Book Review: Later
Hello Blogosphere!
How the heck are ya? Hanging in there I hope. The weekend is almost here, you can do this!
As you can probably guess from the title of this post, I read another book.
This time it’s Later by Stephen King.
I’ll be honest, I was a little hesitant to try this out. How dare I doubt the great Stephen King? Well in recent years I haven’t found his newer works particularly great, that and I favor indies over traditionally published authors, but I digress. When I read the blurb for this book I just knew I had to give it a go. Plus, just look at that cover!
Alright, enough chit chat. On to the review!
Blurb:
The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.
Later is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King’s classic novel IT, Later is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.
GoodReads
Amazon
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The Review:
In the past few years, I’ve become a bit underwhelmed by King’s new releases.
That being said, I was so happy with this read!
Later is a short horror novel centered around young Jamie Conklin and his mom Tia. Since he was little, Jamie could always see the dead. They’ve always been relatively peaceful, that is, until he meets a spirit that may challenge everything he knows.
This book was nearly perfect in my opinion, and I loved every minute!
Jamie was a great MC. His voice shines through authentically as a kid, and I loved the little misunderstandings of what certain words meant. This kid is brave and inquisitive, much more than I ever was as a kid. I mean, seeing dead people? I’m pretty sure I would wet my pants and run away crying, even at the nonthreatening ones.
His mom Tia was such a great mother to him, and I really loved that. I also liked the relationship between her and Liz. It really added a lot of excitement and tension to the story.
Last but not least I can’t forget Marty, the old man who lived at one of his previous residences. I loved his quirks and all the knowledge he gave to Jamie. The verdict is in, these characters were a hit!
The plot was great! King is known for having complex plots that really make you think, and instead we got a simpler story this time around. I think that was important in this book’s success overall, and would love to see King continue this trend with other novels. Hey, sometimes the KISS method works.
I would call this book light horror with a sprinkling of the crime genre. I’m not huge on crime novels, but the paranormal aspect of things was the main feature of this book so it really worked for me. Jamie’s gift is something of a mystery throughout, and that really kept me blazing through those pages. In fact, I’d get upset if I had to stop reading because my lunch break was over. That only really happens if I truly love a book, so I’ll definitely be buying the paperback for my bookshelves soon.
All in all, this was a great horror novel with plenty of excitement, chills, and thrills that won’t disappoint. I highly recommend!
That’s a Wrap!
Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!
Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!
If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!
Have a great day!
Good review. The overall opinion of readers is positive, but I’ve seen some pretty negative reviews, so I wasn’t sure what you were going to think!
Thanks!
Yeah, I found it all really simple and easy, and that’s something that doesn’t usually happen with King. It’s nice to see him take a chill pill approach to novel writing. I want more like this!
Good review, Jonny. Saw very mixed reviews about this one, so I’m glad you liked it. 😊
Yeah, I think there may be a disconnect between people who expect the typical Stephen King experience and others like me.
I thought it was a refreshing change of pace for him.
Great review!! I read this closer to it’s release day and ended up enjoying it. I’ve noticed I tend to like his shorter books.
Thanks! Yeah I tend to favor his shorter works as well. This one was so great! Glad you liked it just as much 🙂