The Dark Half

October 1, 1990
The protagonist of King's ``top-notch'' novel is literary novelist Thad Beaumont, whose greatest success has come with three gory thrillers written under the pseudonym George Stark. Beaumont is threatened by a blackmailer who may reveal Stark's identity; Beaumont kills off Stark instead; and Stark goes on a murderous rampage. ``Wondrously frightening . . . among the best of his voluminous work,'' maintained PW.

At age 11, Thaddeus Beaumont has brain surgery to remove the remains of an "incompletely absorbed twin." Years later, Beaumont, a successful writer who's written several books in his own name and several potboilers under the pseudonym George Stark, admits to the Stark ruse. Beaumont then publicly "kills off" his alter ego, but after a series of brutal murders, he begins to suspect the impossible--that Stark is alive and real and capable of murder. AudioFile Golden Voice Grover Gardner makes the improbable terrifyingly real. As Beaumont begins to fall apart, Gardner remains coolly understated, allowing King's artfully crafted story to unfold. First published in 1989, THE DARK HALF explores a writer's relation to and responsibility for his fictional creations. Gardner's performance is word perfect. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine