Desperation [NOOK Book]

King takes his writing to the next level.

Everything seems normal for the various people travelling through Nevada on the U.S. 50, that is, until a cop with strange eyes pulls each of them over for no apparent reason. Mysteriously, each of the novelâ⿬⿢s characters are charged and arrested for crimes that they are almost certain they did not commit. One individual finds drugs in the back of his car and has no clue where they came from another is ushered into the back of the police car after all four of his tires were punctured by an inconveniently placed piece of police equipment. All of these individuals are taken to a small town in Desperation, Nevada, an area with a name that sets the mood for the novel. The plot takes an ugly twist almost immediately when the now erratic and seemingly insane cop kills off one individual and throws the rest into holding cells. From there, the main characters of the novel, which are surprisingly well developed, despite the large amount of them, try to break out of the copâ⿬⿢s prison (complete with a guard wolf), and escape from the twisted and plagued town which prays upon the fears and weaknesses of each individual, undermining their every move in an attempt to supply hosts for a greater, primal entity. While it may seem that Kingâ⿬⿢s novel is a bit out there and much too unbelievable to contain anything beside a fun read, this is not so. In fact, one of Desperationâ⿬⿢s most appealing factors is its in-depth analysis of the human psyche, which, as a real world application, presents a satisfying contrast to the novelâ⿬⿢s fantastical (Although I stress that it is darker and more twisted than the typical fantasy tales) plot. Combine such an intriguing, thought provoking story with Stephen Kingâ⿬⿢s writing, which describes every horrible moment of the novel in such a way that the reader can picture the scene perfectly. Desperation is the only book that I have ever read which was able, through such descriptive writing and a captivating, yet revolting (in a good way), tale, to make me paranoid for a while after putting it down at night. Thus, I give Desperation a full five star rating and label it as one of my favorite books.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

best ever

This is my favorite Steven King novel. I dont have any descriptive words on why other than I simply could not ever put the book down. As if I was living the story.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Desperate!

I started reading Stephen King as a teenager. Back then he could throw anything at me and I ate it up. As an adult, he actually goes places I'm not sure I like him going and I'm totally horrified! He's still a masterful writer and if you love having the tarnation scared out of you, no one will do it better.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Best of Everything, Tak!

I think this book is classic Stephen King, and it represents the best of Stephen King. I loved this book for the same reasons I love The Green Mile and The Stand. The novel contains a well proportioned mix of fear, humanity, and spirituality. What made Desperation different from The Stand and The Green Mile was that the scare factor was much larger in this novel. There was a lot more violence, suspense, and thrill to it. However, the undertones of the story, i.e. the spirituality of it, was what really made it impossible for me to put down. I read it in less than a week, which is unprecedented for a slow reader like me. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. This book is VERY worth reading and I suggest you give it a try if you are feeling on the fence about it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Tak!

One of the only books over 500 pages to keep me hooked from start to finish. Some chapters, I'd say, were completely useless and therefor confuse the plot up a little. Great read, though, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes good old fashion horror novels.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome!!!!!

I love King's work and this book is definitely one of my favorites. If you're worried about the story starting slow like some of his others dont! Crazy things start happening almost immediately which makes it almost impossible to put down. I highly recommend this book!!!

so long winded

Nothing even shocking inn this book. It starts off intriguing, but after a while i jusr wanted all of the characters to get killed off. Everyone knows that's not a good sign..

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! But beware

I thought this book was amazing but if you are sqeamish your probaly not cut out for stephan king! My sister tried reading it and said " HOW DID YOU READ THIS? YOU ARE SICK! " i said " yup, just like stephan king! " lol so read it..... if you can that is

Chilling...

Im a big Kijg fan and this book is in my top five favorite books! Intense read with great plot! Looovvee!

Desperation-one of King's best!!

Ties with Pet Sematary and It for my favorite books by King!!!

Desperation

Absoletly could not put down! Loved this, read before "the regulators"!

Another great

Another great

Awesome read!

Defintely a page turner ! I couldn't put it down!

King delivers....again!

I'd read many Stephen King books, I've been satisfied by nearly all of them, except for Roadwork which was kinda rubbish...but anywaus after I took a short hiatus from reading for some reason I decided to return to King. I went to the book store and saw the Desperation paperback lying there. I remembered watching the made for T.V movie and liking it so I picked it up. The first day of reading I read 120 pages...it was that good. The book itself is about 550 pages with small print. Anyways, I loved it. the characters (as in all of Kings writing) were spot on and realistic, the terrain was a nice change of pace from the usual Maine setting in most of his books. I liked it a lot. But as I kept reading I noticed that my liking for the terrian faultered a little bit. I just got tired of invisioning sand I guess. Any ways that's thats the only complaint I have of this book!

Mind Blowing! Worth buying.

This is one of my first stephen king books, and definitely one of my favorites. All the characters were very interesting, and the story is amazing. Once you start reading, you'll never want to put it down. The book is attention gripping all the way through, and definitely a satisfying story! Stephen King did it again with this one!!!

Great Book

Now, DESPERATION was the first King book I'd read at the time, after seeing the movie while flipping channels. It was a fantastic book on it's own, though, after reading more of his books, it's not my favorite, but still an amazing book. It seemed to drag on at times, but the charecters are very believable, and I really enjoyed the book.

Mind-Twisting...GREAT.

This is a great book and, if you like Dean Koontz books, this is similar to what he would've written. I? how he makes his characters feel so real. I cried during one part when a boy is talking about his best friend's near death. This boy, is very important to everyone's lives in this very GREAT book.

wonderful

no matter why book you read by stephan king, you will never be disapointed. this book gives you a mix of shivers, nightmares, sick stomache, and the creeps. its absolutly wonderful. it took me awhile to read, but i couldnt put it dont. MUST READ

stephen king dose it again!!!

All seems normal for the various people travelling through, Nevada on the U.S. 50, that is, until a cop with strange eyes pulls each of them over for no apparent reason. Oddly, each of the novel characters are charged and arrested for crimes that they are certain they did not commit. One person finds drugs in the back of his car and has no clue where they came from another is lead into the back of the police car after all four of his tires were wounded by an awkwardly placed piece of police equipment. All of these individuals are taken to a small town in Desperation, Nevada, and an area with a name that sets the mood for the novel. The plot takes a twist almost immediately when the now irregular and rapidly insane cop kills off one individual and throws the rest into holding cells. From there, the main characters of the novel try to break out of the prison, and escape from the abnormal and afflicted town which prays upon the fears and weaknesses of each individual, undermining their every move in an try to supply hosts for a greater, original thing. While it may seem that King novel is a bit out there and much too unbelievable to contain anything beside a fun read, this is not so. In fact, one of Desperation most interesting issues is its in-depth study of the human psyche, which, as a real world application, presents a plenty difference to the novel fantastical plot. Combine such an interesting, thought irritating story with Stephen King writing, which describes every horrible moment of the novel in such a way that the reader can picture the scene perfectly. Desperation is the only book that I have ever read which was able, through such descriptive writing and a fascinating, yet repulsive, tale, to make me paranoid for a while after putting it down at night.

Great Story

Loved the story, quick, riveting and held my attention all the way through.

The scan of this book was not so good though. LOTS of misplaced punctuation and typographical errors. I hope someone sees this post who can suggest that a QA review can be better done on this.