What's Inside Black House? A SPOILER REVIEW
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- čas přidán 1. 12. 2023
- Welcome to my book review of "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub. In this video, I'll delve into the intricate world created by these two master storytellers. "Black House" is a novel that intertwines horror, mystery, and fantasy in a way that only King and Straub could achieve. The book follows a retired Los Angeles homicide detective as he's drawn into a series of disturbing events in the small town in Wisconsin.
This book serves as both a sequel to The Talisman, and also a piece of The Dark Tower's multiverse.
As I explore the book, I'll discuss key themes like the nature of evil, the journey of self-discovery, and the blurred lines between different realities.
"Black House" is a journey through a labyrinth of terror and wonder, where every page adds to the intricate tapestry woven by King and Straub. If you're intrigued by novels that challenge the boundaries of genre and reality, this review is for you.
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Henry is one of my all time favorite characters in fiction. Jack's friendship with him really gets me.
Yeah Henry is a great character. He's the stand out in this book.
Great review. I understand how changing the writing to 2nd person or addressing the reader can take you out of the story. That happens again at a pivotal moment in the final throws of the Dark Tower main story. Personally I think it’s much more successful there.
Great to see you starting the home stretch. Wind Through the Keyhole is a bit like Wizard and Glass in the way it gives some more context on who Roland is. Then it’ll be the real meat of the story.
Yeah I totally get where you're coming from with Wind Through the Keyhole. I didn't love it. I'm still so excited to read the rest of the series though. Last 3 books... terrified!!
Henry is one of my favorite characters in any King book. Props to Straub if that's where he came from ! Even a blind man could see that you're wrong about Henry!
I like your review of the Stephen King books, and your enthusiasm is overwhelming. I'm a massive King fan, I read nearly all his books except the Dark Tower seris. It doesn't really appeal to me maybe I'm not keen on fantasy. I look his horror novels and crime.
The Bill Hodges are good and Billy Summers is just fantastic.
Keep up the good work.
The "thunder five" are very likely passing through a thinny on throe way to Black House. It's never looked at it that way. I loved the way that they weren't ignorant brutes! They were far more introspective.
I’m really excited to see your review of The Wind Through the Keyhole. That’s easily one of my favorites in the series.
I just jumped in this journey with you right here and now. Man I enjoyed black house. I liked how it was a rated R sequel to talisman. Henry Leydon was an incredible character, hate how they Wolfed him. The weapon jack used to defeat the final boss, the way he did it was so bad ass. I wish they would do a book about speedy aka Parkus
The first 100 pages were so boring lol book was awesome though
I think we agree on pretty much everything when it comes to this book lol. Thanks for commenting.
@@drakoinx I didn’t say r rated talisman. Re read comment. But if they were movies you could do a pg13 version of talisman, blackhouse would have to be rated R
I think it's brilliant... It's a magnetic world that pulls you in, beautifully written and very entertaining...
As for my understanding of the lilacs, they were like the rose, or the key, or anything that might mesmerize people.
another great video. Do you still think jimmy mangos route through the dark tower is correct or would you change some things. I’ve seen other videos where they don’t include some of these books
Great question. I think once I've read the entire series I'll be able to better answer this question BUT as for now, there's probably a few books that I would have dropped. Maybe Rose Madder, The Regulators and Desperation? I also don't think that The Mist is essential but I liked it and it was short.
Fantastic review! I agree about having too many multiple perspectives in a book, especially if the chapters are like novellas. Sometimes i forget what's going on and just want the story to move forward. Because Jack is older in this, the feeling of the book is more like adult true crime; whereas, the Talisman was more coming-of-age fantasy. And yes, i was disappointed in not exploring the territories further, but maybe in another story?! I only read up to Wizard&Glass, so the rest will be uncharted territory to me. Can't wait! cheers
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm with you on the multiple perspectives issue. It can be tricky to keep track of everything and maintain momentum when a book is jumping around a lot, especially with longer chapters.
You've made a great point about the shift in tone from "The Talisman" to "Black House." That move from a coming-of-age fantasy to a more adult, true crime vibe definitely changes the feel of the story.
Thanks for commenting mate.
