Desperation (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Oh! Oh, Jesus! Gross!..." (more)
Key Phrases: can tahs, can tak, big cop, Ellen Carver, Reverend Martin, David Carver (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A notice to those who feel that Stephen King has lost his magic touch: Desperation is the genuine goods. The ensemble cast of ordinary Americans thrown together by chance, including a disgruntled alcoholic writer and a child who is wise beyond his years, may be a bit too familiar. But the nearly deserted Nevada mining town with an enormous haunted mine pit and an abandoned movie theatre where the survivors hang out makes for a striking battleground, and the grisly action rarely flags. Best of all, though, are the characters of Tak, the ancient body-hopping evil who emerges from the mine, and of "God"--whom the New York Times describes as "the edgiest creation in Desperation. Remote, isolated, ironic, shrouded behind disguises, perhaps 'another legendary shadow,' this deity forms a sly foil, and an icy mirror, to Tak."

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. From the vault of horror master King comes a terrifying tale of Desperation, Nev., a place ruled by a maniacal man in uniform and haunted by deadly secrets. In true King fashion, the story features a small cast of likable yet deeply flawed protagonists that may or may not make it to the final page in one piece. Narrator Kathy Bates, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the film adaptation of King's Misery, takes the reins and holds listeners rapt from start to finish. Bates has the inherent ability to make anything, no matter how over the top, sound realistic and immediate. A Signet paperback. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Signet (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451188462
• ISBN-13: 978-0451188465
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (611 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,634 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'OUR GOD IS STRONG', March 13, 2003

By	NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Desperation (Hardcover)

Having read just over half of King's books, I have to say that Desperation ranks up there with Wizard and Glass as one of my favorites. That said, this book is not for the shallow or the feint of heart. Desperation is a tale of hope and love in the darkest hour--and the hour is dark indeed.

Desperation is a desert town in Nevada. This place, where on the good days the people can be 'intense,' has been turned into a wasteland by an ancient evil. A group of unsuspecting strangers drawn to the town must survive their encounter with this force and in the process make a decision that will forever change their lives.

King's set-up to this story is long, gruesome, and grim. There are parts that any decent person will recoil from--as they should. The evil in this book is not glamorous; it is evil in its most fallen and base form.

Once the dark 'collecting' of the opening is through, the novel finally hits full stride. Good appears in the most unexpected form. Evil is engaged in a battle to the death.

Usually 'good vs. evil' type novels suffer from too much of a 'black and white' didactic moralism. The beauty of Desperation is that the heroes of the novel must first engage the evil and good within themselves before they can lift a finger to fight the real enemy. King never fails to amaze me with the craft of his words and his honest description of the glory and shame of being human.

Desperation is a stand alone novel. However, it ties in (as do many of King's novels) with the Dark Tower series. It also has a bizarro 'sister book' in the late Richard Bachman's The Regulators.

I give Desperation my heartfelt, highest recommendation--don't be scared off by a little blood and guts. There is a lot of despair, desperation and cruelty in these pages. There is also faith, hope, and most importantly--love.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF KING'S BEST! A VERY PLEASANT SURPRISE!, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

Having just slogged through "Bag Of Bones", my expectations for this book were pretty low. Basically, I was anticipating another seven hundred page turkey; my only real motive for reading it was making room on my bookshelf. Imagine my surprise to find it to be one of the best King novels I've ever read. At first, it looked like Jim Thompson-style noir. The villain, a six-foot seven small town Nevada psychotic cop, prowls U.S. 50, "the loneliest road in America", rounding up innocent motorists, kidnapping, imprisoning and killing them. So far, so good. The pure simplicity of such a storyline, especially in the hands of a master storyteller such as Steven King, can't fail to draw a reader in. The brute evil of Collie Entragian, the cop, combined with the isolation of the abandoned western mining town in which the story is set, creates a powerful, suspenseful conflict for the group of travellers Entragian has waylaid and locked up in the jail of the town of Desperation. But there's more. It soon becomes apparent that the supernatural is at work (what Steven King book would be complete without the supernatural?). Entragian speaks to the coyotes, buzzards, scorpions, spiders, snakes and other desert creatures in an unknown language, commanding them to help him carry out his nasty business. He has made good use of them so far, doing away with the entire population of Desperation, and will soon be turning his efforts against the travellers in his jail. For all of it's atmosphere and suspense, this novel is actually a return by King to the exploration of good versus evil, the nature of God and the mystery of faith which he delved into in "The Stand". David Carver, the protagonist, is an eleven year-old boy on vacation with his family when captured by Entragian. He must pit his recently acquired religious faith against the evil spirit of Tak, who has risen from the nearby Diablo mine and inhabited Collie Entragian's body. This faith is mercilessly tested throughout the story, and it's not always clear that God is with this unfortunate little group. If "Desperation" has a weakness, it's probably in the characters. In my opinion, King has never been much in that department and he doesn't show any new ability along those lines in this book. I cared about David and the other good guys only because the story itself grabbed me. However, if that's the worst you can say about a Steven King book, chances are you're talking about a good read. Believe it or not, this is some of the tightest seven hundred pages I can recall reading. I strongly recommend this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LET THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL BEGIN, March 17, 2000

By A Customer

I began this book on February 24 and finished it on March 1 (yes, one week). I have only read two other Stephen King books: The Green Mile and Cycle of the Werewolf. I gave both of them a "Good, but..." review. Then I read Desperation, and was amazed. It sounded pretty boring at first, but as I kept on reading, I didn't want to stop. Before I knew it, I was done with it. Now right after I read a book or see a movie, I like it or hate it. But as time passes, I realize how much I like (or hate) it. So I waited a week or so, and I realized how much I loved it. The characters are so well introduced, and the hatred that builds inside you for the antagonist is incredible. Now I am extremely afraid to go to any western state. I swear, if I see so much as a vulture, a coyote, a spider, or a mine, I will freak out and run for my dear life. I guarantee to anyone who reads this book: you will like it. If you don't, you seriously need to get a life. Tak!