Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Horror

In a desolate mining town named Desperation, a group of individuals has had their lives irrevocably altered. The terror and malevolence they encounter in Desperation are without precedent. All these characters are halted by a deranged police officer, yet what initially seemed like a normal routine matter proves to be far more sinister than they had imagined. In this town, the battle between the forces of good and evil is about to commence. However, God has the final word!

This is the first time I have delved into this novel. I recall watching the television movie adaptation ages ago and not being fond of it at that time. I can't remember a single detail from that movie either. But this book encompasses everything I adore about Stephen King's stories. Similar to many of his other tales, it combines horror, intrigue, religion, mystery, and thrills to craft a remarkable story that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

All the characters in this book were fantastically developed. It felt as if I was embarking on a journey with them, experiencing all the fear they endured and the dreadful things they had to traverse. David was such an astonishing character. I can't recall when it was the last time I read a child character who was written so exquisitely and had such a crucial role in a story. The impact each of these characters has is enormous. This review will not spoil anything for you. My advice is simply to read this amazing story. I LOVED IT.

Note: Desperation is part of my reading of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. This is Book No.13 of the 24 books I am going to read for this series.

I have been "traumatized" by this book, and it is truly impactful.

The title not only refers to the name of the village where the story takes place but also represents the feeling it gives to the reader from the moment they start reading until the end.

I felt as if I were inside a movie, everything was very visually sensitive. The fear, the anguish, the horror sticks to your skin. It is a book with a lot of gore (bloody deaths), and the repulsive scenes appear again and again.

This is a story where the characters become pawns in someone else's chess game, and there comes a time when they are aware of it but cannot prevent it. As a reader, this generated anguish in me and made me wonder about the meaning of our existence.

This novel leads you by the hand, delving deeper and deeper into the facts. At the beginning, we might think that what is happening is realistic, but then we realize, along with the characters, that there is something supernatural involved. The tension is constantly increasing, without a moment of pause.

Finally, all the explanations appear, everything has its logic, and there is no thread out of the ball. Every detail is taken care of, and the complexity it presents is delicious.

I leave you a video about King's decalogue (in case you are interested): https://bit.ly/48YnNaa

I read this book back when I was in 7th grade.

I remember distinctly putting it off until the weekend, right before it was due, which was a bad move.

I then had to speed through it and do a report, all over a single weekend.

Ok, enough about me…

So it’s been 25 years since I read this, but I still distinctly remember Collie Entragian fascinating me.

He was just a bizarre character, and everything he did and said just irked me.

I get that he was possessed, but still.

The initial introduction when he pulled over the couple in the desert was uncomfortable and set the stage for what would surely be a nasty voyage for these people.

So King did a great job keeping things tense, especially in the prison, as you begin to learn more about the sheriff’s intentions, bringing in the viewpoints of several unique characters.

Much like with IT and the sewers under Derry, I recall having a tough time sticking with the history of the old mine, but I read on.

The links between God and Tak, using the captured people all for a greater purpose, all kept my interest, as I do something very similar in my Preternatural trilogy.

I know this wasn’t one of King’s highly acclaimed novels, but I remember enjoying it quite a bit. It was a thrilling read that had me on the edge of my seat at times.

The characters were well-developed and the plot was full of twists and turns.

Even though it’s been so long since I read it, the story still sticks with me.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

3.5 Stars

Desperation is a quiet, isolated desert town in Nevada, located off one of the loneliest stretches of road in America. There's a reason for its isolation. Something lies beneath the earth, buried when the old copper mine caved in. As time has passed, people have forgotten the history that preceded it. What has been buried is now free, possessing the mind and body of town deputy Collie Entrigian.

In the 90s, for reasons unknown, perhaps to try something different, King entered a more serious phase in his career. He dealt with subject matters such as domestic abuse, racial injustice, and the death penalty. He released three isolated books from one character's perspective, all focused on particular heavy subject matters (Gerald's Game, Dolores Claiborne, and The Green Mile), and two books that started that way but then exploded with so many ideas that they felt at times like a child filled with too much sugar (Insomnia, Rose Madder). Reading those latter two, you feel like King is about to burst at the seams, in need of dealing with lighter, more pulpy topics like the stuff he cut his teeth on in the early part of his career. Desperation and its twin, The Regulators (but more on that later), is King's chance to let loose and indulge in his gruesome side. And boy, does he ever.

Desperation is a big book, one of King's ensemble pieces, equivalent to a blockbuster movie for his fans. It's threaded through with some of the most gruesome body horror and brutality that King has ever written. The only thing I can think of that's close is Thinner, a pulpy novel with an unlikable, self-centered protagonist. Even that self-centered nature gets echoed in this book in the form of John Marinville, a middle-aged writer with nothing but regrets for the drugs and drink lifestyle he used to live. Now sober, he's still pretentious and self-absorbed. Thankfully, he doesn't stay this way. The book's story offers him a chance at redemption by considering others around him. Plus, he is balanced out by other characters such as the pious David Carver, the noble Steve Amnes, and the quirky Cynthia Smith, who returns from Rose Madder scarred but stronger.