'Fourth person' that being 'we' is called "first person referral" in which there is both an "I" character and a "You" character.
Oh thank you! I'll keep that in mind in the future. What does fourth person refer to them? Or did I just make that up? haha.
By now I'm sure you've read ' The Institute' and have a deeper understanding of breakers, who they are, and what they do. Love how all his books tie together at some point.
I actually haven't read The Institute yet. Are breakers a big part of that book?
Yes, they are the focus of the book. It will all come together when you read it.@@PaperbackJourneys
Me and my mom are on the dark tower journey too!
WOW it sounds like you've got a really cool mum! Reading through a series together? Thats such a fun idea.
Lilacs are said to remove ghosts, aid the exploration of past lives, and bless the passages of life, both birth and death and are s smbol of purity and innocence.
Lol "I'm old" i feel that way too.
Haha I'm glad I'm not alone.
The audiobook is also read by Frank Mueller, who read the first book, as well as Dark Tower 2, 3, and 4
Frank Mueller is amazing isn't he? A really atmospheric narrator and kind of perfect for Stephen King's style.
Im pretty sure the magical flowers are important because they came from the territories. Im pretty sure the purity of the territories does something to people from our side. Cant remember for sure but it is addressed in the talisman at some point also
I think you're right. There's something about the fragrance and colours being more vivid or something? I just wish it was more clearly defined as to the power things carry. It might be the case that I forgot something from The Talisman though. Thanks for commenting.
yeah, the Black House is a sequel to the Talisman the way Dr. Sleep is a sequel to The Shining. Very tonally different. Sure, it's the same characters but the stories are so different because the characters are in such a different place it's almost disconnected.
Black House is my favorite book. it's a novel I love to return to from time to time
Wow your FAVOURITE BOOK! That's amazing. I'm glad you liked it so much. This isn't one of my favourites from Stephen King but there were definitely great characters and some awesome scenes.
Black House was a mixed bag for me. I felt like the opening was mediocre. I did enjoy The Fisherman and Jack, but Dale was by far my favorite character. The bikers were a good time as well and that scene with them. Easily the best scene of the book. I did also enjoy the scene where Jack met Sophie. I don’t know why but that scene really got stuck in my head. It had the heart of The Talisman.
I do however think the ending was really bad. It felt inconsequential.
Another thing I have to say about black house is that it felt like John Ajvide Lindqvists “I am The Tiger” but worse. Probably since they both are kind of supernatural crime thrillers with alternate worlds xD
Great review as always! Keep up the fantastic work!
I'm glad you mentioned the scene with Jack and Sophie. When a moment captures the essence of a previous work like "The Talisman," it can really resonate and stick with you. It's a shame the ending didn't deliver the impact you were hoping for, though. Endings can make or break the experience, especially with such a complex narrative. Thanks so much for commenting. We're almost at the end now!
I'm with you! The writing, various person views would seriously pull me out of the story and tempt me to put the book down. HaHa! I'm at least 15 years older than you, and I feel that so often when I look up when a movie or an album came out. :) I think I would be put off by the rewind scene thing. I haven't read the Talisman, that may be why I'm on the fence with this one. Much of what you said sounded very cool, other parts would be a disappointment. Another great review video!!! Well Done!!!
Thanks for the comment mate. Yes, I'm actually scared to look up the release date on certain songs and films these days 😂
How do you feel about M O O N that spells TOM catch phrase? Luv your reviews!!
I love the Tom from The Stand and everything about him. He's probably a top 10 Stephen King character for me.
Augh this book. I was a HUUUUGE King fan in my youth, but toward the late 90s his stuff wasn't hitting with me as much, I didn't really enjoy his Regulators duology, and when I read this book I found myself frustrated. I felt like this book needed a copyeditor, and I remember not finishing this book because somewhere in the climax there was a passage that seemed to changed perspective character mid-paragraph with no indication to the reader that he'd done it? It felt like the last straw, that this best-selling paradigm-changing author skipped a copyeditor? No thanks. I won't finish your book.
