Joyland

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Michael Kelly

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

"Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book.... Even the most hardboiled readers will find themselves moved."
—Charles Ardai, Edgar- and Shamus Award-winning editor of Hard Case Crime.

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. Joyland is a brand-new novel and has never previously been published.

©2013 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Loved this

I enjoyed the storyline, the mystery and the supernatural surprise hero. This is why I’m a fan. Great read.

Fun story, great narration

This was an easy read. It kept my interest, though the end was a little predictable. I loved the narration, which in my opinion, can make or break a book.

LIKE LISTENING TO A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD!

I have listened to this several times and have enjoyed it each time. You get immersed in the world of the carney and SKing as always has a way of describing the subject matter that puts you right with the main character,

Strangely good

I can't say what it is about this book, but there is something that makes it painful to stop listening. I never wanted to stop.

If you take a step back and think about the plot it really isn't very interesting and yet I could not get enough.

Not sure if it's the characters or the writing, but King really draws in readers (or listeners).

Definitely recommended.

Very....."en-JOY-able" ;-)

Where does Joyland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

towards the top.

What did you like best about this story?

I honestly loved the whole book. I hear a television movie coming, I hope.

What does Michael Kelly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brings out the emotion and brings life to the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Take a ride to Joyland just for the scare of it.

Any additional comments?

I really loved the characters, the colors, sounds, and the little twists. And I really have enjoyed the nice little departure Mr. King has taken in his last few books, but to tell you the truth, I can't wait for "Doctor Sleep" to come out later this month.

I wish King wrote more of them like this one.

I really enjoyed this one. I've listened to many Stephen King books, and have bought audio books of ones that I've already read because I enjoy listening to the stories when I'm driving, jogging, etc. This one I particularly liked because it's a simple, engaging ghost story and mystery rolled into one. It's not overly long, involves a relatively small number of characters, and has a nice tone throughout. It has a different feel than some of King's other novels; it's not a horror story at all but rather a nostalgia tale with a supernatural twist. It was nice for the characters of Joyland to have the center stage.

Pleasantly Suprised

I have enjoyed all of the Hard Case books by Stephen King, but this is the only one that I have gotten as an audio book. In addition to the compelling nature of the story itself, Michael Kelly's performance is simply one of the best I have heard. It sounds almost dry and matter of fact, yet contains a depth of emotion I have rarely heard from a narrator. A somewhat understated performance that really delivers. I highly recommend this book.

Stephen king meets Walt Disney.

At first, I thought this was going to be a boring novel about someone just getting a summer job at a theme park, but as I listened, Isaw what Stephen could do with a crime novel.

Worth a quick read

I still think about the characters in this book every now and then. and that means it stuck with me. something about this book is special.

Wow. Listen to this book.

One of the best books I’ve listened to a ina really long time. I laughed, was On The edge of my seat, and I cried lots of tears. Such a great book!