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Joyland  By  cover art

Joyland

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Michael Kelly
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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.

Featured Article: The Shining—Book vs. Movie


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What listeners say about Joyland

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great

It's not quite the typical Stephen King Horror but it's a great myster and time just flew by .

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loved every second

I know King is not everyone's favorite and I'll admit I've dismissed this book on more than one occasion. I took a chance on an Amazon sale and the book didn't dissapoint. The narrator was spot on and no one writes characters better. A quick and easy listen.

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Beautiful

I'm not much of a Stephen King fan, finding most of work to be a bit much. However, this was a remarkably beautiful story. Michael Kelly reads it perfectly knowing when to use inflection and when to dubtely change the tone of the story. This is easily one of the top 5 Audible books I've listened to.

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five stars all the way around

Stephen King truly is king of modern literature! this is one of the most heartwarming books I've ever read. I was in tears at the end.

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Good quick read

I loved this book! Not typical Steven King, but a feel good coming of age tale with a GREAT backdrop of a small town carnival. Supernatural twist that was a really great ride!

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King of the Raconteurs

What did you love best about Joyland?

Like so many of King's works, it's the non-horror books (Green Mile, The Body, 11.23.63) which are often the best STORIES. This one is not an exception. A wonderful yarn, beautifully read. The voice actor, Michael Kelly, was a perfect choice for this story - just the right edge of aimless teen getting to know the man he'll one day be, and the man he became reflecting on the teen he once was.

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Well worth the $5 sale price!

I am a big Stephen King fan, so the chance to get one of his books on sale just can't be passed up. I enjoyed it. It was one part ghost story, one part college heartbreak, one part murder mystery with a sprinkling of The Shining thrown in. As usual King is great with the details. It was set on the NC coast in the 1970s. The characters didn’t just watch the weather on tv, they “turned on WECT”. He incorporated a lot of local things in the book that indicated he’s either spent time here or did a lot of research. One thing I think he did mess up was his references to the minor league baseball team the Carolina Mudcats. They were not around in 1973. At least to my knowledge they weren’t. It was an enjoyable book. It was less than 8 hours so you don’t get as invested in the characters as much as the typical King book, but I really liked it and I enjoyed the change of pace after spending a month on It. Joyland was well worth the $5 sale price. Like I’ve noted before King always has great readers for the audio versions of his books. This one was Michael Kelly of House Of Cards fame.

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love and kindness vs evil

One of the best novels Stephen King has written. Horror, laughter and tears but mostly kindness and love.

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One of his best!

What did you love best about Joyland?

Took a little while to get going but did it ever. Stephen King is a genius, a phenom. Great book and expertly done. I wish I had a slimmer of his talent.

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True King

Once again S.K. gives the reader an entertaining read and a life lesson to be remembered. No doubt that the lesson is one we all need to revisit from time to time.

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