A Very Black House! (Black House - Stephen King, Peter Straub)

Member Name: Sue Hoskinson

Product:	Black House - Stephen King, Peter Straub
Date:	27/10/01 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An engrossing storyline

Disadvantages: Hard going initially

This is a book that has had mixed reviews – some people loved it, others didn’t. The main problem that most people have is with the combination of Stephen King and Peter Straub. If you’re a die-hard King fan then you may have some reservations regarding the style of writing, and how the story tends to ‘jump’.

I have read virtually all of Stephen King’s novels and, according to the back cover; there have been more than 30 of them! I must admit that with the exception of one, I’ve enjoyed them all immensely. I’ve only actually read one other story by Peter Straub, this was entitled ‘The Floating Dragon’. The cover tells me that he has written 14 novels, which have been translated into more than 20 different languages!

‘Black House’ is the second collaboration of the two authors; the first is ‘The Talisman’. This was apparently the prequel to ‘Black House’ although I’ve never read it!

The story is predominantly about Jack Sawyer. He is an ex-detective from Las Vegas and has moved to French Landing to retire. He gains the nickname ‘Hollywood’ because of his impressive record while he was a policeman – he instinctively knew if someone was guilty or innocent just by looking at them!
Jack has a strange past and, initially, you can’t be too sure whether he’s having nightmares or hallucinations. I suppose if you’ve previously read ‘The Talisman’ then things would be a little clearer but I hadn’t so I waited!
Things in French Landing are bad, there have been three vicious murders by a person dubbed ‘The Fisherman’ and the local police are having a very difficult time trying to solve the case. It should be said that the murderer is killing and partially eating children. The local police chief, Dale Gilbertson, has worked with Jack once before and regards him very
highly. He tries to persuade him to help but Jack doesn’t want any part of the case.
Some of the other main characters are Beezer St. Pierre; he’s the leader of the bike gang called ‘Thunder Five’. His daughter Amy was one of the victims. Henry Leyden is a real character! He is a blind man who is around 80 yrs old and is also the local DJ with about four different personas! Henry is the uncle of Dale Gilbertson. The other character worth mentioning is Judy Marshall; she is Tyler Marshall’s mother. Judy has some form of physic ability and foresees the abduction of her son; this seems to make her go insane and she ends up in an asylum. One of the more unsavory characters is Charles ‘Chummy’ Burnside. He is a patient at the Maxtons old peoples home and is around 85 years old. People believe he has Alzheimer’s and is incapable of doing anything for himself but he’s a good actor! Definitely a nasty, slimy person.
Jack is persuaded to help after Tyler disappears and Judy informs him that the boy is still alive and being held in ‘The Faraway’. This isn’t the term that Jack remembers the place as, he called it ‘The Territories’ but it’s still the same place!

Are you confused yet? So was I! From my understanding, ‘The Territories’ is a place that we dream about, like a fantasy world. Another way of looking at it is like the TV show ‘Sliders’, an alternate reality! The only difference is that whatever happens in ‘The Territories’ can affect the real world.

The book is divided into four parts; Welcome to Coulee County, The Taking of Tyler Marshall, Night’s Plutonian Shore and Black House and Beyond.
I found the first part of the book very difficult to read, it’s written as though you are being introduced to the town through the eyes of some kind of ethereal being, entering houses through the wind
ows and watching the inhabitants unseen. There were so many characters introduced in the first part that I found it difficult to keep up with who’s who and where they lived! Don’t give up though it gets easier! Once I got into the second part I was hooked and it didn’t take me too long to read all 624 pages.

I said at the beginning that the story jumps and what I meant by this was that one chapter would lead you in one direction and then you’d backtrack and then go forwards again!
This is not classic Stephen King. I thought it was influenced far more by the style of Peter Straub.
‘Black House’ is difficult to read in places, probably due to two very different writing styles but it’s still a very good book that keeps you guessing right up to the end! I didn’t see the very end coming and was a little surprised by it!

My overall impression of ‘Black House’ is that it’s a very well written book although definitely confusing at times. The character development is excellent and I felt that I could relate to quite a few of them – even willing them on at times!
It’s a shame that most people will be put off by the collaboration because this is worth reading, borrow it from a friend or the library if you don’t want to shell out the dosh for it!

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