I haven't really returned to King, though my frustration has lessened. I know he was going through some real life stuff around the time this was written (his being hit by a vehicle?) and he seems like a really decent guy on social media, and my tastes have changed over my lifetime, that doesn't mean writers suddenly got bad. :) Anyway, I look forward to hearing your review on this.
King's accident in the late '90s definitely seemed like it impacted his writing for a while. It's great to hear you're open to giving his later works a chance, considering how tastes and writing styles can evolve. The regulators duology was some of my least favourite stuff and this too. Maybe you just hit a handful of his worst books one after the other? Have you read his major works like IT, The Stand, The Shining, Salem's Lot? That's a lot better in my opinion. Also people seem to love 11.22.63.
@@PaperbackJourneys It and The Stand were big favourites of mine, I read them cover to cover so often I had to buy new copies of them more than once. I consider The Shining to be unmatched in horror writing, and honestly Salems Lot would be in my top 3 if those other 3 hadn't existed, lol. Before Desperation/The Regulators I prided myself on having every King book and anthology, so I'm certainly familiar with that era of his work.
I don't know if I'll return to King or not: I'm working on my own writing now, and he is an early influence of mine where I appreciate him in hindsight more than I might if I read his new stuff, and in general these days I try to support emerging writers and writers from marginalized demographics more, when I can.
I recognize I had a harsh opinion of him in the late 90s, early '00s, but I've mellowed, and certainly appreciate him more *as a person* when I see him encouraging younger writers and just generally being a rare example of a decent rich white guy online. :)
Flowers are Extremely important in the later tower books 🌹😉
Thanks for the heads up mate. I'm guessing something to do with a rose? Thanks for the comment.
What are the 23 books you are reading through? I’m currently reading through the complete dark tower series (I.e. any book that is semi-related to DT) and I only have 22 book (4 left!). Will be interested to know how your list differs
Hey! Thanks for commenting again mate. This is my reading order of the series. The 23rd book might be 'The Gunslinger' which I've added on at the end. I followed the list from Jimmy Mango. Here it is... czcams.com/video/zEyNU2elGFE/video.html
Ha ha. I think we must have gotten our reading list from the same place. Just checked my random piece of paper that contains my reading order and its identical to yours 😅
"Cokes a hell of a drug", - stephen king
He was long sober when he wrote this.
Did anyone notice that the Dark Tower movie used this book's plot point on stealing children to be Breakers?
I did notice that. I really didn't love that movie. I'm hoping the series is a lot better when it comes out.
Only just now, f!*k that movie!
Black House has one of the most horrible bad guys I've ever read, he still gives me nightmares and I last read it about 10 years ago.
WOW! I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing haha. I mean it had an big impact and that's what we're looking for out of fiction right? Thanks so much for the comment. I agree.
I thought that the writing style was pretty cool, mostly for the novelty of the style. I hadn’t read a lot of stories told in a Birds Eye perspective until Black House.
I will say this book had two lull stages, in the first 100 pages and around the 54% mark. It took the Tower connections to reengage me in the story. I loved the last 25% of the story though!
Yeah I didn't love it but I'm glad that you enjoyed the writing style. For some people this is one of their favourite Stephen King books. I agree that the pace definitely picked up towards the end.
I remember very little about this one. But didn't the lilacs represent love of his mother? Yeah. Not my favorite read.
Oh they may have done. Sometimes, reading through all of these books, I forget certain references.
This was probably my least favourite of all of King's projects, which is a shame because I liked The Talisman!
Yeah I thought it was okay but I'm not so excited for the next one in the series. King said that he expects to write another Jack Sawyer book in the near future.
Uh oh
Just saying, you may or may not change a couple opinions from this once you reach the tower.
I appreciate the heads-up! It's always fascinating how new books in a series, especially one as expansive as the Dark Tower, can shift our perspective on earlier entries. I'm keeping an open mind and am excited to see how my views might evolve as the story progresses and reaches its climax. Thanks for the note, and I'll definitely share how my thoughts change once I reach the Tower!
Stopped reading this book. Too long and boring.
I agree on the length. I didn't find it boring but it isn't one of my favourite Stephen King books either. I don't think it's in my top 15 Stephen King books honestly. Thanks for commenting Mary.