Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Pocket Books (2016), Edition: Reissue, 608 pages
Description
Fiction. Horror. HTML:How do you kill something that was never born... Thad Beaumont would like to say he is innocent. He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the series of monstrous murders that keep coming closer to his home. He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the twisted imagination that produced his bestselling novels. He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the voice on the phone uttering its obscene threats and demanding total surrender. But how can Thad disown the ultimate embodiment of evil that goes by the name he gave it�??and signs its crimes with Thad's bloody fingerprin
User reviews
LibraryThing member jseger9000
Little known literary author Thad Beaumont has a secret: he is also the author of four bestselling gut-bucket crime novels written under the pen-name George Stark. He’s recently gone public and George has symbolically been laid to rest. But George (described by Thad as not a very nice guy)
The Dark Half feels like Stephen King’s most personal novel. So many of the plot details follow events from King’s life. It is obviously based at least in part on King's forced outing as Richard Bachman. It was in part dedicated to Bachman, though the character of Thad Beaumont/George Stark seems to be modeled on Donald E. Westlake and his own famous pen name Richard Stark rather than King and his alter ego. Still, writing the novel must have been cathartic for him.
You'll notice that all my comments are about interesting connections to the book. What about the book itself? Well, I'm a little more ambivalent there. I loved reading the book for the quality of writing and characterization that King does so well. I remember one scene where George is laying in wait in a soon-to-be-victim's apartment. While waiting he observes that she has all of Beaumont and Stark's books, but is insulted that Thad's books are on a higher shelf than his. Nice little throwaway bits of characterization like this are why King is popular even outside the horror ghetto and the book is full of them.
The story itself is interesting, but something about it felt a little distant to me. Maybe it's because we have a strong hero and a strong villain, but for the most part our hero is not under direct threat from our villain. The first half or so of the novel details George's rampage in New York while Thad is safely tucked away in Maine. The book doesn't feel slow and is not boring by any means. But I do think that maybe there was a certain tension missing.
Things do pick up though and the final section of the novel is incredible. As a whole though, The Dark Half would rank somewhere in the high middle of king's work. Still better than most other horror novels for sure. Just not as good as his best.
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isn’t so ready to lie down and die.The Dark Half feels like Stephen King’s most personal novel. So many of the plot details follow events from King’s life. It is obviously based at least in part on King's forced outing as Richard Bachman. It was in part dedicated to Bachman, though the character of Thad Beaumont/George Stark seems to be modeled on Donald E. Westlake and his own famous pen name Richard Stark rather than King and his alter ego. Still, writing the novel must have been cathartic for him.
You'll notice that all my comments are about interesting connections to the book. What about the book itself? Well, I'm a little more ambivalent there. I loved reading the book for the quality of writing and characterization that King does so well. I remember one scene where George is laying in wait in a soon-to-be-victim's apartment. While waiting he observes that she has all of Beaumont and Stark's books, but is insulted that Thad's books are on a higher shelf than his. Nice little throwaway bits of characterization like this are why King is popular even outside the horror ghetto and the book is full of them.
The story itself is interesting, but something about it felt a little distant to me. Maybe it's because we have a strong hero and a strong villain, but for the most part our hero is not under direct threat from our villain. The first half or so of the novel details George's rampage in New York while Thad is safely tucked away in Maine. The book doesn't feel slow and is not boring by any means. But I do think that maybe there was a certain tension missing.
Things do pick up though and the final section of the novel is incredible. As a whole though, The Dark Half would rank somewhere in the high middle of king's work. Still better than most other horror novels for sure. Just not as good as his best.
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LibraryThing member smurfwreck
This, along with the Stand, The first Dark Tower book, Misery, and The Dead Zone is one of King's best works. I think the thing that I love about this book is the concept, that a writer could create evil through his writing, and it speaks to the writer’s own struggle with success.
Chuck Palahnuik
Chuck Palahnuik
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has a great story about how at one of King's signings his hand split open from so much signing that it began to bleed and as he stopped to get a bandage, people started literally calling for his blood. They wanted it on their books. Show Less
LibraryThing member SebastianHagelstein
Thad Beaumont is a horror writer, but a normal guy. He has a family and lives a quiet life. It seems like Stephen King modeled Thad's character on himself.
