Desperation

First of all, be warned, this is an abridged book. I didn't realize that until I bought it. The unabridged version doesn't seem to be available.

The story and characters are good. This is basic King. Not great, not bad. Just good.

Kathy Bates is a superb reader.

As other listeners have pointed out, the sound effects are completely unnecessary, annoying, too long, too loud, inappropriate, and distracting. Several of King's books have been adulterated in this manner and it never works.
Whoever the genius is who thinks such a thing is a good idea shouldn't be allowed to produce audio books.

Stephen King doing what he does best! Kathy Bates doing a fine reading.

Right a review about the poor production value of this audiobook. Kathy Bates was hard to hear and understand in some parts it was so bad. If I were Ms Bates I would be quite upset to take away from her fine performance like that.

They added quite a bit of sound effects snd music to this audio book. It had no rhyme or reason and went on painfully ad nauseum at times. It became quite distractive and I began to wonder if some wannabe movie director got hold of a synthesizer for the first time. If I want cheesy haunted house sound effects I would have watched the movie.

This production deserves a 4 to 5. However, I have a major problem with the director or whomever allows the teeth-biting, horrible, sound effects that occur about 3 times per hour, usually to signal a new chapter.
This wall of noise is so loud and obnoxious, I had to reach up and pull my earbuds out, the quickest way to cut sound.
This electronic noise was so loud it was painful, and my hearing isn't that good.
I have about 300 audible books, and this will be the second one that I will probably call Audible and ask for my money back.
And to all of you producers out there who allow this kind of thing, and there are far too many of you.....make sure that if you put in music or some kind of sound , it is music and not noise, and don't make it louder than the voices being read.
The SOUND OR MUSIC SHOULD ADD TO THE BOOK, NOT YANK THE READER AWAY FROM IT.
By the way, the story is excellent, and the Reader is fantastic.

Kathy Bates' narration makes me forgive this for being an abridged work. I didn't realize it was abridged when I bought it and likely would not have bothered if I had. I am glad I made the error.

Aside from being abridged this is not one of King's stronger works but is clearly King and strong enough when not compared against some of his greater works. It deals with the familiar themes of good vs. mindless evil though in this case it is more clearly a case of a god touched child (a la The Shining) vs. that evil than some of his other works.

What elevates this is the excellent use of music and chilling sound FX coupled with Kathy Bates' masterful narration. If you're a King fan and haven't experienced this title before you could do far worse than spending roughly eight hours with these characters and Bates' deft narration.

Classic King-Kathy Bates does a superb job on the narration.

This is a neat story and Kathy Bates does an excellent job narrating it! I enjoyed this much more than the movie.

the narrator. Kathy Bates is great what a talent, her narration makes this story What I liked least was, I felt there was way too much God in the story. Books that have God as one of the main characters has been and always will be a turn-off for me.

Who was really desperate and who was merely unhappy with their life situation. Least interesting was the God angle. I mean come on God is God and man is man. In my opinion when one attempts to mix and match this concept the interest begins to decline.

She does make a somewhat long and at times confusing tale of good vs evil come alive. Without her narration the book suffers. One of her best efforts.

Yes but I won't be watching, so who stars in it doesn't really matter.

King has certainly done better, but with Kathy Bates narrating it, the story does keep your attention and was an enjoyable listen. This is the first time a narrator has had this kind of impact on me. I will keep Ms Bates in mind as a excellent narrator and it will in the future be a important element in my choice selection.

Desperation and the Regulators have always been two of my favorite King stories. I read the books when they came out. The two are in a manner related. They are not sequels, nor are they part of a series. Rather they share characters and creeps but are stand alone stories. It is hard to explain. Both are equal in being excellent.

That the case I am happy that Penguin Audiobooks was the company that produced it. This is because they add special effects, sounds and background music to the story. That I am a fan of. I love the addition of sounds. Fiction with sound effects (especially horror stories) are more entertaining than those without. For Desperation the sound effects are stirring, timed for the suspense, and creepy. I love it.

In short both of these books have been turned into entertaining performances, they are great horror stories and time tested two of my favorite Kings.

Its Totally Fantastic

Memorable moment would be when the David Ralph Johnny Steve Mary Steve and the other woman got together at the end to destroy Tak

I have not listened to any other performances by Kathy Bates but now I will be looking for Audio Books performed by her. She is so wonderful at doing it.

The book brought a range of emotions. It was filled with humor and fear. Wonderfully done. But I would expect nothing less from one of the best writers in my opinion,

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great listen or even read if you choose.

It is one of best books I have listened to. Kathy Bates does a great job.

I do not have one favorite character. I just like Stephen King's books. He is an amazing writer

I have not but this may be something I may have to look into.

No, I listen as long as I can and pick up where I left off. When I am done, I will just start another books.