4.5 Stars.

I just don't know how Stephen King does it! His creativity seems boundless. I read the synopsis for The Dark Half and had a certain perception of how the story would unfold. But boy, was I wrong about everything. This book took so many unexpected turns that I simply had to stop trying to anticipate what might come next. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

I always love it when Uncle Stevie bases a book off of something from his real life. Carrie was inspired by two girls he went to school with. The Shining was written about a scary haunted hotel after his own experience staying at such a place. Misery was born out of frustration with his fans and their expectations of the type of books he should write. And The Dark Half was written after he was outed as Richard Bachman.

In the mid-eighties, Stephen King decided to write different types of novels under a pen name. As Richard Bachman, he wrote 5(?) novels that didn't do well financially, but that wasn't his main concern. Eventually, he was exposed, and he decided to kill off Richard Bachman. The Dark Half explores what would happen if that pen name decided to come to life, and let's just say that the other half was not too happy about being killed off.

I really loved this book. I know it's not considered one of his best, but I'd definitely put it in my top 10. The Dark Half was scary, exciting, and completely unpredictable. God! I love Stephen King!

**Title: The Haunting Tale of Thad Beaumont and George Stark**

Writers, like Thad Beaumont, have a unique allure. They invite ghosts in a way, as they create worlds and people that don't exist. Thad discovered his love for writing early on and pounded away at the typewriter, much to his parents' concern. And they were right; something was wrong with him. After a doctor's visit and a scan, a strange something was removed from his head.

Thad went on to write critically acclaimed books but struggled financially. To get his dark thoughts out, he created the pseudonym George Stark. While writing as Stark, he transformed into a meaner, bloodthirsty person. The sparrows, which had once caused a storm in Thad's head, returned.

Stephen King shares interesting thoughts about sparrows, calling them harbingers of the living dead. When Thad decided to retire Stark and go back to writing as himself, things took a dark turn. People Thad knew were being killed, and he became the prime suspect. He realized he was the source of the problem.

George Stark didn't like being dead and wanted to live. Thad couldn't share his revelations with his wife, Liz. King's writing about writers is irresistible, and he seems to have met his own George Stark as he taps into the dark side of himself. The question remains: will the sparrows come for him someday?

After reading this book, the author had a spooky encounter with hundreds of sparrows. If you want to see more of the author's book and movie reviews, visit his website and Facebook page.

Well, I haven't delved into "The Dark Half" since my teenage years. Now, I understand the reason behind it. Probably, the teen me was bored reading certain parts, just as the adult me feels now.

I do believe that some segments of the book are rather good. I adored the sparrows and the gradual realization of who George Stark was. However, the book gets overly burdened with an excessive amount of aimless talking, and the ending sort of fizzles out.

You ultimately have to read the other Castle Rock books to discover what happens to the characters mentioned in this one. While that's okay, it does mean that "The Dark Half" isn't a truly standalone book.

"The Dark Half" was penned in response to when Stephen King was exposed for writing as Richard Bachman. I must say that "The Dark Half" truly reads like a Bachman book. (Go ahead and read "The Long Walk," "The Running Man," and "The Regulators.") Most of those works seemed to have violence for the sake of violence. It's not my favorite among King's works, but it's still interesting.

"The Dark Half" is mostly brutal, with parts interrupted by characters chatting about things that we, as readers, are already aware of. So, for most of the book, you're just waiting for everyone to figure things out and for the ending to arrive.

The story is about author Thad Beaumont, who has recently come forward and confessed that he has been writing under the name of George Stark for years. After a man attempts to blackmail them for money to keep their secret hidden, Thad and his wife decide to declare George Stark dead. Thad has started to achieve some success writing under his own pen name and believes now is a good time to lay Stark to rest.

Unfortunately, someone goes to great lengths to murder anyone connected with the "death of George Stark." When all the signs point to Thad or someone close to him being responsible for these deaths, Thad begins to wonder if someone is delusional enough to think that they are really George Stark.

