was absolutely terrified.

Though it took me a long time to finish it and at times it seemed like I would never finish it, I did love this book. It’s a strange feeling. I feel like reading this book was so similar to Jessie being handcuffed to the bed. The time seemed to drag on forever, and I felt like it would never end, just as she surely felt. I definitely recommend this book, but be warned, it’s a brutal read. Might I suggest you read it in broad daylight in a wide open space with lots of people around you?

Just in case…

Classic Stephen King, intense Psychological Horror.

I really enjoyed this book. It not only scores highly on the believable scale, which is great, but also takes the reader on a thrilling journey into the depths of the human psyche.

The story follows Jessie, who finds herself in a terrifying situation after a seemingly innocent sex game with her husband, Gerald, goes horribly wrong. She is left alone, handcuffed to the bed with no escape.

What I love about this book is the way it delves into the human mind and the struggle to maintain sanity when faced with one's own thoughts, suppressed memories, and realizations. For Jessie, the voices in her head become prominent, representing different aspects of her personality and urging her to remember a long-buried childhood memory and find a way out of her predicament.

Stephen King's storytelling is truly fantastic. He has an uncanny ability to capture the human condition and the primal instinct to survive. While the human body can endure a great deal, the mind is not always as resilient. Although Jessie's situation is unimaginable, I felt completely immersed in the story, as if I were right there with her. This is a feeling I almost always get when reading a Stephen King book.

Gerald's Game is a disturbing read on many levels. It contains recollections of childhood abuse and a particularly graphic and gory scene that made me look away from the page on several occasions. This book stayed with me long after I finished reading it.

If you are a fan of Stephen King and enjoy truly disturbing psychological horror, then Gerald's Game is definitely a must-read for you.

A strange novel to review. There were indeed certain parts within it that I truly relished. They were engaging, filled with vivid descriptions and captivating storylines that held my attention firmly. However, on the other hand, there were also parts that I really struggled to get through. These sections seemed to drag on, lacking the same level of excitement and momentum.

Moreover, I have to admit that I wasn't that keen on the ending. It felt a bit rushed and didn't quite bring the story to a satisfying conclusion. There were loose ends that remained untied, leaving me with a sense of dissatisfaction. Overall, this novel had its highs and lows, and while it had some enjoyable moments, it also had areas that needed improvement.

If you were to gather a room full of Stephen King fans, soak them thoroughly, and pose the question of what they deem to be the worst Stephen King novel, many, if not the majority, would likely single out Gerald's Game. And I can understand their reasoning. This book, which centers around a woman handcuffed to her bed (amid a kinky sex game and all that) when her husband succumbs to a heart attack, does have its moments.

Jessie Burlingame, the trapped heroine of the story, spends nearly the entire time handcuffed to the bed. Geralyn remarks that she once attempted to read the book but decided to abandon it when she peeked ahead a few hundred pages and discovered that Jessie was still handcuffed and had not even left the bed, let alone the room where the story commences. Indeed, King progresses the plot at a glacial pace, liberally employing flashbacks to explore Jessie's, shall we say, "issues." The amusing aspect is that I listened to this on audiobook, a significant portion of it while seated in Mandy's nursery, rocking her to sleep. I would frequently drift off myself, only to awaken and realize that half an hour had elapsed while I dozed in the glider with headphones on. However, I wouldn't need to rewind the audiobook because几乎 nothing had occurred. It is evident that King is in a page count-padding mode throughout this entire book. Such padding is not uncommon for him, but here it is so blatant as to verge on the absurd.

Another major aspect of this book that warrants criticism is the abrupt left turn King takes in the final quarter of the volume. He wraps things up by narrating a letter from Jessie to an old college roommate. This segment of the novel is completely at odds with the part that precedes it, to the extent that it seems like a separate story appended to—you guessed it—pad out the page count. I'm not certain why King chose to take this approach, but it simply didn't work for me.

That being said, there are some truly creepy and horrifying scenes in Gerald's Game—the kind that justify its placement in the "Horror" section of the bookstore. At one point, late in the still night while chained to the bed, Jessie wakes up to find a tall, silent figure standing in the corner. She is scared out of her wits (almost literally) and attempts to plead with the figure, but it just stands there, observing her. I think most of us have awakened in the middle of the night to see an assemblage of shadows that we misinterpret as an intruder, and even when our rational mind recognizes it for what it is—a piece of furniture, a coat hanging from a peg, whatever—another part of our mind refuses to believe it. What made this scene particularly effective for me was that I was sitting in Mandy's nursery with the lights completely off when I listened to it, and I could look in the corner and almost envision what King was describing. For me, this scene even rivaled his penultimate scary scene: the lady in the bathtub from The Shining.

