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A review by ethancf
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
4.0
Every time I read one of these classic King books for the first time my reaction is "dammit, why has it taken me THIS long?" This sucked me in right away, which is saying something because my hold on the audio came in unexpectedly and I really wasn't in the mood for it. Between King's writing and Michael C Hall's outstanding narration, I couldn't put it down.
Seriously, the narration is outstanding. His Jud is so good I thought they had gone full cast and gotten Lithgow from the recent adaptation (which, despite negative reviews, I have to admit has absolutely pitch perfect casting across the board).
This isn't quite as good as The Shining, not as instantly bracing and addictive, and mostly because it's primarily a family drama with horror thrown in nearly as an afterthought. Most of the scary stuff only happens in the last ~2 hours of audio. But that's King.
King's philosophy of horror is that it's not the monster or supernatural phenomenon that's scary, but that something bad is happening to your protagonists. The root of horror for King is actually Empathy, not base flight-or-fight reactions like you get from cheap jump scares. To this end he loves creating stories where you would be just as happy reading a traditional drama following these protagonists, which means when the horror comes later it's tinged with tragedy, and the buildup there is even more soaked in dread. By now, this is standard and others mimic it ad nauseum. But the real nasty twist King puts in this one is that once the horror does start proper, he gives you a glimpse at a what if. What if it didn't. He gives you a glimpse at what this book would have been like if it wasn't a horror novel. And while this story might be one of King's most tragic already, this takes that to the next level. It's a kick in the teeth when you're already down on the floor.
In a foreword from the author he says he views this as his scariest work, like maybe this time he went too far. I was wondering too. It's not his scariest - The Shining is perhaps more constant in its tension, it starts scarier and doesn't really let up. But it might be his most disturbing. Even if you removed the horror aspects of this, it would be just a gut punching read.
I loved this. Louis is maybe an asshole but he's such a real person, one of the most realized protagonists I've ever read. I was dreading how this story would move and while the narrative is sad, it's only because I grew so attached to these characters (mostly Jud).
Seriously, the narration is outstanding. His Jud is so good I thought they had gone full cast and gotten Lithgow from the recent adaptation (which, despite negative reviews, I have to admit has absolutely pitch perfect casting across the board).
This isn't quite as good as The Shining, not as instantly bracing and addictive, and mostly because it's primarily a family drama with horror thrown in nearly as an afterthought. Most of the scary stuff only happens in the last ~2 hours of audio. But that's King.
King's philosophy of horror is that it's not the monster or supernatural phenomenon that's scary, but that something bad is happening to your protagonists. The root of horror for King is actually Empathy, not base flight-or-fight reactions like you get from cheap jump scares. To this end he loves creating stories where you would be just as happy reading a traditional drama following these protagonists, which means when the horror comes later it's tinged with tragedy, and the buildup there is even more soaked in dread. By now, this is standard and others mimic it ad nauseum. But the real nasty twist King puts in this one is that once the horror does start proper, he gives you a glimpse at a what if. What if it didn't. He gives you a glimpse at what this book would have been like if it wasn't a horror novel. And while this story might be one of King's most tragic already, this takes that to the next level. It's a kick in the teeth when you're already down on the floor.
In a foreword from the author he says he views this as his scariest work, like maybe this time he went too far. I was wondering too. It's not his scariest - The Shining is perhaps more constant in its tension, it starts scarier and doesn't really let up. But it might be his most disturbing. Even if you removed the horror aspects of this, it would be just a gut punching read.
I loved this. Louis is maybe an asshole but he's such a real person, one of the most realized protagonists I've ever read. I was dreading how this story would move and while the narrative is sad, it's only because I grew so attached to these characters (mostly Jud).