The Talisman

By: Stephen King, Peter Straub

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 28 hrs

Publisher's summary

On a brisk autumn day, a 13-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: His father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America - and into another realm.

One of the most influential and heralded works of fantasy ever written, The Talisman is an extraordinary novel of loyalty, awakening, terror, and mystery. Jack Sawyer, on a desperate quest to save his mother's life, must search for a prize across an epic landscape of innocents and monsters, of incredible dangers and even more incredible truths. The prize is essential, but the journey means even more. Let the quest begin....

©2001 Simon & Schuster; 2001 Stephen King and Peter Straub

Critic reviews

Audie Award Winner, Fiction (unabridged), 2002

"A classic...rare and dazzling...a journey to rival the greatest adventure stories ever told." ( New York Daily News)

"Extraordinary...makes your hair stand on end." ( The Washington Post)

Not his best by far

great concept, I'd give it 4 stars for creativity. but it was entirely too long as is. he could have done better with a little effort.

The Talisman - very well done

One of my favorite reads when it first came out. now I am revisiting it on Audible. Frank Muller makes you feel King's characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this performance.

Awesome

Absolutely loved this book read it 25 years ago even more fun to have it read to me

A great work from King

this book was really good, King I feel really stepped out of his comfort zone while writing this and did a really good job the characters are all well fleshed out and it is a fun story from start to finish.

A Stephen King Classic!

Another adventure from the intertwined worlds of Stephen King. A brilliant performance from the legendary Frank Muller.

Original and a good story, but not King's best.

It is testimony to Stephen King's outrageous talent that his "mediocre" books are better than most of the rest of what's available in popular literature. This story starts slowly, but it picks up steam and it ends well. Frank Muller's narration is excellent. This is a story about children, and the character development is well written. I recently read "It" - another of King's books that cast children as main characters - and the children in "The Talisman" are similarly capable of carrying the story without it becoming childish or simplistic. The plot is original and inventive. I simply think many of King's other books are more interesting. You might prefer this story.

Seemed childish

Wasn't the "True Horror" story I was looking for, but it was still good and worth the read.

Nearly my favorite

One of King’s best, second only to The Stand. The worlds built by King and Straub are so real in their detail that you can’t help but think that if you simply had some crappy wine, you might be able to shift over to one of them yourself. The best thing that can be said about a book is that you can’t wait till the next from the author comes out, luckily for me, the next came out a while ago so I am off to listen.

loved it

loved it
nothing like a good book on the road or listening to before bed

Wonderful

King never disappoints anyway but I went back and listened to this book on audio again and it was every bit as good as I remembered! As always I would not have minded a few more chapters!!!!