Tuesday, March 30, 2021

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




15 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this too, and I like your take on the ending. I too feel Stephen King's endings can be hit or miss, so I bet you're on to something with the idea that maybe he used this one to "show us", but in that case, it totally backfired!

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    1. Did you ever read Under the Dome? That ending destroyed any faith I had in his endings. This one didn't do him any favors either.

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  2. I loved this too, but for me the weird ending was just a minor blip. I'm not sure why he thought the book needed it, its so good without it!

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    1. Well, it was still a 4/5 and I think it read like some older King novels. I am definitely glad I grabbed a copy.

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  3. I don't read a lot from this author because I don't read horror. I enjoyed his role on Sons of Anarchy though. LOL.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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    1. You should read some of his crime stuff - you might like it!

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  4. I'm glad this one is still good despite the hiccup at the end. It's one that's high on my TBR list. :)

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  5. Aww that sucks the ending didn't deliver. Or over delivered. I love the premise of this! Although I've never read King so I can't really say if I like him or not. lol

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    1. The ending pretty much delivered, but then King threw a curve ball when the game could have been over.

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  6. I do have this on my wishlist and I'm even more fascinated now by the remarks about the ending.
    Lynn :D

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    1. It's definitely worth a read in my opinion.

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  7. My issues with recent King books is that I either loved it until near the end like Cell and The Regulators, or got bored senseless and quit early like Joyland! Either way I don't really read any of his new stuff now.

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    1. I actually enjoyed Joyland but I remember The Colorado Kid, his other Hard Crime book, didn't make much sense to me.

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  8. Huh! That's odd to hear that it didn't have much mystery. That's a bummer! I'm glad to see it was still a 4 star read for you!

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