Customer Reviews

The Storyteller: A Novel

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had heard a lot of praise for this book via word-of-mouth and since I am interested in the publishing industry, I gave it a try. I should never have started reading it at 9 PM because it kept me up until the wee hours of the morning!

No summary needed--Amazon did that above very adequately.
Arthur Reid, whoever s/he might be, sure gave us an insider's look at the business of making books. When you see how random it is that a book is chosen to become a *star*, it makes you wonder how many great books are ignored.

I loved the clever way this book was written, starting off as a tale of a small-town, would-be writer and then escalating into a full-blown literary thriller. The twists and turns always seemed plausible, not forced, and I found myself rooting for Steven even though he had initially done something that was morally wrong. I think it takes a good writer to get the reader on the side of the "bad" guy!

I would highly recommend this book!

An absolute page turner describes this book completely. A struggling writer Steven (with a v) King is having trouble coming up with his first novel. In the midst of his struggle, he is presented with a unique opportunity - he takes it and suddenly the sky is the limit. He's published, he's famous, he's bestselling and he's rich. Everything he touches turns to gold. Life couldn't be better until ---- he's face to face with the consequences of his impulsive decision.

This is a wonderful, suspenseful and insightful book about the publishing industry and how the best of people can make the wrong decisions. You won't be able to stop reading until you find out how Steven resolves (or not) his situation.

There's also a completely surprise twist at the ending.

You can't go wrong with this one.

The other reviewers cover the plot summary quite well, so I'll not repeat them. I read this book in 4 hours. Couldn't put it down. It's a terrific read, and I highly recommend it both for its intelligent sense of humor and the interesting points it makes about America's treatment of the arts, celebrities, and the craft of writing.

I have to admit that I didn't read 'The Storyteller' in one sitting, starting after dinner, and, of course 'Law & Order' reruns; but at 1245 AM I decided to take a break and finished it the next morning.
The book builds momentum and goes from strength to strength. "The Storyteller" is wry and funny with a wonderful contemporary feel to it. Tremendous velocity, too; I mean it seems to speed right along and never gets bogged down in miscellany. I felt the author was right in the living room telling us the story. The spiral of self-deception is so vivid and real, I think each of us could find some example of it, however small, in our own experience which makes the book even more immediate.

This book was...interesting. I like reading books about the life of a writer, especially a fictional one. It was engaging all the way through and the poor character just couldn't catch a break.

It was also kind of funny at times as it poked fun at the tribulations of a writer's life. For instance, everyone who does business with the main character (MC) or who is a friend of a friend wants the MC to autograph their collection of his books. Or the police officer who does the MC a huge favor and then asks the MC to read his manuscript he's working on.

It's a kind of funny take on the publishing industry. I didn't quite like the ending, but that's neither here nor there.

Hated the protaganist, the plot, the cardboard characters, the droning on and on about being found out and his annoyingly cloying wife, Tina, and cutesy, stupid son, Ben. Ben Chambers ultimately was annoying as well. And to what resolution. He gets away with everything? How convenient that the bodybuilder girls die. Just like real life. This was junk. Not even a decent short story.

I was aprehensive when I started this book. I was thinking this book would be very suspenseful in the sense that Stephen King would write, based on the cover and description on my copy. Since I don't like those types of books, I anticipated I would get into it and then put it down. I was completely disappointed however to find that I did not think this book was all that suspenseful. I felt it was somewhat predictable. I read another reviewers description to not start this book at night and I wondered if I read the same book they had, because I did not find this story all that scary at all. I don't think I would even classify it as suspenseful. I did finish the book, and it is not the worst book I have ever read, but I don't agree that it is a page turner that all others seem to think.

The plotline of this engaging, if somewhat implausible novel, has been done many times before. John Farris covered this territory in a short story in SCARE TACTICS; of course Stephen (with a ph) King did it somewhat in SECRET WINDOW. The "hero" in this tale is Steven King, so that's an interesting and original concept, but much of the book employs the plot devices in the aforementioned books. The characters of Vera and June, the weightlifting sisters, are two of the most evil characters I've visited for a while. My problem is that since you know what's going to happen, I found myself wanting Reid to hurry the plot along. Reid has a keen knowledge and insight into the publishing industry, and that makes for engaging reading. However, I found the "twist" at the end a little hard to swallow. I'm sure the readers who loved this book have every right to do so, but to me, it was just a rehashed version of other author's works.

you'll know exactly what the headline on this review means when you read 'the storyteller'...this is a non-stop thriller that's so much fun to read that i didn't have time to be scared...the plot is full of amazing twists, the writing is wry, witty and really first-rate....i'm not usually a thriller fan but a friend told me this was a 'must-read' and i definitely agree...watch out stephen king, arthur reid is on your case....alexandra penney

Steven King (note the spelling) longs to live the life of a famous writer. He dreams of attending parties in his honor, waving from the backseat of a limo in midtown Manhattan, autographing books for an endless line of fans. Not to mention the money. For Steve, the dream comes true. But it comes at quite a cost. Steve has an embarrassing secret that threatens to ruin his exciting new life. He faces the possibility of losing everything he holds dear, though he has to figure out what he really wants and make some hard decisions. He capers through his problems with a sort of devil-may-care attitude, which sometimes left me more fearful of what might happen than it appeared he was.

The first half of THE STORYTELLER read like a television show I once saw. It seemed fairly predictable. But then the twists started winding their way into the plot after about 100 pages. Since it's an engaging read, getting to the good stuff takes very little time and effort, and it's time well spent.

King, who changes his name to Konigsberg --- an old family name --- leaves the glitter of Key West, Florida for a quiet town in Maine, writes by day and bartends by night. His girlfriend, Tina, visits often while they plan for her move up and their eventual marriage. His faithful dog, Chester, accompanies King on his daily walks, listening intently to his ramblings. He meets an old fellow named Ben who mentors him in his writing, helping him vastly improve his characters.

So why isn't King happy? His novel is coming along, but not fast enough to please him. He desperately wants his parents to think of him as a success. And he wants to prove to his agent, Cousin Stuart, that he's just as good as any of Stuart's other clients. Tina already loves him, but he figures a bestselling novel wouldn't hurt their relationship. So he makes one very bad decision, then compounds it with a host of poor choices, which finally plunge him into an abyss he can't see his way out of. King's luck takes him through some rough spots, drops a bomb on him now and then, and he emerges on the other end. But unscathed? Well...

The author Arthur Reid --- actually a pseudonym as the authors are publishing insider Howard Kaminsky and his wife Susan, who is a former editor --- likely fashioned Steven King after a collage of writers. Initially, Reid seemed to have the same trouble as King does in fleshing out his characters. He takes his time building the personalities. By midway, his dubious hero, King, has become almost the boy next door, a fellow you can't help but root for. THE STORYTELLER is a fanciful tale with a bit of a moral to it, and makes for an enjoyable day of light reading.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers