Joyland

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Michael Kelly

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

"I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts," says Stephen King, who has combined these elements into a wonderful new story. Joyland is a whodunit noir crime novel and a haunting ghost story set in the world of an amusement park.

It tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a 'carny' in small-town North Carolina and has to confront the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the way both will change his life forever. It is also a wonderful coming-of-age novel about friendship, loss, and your first heartbreak. Who dares enter the funhouse of fear?

©2013 Stephen King (P)2013 Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"A beautiful book, warm and honest, about a boy becoming a man, and his tempered transformation really does pack a punch… In short, Joyland is a joy." (Niall Alexander, Tor)

"An engrossing and ultimately uplifting tale" (Rhian Drinkwater, SFX)

" Joyland describes being young with the necessary vigour, and the slow agony with which a broken heart heals with the necessary tenderness." Laurence Phelan, The Independent)

"What makes King special is that he's an unusually imaginative horror writer who's as interested in characterisation as he is in fright." (Tom Cox, Daily Express)

Doug Stamper of House of Cards reading this book!

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

Michael Kelly's narration is amazing. The story is meh, but Micheal Kelly (aka Doug Stamper of House of Cards) made the book.

If you’ve listened to books by Stephen King before, how does this one compare?

Story is meh. Go listen to 11.22.63 -that's a better book.

Which character – as performed by Michael Kelly – was your favorite?

All of them. Especially when he is Devin Jones.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The fur moment.

Great Book well read

A great Stephen King story with believable characters and an intriguing narrative. So well read. Loved it!

King's the best story teller in the world.

You can't get away from it; King can tell a story like no other. Although I like some other writers almost equally, as many can come up with excellent stories, but Stephen King's irreverently & natural dialogue and colourful descriptions captivate the essence of his characters and enthral the reader from the very beginning to the very end. I was a bit unsure about this before I started reading/listening to this book as I thought it might be a bit 'young' for me. It was not, as all the commentary is being made by the main character, Dev, as a mature older man re-living and reflecting on the events that surrounded his transition from teenage-hood to manhood. All in all this was an excellent read.

Loved it couldn't put it down

What did you love best about Joyland?

The writing style. The story was also pretty good

What other book might you compare Joyland to and why?

None that I can think of

Which character – as performed by Michael Kelly – was your favorite?

Loved Devon the main character and the Carnies

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

ABSOLUTELY!!!!! Could not put it down

BORED TO TEARS

What would have made Joyland better?

This must rate as one of SK's worst books - a naive and gullible goodie-goodie main character of the 'o shucks' variety coupled with a storyline that reads like the diary of someone that stayed in bed to avoid anything happening to him and a narrator that sounds as if he is selling sweets to three-year olds - made me gave up half-way.

stay with the earlier SK books.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephen King again?

yes, the old stuff

How did the narrator detract from the book?

see above

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

none