Thad has recently retired a pseudonym, George Stark. Now Stark has come to life and is murdering anyone responsible for Stark's demise.
When
Thad has recently retired a pseudonym, George Stark. Now Stark has come to life and is murdering anyone responsible for Stark's demise.
When
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Stark focuses on Thad and revive the pseudonym is when the story gets really suspenseful. Show Less
LibraryThing member blockbuster1994
Stephen King can take practically any set of words and make them into a terrifying story. "The sparrows are flying" takes on a whole new level when Thad Beaumont absently minded scrawls down the words. The scare is immediately on as we know that Thad is being hotly pursued by an evil twin that has
I love just about every fiction piece Stephen King has ever written (exception-the fantasy stuff). Dark Half is a fun, but still tension loaded psychological novel written to precision.
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somehow found footing in our world.I love just about every fiction piece Stephen King has ever written (exception-the fantasy stuff). Dark Half is a fun, but still tension loaded psychological novel written to precision.
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LibraryThing member Marlene-NL
Not one of my favourite books by Stephen King.
Back in the day it felt like all of a sudden there were so many books coming out with the same subject. Can't recall but did he write another one about a writer having problems? maybe even 2?
If I find out I will add it in this review. (which is not
Back in the day it felt like all of a sudden there were so many books coming out with the same subject. Can't recall but did he write another one about a writer having problems? maybe even 2?
If I find out I will add it in this review. (which is not
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really a review because it has been too long go) Show Less
LibraryThing member AlCracka
Part of a phase Stephen King went through when he was absolutely obsessed with analyzing himself as a writer. He wrote nothing good during that phase.
LibraryThing member srboone
Mildly successful novel about writing under a psuedonym, made compelling by King's feel for character. Feels forced in places, but the cxoncept of twins at conception is still frightening 25 years later.
LibraryThing member phaga
I really liked this book up until the end. The idea was an interesting one, esp because some of the themes mirrored what was going on with King at the time. Like a lot of King's stories though, this one ended with a wimper.
LibraryThing member booklover3258
I enjoyed this book a lot more than the movie.
LibraryThing member Anagarika-Sean
This is a great story, and creepy as well.
LibraryThing member readingrat
The premise is a little too far out there to support believability, as are some of the ways King moves the plot along. But he has created a great villain here, who provides more than a few chilling moments for the reader.
LibraryThing member andyray
I consider this one of, if not THE, the best books King has written up to 2007. Why this is isn't just the characterization, which is unusally clear and deep for King, but because I believe he is played a Step Four and Five with this piece, e.g., he has exposed his own mind as relates to Bachman.
It also outlines the shape of my fiction, where Ilya Beaute and Doy Ott Briscomb do and feel things Andy Ray couldn't possibly do or feel.
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Now we know there is a reason that the Bachman books are linear in composition and rawer in syntax.It also outlines the shape of my fiction, where Ilya Beaute and Doy Ott Briscomb do and feel things Andy Ray couldn't possibly do or feel.
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LibraryThing member nesum
While the plot of this novel is not King's best, the ideas behind it are quite interesting and quite tense. The (often tiresome) question authors always get -- "Where do you get your ideas" -- is answered here in a nervous and unappealing way when the hero's pen name literally comes to life.
Of
A creepy book, and one I would not mind rereading in the near future.
Of
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course, King is exploring his own relationship with Richard Bachman here, as he does in "Secret Window, Secret Garden." THE DARK HALF is not quite as good as "Secret Window," but it more directly comments upon his internal debate over whether King or Bachman is the real person.A creepy book, and one I would not mind rereading in the near future.
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LibraryThing member TheBeerNut
Probably the best expression of King's usual obsession with writers and writing - this time based around pen-names and the effect they have on their owners.
Oh, and it's an extremely entertaining horror story too.
Oh, and it's an extremely entertaining horror story too.
