Book Reviews of Lisey's Story

I used to be a huge Stephen King fan -- I loved most of his early work including 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, Firestarter, The Dead Zone, The Stand, and on and on. However, I just could not get into this novel. I tortured myself by reading the first 150 pages before I decided to give it up! I really got frustrated with the made-up language King kept using like "bool," "blood-bool', "bad-gunky", SOWISA, and "strap it on" to name a few. This one pretty much made me give up on King!

Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a 25 yr. marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went - a place that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons, Lisey's turn to go to Boo'ya Moon. What begins as a widows effort to sort through the papers of celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.
Lisey's story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madenss, and the secret language of love.

This has to be one of my least favorite books of King's. I did not like the main character at all. She got on my nerves quite a bit throughout the book. I flogged through to the end but the book never quite grabbed my attention.

I thought this was a jim dandy book. No, it's not a typical scare the pants off of you King story. He's written great ones. This one is good for it's glimpse into a marriage, into an interior life. It is almost as if you are peeping through a window into Scott and Lisey's marriage and lives. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Good stuff!

I have read everything ever written by Stephen King... but I just couldn't finish this book. I forced myself to get to page 346, but I still wasn't into it. I read the reviews on here and it seems that a lot of people really liked it... I guess this just wasn't my style.

This author does not interest me. I've bought his last book.

Some of King's best work in years. Reaches down into the vein of feelings that he is so able to communicate. Did not find it particularly scary or gross. Has some of the magical elements of previous stories, alternate worlds fantastical places. I enjoyed it more that any of his recent works.

It's been a while since I had read any Stephen King. I used to be a huge fan but lost interest after he had a run of extremely mediocre books in the late 80s. This story was mostly a love story with enough horror elements mixed in to still make the shadows seem alive when reading this book late at night. It's a good read and it moves fast.

Starts out slow, but gathers a bit of steam midway. To me the payoff here was in the use of language - idiomatic and regional slang, and private language between people.

This book's imagery and use of phrasing will just blow you away. King as always has the ability to draw you in without your even realizing it, and soon hours pass because you just can't put this one down!

So many others have given an outline of Stephen King's newest release, but I just wanted to leave a few comments. This isn't a typical King book. I'm not saying it's bad, just different. It also takes awhile to get into the action, but once there the story is quite satisfying. As many have said, this is as much (if not more) a love story than a horror novel. The similarities between King's fictional characters and real life are remarkable (I'm guessing he planned it that way.)

Overall, this is a book for the ultimate King fan. If you've never read Stephen King, though, I wouldn't recommend LISEY'S STORY as a place to start, since it's so divergent from what he normally writes.

I have not read this book.

it moved slow at first--i got a little confused the first seventy pages or so. i think it was just because i didn't get to sit down and read it through in one sitting.

anyway, once i was able to really sit down and read it... i loved it. not the type of horror novel to give you nightmares, like the stand did. but, it did make me wince a bit towards the end, where scott explains a few things about his life.

the long boy creeped me the "smuck" out. that was about the only part that gave me the creeps.

I had lost faith with Stephen King's writing. Many of his books had enormously long passages of prose that did nothing to move the story along. However, this story was an excellent read and I couldn't put it down until I finished it!

While not the stereotypical Stephen King novel, this book is another example of King's wonderful imagination. If you liked Rose Madder, you'll definitely enjoy Lisey's Story. The balance between partners in true love continues beyond the real world and beyond death. King's deep plunge into the writer's pool retrieved a wealth of clever, contagious language. Bool, the end!

Not a fast read but still very intersting. I have read several Stephen King novels and I must say this isn't my favorite but isn't the worse. For those of you have read several of his books, you will understand when I say there is a difference in his writing since his near fatal accident. This is more character driven vs plot based. It took me a little while to finsh but it was worth hanging in to finsh the book!

Stephen King did a beautiful job of writing from a woman's point of view, I often forgot it was him writing. Yet another bizarre and fascinating story from him.

This King novel is another of his finest: I really enjoyed getting to know Lisey and her family. This book is a different type of King book: 'scary' but not horror novel.

I really enjoyed this story. It gripped me in spite of its rather slow pace. A love story with a touch of terror, King style.

Pretty good story. Of his recent ones, I liked "Cell" best.

Wonderful, wonderful book! When Stephen King combines his shivery horror-stuff with deeply-felt emotion, he is at his very best. This book is one of my favorites of his and I think that you will enjoy it every bit as much as I did!

This is one of my favorite Stephen King books ever. It's a very moving look at the inner workings of the relationship between a husband and wife, and it also has some very interesting fantasy elements thrown in. This one stayed with me long after I had finished it.

Really great book. Wasn't sure what to expect, but got into it right away and couldn't put it down.

Wow! It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did, King doesn't fail to keep me on the edge of my seat. I almost want to visit Boo Ya Moon.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Following King's triumphant return to the world of gory horror in Cell, the bestselling author proves he's still the master of supernatural suspense in this minimally bloody but disturbing and sorrowful love story set in rural Maine. Lisey's husband, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Scott Landon, has been dead for two years at the book's start, but his presence is felt on every page. Lisey hears him so often in her head that when her catatonic sister, Amanda, begins speaking to her with Scott's voice, she finds it not so much unbelievable as inevitable. Soon she's following a trail of clues that lead her to Scott's horrifying childhood and the eerie world called Boo'ya Moon, all while trying to help Amanda and avoid a murderous stalker. Both a metaphor for coming to terms with grief and a self-referencing parable of the writer's craft, this novel answers the question King posed 25 years ago in his tale "The Reach": yes, the dead do love. (Oct.)
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A different kind of Stephen King story - more about love and family and less of the super natural (although that's still a part). I enjoyed it. I don't guess he'll ever top his earlier novels like The Shining and The Stand.

A new genre for Stephen King. I found this one hard to read and understand at first, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it!

In my opinion, one of the best from Stephen King in a long time!!!

Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a twenty-five year marriage of the most profound and sometimes freightening intimacy. Scott was an award winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went - a place that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to go to Boo'ya Moon. What begins as a widow's effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.
Lisey's Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love.

Did not enjoy this as much as his earlier work. Was hard for me to get into it. Maybe you will enjoy it more than I did.

very good book.

Another great book by Stephen King! What begins as a widow's effort to sort through the papers of her famous writer husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.

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