Black House by Stephen King, Peter Straub Book Review

 Black House 

(The Talisman #2)

By Stephen King, Peter Straub 

Published Year: 2001

Page Count: 624 pages

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Multiverse, Good vs Evil, Action, Young Adult, Magic, 2026-read.

Rating : 5/5 😎😎😎😎😎 

I liked this story almost close to the first book in the series, the Talisman. I could venture a guess here that the first and last parts are written by Straub while the middle two by King. I enjoyed King's writing better. I can't explain how he has such a strange hold on the language and the reader. In this book, we don't see so much of the Territories other than for a couple of episodes. The focus is laid on a Black House - both covered in black paint and also feels depressing, bleak inside - which acts like a worm hole between the infinite worlds in existence.

In this book, we meet the grown up coppiceman(a cop) Jack Sawyer, twenty years after Talisman adventure has ended. So, he is 32 now.  He has worked for the LAPD for a while, has taken an early retirement for personal reasons (at 31) and moved to a place  (fictitious) called French Landing in Wisconsin. Shortly after he moved there, some serial killer called The Fisherman sprung into action, kidnapping kids and cannibalising them - feeding on their torsos, butt cheeks, tongues, cheeks etc and gloating through messages, taunting phone calls. The local police chief, Dale Gilbertson, seeks assistance from a reluctant Jack Sawyer. But after a fourth kid is kidnapped and his mother goes temporarily insane and gets locked up in a mental asylum, he gets wind that this case involves the Territories and convinced that he is the only one who could deal successfully with it, also upon the urging of his blind radio jockey friend Henry Layden he takes up the case in an unofficial capacity. The case is officially in the hands of state police and FBI. Jack, Dale and five other men called Thunder Five (the daughter of the head of this group Beezer is murdered by the Fishermen) join hands to locate this Black House, deal with the evils guarding the place, release the kid and make it back home .. only for Jack to be assassinated .. yes, shot multiple times and left to bleed to death! Does he live to see the light of the next book which is already released and propelled me to read this book super fast? 

I liked how the authors have tied the world of Dark Tower to this one. The concept of a tower with seven beams, being protected and guarded by a guild, a crimson king who is locked up and has been working for eons to set himself free and now seeing a way to do it with the latest kidnapped kid .. felt woof! Mind boggling. I totally dug my heels into this fast paced, no nonsense narrative. I hope you enjoy it just as much as me. I can't wait to pick the next book and see where the story leads to! Henry Layden seems one of the very best character portrayals I have come across. It's a pity that his part is short lived and nevertheless,he fills it well. 

The kids are kidnapped and killed by someone claiming to be the Fisherman. Who is this man? Does killing him suffice to stop these atrocities? If not, what must be done and what are those mad ramblings of Tyler's mother and her mentions of other worlds, crimson king and abbalah?! This story sucked me in and didn't release until the end. I wished to see what King would have made with the full book written by him! Nevermind, the next one is gonna be a treat - hopefully!!