King gets away with all the violence because Desperation is a book about God, a cruel, even jealous God, and a fight against something that might be an evil deity or "a ghost in the wind," as one character describes it. It goes by the name Tak and exists trapped, buried in a "sour section of earth" that just happens to be of interest to a mining company, which unleashes it. As it's stated in the book several times, "God can be cruel," and it seems to serve as a reasoning for King to delve into grotesque body horror, particularly as those possessed by Tak disintegrate, and for the brutality. There is none of King's usual subtlety here. Instead, this book works as his take on extreme horror. Yet, it is never done, like many other extreme horror stories, for the sake of it.

Underneath all that violence, bodies melting apart, and cougar fights, Desperation depicts the struggle of having faith in light of something that is beyond human understanding. This is different from, say, The Stand, a much more black-and-white look at the battle between Good and Evil. There are other new things here as well. The book is set in Nevada, not Maine. It's about a small town, but the majority of the characters are out-of-towners. The story begins after most of the events have happened. When Collie starts falsely arresting people or luring them into town, he's already killed everyone there. Because of this, there is no slow build. The book just begins with a bang and goes.

There isn't much in the way of criticism that I can throw at this book. There are some particularly vulgar moments inside John Marinville's that will leave any reader uncomfortable. There's also a massive info dump section when a group of characters pick up a surviving local and they tell everyone about how the town became the way it is. This takes close to fifty pages and slows the brilliant pace the novel was previously motoring along at. It's like King had all these notes about the town dissolving into chaos and couldn't not put them in, despite providing plenty of information whenever one of the book's characters meets a corpse. One in particular stands out when Steve and Cynthia enter a room only to find a family of three all dead at the dinner table, swarming with snakes. This does more in its few pages to hint at what has happened to the town while providing a real creepy moment.

Overall, it's a refreshing read in King's 90s catalogue as it returns him to some of the pulpy level output he's known best for while exploring new territory.

Desesperación: A Complex Tale with Religious Overtones

Desesperación is an entertaining book with well-developed characters, a decent villain, and a fairly well-established Western American setting. However, it has a religious tone that was a bit too much for me. In reality, it's more of a 3.5-star read.

The story starts off strangely with a couple finding an abandoned doll on the road, a cat nailed to a sign at the beginning of the town, stakes everywhere, abandoned bicycles and caravans, and a metal mesh strip covered in hundreds of nails that puncture the tires of cars, just like what happened to them. But the best part comes when they encounter a chaos-loving subject who enjoys killing and kidnapping people. This being is a crazy cop who has passed through the town of Desesperación like a cyclone, leaving almost no one alive and killing any inhabitants he comes across. But what does he now intend with the people he has gradually trapped on Interstate 50?

To begin with, I have to say that the synopsis of the book promised a whole survival story in which I illusorily believed that intrigue and suspense would play an important role, but that wasn't entirely the case. One of the things that always plays a bad trick on me is assuming something about a book and finding something different. I thought the plot would purely focus on how the characters would deal with this bloodthirsty cop, and although it turned out to be somewhat similar, the truth is that it took other paths that could only provide me with less entertainment given how predictable the outcome of the story could be.

While I think this is a very entertaining book from start to finish, for me there is an element that personally took away all the tension from the plot that was being built around the villain who protagonizes the story. And that is summed up in the religious factor that addresses themes such as faith, the will of God, the mission of his followers, and the skepticism of some towards him. Because this makes the supernatural theme, the dark magic, and the macabre and chilling tone lose force in the face of the possibility that two opposing forces interact and confront each other (good and evil). One can come to the idea that in the end, faith and temperance are greater than the evil of a town as desolate and arid as Desesperación with a being that feeds on death and uses bodies as vessels.

Because yes, in the middle of the large and diverse cast of characters, a child seems to be the chosen one by God to fulfill a certain objective, as he shares a close relationship through prayers, conversations, and a great temperance that only leads him to be guided and protected by this all-powerful being. And although the message is about cruelty and how God performs miracles and sacrifices in the same package, the story could have been more than just biblical hints and references with a strong religious and moralizing content. Or at least that's something I would have preferred to have less presence and force in the book.

However, on the other hand, I really liked that in that same Western American setting, there are animals to watch out for, as there are vultures eating corpses and coyotes lurking and howling in that hostile, arid, and abandoned place, perfect for not finding the help you need and the hiding place to protect yourself. And not only do you have to watch out for them but also scorpions hidden in the sand, rattlesnakes, spiders, rats, bats, cougars, and wolves.

