Desperation

Starred review from March 30, 2009
From the vault of horror master King comes a terrifying tale of Desperation, Nev., a place ruled by a maniacal man in uniform and haunted by deadly secrets. In true King fashion, the story features a small cast of likable yet deeply flawed protagonists that may or may not make it to the final page in one piece. Narrator Kathy Bates, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the film adaptation of King's Misery
, takes the reins and holds listeners rapt from start to finish. Bates has the inherent ability to make anything, no matter how over the top, sound realistic and immediate. A Signet paperback.

Stephen King trudges with amiable doggedness through twenty-one and a half hours of terror and mayhem, courtesy of ye olde psycho cop of Desperation, Nevada. Despite his lack of showmanship and technical facility as a narrator, King has a compelling vocal personality of boyish, twangy mischief. Like flies to wanton boys are we to Stephen King. He seems less interested in spooking us than in inviting us to play with him in his lethal sandbox. The tape, therefore, gives King fans an important insight into his authorial intent, one lacking in many of the TV and film versions of his ghoulishness. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine