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)

Loved the Story

Had read this when it came out but enjoyed it a lot more on Audible.

keeps moving

this is the second time I've listened to this book and I think I liked it even more this time. will listen to black house now. I know I liked it too.

Frank Muller is great - not so much for the story

Would you try another book from Stephen King and Peter Straub and/or Frank Muller?

I already did - Black House.

Has The Talisman turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not really as I'm a sucker for Stephen King books.

What about Frank Muller’s performance did you like?

Frank Muller has an incredible voice that creates a natural, esoteric vibe that other narrators cannot pull off.

Did The Talisman inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

Maybe I had too high of expectations, but I can’t say that I was overly impressed by “The Talisman”. From the very beginning of the story, I could not get into the plot or even any of the plot devices. It wasn’t that the story was hard to believe, and I don’t have a problem with fantasy, it’s just that the execution and premise of the story was really hard to get in to.

Overall, it felt like a patch-work quilt where a collection of short-story adventures were sewn together with 12-year old Jack Sawyer being the single thread. My main problem with the story could be summed up with the following points: **SPOILERS AHEAD**

1. Jack’s Mother: The premise of Jack’s mom dying of cancer and letting him leave and travel the country seems a bit far-fetched. If Jack’s mother was near-death and dying of cancer, why would she travel up to a beach house rather than seek medical treatment? I never really got this angle, yet most of the story hinged on Jack leaving his mother to find the Talisman to cure her.

2. It seems convenient that it takes 90% of the book for Jack to reach the west coast, and on the way back he gets a car ride that takes a couple of pages. It reminds me of the Eagles from Lord of the Rings which begs the question: why does an adventure story take pages upon pages to tell the quest of a journey, yet the return home has a means that makes it convenient for the characters to reduce travel time by a fraction? Why wouldn't that have been your first option?!
3. I didn’t care for Wolf. Seems lazy to have a werewolf as a secondary character and simply name him “Wolf.”
4. Speaking of Wolf, King/Straub took lengths to describe Wolf’s fear of driving in a car yet at the end of the tale his litter brother is a chauffeur.
5. I could’ve done without the sexual references. When characters are described as having foreskin, erections, and jewelry for their genitals, I really don’t understand how that adds to the story. If anything, I’m distracted and disgusted.
6. The main villains – Morgan Sloat/Morgan of Orris and Robert "Sunlight" Gardner/Osmond – were not as villainous as expected. They seemed very cookie-cutter and stereotypical.
7. Speedy Parker/Parkus was a bit of a confusing character. It was never well explained how he was able to pop-up in random places, yet Jack’s got to travel on foot everywhere he goes. I guess Jack isn’t so special after all. Maybe I missed something in the book, I but it was unclear to me how Speedy was able to show up in all the right places at all the random times.

I feel like maybe I am being a bit harsh with “The Talisman” but after reading The Dark Tower series I end up comparing all of Stephen King’s work to the DT. His DT series was such an epic piece of work that it really set the bar for any of King’s other fantasy/sci-fi stories.

Pros: Not many…maybe the sequel will be better.
Cons: Too many…the single most being that it’s hard to believe a single, dying mother would let her 12-year old son disappear for an unknown amount of time to an unknown location.
Bottom line: Not the best of King and maybe not the worst, but I probably wouldn’t read this one a second time.

Must Read

This is a book that just about everyone should read at least once. A classic.

35 years later - still WOW

Loved this book as much as I did when I read it 35 years ago. Maybe even more because the narration was wonderful, adding so much to the story. Now, I need to read/listen to the follow-up -- Black House.

Interesting Multi-verse take...

I always enjoy King. Interesting story that took some missteps, but i still enjoyed it and it was all brought to good direction by the end.

The narrator Muller was enjoyable, but kinda drove me nuts with some of his characters. Bad ones were the bad guys who were too cartoony and annoying.

Traveling Jack

If you could sum up The Talisman in three words, what would they be?

Good, great, interesting.

What did you like best about this story?

The mission to save his mom.

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

The mood of the story.

Who was the most memorable character of The Talisman and why?

Wolf... as the beast he protected Jack.

Any additional comments?

Better than reading or watching movies.

Old favorite

I read this book the first time when I was 14 or so. Still great.

Always a great read!!

I loved this book every time I turn it's pages. Now I have the opportunity to hear it read and it's characters come to life! A must read for anyone! This duo of writers never ceases to amaze me!

Terrible narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I was so disappointed in the person who narrated this book, he was completely unable to attract my attention and keep it, which is saying a lot for a Stephen King book, I finally stopped with the audio and read the book instead. The narrator was unable to make me 'see' the book, as I have a vivid imagination and a lifelong fan of King, it was a huge disappointment

What did you like best about this story?

Stephen King knows how to write a story that brings the reader into the story, he makes me 'see' the characters, the location and I can relate to his characters

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His voice was boring and unable to bring the book to 'life' for me

Was The Talisman worth the listening time?

no

Any additional comments?

will not purchase another audio book with this narrator, the only reason the audio version didn't get 1 star across the board is because of the author Stephen King