Desesperación is sometimes a story about magic, malevolence, lesser and greater gods, and about a shapeless being that has eyes everywhere and on which a very interesting and chilling cosmogony is built. About an evil force that through legends, myths, and superstitions forms its origin in a dark and deep hole. Other times it is an environmentalist critique of the contamination of the earth and animals, of the death and rottenness of a land that is only exploited by miners and capitalism. But most of the time it is about faith and the cruelty of God that sometimes has just cause, and in which the will, a relevant mission, and the idea that everything bad and good that happens is because it had to be that way and its motives would have to be the Lord of the sky. Needless to say, the first is what I liked the most and the last is what bothered me the most about the reading, but I put it in bold just in case.

And although the end has a raw and hard message, the final events that lead to the outcome and the confrontation between good and evil are the weakest I have read. But it doesn't surprise me, with King it's no longer a surprise that he starts well and then weakens in the last third. Although I also appreciate certain parallels to It and The Store, with some notable references to Misery. It's a pleasure to find such things if you are a忠实 follower of this gentleman.

Desperation is the first of a pair of “mirror novels” that King penned in the 90’s. It follows The Green Mile, which is, in many respects, one of his finest works.

I don't hear a great deal about Desperation. In fact, I wasn't even cognizant of the fact that there's a TV adaptation of it, crafted by Mick Garris (Yikes. Nevertheless, I'll be tuning in to it post-haste).

While most of his novels are set in Maine, this one is situated in Nevada. It's a refreshing change of scenery. It commences as a kind of road trip narrative. It reminded me of The Stand (my favorite King book thus far). The book encompasses some of the best and worst aspects of the author's writing.

First, the positive. I truly adore the way the initial characters materialize and the anxiety-provoking situations they encounter. I don't wish to disclose anything, but all I can say is “The Cop” is brilliantly menacing, disturbing, and really managed to get under my skin. There's something prescient in the way he treats his victims.

The mystery enveloping the story effectively keeps the reader guessing. The characters, pacing, and violence, some of which ranks among King's most brutal (and that's saying a lot), are all of the highest caliber.

However, like a few other recent novels (Rose Madder, Needful Things, and Insomnia), it begins extremely strongly but disintegrates towards the end.

After being completely engrossed for more than two-thirds of the novel, the flaws start to surface. Once the elements of the protagonist, as well as the antagonist, are revealed, it all becomes a bit absurd.

I don't want to be overly harsh. I relished the journey for the majority of the duration, but goodness, sometimes less is more. Please, for the love of God, tone it down with all of the dream sequences, flashbacks, unnecessary backstory, and cease using the word “giggling”.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching the adaptation and also reading its mirror novel, The Regulators, and discerning how they are interconnected. Desperation isn't bad. It has a lot going for it. It's not one of his finest, but it's a fairly decent addition and will undoubtedly please fans of body horror and creepy, small-town tumbleweed settings.

3.5/5

King Ranked:

1. The Stand 5/5

2. Pet Semetary 4.6/5

3. Salem’s Lot 4.5/5

4. The Dead Zone 4.2/5

5. Misery 4.2/5

6. The Shining 4.2/5
7. The Long Walk 4.2/5
8. Dolores Claiborne 4.2/5
9. The Drawing of the Three 4.1/5
10. The Wastelands 4/5 

11. Night Shift 4/5

12. Different Seasons 4/5
13. The Eyes of the Dragon 4/5
14. The Green Mile 4/5
15. The Dark Half 3.9/5
16. Cycle of the Werewolf 3.9/5
17. Thinner 3.8/5
18. Christine 3.6/5
19. *Desperation 3.5/5*
20. Roadwork 3.5/5
21. Skeleton Crew 3.5/5
22. Cujo 3.2/5
23. Firestarter 3.2/5
24. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon 3.2/5
25. Carrie 3.2/5
26. Rage 3.1/5
27. The Tommyknockers 3/5
28. The Running Man 3/5
29. Hearts in Atlantis 3/5
30. The Gunslinger 3/5
31. The Talisman 3/5
32. IT 2.9/5
33. Rose Madder 2.5/5
34. Needful Things 2.4/5
35. Insomnia 2.4/5
36. Four Past Midnight 2.3/5
37. Nightmares and Dreamscapes 2.2/5
38. Gerald’s Game 1/5

Next to read in the “Reading King in chronological order” challenge:

THE REGULATORS

I had a rather unpleasant experience while reading this book. It was like a "God-Bomb" went off in my mind, and I fervently prayed that it would come to an end soon. In the beginning, when I was about a quarter of the way through, I truly thought I was going to love it. It seemed to be hitting all of my favorite elements, and I was all set to enjoy a wild ride. Well, I did get a wild ride indeed, but it only left me feeling nauseous and completely unfulfilled.