LibraryThing member jonwwil
Do you ever read a book and, when it's over, you want the story to keep going so you can read more about the characters? This is one of those books. Now, normally that happens (at least for me) because you like the characters and just want to spend some more time with them. In this case, though, I
All that said, we do know some of the basics of where the story goes. Sheriff Alan Pangborn is one of the main characters in Needful Things, and mentions of Thad Beaumont are made in that book as well as in Bag of Bones. Still, I would be fascinated to know how Thad and Liz carried on (obviously not well, from the blurbs that come later) and how Wendy and William related to their father and exactly how much they learned of exactly what happened in this book.
I think this book was a big risk for King in that none of the main characters was especially likable. The exception to that, of course, is Sheriff Pangborn, but even he starts off as an adversarial character. It also felt like King was struggling to get into the flow of this one--some of the early parts clunked along a little bit in terms of character interaction, but then again, that could be because the characters actually were having troubles interacting. Eventually, though, he hits his stride (with the introduction of George Stark as a corporeal being), and it turns into a pretty decent yarn, albeit a dark one.
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just thought the conclusion just begged for more story. I'd love for King to explore a continuation at some point.All that said, we do know some of the basics of where the story goes. Sheriff Alan Pangborn is one of the main characters in Needful Things, and mentions of Thad Beaumont are made in that book as well as in Bag of Bones. Still, I would be fascinated to know how Thad and Liz carried on (obviously not well, from the blurbs that come later) and how Wendy and William related to their father and exactly how much they learned of exactly what happened in this book.
I think this book was a big risk for King in that none of the main characters was especially likable. The exception to that, of course, is Sheriff Pangborn, but even he starts off as an adversarial character. It also felt like King was struggling to get into the flow of this one--some of the early parts clunked along a little bit in terms of character interaction, but then again, that could be because the characters actually were having troubles interacting. Eventually, though, he hits his stride (with the introduction of George Stark as a corporeal being), and it turns into a pretty decent yarn, albeit a dark one.
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LibraryThing member JBreedlove
An ok King novel. Predictable and more gory than most King stories that I've read. But King still writes well and tells a good story. Being from Bangor some of his locales were very familiar (Gold's instead of Silver's junkyard) and Ludlow instead of Hampden south of Bangor.
LibraryThing member fodroy
I think this is probably King's most underrated horror novel.
LibraryThing member sturlington
Middling Stephen King novel, interesting mainly for the issues around pseudonyms, which King also struggled with concerning his pseudonym Richard Bachman. This book had some interesting bits about brain tumors and also taught me about the phenomenon of absorbing a twin in utero, which I had never
Read when the book was released (1989) and reviewed from memory.
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heard of before. Entertaining page-turner, but not among his best.Read when the book was released (1989) and reviewed from memory.
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LibraryThing member StefanY
While I still enjoyed this book quite a bit, it did not hold up on the re-read as well as I remembered it. The premise of an author's abandoned pseudonym coming back from the grave to claim it's own glory is still rather awesome and I find this to be an extremely entertaining story, but it's not
The Dark Half is a fast-paced book and keeps the reader going by the sheer force of the crazy events taking place in Thad Beaumont's life. In this case, I almost felt that things were happening a bit to fast and crazy at times and that I needed to slow it down a bit myself in order to better enjoy the novel as a whole. Maybe it's because I HAD read this one before, but at times the pace almost seemed to be a bit overwhelming and I just wanted some sort of an aside to calm things down for a little bit.
Overall, a very enjoyable novel (even on the re-read) and one that I'll pick up again one day down the road.
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nearly as riveting as I had in mind. Thad Beaumont and the rest of the cast of characters are fantastic as is par for the course for almost any King novel and I would read stories about his characters even if the storylines weren't as good as King's usually tend to be. The Dark Half is a fast-paced book and keeps the reader going by the sheer force of the crazy events taking place in Thad Beaumont's life. In this case, I almost felt that things were happening a bit to fast and crazy at times and that I needed to slow it down a bit myself in order to better enjoy the novel as a whole. Maybe it's because I HAD read this one before, but at times the pace almost seemed to be a bit overwhelming and I just wanted some sort of an aside to calm things down for a little bit.
