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The Tommyknockers

stephen king

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The Tommyknockers is a 1987 horror novel by Stephen King. While maintaining a horror style, the novel is more of an excursion into the realm of science fiction, as the residents of the Maine town of Haven gradually fall under the influence of a mysterious object buried in the woods.

In his autobiography, On Writing, King attributes the basic premise to the short story "The Colour Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft. It also draws fairly obvious parallels with the classic 1956 movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers & the 1959 novelette The Big Front Yard by Clifford Simak. King wrote the book during a period of acknowledged substance abuse & has written that he realized later on that the novel was a metaphor for that addiction.

The writer & critic Kim Newman has cited another influence on the novel, saying that in it King had "more or less rewritten Quatermass & the Pit," a 1950s BBC television science-fiction serial. This influence was also picked up on in The Times newspaper's review of the book on its release.

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
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748 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 10,1987
Places
haven maine, 

This edition

Format
748 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published
October 31, 1988 by Signet Book
ISBN
ASIN
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Bobbi Anderson

    Bobbi Anderson

    The writer who discovered the Tommyknockers ship. Her books all have a distinct western feel and include "Hangtown", "Rimfire Christmas", "The Long Ride Back", "Massacre Canyon", "Boxing the Compass (A collection of Poems dedicated to James Gardener)". He...

  • James Gardener

    James Gardener

    Gardener was a poet with alcohol problem, Bobbi Andersons best friend through years. One of the seldom people not much affected by the ship, though he was constantly near it, helping to dig it out.more...

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About the author

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stephen king

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Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
26(26%)
4 stars
43(43%)
3 stars
31(31%)
2 stars
0(0%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
floecity
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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So this is most definitely NOT my favourite King book.

In fact, it was quite painful to read at times. The pace was so slow that it took me ages to get through.

Some parts were really interesting, but on the whole, this book was a huge drag to read.

It’s painful for me to give a King book such a low rating because I love his writing so much. However, this is some of his worst work in my opinion.

I think it could have done well as a short story. The ideas were there, but as a novel, it just didn’t have enough substance to keep me engaged.

Maybe if it had been shorter and more concise, it would have been a better read. But as it stands, I can’t recommend this book to other King fans.

It’s a real disappointment and I hope that his future work will be more in line with the high standards that I have come to expect from him.
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Sirjacer
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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Damn, I've been in such a slump because of this book.

Anyway, I'm back! Finally!
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BippyT_T
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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This was the very first book that managed to completely turn me off Stephen King.

The main reason for this was that it was approximately twice as long as it actually needed to be. It seemed as if the author had just filled the pages with excessive details and unnecessary fluff.

Moreover, it felt like "more of the same" - the same kind of storylines, the same writing style, and the same lack of innovation.

Overall, it was a long and tiresome read that I consider a complete waste of time. I had expected so much more from a renowned author like Stephen King, but this book really disappointed me and made me lose interest in his works for a while.

I hope that in the future, he will come up with something more original and engaging that doesn't feel like a never-ending slog.
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nerucchi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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I've always had a soft spot for "The Tommyknockers," even though it's not a perfect book. Maybe I'm not the most objective person to talk about it, but I'll do my best to share what I love about it and why I still don't think it deserves a full five stars.

There might be some "spoilers" ahead, so if you're sensitive, you might want to cover your eyes or skip to the end.

The book starts off really strong with the introduction of Gard and Bobbi, two interesting characters. When Bobbi discovers something that initially intrigues her and later affects her deeply, she starts digging it up and strange things begin to happen. Gard doesn't find out about this until later in the story, and when he does, the perspective changes, leaving us guessing about what's going on with the two characters. This is really engaging at first, but unfortunately, the "interlude" gets too long and the story loses some of its momentum.

Thankfully, the book then enters a brilliant phase, blending classic and new sci-fi and horror elements. The story accelerates from the initial fascination with the changes in people to the full-blown horror that's about to be revealed. There are also a ton of references and connections to other King books, which I love.

The ending is okay, but it's a bit too long and could have been tightened up. Overall, "The Tommyknockers" is a great book, but it does have a few slow passages.
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Mitetyyyy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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Set in Maine, like the majority of King's books, this particular tale is centered around something诡异 hidden within the forest. The Tommyknockers, as the folks in the small town refer to it.

Bobbie and her friend Jim stumble upon an alien spaceship in the forest, and then strange things begin to occur in the town.

This book rates more around 2.5 - 2.7 stars. It's not awful; King rarely is. However, it wasn't great either. The ebook consisted of approximately 1300 pages, and I can't claim that I was eagerly racing through it out of pure enjoyment. Instead, it was more of a task to get it completed.

