2 Bloggers 1 Book - Later by Stephen King

 

So I actually surprised Stormi with a copy of our buddy read when it released this month.  She didn't know what book was coming, but she knew we'd read it together.  I'm just a tad sad though because it ended up being a book she didn't really care for.  So read on for my review and then hop over to Stormi's @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and see her thoughts.

TITLE: Later

AUTHOR: Stephen King

PUBLISHER: Hard Case Crime

PUBLISHING DATE: March 2, 2021

PAGES: 248

SOURCE: Own Library

FROM GOODREADS: 

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.

MY THOUGHTS: So I'm not going to hold back.  I absolutely loved this book... until I didn't.  And that actually happened in the last 15 pages or so so I guess you could say I was as shocked as you might be.  So in Later, we follow Jamie Conklin from a young boy on.  When he was six, he saw his first dead person.  His ability allows him to sometimes see the deceased for up to three days following their demise.  They fade a bit each day until they disappear and for some reason, when Jamie talks to them, they have to be honest with their answers.

Jamie's mother doesn't initially believe him and neither does her detective girlfriend.  However things start to happen and the people closest to Jamie start using his ability for their own selfish goals.  And that's when things go wrong.

I enjoyed the "crime" aspect of this book but will be honest, it's kind of light, especially for a book marketed primarily as a "hard case crime" book.  I did enjoy the paranormal aspect of the novel and having the tale told from Jamie's POV was an extra bonus.  So all this is great right?  I flew through this book, and then I hit the wall that is the last 15 pages.  

I LOVE King. But I think it's no secret that people often feel his ending are sometimes weak.  Yes, Under the Dome, I'm looking at you!  So I can't help but feel King is tired of that criticism so in Later, he decided "I'll show you!  I'll throw something in the ending to amp everything up."  But what he threw in was totally unnecessary and pointless.  And it kind of bummed me out.  

So needless to say, I do still recommend this book.  If for no other reason than I love seeing everyone else's thoughts on the ending.  If you are a King fan, then pick this up.  And if you want to start reading King, I think this is a great starting place because it's on the short side and not completely horrific and scary. Just remember that I warned you about the ending.  It dropped my 5/5 rating down a notch.

RATING: 4 Paws