The Talisman

Disgard the few bad reviews -- this book is wonderful, and Frank Muller was one of the greatest readers of all time...This isn't your "typical" King book, but if you loved the Dark Tower books, you will love this (and vice versa). I have forced over a dozen people to read this book, and have given away 4 tape copies over the years. I'm buying it on Audible so I won't lose it again ;-)

I read this book when it first came out in the 80s. This was before the sci-fi world took the theme of multi-dimensionality to it ad-nauseumal limit. (I know, not a word.) Even so, it's still an excellent story by these two excellent authors.

I love the fact that when you read these reviews you get both ends of the spectrum and everything in-between. One compared this to Beyond the Dome which I thought doesn't even come close to The Talisman.

I also suggest Audible listeners get used to Frank Muller. He's all over this place and you're going to miss out on a lot of great books if you try to avoid him. His style always puts me off at first, but it always ends up growing on me.

This story has it all: evil men, magic, adventure, a boy and his mother who are linked to another world and a dying queen, creatures of wonder as well as horror, and the best and worst of humankind. All of these headed across the continent on a collision course to the California coast.

Looking for Adventure?...need suspense?...want to have fun?...need a vacation?..Well this is the book for you. It is long but the action and the different adventures inside one. You will find the strange and the funny so charming that you will not want to miss a thing. The beginning sets up the story and you may want to skip ahead. Don't do it this book builds you up to the task. You will need to hold on to your seat at times and remember some of the early charpters to get the full impact of some events. You will want the story not to end! It does end but... At that time get the book "Black House" to go on yet another adventure with Jack out hero.

This story is my all time favorite, I have read the book a few times and could not wait to listen to some one read it to me. This was my first audiostory ever and I would recommend it to anyone.

This is the first Steven King novel I have read and I plan to read many more. I couldn't stop listening. The book was not what I expected. There is a connoisseur like after taste that is liberating. From the reviews of others it bothered the politically correct crowd; however, theirs is not the last word. What an adventure Jack Sawyer had compared to his name sake of Tom. If you liked Tom Sawyer and his adventures you will find this listen intriguing. Just like Tom Sawyer disturbed the people of his day, Steven King's Talisman makes the same impact. I love it and want more of it.

I will agree with two comments that others have made:

1) The book is probably a little longer than it has to be. Nevertheless the book kept my interest and I did not find myself tuning out.

2) The reader's style is very distracting at first. The way he would draw out the last word of almost every sentence nearly drove me crazy. A couple of times I almost gave up on the book for that very reason. But, I noticed that after about 180 minutes in to the book I got used to the sound of his voice and, in fact, the rhythm of his style became very pleasing.

If you like stories of adventure and you don't mind a dose of fantasy thrown in, you will enjoy this book.

I don't know what some people are complaining about; Frank Muller is one of the best narrators I've listened to, and he doesn't let us down in this great novel.

Awesome! I read this book when I was 16 and I loved it then... so now I'm 40 and listened to the Audiobook and still loved it!

This book is like the little girl from the nursery rhyme: When she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid. Slow to start, it starts to get good just before you might think of giving up. Quite exciting for long sections, but with just plain dull sections stuck in for good measure. Imaginative in places, quite flat in others.

Many characters are stock King (and possibly stock Straub, though I haven't read as much of his work). Old black people are wise and somewhat mystical (see also The Shining and The Stand). Folks in small rural towns are ignorant and racist (see most anything). Large slow witted people are good and loyal friends (see also The Stand).

And the book is long. Much too long. Filled with characters saying the same things over and over again in a long string (literally: see the main villains "what does it gain you to win the world" inner and interminable monologue and Jack's "I am the herd" stuff). Characters talk in irritating ways (Speedy's old bluesman patois gets old quickly, and Wolf's need to say "right here and now" and "wolf" in the middle of sentences gets old very very very quickly."

Finally, there's the narration. Good in places, but sometimes the narrator sounds like he's trying out for a Clint Eastwood role, with breathy drawn out sibilants at the end of sentences. But overall good.