One thing that really bothered me was why religion was such a central tenet of this book. That aspect alone was enough to make me reluctant to continue reading. However, for some reason, I persevered and managed to make it through to the end.

Most of the characters in the book struck me as being two-dimensional, and in some cases, they were even insufferable. Yes, I'm specifically referring to that so-called "prayer boy." I also didn't find Tak to be a particularly compelling evil entity. In fact, I was more interested in it when it took the form of the police officer in the first quarter of the book. I really wish Collie would have remained our central villain for the entire duration of the story.

This book is definitely in the bottom tier of Stephen King's works, and I'm not at all looking forward to the Bachman companion story that is supposed to follow.

Ah, Desperation! It is truly a delight to reread you once more. It has been approximately 20 years since I last delved into this book. While I still have a preference for it over The Regulators, I didn't quite relish it to the same extent as I did during my initial reading. There is no denying King's remarkable ability to craft a captivating tale, seamlessly integrating gore, religion, faith, horror, and a bloody, oozy atmosphere into one solid, crazy-ass novel.

Some individuals have concerns regarding the religious aspect of this book. I am by no means a religious person, but this has never truly bothered me when reading, especially in horror books. The whole good vs. evil aspect is a common theme that can be seen quite frequently. Some books are not as blatant about it as Desperation, but it is still present. I continue to categorize it all as fiction and enjoy the read for what I believe it is intended to be.

Although I did enjoy The Regulators a bit more during my second encounter, Desperation still holds a special place in my heart between the two. Why? Well, we gain more in-depth background on each of the characters, a more defined and "mature" Tak, and a more fully developed story overall. (However, I must admit that I did miss the "fun" aspect of the Motocops.)

I don't believe that either of these books receives the love and recognition they deserve. <3

I guess this just isn't my cup of tea.

With all due respect and love for Stephen King, I have my own preferences when it comes to books. I truly prefer my books to be completely free from any religious undertones or elements. Unfortunately, this particular one had a very strong numinous quality. It was just too intense and overwhelming for my taste.

However, on the bright side, I have now discovered the Stephen King book that I like the least. And in a way, this is good to know. It helps me better understand my own reading preferences and what I'm truly looking for in a book.

Although this particular book didn't work out for me, I still have a great appreciation for Stephen King's talent and the many other wonderful works he has created. I'm sure there are plenty of other books out there by him that will be more to my liking.

Just ok.

This audio book is read by Kathy Bates. She really did an excellent job. Her reading brought the story to life and made it more engaging.

I'll go on to read "Regulators" next. However, I have my doubts that I'll ever read this one again. Maybe it's because the story didn't quite capture my interest as much as I hoped.

But still, Kathy Bates' performance was remarkable. She has a great voice and the ability to convey different emotions through her reading.

Overall, while the book itself might not be a favorite of mine, I can't deny the talent of the narrator.

4.5
Undoubtedly, it is one of the bloodiest, crudest, and most violent books that S.K. could have written. The characters are really very well-developed, and the plot is not bad considering it is a 718-page book.
Should I recommend it? Yes, for those who have read such long books. For someone who is just starting, no.
One sentence: "Lying is fiction, fiction is art, and therefore all art is a lie."

However, it's important to note that this book's extreme nature might not be for everyone. The vivid descriptions of violence and bloodshed can be quite disturbing. While the characters and plot are engaging, the length of the book might also be a deterrent for some readers.
Despite its flaws, for those who are fans of S.K.'s work and enjoy reading long, intense novels, this book could be a great addition to their collection. It offers a unique and thrilling reading experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

So, I finally decided to let go of my pretention and picked up a Stephen King novel to read.

True enough, I had read several of King's works way back in middle school. However, I felt that it was high time to give him another shot. After all, King's popularity is truly remarkable, perhaps only surpassed by, well, I'm not sure... Jesus? Okay, maybe not Jesus, but someone extremely popular.

I must admit that the story was indeed engaging. King has this unique ability to drive his story-lines forward over hundreds of pages with seemingly no breaks. Or at least that's how it appears.

Unfortunately, the mediocrity of his prose is a real issue. At its best, it can be quite distracting, and at its worst, it can even be infuriating. Just how many internal monologues can one author randomly stuff into a single paragraph? I have no idea, but King seems to have an answer: twenty-seven. Seriously, though, King's writing really lacks ingenuity. His metaphors are often clumsy and cliched, character development is at most superficial, and the dialogue is trite and unconvincing.

The only upside to King's fast-paced yet uninspired novel is that it only took me a few hours to finish.