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Gerald's Game  By  cover art

Gerald's Game

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Lindsay Crouse
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Publisher's summary

When a game of seduction between a husband and wife ends in death, the nightmare has only just begun in this sinister twist on a bedtime story - a number-one national best seller and "one of Stephen King's best" (USA Today).

Gerald and Jessie Burlingame have gone to their summer home on a warm weekday in October for a romantic getaway. After being handcuffed to her bedposts, Jessie tires of her husband's games, but when Gerald refuses to stop, the evening ends with deadly consequences. Still handcuffed, Jessie is trapped and alone.

Over the next 28 hours, in the lakeside house that has become a prison, Jessie will come face to face with all the things she has ever feared. Her only company is a hungry stray dog and the various voices that fill her mind. As night comes, she is unsure whether it is her imagination or if she has another companion: someone watching her from the corner of her dark bedroom.

A master of his craft, Stephen King's novels haunt in many different ways. Gerald's Game "kept us up half the night, we couldn't put it down" (Newsweek).

©1992 Stephen King (P)1992 Penguin Highbridge Audio

Featured Article: We're Your #1 Fans—A Stephen King Character Guide


With a mind-boggling portfolio of 62 novels and more than 200 short stories (and counting!), Stephen King undeniably reigns supreme over literary horror. From Danny Torrance to the dreaded Pennywise, check out some of his most iconic characters with this comprehensive look. (But beware: there are spoilers ahead! So, much like when you press play on a Stephen King audiobook, you should proceed with caution.)

What listeners say about Gerald's Game

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Please get rid of the sound effects

The story was great, but the random sound effects placed in the story by the editing/production department absolutely drove me insane. I forced myself to finish the book and them promptly returned it.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Perfect Masterpiece of Story Telling!

I'm an Exterminator in NYC for the past 24 years. I've seen blood and guts galore. But I had to pull over, put my face in my hands and moan in distress.
The way the story is written and told is beyond amazing.
This is the highest quality of psychological horror.
Stephen King really pushed the limits and came out on top... Again and
Lindsay Crouse is now one of my favorite narrators.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Scared the hell out of me.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, It's a long book and sometimes you want to just stop reading it but the ending makes up for any boring parts.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Dog, Prince. You cannot help but feel sorry for him.

Which scene was your favorite?

When you find out about the Space Cowboy in the last chapter.

Who was the most memorable character of Gerald's Game and why?

The Space Cowboy. I have already had a nightmare about him/it.

Any additional comments?

I had just read, or should I say, listened to the audio book of Dolores Claiborne and loved it. Being it kind of ties into this book I decided this would be my next one to listen to. One of the things I don’t like about King’s writing is that it can go on and on and on about one little detail and I like things to keep moving at a faster pace. Dolores Claiborne moved along very well. This book, however, does not. I have, to be honest, I fell asleep many times listing to it. Some reviewers say they don’t like the musical chime sounds in the book. I feel they are there to wake the reader up.

The biggest problem I have with the story. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, even though it seems to be easily available below. I'll just say that the main character gets herself into a situation a little bit like "Misery", in that she is trapped in a bed for most of the book. While different than "Misery", this situation is every bit as frightening as in the other books. She begins to see something in the corner of the room, which may or may not be a hallucination. You want it to be just a hallucination, to be honest, it is that creepy.

The physical pain she is suffering starts triggering flashbacks of childhood sexual abuse from her father. In true Stephen King form, we are presented with the possibility that this “thing” is the ghost of the father returning to her in another helpless situation.

First, problem is that he gets into too much detail with the flashbacks. These flashbacks throughout the book, each getting more and more explicit. King wants us to feel the pain of what the father's sex act is but it's presented in far too much an erotic manner to get it's point across. Thus, the novel may appeal to pedophiles in a manner that the author does not intend it to. If nothing else it is giving a pedophile some good lessons on how to get the victim to think it’s her fault.

The second problem, the book is it is way too long. It’s really a short story that gets out of hand. The book could be cut in half and still be a good, if not better.

Outside of those two things I have to say the book is downright scary. I have never had a book give me a nightmare before but this book did! The thing in the corner known as the Space Cowboy got under my skin big time. As the book went on, the tension of will she get out of her situation builds to a point I had to take a break from listening to the book. Knowing the Space Cowboy may be a real “Thing” and will be back again to hide in the showdown of the bedroom corner makes her dilemma even worse than it already is.

At one point I thought to myself “I hope he does not give us too much info on the Space Cowboy, my mind can make it scarier then he can.” Well, King does give us all of its information in the last chapter and I can say I was very wrong. My mind could have gone in the way King did with this person/thing. Horror at it’s best! So any boring parts of the book are forgiven for the climax of the ending of this book.

One last thing, you better have a strong tummy for this book. It’s a very detailed book with a ton of gore in it. I usefully listen to books while I am having lunch and dinner, not with this one.

So read Dolores Claiborne and then this one to get the best of both nightmare worlds these two ladies live in.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Random noises

The reading was 5 stars. random noises earned it 3 stars. could do without it.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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S K @ his best. Love the way it ties to Dolores Claiborne!

Ms. Crouse does an incredible job of narrating. All of this book's intensity is communicated to we faithfully constant readers.
BRAVO, Mr King...

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

why the odd sounds

boring story not the Stephen king I love. and I don't know who suggested the random sounds or music but they should be shot.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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One of my favorites

Just imagine. Your trapped. No way out. You have to relive your personal nightmares and the dark and shadows are coming after you. You have to face doing horrible things to get away. This is what horror is. Fear at its core.

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8 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good but gory

More gory than I expected, which is ok.
Warning **(minor spoiler)*:
don't read if you are sensitive to the topic of childhood molestation. I wish they would indicate that in the summary

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    2 out of 5 stars
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His worst!

I have been a loyal fan of Stephen King for at least 2 decades. This was a total disappointment. Tiresome and repetitive. Had to force myself to finish the book. I Do not recommend it to anyone.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

It put me in a mild coma. 😴

It put me in a mild coma. Started off well but got boring very quickly.😴

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3 people found this helpful