The Talisman

The iconic, “extraordinary” (The Washington Post) collaboration between bestselling authors Stephen King and Peter Straub—an epic #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy thriller about a young boy’s quest to save his mother’s life.

Jack Sawyer, twelve years old, is about to begin a most fantastic journey, an exalting, terrifying quest for the mystical Talisman—the only thing that can save Jack’s dying mother. But to reach his goal, Jack must make his way not only across the breadth of the United States but also through the wondrous and menacing parallel world of the Territories.

In the Territories, Jack finds another realm, where the air is so sweet and clear a man can smell a radish being pulled from the ground a mile away—and a life can be snuffed out instantly in the continuing struggle between good and evil. Here Jack discovers “Twinners,” reflections of the people he knows on earth—most notably Queen Laura DeLoessian, the Twinner of Jack’s own imperiled mother. As Jack “flips” between worlds, making his way westward toward the redemptive Talisman, a sequence of heart-stopping encounters challenges him at every step.

An unforgettable epic of adventure and resounding triumph, The Talisman is one of the most influential and highly praised works of fantasy ever written.

Narrator sounded tired.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Narrators whispery voice.

What did you like best about this story?

Easy to follow. (for an SK book)

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Frank Muller?

Craig Wassor

Any additional comments?

Slow start and the guys voice didn't make it easy to get thru the first chapter. But of course for Stephan King I endured it.

The Narrator is GREAT!

I believe the narration of this book is wonderful. The narrator has narrated other King novels, and I understand why King picks him, he gives the flavor that King is looking for in his books, a flare for the dramatic, sense of humor and an underlying sense that the work doesn't take itself too seriously. Perfect!

NICELY DONE

Although you can hear the change of authors' voices in this work, the adventure itself runs in overdrive, and is worth the trip. There are some Stephen King cliches in here, but it is easy to relate to his "child in danger" hero. Wonderful descriptive text and magical insights on subjects ranging from illegal child labor to the mentality of good werewolves keeps the story's characterizations alive despite a somehwat expected ending. The bad guys are over the top bad, and the good ones almost saintly in common virtue, so there's no fuzzy morality or anti-heroic types here. Pure fun, well read, and worth the 24 discs I had to burn it on to make my commute entertaining!

Dark Tower practice

*****SPOILER PRESENT******

I just finished the Dark Tower series and where those books feature the "Dark Tower" this features the "Black Hotel". Also, flipping between worlds and a quest just sounded way too familiar. I really felt I had just finished this book even before I read it and this one just wasn't as good.

Skip it and read the Dark Tower series instead. You won't have missed anything..honest.

Good Story....Read by Todd Barry?

As a Stephen King lover, I have owned this paperback for years and have started and stopped quite a few times. I decided to use a credit on it...otherwise, with all due respect Frank, I wouldve stopped again in the first chapter. If you're a stand-up fan, you'll no doubt feel like you're getting roasted at a Todd Barry crowd-work set.

Every sentence seemed sarcastic and over the top like you would read someone a text from your mother-in-law. (My wife walked in while I was listening for a minute without earbuds and asked why I was listening to Little Nicky read)

While he calmed down toward the later chapters and there were some amusing charactor squeals, other than his ok Scatman Crothers impression, he has talked me out of using precious credits on the Dark Tower series...looks like he whines and whispers his way through the whole series. Dammit. Good story, longwinded ending, had to concentrate not to tune out the whole book.