The character of Thad intrigued me in this one. I do feel sorry for what ultimately happens to him. (See "Needful Things" and "Insomnia.") Thad has a good life, and when you realize his connection to "George Stark," I ended up mostly pitying the guy.

The other characters in this one come and go and don't really resonate with me. We have Thad's wife, Liz, who felt like an afterthought after the first couple of hundred pages. I wished for more from that character.

Sheriff Alan Pangborn, to be honest, I didn't care for in this one. I liked him much better in "Needful Things," and he is also referenced later in "Bag of Bones." I think the issue for me is that the sheriff blames Thad for what has occurred, but I didn't, and I thought the way the book ended was strange.

We also get a plethora (not really, but it felt like it) of characters who end up being murdered by George Stark, and reading about all of their gruesome fates gets tiresome after a while.

The writing was okay, but as I mentioned, there was far too much talking. I found myself really bored after we reach Part II: Stark Takes Charge. Also, since I had this in paperback format, it was difficult to read some of the cursive writing included in the book that showed what Thad and Stark's writing looked like. I honestly wished I had a magnifying glass.

The setting of this book is quite familiar to Constant Readers. We're back in Castle Rock, Maine, the site of some insanity that has occurred in many of King's books. I always wonder why people never move away from that place. The first book in the Castle Rock series is "Cujo." After "The Dark Half," you can read "Needful Things" to follow up with Sheriff Alan Pangborn and hear about Thad Beaumont again.

The ending was just meh to me. I mean, I liked how King dealt with the problem of George Stark. It sounded awesome and terrifying (I'll never look at sparrows the same way again), but it just took far too long to get there.

Another amazing book from Stephen King. I really liked the climbing plot, the deep setting of the characters, and the action that manages to raise the heart rate while reading this masterpiece.

The story unfolds in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. King has a unique ability to create a world that feels so real, with characters that you can't help but care about.

The pacing is perfect, with just the right amount of tension and excitement at every turn. Whether you're a fan of horror or just a lover of great literature, this book is a must-read.

Of course, it is highly recommended!

Steven King's The Dark Half stands out as one of his finest works that I have had the pleasure of reading over the past nearly thirty years.

From the very first page, it had me completely hooked, and I couldn't put it down until I reached the end. The plot, which involves a novelist's alter ego coming to life in a physically manifested form, is an absolutely amazing concept.

When executed with such finesse and in King's unique style, it becomes even more captivating. King, as a writer, has an uncanny ability to write about the nature of a writer himself, delving deep into the psyche.

This is beautifully showcased in this book. The story also delves into the psychic connective nature of alter egos and possibly of twins, adding another layer of intrigue.

Overall, The Dark Half is an outstanding read that I would highly recommend to any fan of King's work or anyone looking for a thrilling and thought-provoking novel. So good..!!

Stephen King's last novel of the 1980s, "The Dark Half", is a dark and violent novel with lasting implications throughout King's canon. Concerned with issues of identity and the divided nature of writers, it is similar to King's more introspective works on fiction and authors, particularly "It", "The Secret Window", and especially "Misery", with which it shares notable similarities. More than those other works, the main question of "The Dark Half" is simply this: Who does a writer become when they sit down to write? First addressed in "Misery", but brutally extrapolated here, is the follow-up question: How does writing fundamentally change the writer?

King mentioned that "The Dark Half" was his way of making sense of the Richard Bachman phenomenon, how it was to be Bachman, and how being discovered as Bachman affected him. "The Dark Half" deals with the novelist Thad Beaumont, a literary writer beloved by critics but whose novels sell poorly. He also writes under the pseudonym George Stark, whose sadistic crime novels are all number one in sales. At the beginning of the book, Thad's pseudonym is discovered. Instead of allowing the man who discovered his secret to exploit it, he makes the news public, which culminates in a story in "People" magazine and a simulated burial for Stark.

However, Stark has other ideas about being dead. Shortly after the simulated burial, the people related to Stark's death are brutally murdered (in one of the most horrible sequences in King, an incidental character is beaten to death with his own prosthetic arm). Worse still, Thad's fingerprints are found at some of the crime scenes, leading to a police investigation. Gradually, Thad and his wife Liz come to understand that George Stark has somehow manifested in reality and is now attacking them.

