Stephen King keeps threatening to retire, and then October rolls around and there’s another book. As a devoted fan, I wish he would reserve his “post-retirement” releases for books that are really different or new, for the risks that he can publish now that he’s resting on his laurels.

Lisey’s Storey is not such a book. There is little new in these 500+ pages. The story reminds me quite a bit of Bag of Bones, except this time the writer’s wife has survived him and the writer is the ghost. The bad guy is a rehash of the villain from Secret Window, Secret Garden; I think they even both come from Shooter’s Knob, Tennessee. The only thing that seems new and interesting is the account of the writer’s childhood, growing up in a family that seems infected with evil and insanity. I wish this had been the focus of a slim novel, rather than buried in this thick one.

I agree with Piper on this one. I love Stephen King (hmbscully – seriously get around to reading The Stand!! So worth it!! :-)) but I found this book kind of lacking in any kind of story I could get interested in. Very disapointed but as I can see from the other entries it’s obviously done it for others so I guess the best advice is to try it for yourself!!

I was so disappointed in this book. I usually enjoy Stephen King. I thought this was so boring! It was the first book of his I considered ditching halfway through. Even with books I don’t particularly like, I can usually get through with no problem. Getting to the end of Lisey’s Story was a bit torturous. The second half is much better than the first, but still pretty boring and uneventful. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the unrealistic and unlikable characters. Not usually a problem I have with Stephen King’s novels.

I’m a bit behind my reading pace from last year, but this year has been my first foray into Stephen King and some of his books are a bit longer than my other fave authors. (As I type this, I can picture my copy of The Stand sitting on my bookshelf taunting me.) I ended up reading the first 250 pages of this book and then consuming the rest of it in the unabridged audiobook format during and after Thanksgiving travels. What I most enjoy about King’s novels, the way he paints the characters and their surroundings with words in a way that reads/sounds simple, yet is so detailed, is probably the reason that his tales translate to audiobook so well.

This story was a fascinating look at a person suffering through the grief of the death of her husband, while coming to terms with the sad, yet fantastic world that her husband had lived with and taken her to. The story has a few creepy moments, but it isn’t really a scary tale… haunting is probably more appropriate because the main character, Lisey, is haunted by her husband’s past.

I don’t know if I can properly put into words how the book is structured, but for me at least, the first 1/3 or so seemed confusing and a bit scattered. Upon finishing the story, I am led to believe that this was intentional as Lisey spends the book trying to remember things from the past that are so part of her in the present, such as words and phrases that her husband used, but she can’t remember the reason behind them. They are all remembered and acknowledged by the end of the story and everything makes sense.

I recommend this book.

At this point, it’d almost be easy for Stephen King to go on auto-pilot, turn out a thriller and sit back and collect the huge checks. But yet, King has never seemed content to do that. Instead, he challenges himself as a writer and his readers with each new offering.

And ever since Bag of Bones, King has elevated his writing to another level.

As is the case here with Lisey’s Story.

Lisey Landon is the widow of prolific and successful writer, Scott Landon. Scott passed on two years before as the story begins. The story concerns an obsessed fan who wants Scott’s unpublished writings donated to a university and his attacks upon Lisey to make this happen. The story is told in typical King style with flashbacks to the days of Scott and Lisey’s lives and the events that shaped them. It’s almost like an episode of Lost, in a way.

Of course, this being a King book, some bad stuff has to happen to ordinary people and we see how they react to it. King’s story of Lisey Landon (and make no mistake, it is her story) is superbly told. Lisey feels authentic and you can feel her sorrow, grief and pain as she misses her husband. It’s the story of a life together and it’s told in King’s usual compulsively readable style.

Lisey’s Story stands alongside The Stand, It and Bag of Bones as classic King.

Stephen King is ALWAYS worth consuming! I have never been disappointed with a Stephen King book! And this one is no exception! Definitely worth a trip to Boo Ya Moon!