Overall, a very enjoyable novel (even on the re-read) and one that I'll pick up again one day down the road.
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LibraryThing member OscarWilde87
Having read quite a few Stephen King books I was surprised that this was the one that shocked me most right at the start. As a kid Thad Beaumont starts hearing sparrows in his head and suddenly suffers from a seizure. When he is taken to the hospital a neurosurgeon removes what seemed to be a tumor
I was intrigued by the idea of this novel but I found it was not the page-turner I am used to with Stephen King. The novel most certainly has its moments and overall I enjoyed reading it, but I found myself unable to connect to the mysterious George Stark character coming alive and wreaking havoc. I was constantly wondering whether in the end it was just one and the same person and Thad Beaumont did all the killing for Stark. As this could clearly not be the case I was a little bit bugged by this supernatural element that is the living and breathing yet decaying George Stark. All in all, 3.5 stars.
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in Thad's brain. What it was, though, really gave me the creeps. As a fetus Thad must have consumed his twin while still in the womb and what the surgeon removed from Thad's head was exactly this: a mass of an underdeveloped fetus that was starting to grow inside Thad's head. Rarely have I read something that terrifying and disgusting at the same time. After the removal of the 'tumor' Thad seems to be able to live a normal life and starts a career as a writer. While the novel he published under his own name is not very successful he has written successful novels under his pen name George Stark. It is exactly this conflict between himself and his alter ego George Stark who are fighting for his writing skills as George Stark becomes alive soon after he was symbolically buried by Thad in a PR stunt.I was intrigued by the idea of this novel but I found it was not the page-turner I am used to with Stephen King. The novel most certainly has its moments and overall I enjoyed reading it, but I found myself unable to connect to the mysterious George Stark character coming alive and wreaking havoc. I was constantly wondering whether in the end it was just one and the same person and Thad Beaumont did all the killing for Stark. As this could clearly not be the case I was a little bit bugged by this supernatural element that is the living and breathing yet decaying George Stark. All in all, 3.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member ThomasPluck
Really good read, one of King's most imaginative yarns.
LibraryThing member library_gal
I like scary stories. But I don't like gory ones or foul language. I thought about giving this book 2 stars but King is a good writer and he made me care about his characters enough to finish the book. Thad, Liz, their twins William and Wendy, his fellow professor ( I forget his name), and Sheriff
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Pangborn were all interesting, likeable people and I had to finish the book to find out if they survived. So I skimmed over the gore and tried to ignore the villain's foul language. I much preferred the 2 only other Stephen King books I've read, The Shining and Misery. Show Less
LibraryThing member kylekatz
I enjoyed this story of an author trying to kill off his pseudonym and it not going quietly. King conceives of the pseudonym as a part of the author, his dark half. The one who writes the really scary books. And is a scary guy. What will he do to keep from dying? A lot.
LibraryThing member JHemlock
He gets the point across. Classic King.
LibraryThing member bekkil1977
Stephen King enjoyed publishing under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, until someone figured it out and threatened to expose him. So, SK outed himself and wrote a book loosely based on his experiences.
Thad is a writer living in Maine, married with twins. For years he's written under a pseudonym, and
But then Stark comes to life and starts murdering people. Of course the police think Thad did it, since they have his fingerprints all over the scene of the crimes. I will never, ever forget the parasitic twin operation, when I first read that bit as a young teenager it scared the bejeezus out of me.
Thad is a writer living in Maine, married with twins. For years he's written under a pseudonym, and
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he's about to be exposed, so his agent suggests they beat the guy to the punch and do a whole big media thing about it, which Thad does. He buries "George Stark" in a cemetery, takes pictures for the magazines, and washes his hands of the whole thing.But then Stark comes to life and starts murdering people. Of course the police think Thad did it, since they have his fingerprints all over the scene of the crimes. I will never, ever forget the parasitic twin operation, when I first read that bit as a young teenager it scared the bejeezus out of me.
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Subjects
Awards
Locus Award (Nominee — 1990)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1989-11-01
Physical description
7.5 inches
ISBN
1501143778 / 9781501143779