While "The Dark Half" may be one of Stephen King's most violent books, it is also, perhaps paradoxically, one of the most cerebral. King's thoughts on writing here are fascinating and expand greatly on themes he first discussed in "Misery". Like Paul Sheldon, Thad Beaumont is a successful genre writer who feels trapped by his creation. Unlike Misery Chastain, Thad's creation is the metafiction of Stark, who, like Richard Bachman, is a false person who writes real books.

It's just that, as King says, pseudonyms have a way of becoming real, at least for those involved in their creation. Although the term "pseudonym" is somewhat inappropriate here: for both King and Beaumont, their pseudonyms have a backstory and a personality: beyond simply a name on the book cover, their pseudonyms achieved a rudimentary existence. Liz Beaumont knows George Stark well enough to actively dislike him; even before his manifestation in the real world, both she and Thad talk about him as if he were a real person, crediting both Thad's power of imagination and the assertive, and sometimes overwhelming, power of fiction.

However, the problem with Stark's appearance in the physical world is that he isn't real enough. By "killing him" at the beginning of the book, Thad is essentially stating that he will no longer write as Stark. But for writers, especially those whose compulsion to write borders on obsession, writing is life. In "Misery", Paul Sheldon is literally kept alive by the need to know what comes next in the book he is working on. In "The Tommyknockers", Bobbi Anderson builds a device that allows her to write telepathically, to the point where she writes even while sleeping; the essence that is giving her the power to do so is, at the same time, draining her life.

George Stark may have come to life, but clinging to that life without writing is killing him. He is "losing cohesion" and is unable to construct fiction without Thad's help, emphasizing the interdependence between the author and the creation. In "On Writing", King argues that "art is a support system for life, not the other way around", but in the case of George Stark (and perhaps in the case of Thad Beaumont) both scenarios seem true: writing cannot exist without life, and life cannot exist without writing. George Stark will collapse without Thad, but one of the crucial questions of the book is whether Thad will collapse without George.

Stephen King's interest in the dual nature of people had occupied him for much of the 1980s. In "Cycle of the Werewolf", he touched on the basic principles of werewolf fiction without really exploring them. He and Peter Straub went further in "The Talisman", introducing the concept of twins and brotherhood, emphasizing the singularity of a dual nature. In "The Stand", King presented a character with multiple personalities, Detta Holmes or Odetta Walker.

George Stark and Thad Beaumont start as two minds in one body; and when Stark asserts his reality, they become one mind in two bodies. As the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that only one can continue to exist. Fusion is not an option; only the dominant personality will be able to survive. But the outcome is doubtful: despite the dangers of losing his own cohesion, Thad is drawn into the story that Stark demands they write together. Opposing Paul Sheldon, whose novel gave him life on various levels, Thad is tempted by the power of his new book and that of Stark, although following his path will inevitably kill him.

With "It", King used the device of a divided narrative to follow two lines of time that eventually merge. "The Dark Half" is also divided, but in this case tonally rather than in terms of story. The segments that focus on the domestic life of the Beaumonts are almost comforting. King's skillful hand in characterization seems effortless: Thad, Liz, and their twin children William and Wendy are drawn convincingly, even delicately. The intrusions of George Stark seem written by a different hand, similar in humor and intention to the books King wrote under the name of Richard Bachman. In an author's note, King states that he is "indebted to the late Richard Bachman for his help and inspiration. This novel could not have been written without him". King's choice of words here, "indebted to", is interesting, given the nature of the novel and King's thoughts on the dependence of alternative personalities.

"The Dark Half" explores the themes and motifs of writing more nakedly than in any other place in his fiction. Without sacrificing the narrative flow or losing sight of the psychological and human cost of the events, King manages to expand on the ideas first found in "It", "Misery", and "The Tommyknockers", resulting in one of his most terrifying, effective, and emotionally powerful novels.