And then don't even get me started on how Jessie makes her final, desperate attempt to escape the handcuffs. I was literally squirming throughout the entire time I listened to that. I thought I was going to have to fast forward.

So, on balance, while there are a few genuinely effective scenes in this entire endeavor, its excruciatingly slow pacing and bizarre structural shift towards the end make it difficult for me to recommend to anyone not striving to assemble a complete Stephen King library. There are numerous better options to choose from.

Gerald's Game is an extremely brutal and exhausting read. In this 1992 novel, Stephen King accomplished the seemingly impossible. He crafted a harrowing and haunting story about a woman trapped in a room, yet managed to make it incredibly interesting. Not only that, but I firmly believe this is King's scariest work. Of course, this is subjective, but it's the opinion of this humble reviewer.

Jessie and Gerald Burlingame have gone to their summer cabin on Dark Score Lake in mid-October for a weekend getaway. The community is nearly empty as the summer people have long since gone home. The couple plans to spend a lot of time in bed. Gerald is a bondage enthusiast, while Jessie is not. He forces her into handcuffs, and she kicks him, her overweight, middle-aged husband, in the stomach and testicles. Hubby drops dead, and Jessie is left alone, chained to the bed with no means of escape. And that's just chapter one!

This is the mother of all character studies. Over approximately 400 pages, through flashbacks and inner voices, King delves deeply into Jessie's psyche and explores what it means to be a strong woman in a macho, male-oriented world. When I think of Gerald's Game, the word that immediately comes to mind is 'brave'. Stephen King could have easily rested on his laurels. He was already known for creating small towns only to destroy them by the end of his novels and for traditional horror tropes like ghosts, vampires, and aliens. But this novel shows the horror master taking a new turn in his writing. What followed was a series of novels unafraid to address highly sensitive and current social issues, all featuring some of the best character work of his career.

However, this novel is not without its flaws. Overall, it is very good, but it can be overly wordy and repetitive at times. And I'm afraid the ending overstays its welcome. I think the novel would have been stronger if it had ended with Jessie in the Mercedes, perhaps with a brief epilogue added like in Pet Sematary. Instead, the reader is given sixty or seventy pages of largely unnecessary wrap-up.

This will never be my top King novel, but it's still a fine one.

Favorite Quote
““If anyone ever asks you what panic is, now you can tell them: an emotional blank spot that leaves you feeling as if you've been sucking on a mouthful of pennies.”

King Connections
The Burlingames' cabin is on Dark Score Lake, which would feature prominently in King's 1990s works, especially Bag of Bones.
The towns of Chamberlain (Carrie) and Castle Rock (several short stories and novels) are mentioned in the novel's final chapters. Jessie reflects on the fire that occurred in Castle Rock “about a year ago,” which is a direct reference to the events at the climax of Needful Things.

This novel is, of course, the fraternal twin of Dolores Claiborne, but I will discuss that connection in detail when reviewing that novel.

Up Next
Dolores Claiborne

This book is rather dark. It's not exactly a horror book, but it will probably leave you with a feeling of repulsion and sickness much worse than any horror book.

It is explicit and disturbing. I didn't expect the extremes that King reached with the protagonist's past.

Definitely, there are parts that are redundant and at times it becomes boring. I just watched the movie and I can say that I liked it more than the book. It's a very good adaptation.

The movie managed to capture the essence of the story while also making some changes that improved the overall experience. The visual effects were excellent and added to the atmosphere of the story.

However, the book still has its merits. It allows you to get inside the protagonist's head and understand her thoughts and feelings in more detail.

In conclusion, both the book and the movie have their own strengths and weaknesses. If you're a fan of King's work, it's definitely worth checking out both.

Well, let me tell you something. If your husband and dad are as useless as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, tasteless as an unseasoned chicken breast, and nuttier than peanut butter, then that's quite a situation.

They were so ugly that when they were born, the doctor spanked their mama. They were so dumb that they couldn't put their hand up their asses even if they had five hands and four asses. And they were so trashy that they couldn't smell their own bullshit over their body odor.

But remember, Jessie sugar, ugly is just skin deep, but worthless goes all the way to the bone. Keep on kickin' balls

Ugg… bastard

This kind of strong language shows the intense emotion of the author.

On to the next!

This phrase indicates a sense of determination and the willingness to move forward.

Mel