The story was just okay and didn't possess as much excitement as some of his other works. There were moments that held my interest, but overall, it didn't quite reach the level of his more renowned novels.

Perhaps it was the length that made it a bit of a slog at times. Or maybe the concept, while interesting, wasn't executed in the most engaging way. Nevertheless, it's still a King book, and there are elements within it that are characteristic of his unique style.

Despite its flaws, it's not a total loss, and for die-hard King fans, it might still hold some appeal.
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ho-yeezus
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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The discovery of a semi-buried metal object in Haven town brings about a profound and irreversible change in the lives of its inhabitants. Bobbi Anderson, in her unwavering determination to free the object, finds herself not only physically altered but also, at first quietly, mentally. She is not alone in this transformation, and the entire town could soon fall under the almost magical influence of this mysterious object that defies identification and eludes any attempt to trace its roots.

My copy of this book is nearly 1,000 pages long. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it, I couldn't help but feel that the story could have been told in a more concise manner. This seems to be a recurring theme in King's writing. A significant portion of what he includes could be removed from the novel without sacrificing the reader's understanding. However, even if he were to ramble on about nothing, his effortless writing style would still make it enjoyable for me.

In this story, much of the focus is on the consequences of whatever is happening in the town. The subtle changes in character and physicality make it a puzzling and engaging read, although at times they are so minute that they don't initially seem eerie or sinister. The addition of creepy dolls, talking Jesus paintings, and a host of other Kingesque creations, however, gives it a horrifying edge.

Overall, it remains a much quieter novel than I expected, but I still enjoyed it. The ongoing social commentary, which is relevant to the post-Cold War era in which it is set, and the strangeness that pervades all the events, kept me turning the pages, just like my love for King's writing.
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iSkulledmund
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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Our dear King will never cease to surprise us.

Just by thinking for a few minutes about the overflowing imagination he has makes you just want to choose another one of his wonderful books to keep enjoying his stories.

This time we will encounter the Tommyknockers, beings from another world. Everything starts in Haven, when our protagonist Bobby, among many others, goes out for a walk with her dog and stumbles upon something. When she goes to look what she has fallen over, she discovers "something" of a grayish tone and starts to dig to unearth it, but... it doesn't come out and she digs, and digs and digs... until it starts to become a necessity.

On the other hand, we have Gard, Bobby's friend and lover, who will witness her decline and her "improvement" not only in her but in all the inhabitants of Haven.

Little by little, as the spaceship is uncovered, the Tommyknockers will take over the minds of Haven and they will start to experience new sensations and ideas, a new practical intelligence that will make them more skillful.

The town will become isolated until it becomes one, leaving them practically cut off from communication.

Poor those who try to approach Haven...

In general, I liked it. King endows us with good rough scenes and others quite disturbing, but I found the reading very dense. There are many scenes and chapters that are completely dispensable and add nothing to the story itself. We know that King likes to describe down to the life and work of the stones, but with a novel of more than 800 pages in hand, maybe it wasn't so necessary
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Shasira
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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Accidentally, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS happened to be the second in a row Stephen King's book about aliens. The first one was Dreamcatcher which I loved.

The books have a lot in common: crushed UFOs, a telepathic ability that spreads after the crush, and the desire of aliens to conquer the Earth. The difference lies in the point of view. While 'Dreamcatcher' is told from the perspective of those who oppose the invasion, the main characters of THE TOMMYKNOCKERS are on the side of the intruders, willingly or unwillingly.

Roberta \"Bobbi\" Anderson resembles King: she's a writer of Westerns who lives in Haven near Derry (again!), Maine, and stumbles upon a mysterious object hidden in the ground on her property. Her discovery is a pure accident - as well as the presence of the four friends, able to communicate telepathically, near a crushing site in 'Dreamcatcher.' As Roberta is digging out the spacecraft, people in Haven start to change, for better or worse. The only one unaffected by the poisonous gas emitted by the object is James Eric \"Gard\" Gardener, Bobbi's friend with benefits and helper in excavation works.

The story's first 100 pages or so are told from the POVs of Bobbi and Gard. For me, King's meticulousness in discussing these two characters' backgrounds and behavior prior to their meeting was excessive. Why did we have to know Gard's stance on atomic energy? Or Bobbi's relationship with her sister? (the author will explore that topic in greater detail later) After I got bored, tens of Haven's citizens entered the scene, many to be quickly killed. The perspective changed with every chapter until the end of the book, with timelines overlapping and side characters appearing and reappearing in a random order. Sometimes it was a struggle to remember who this or that character was.

I devoured the last 200 pages in one sitting because I was so eager to uncover the story's ending. All in all, due to the constant shifts in perspectives, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS earns three stars from me. 'Dreamcatcher' remains at the top.

My review of 'Dreamcatcher':
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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