Full review without spoilers on my YouTube channel ➡ Maponto Lee

This is the kind of book that I will easily forget, except for its excellent premise and its gory final act. It surely has its moments. For one thing, it reads like psychological suspense with a big "who done it" energy. The story keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out who the culprit is. Second, I really enjoyed the bloody and gory details of this book. It's dark, brutal, and weird (at some points). The vivid descriptions of the violence and horror add to the overall atmosphere of the story. Lastly, and as always, King is such a great character writer. He used this concept, which is very close to him as he was also known to write under a pseudonym, to describe one's darkness. He delves deep into the minds of his characters, exploring their fears, desires, and secrets.

This book is certainly not the best, and also not the worst Stephen King had ever put out. It is less gripping than his other books. And, it is also dragged at some points. The pacing could have been better, and some of the subplots felt a bit unnecessary. But I do enjoy it. I love some parts of it, the rest is just okay. It's a decent read, especially if you're a fan of King's work and enjoy psychological suspense with a touch of gore.

In my teen years, I delved into "The Dark Half" and was completely captivated by its premise. There was a young boy who was thought to have a tumour, and when they operated on his brain, they discovered teeth and an eyeball - a sort of parasitic twin. The main character, whose name escapes me now (but it truly doesn't matter as the premise pertains to all of us), later received a visit from his "Dark Half" - a physical manifestation of his parasitic twin.

Looking back, I believe I have a better understanding of the book. We all have a manifestation of a Dark Half within us, and it is parasitic. It gnaws at us when not kept in check. The protagonist and antagonist are one and the same person. It's all about the internal struggle of fighting our demons, presented in a truly unique manner. The protagonist's relationship with his wife always stood out to me as it was so realistic. I vividly recall them reading a tabloid magazine for amusement and poking fun at celebrities and people's obsessions with them, which is rather ironic when you think about it.

I firmly believe that every King fan should give this book a read. It is a wonderful and underrated piece of literature, despite having its flaws - just like the protagonist himself. It offers a deep exploration of the human psyche and the battle between good and evil within us all.

Here it is, at last: I've reached the end of the '80s in my Stephen King reread project. It took me longer than expected, but I made it. Overall, I had a damn good time.

The 1980s was, arguably, King's most successful decade — at least as far as commercial appeal goes. He was like a literary rockstar, comparable to Bruce Springsteen or Led Zeppelin. He dominated the bestselling lists, and hit movies adapted from his works were constantly being released in theaters. He became an official household name. During those years, his kids grew older, he struggled with drug addiction and managed to get clean (a process that influenced almost every release from this period). He also collaborated with Peter Straub on a fantasy novel and launched the Dark Tower series. It was a highly productive time for King.

As I mentioned, I had a great time rereading the books from this decade. The purpose of doing this is to see how my opinions change over time. That happens quite often for me. I usually read quickly and skim over details, so rereading novels is almost always beneficial. Firestarter was much better than I remembered, while my opinion of Christine significantly worsened upon rereading. Stephen King's works are more complex than they seem, and multiple readings are almost always rewarding.

Now, let's talk about The Dark Half. Released in 1989, this novel was King's goodbye to the '80s. It contains many motifs that had appeared in his previous works, such as a writer/family man as the protagonist and the theme of addiction and trying to outrun one's desires. At first, it seems almost repetitive. It even partly takes place in Ludlow (the town from Pet Sematary), and the rest is set in Castle Rock. It's like returning to familiar territory! (Not that I'm complaining; I love both of those towns.)

For years, this book was in my bottom 5. I thought it was a bit dull, and I thought King's writing was clumsy. And, of course, I could never quite figure out what exactly George Stark is.

King doesn't explicitly explain it; he leaves some of the work to the reader, which is unusual for him. He usually enjoys detailing the hows and whys of his creations, but here it's left open to interpretation. I believe Thad Beaumont has a "wild talent" due to the absorption of his twin in the womb (which affected his brain as he developed). This has an impact on his neurotic development, placing him among characters like Carrie White, Danny Torrance, Charlie McGee, and Johnny Smith. Thad's power is his vivid imagination, his tendency to create imaginatively, and the uncontrollable ability, when triggered, to extract and transform ideas into matter that physically affects the world around him. By the end of the story, as George is falling apart and desperate to survive and succeed on his own, it becomes clear that Thad's talent is not perfect and can be extremely unpredictable. There's so much more I want to say about this (because I feel I've done a poor job of explaining my theory), but Goodreads has a word limit for reviews. Boo!

