About this title: Unable to write under his own name, writer Thad Beaumont uses the pseudonym George Stark for the violent novels he has been writing. When a gruesome murder occurs and Thad's fingerprints are found at the scene, he must face the possibility that George Stark is a very real, very dangerous, and willful part of his identity.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780670829828ISBN:067082982X
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 448 p. read more
"Very, very creepy and weird. Eyeballs in the guy's brain? Ew. If you're skittish and easily scared, don't read it at night. That was probably the only way I avoided being traumatized by it (I have an overactive imagination, so horror is something I generally avoid)."
Successful writer is outshone by his pseudonym alter ego and decides it's time to kill him off. However the alter ego rises from the grave having decided being dead is no funs and starts to hunt down the writer......"
"The story moves, but something vital is missing. It's almost like King never really felt this one all the way. Still, it's a decent read. Just don't expect the gut-twisting punch of some of his other works, i.e. Pet Sematery, The Shining, The Stand, etc..."
"I was warned that this was perhaps the worst novel King had ever produced, but not only that, it was kind of the halfway point that left behind some of his best literary work and started to flail off into books that had good ideas, but were not as cohesive and unique as what had come before. Considering this came after such greats (imho) as The Shining, The Dead Zone, The Stand, IT, and Shawshank Redemption, it can't be looked at, to me, as anything more than a so-so supernatural mystery you would find by an unknown author in a bargain bin. I had started this novel a couple years ago, and put it down after about fifty pages. Like the protagonist of the story, George Stark, it kept at me until I decided to have a showdown with it's tattered pages.
King is known to show some repetition, and fans will immediately notice a similarity with the story "Secret Window/Secret Garden" which was later adapted in a film starring Johnny Depp and re-titled "Secret Window". In The Dark Half, Thad Beaumont is an author whose works have a span in them in which he went by the pen name George Stark. The works under the name of Stark are much more darker and evil, if you will, than his more contemporary novels that he wrote under his real name. The book centers on a supernatural kind of battle between the personalities of the two, and as people start getting murdered, Police start to close in on Thad until everyone involved realizes something...George Stark may be more than just a pen-name.
I won't spit out any more than that for fear of spoiling the synopsis, I think it is best describing this novel on what isn't good, for the fact that King fans or even casual ones, already know what he does that is great for reading. For one, this story didn't seem to have the flow to it that novels like The Shining or The Dead Zone did. At times it seems like the story almost stalls, and there is a little filler as the characters clamber around on paper while perhaps King was trying to figure out how to bring it all together and wrap it up in the end. Maybe that is what he wanted, I don't know, what I do know is that when you write something involving the supernatural, it still has to have a connection, it still has to make some sort of sense. I saw some of this kind of writing in his novel "Dreamcatcher". I enjoyed Dreamcatcher, it had many brilliant scenes in it, and enjoyable characters, but like the Dark Half, some of it was just that...little pieces that didn't quite sum up to a good, cohesive ending.
Even the supporting characters, such as Thad's wife, seemed like cardboard. The sheriff never did seem to have enough detail in any certain direction to give him life either. At times he was painted as a very intelligent man, at other times he seemed more like an ambling, mediocre personality that went along way to easy with the story. The subject of twins was never explored much either, although it was a bit on the side of Thad, his twins were explained often times as if there was something more to them, like he was setting their character traits up to be used for further explanation or enhancement to the main plot, when in the end it did not happen at all. In all honesty, they were not even a good addition to the story. If the character of Thad and his wife had no children, I don't think it would have affected the story.
George Stark himself is quite believable, and King does his signature dropping of certain vehicle types and weapons to allow for the littlest of details to add to the overall effect. In the end, The Dark Half, along with the recent "It came from a Buick 8", are definitely at the bottom of his creations in the fact they are stories that don't have a lot of substance, and although have great ideas here and there, and some interesting characters, still don't tie together in the end to make the novel worth the time to read it. If you are new to Stephen King, I recommend the works listed earlier that I praised, as well as his short stories and "The Walk" which he wrote under the pen name Richard Bachman. The Dark Tower series is highly regarded as well, just leave The Dark Half for that time when you've exhausted all other readings of his. You will, however, probably like the idea of the Sparrows. The Sparrows are flying again..."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