Once I had a better understanding of what George Stark is (or might be), I was able to enjoy the story much more. This is one of King's leanest and most intense novels. It's a nasty, bloody, and thrilling adventure, filled with plenty of horror and crime investigation to keep any reader hooked. However, sensitive readers beware: this one is not for the faint of heart. It's a gloriously gory book, and King doesn't hold back on any of the nasty details. This was a welcome change after big novels like It and The Tommyknockers. I'm not sure yet if this is now in my top 10, but it just might be. King's exploration of art and addiction (two themes he returns to frequently) is truly captivating. He's not afraid to be dark and go to the extremes. The ending of this novel really hit me hard – the bad guy loses, but the good guys do too. In this story, there is no winning. Only the slim hope of possibly recovering from the carnage.

King Connections

As I said earlier, a significant portion of The Dark Half takes place in Castle Rock, firmly placing it in the same universe as The Dead Zone, Cujo, and others. References to those novels are plentiful.

The Beaumonts' winter home is in Ludlow, Maine, which is where the Creed family lives in Pet Sematary.

On page 72, Juniper Hill, a mental asylum first mentioned in IT, gets a mention.

At one point, Deputy Norris Ridgewick refers to himself as a lunkhead. Is that a nod to Creepshow? I think so.

Favorite Quote

"No, you don't," Alan thought. "You don't understand what you are, and I doubt that you ever will. Your wife might... Although I wonder if things will ever be right between the two of you after this, if she'll ever want to understand, or dare to lose you again. Your kids, maybe, someday... But not you, Thad. Standing next to you is like standing next to a cave some nightmarish creature came out of. The monster is gone now, but you still don't like to be too close to where it came from. Because there might be another. Probably not; your mind knows that, but your emotions – they play a different tune, don't they? Oh boy. And even if the cave is empty forever, there are the dreams. And the memories. There's Homer Gamache, for instance, beaten to death with his own prosthetic arm. Because of you, Thad. All because of you."

Up Next:

Four Past Midnight

I first delved into The Dark Half during my teenage years, which now seems like the distant past. At that time, I had a rather favorable impression of it, and when I joined Goodreads, I rated it highly. However, upon revisiting this work, it didn't quite live up to my five-star memory.

It's still a decent book, to be sure. There were certain aspects that I truly enjoyed. For instance, I believe Stephen King really aced the ending. Additionally, the lore regarding the psychopomp and its use in the context of the sparrows was fascinating and well-executed.

Nevertheless, there were also many elements that failed to engage me. In particular, while I understand that George Stark/Alexis Machine was King's tribute to his favorite crime writers, the character came across as too much of a cartoon villain for my tastes these days. Moreover, I never really felt any connection to the Beaumont clan. I was far more interested in the side characters such as Alan Pangborn and the cameos by other residents of Castle Rock. I even felt a stronger connection to characters who had only brief appearances, like Thad's colleague Rawlie Delesseps and Dr. Pritchard, who only shows up in the past and on the telephone in the present.

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5, rounding up mainly due to the interesting bird-related elements and the satisfying ending.

Thad Beaumont is a writer, and it has to be said that he wasn't very successful until he started writing under the pseudonym George Stark. This was a definitive change in direction towards something much darker, and that's what brought in the money. Now, it's time to expose Stark, and via People Magazine, the pseudonym is finally laid to rest, along with the fake grave and all.

The only problem is that George Stark isn't quite ready to rest in peace.

As with my other early King reviews, I'll talk about what I liked and disliked about The Dark Half. So, there may well be spoilers if you haven't read this, but I think the vast majority of you devoured this a long time ago.

The best thing about this book is the murderous journey of the 'high-toned son of a bitch' George Stark. He's the presence you keep hoping to return to, even though you can sort of guess where it's all going. His rampage, unbelievable to most of the authorities (remember the fingerprints), but gripping to the reader, contained some of my favorite parts of the book.

Just a dream.

'I’m not done with you, cock-knocker, George Stark said softly from behind him. His voice was no longer smiling. His voice was as cold as Castle Lake in November. Remember that. You don’t want to fuck with me, because when you fuck with me….'

One of my favorite parts of the book was at the apartment of Frederick Clawson, the guy who was planning the big reveal about George Stark. The terror elicited from the journey of Dodie Eberhart, from the front door to the scene of the crime and the click of the door shutting, the realization that the killer had been behind her, was absolutely phenomenal. Superb writing, I have to say.

'Dodie Eberhart raised her voice to its maximum decibel level, windows cracked, the eardrums of small children ruptured, and dogs fell dead.'

And that's before she even gets to the murder scene.

The whole sparrow thing was brilliantly told and brought about the perfect ending. There's a mythology around the sparrows, of course, carrying the souls of the dead, and this brings another creepy element to the story, even though I hate, hate, and yes, hate the word Psychopomp. I can't help but say it with an intense feeling of distaste, but that's just me. The whole sparrows almost parting to walk through thing is chilling on its own.

Alan Pangborn, the sheriff of Castle Rock, is the glue that holds this story together, even if his revelation gained from the eventual phone call to the retired surgeon who operated on young Thad was a touch, well, unrevelationary (is that made up? It sounded right to me). Stark is the firework that holds the attention, and Thad is the failed party popper, Mr. reliable and decidedly plain.

So, my main gripe with this story was the main character, Thad Beaumont. I just didn't feel him, and I've said it before with Jake Epping from 11/22/63 and Johnny Smith from The Dead Zone. The main difference between these three King novels, though, is the bad guy. George Stark is leaps and bounds ahead of Lee Harvey Oswald and Greg Stillson as a dread-inducing entity. Danger and malevolence seep from the pores of George Stark, a seemingly unstoppable supernatural force on a mission to save himself.

Honestly, though, this is a brilliant story idea, very well executed, but in my eyes, lacking just a little with the characterization. I think it will be interesting to see where the switch comes, which novel is the turning point that shows the brilliant characterization of things like Joyland and his more recent stuff with the straight-up fantastic story-telling. The difference in style from his new to older stuff is still apparent, though, at this point, and I definitely prefer the style of his new stuff, although many won't agree.

And this passage, fucking spiders.

‘Stark sliced upward, splitting the crotch of Eddings’s beige trooper uniform, splitting his scrotal sac, drawing the razor up and out in a long, buttery stroke. Eddings’s balls, suddenly untethered from each other, swung back against his inner thighs like heavy knots on the end of an unravelling sash-cord. Blood stained his pants around the zipper. For a moment he felt as if someone had jammed a handful of ice cream into his groin... and then the pain struck, hot and full of ragged teeth. He screamed.’

Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...

Another hair-raising, skin-crawling read by Mr. King! It's not only creepy but also quite gory.

Writer and recovering alcoholic Thad Beaumont pens under the name George Stark. (During the time Stephen King wrote this book, he used the pen name Richard Bachman.) Thad writes a best-selling series about a violent killer named Alexis Machine. But when his writing as Stark goes public, he and his wife Elizabeth stage a mock burial to "kill" Stark, with a headstone reading "Not a Very Nice Guy."

However, Thad's worst nightmare is about to come true. George Stark emerges as a physical being and goes on a killing spree, having the exact same personality traits that Thad showed while writing as Stark. All the murders point to Thad, and the local Sheriff Alan Pangborn has a hard time believing Thad's innocence, let alone his story of a man with the same name as his original pen name killing people who knew him. Now, Thad must come to terms with his dark half and delve into his own mind and the mind of his supposed alter ego, George Stark!!

The book is filled with great character development, suspense, and a few gross-out scenes. Although the beginning started a bit slow, after a few chapters, I was completely hooked!