Joyland
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Narrated by:
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Michael Kelly
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By:
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Stephen King
About this listen
"Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book.... Even the most hardboiled readers will find themselves moved."
—Charles Ardai, Edgar- and Shamus Award-winning editor of Hard Case Crime.
Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. Joyland is a brand-new novel and has never previously been published.
©2013 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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HE'S A CUP OF COFFEE
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Featured Article: Stephen King’s 20 Best Audiobooks—The Definitive List
Stephen King is one of the most prolific American authors of all time. He has published 61 novels, more than 200 short stories, and six nonfiction books—and he shows no sign of stopping. His most recent novel, The Institute, was published in September of 2019, and we’ve already pre-ordered his novella anthology If It Bleeds, which is set to be released in 2020. With such a large portfolio, choosing one listen to start with can be daunting.
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Unraveling the tumultuous, decades-spanning story of the Dolan family’s friends, lovers, and adversaries, Double Feature is about letting go of everything - regret, resentment, ambition, dignity, moving pictures, the dead - and taking it again from the top. Combining propulsive storytelling and mordant wit against the backdrop of indie filmmaking, Double Feature brims with a deep understanding of the trials of ambition and art, of relationships and life, and of our attempts to survive it all.
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Worst book ever! Well maybe.
- By Randall on 08-11-17
By: Owen King
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Kissing Games of the World
- By: Sandi Kahn Shelton
- Narrated by: Myra Platt
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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What if the one person you can't bear to be with is also the one person you can't bear to be without? Jamie McClintock is a free-spirited artist and single mother who has at last found peace and freedom sharing a farmhouse with an elderly man and his young grandson. But when the old man dies suddenly her idyllic country life comes to a halt as the old man's estranged son, Nate, returns to claim the house and his child.
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Great Writer, Great Narrator ! Loved it!
- By Ms. Critic on 05-30-09
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Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
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God-Shaped Hole
- A Novel
- By: Tiffanie DeBartolo
- Narrated by: Rachael Warren
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
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When Beatrice Trixie Jordan replies to a personal ad, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent 30-something free-spirit writer passionately seeking life. He possesses his own turns of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie's off-center vision. As they rollercoaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance, they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by both of their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.
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To see a fortune teller or not to see one...
- By Renee on 08-08-18
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Bullet in the Brain
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Anders is an angry, cynical man. A book critic known for his scathing reviews, he finds any excuse to dismiss, belittle, or insult. This afternoon is no more agitating than the next. Angers finds himself in a long line at the bank, waiting to reach a teller. Even after two men - wearing masks and carrying guns - take control of the building, Anders is unfazed. It's this behavior that lands him with a pistol against his stomach and a man screamingin his face. And when the bank robber, indignant over Anders' behavior, shoots the book critic in the head, his mind floats through the memories of his life, settling on one particular event....
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The Perfect Example
- By Sarah on 08-01-17
By: Tobias Wolff
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Summer at Willow Lake
- The Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Susan Wiggs
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
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Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis - a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp.
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Finding Love at Summer Camp
- By Pamela Dale Foster on 02-13-15
By: Susan Wiggs
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Deal Breaker
- The First Myron Bolitar Novel
- By: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
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Sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time. So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and Myron's prized client. But when Christian gets a phone call from a former girlfriend, a woman who everyone, including the police, believes is dead, the deal starts to go sour. Suddenly Myron is plunged into a baffling mystery of sex and blackmail.
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Deal Breaker
- By Lisa on 07-02-08
By: Harlan Coben
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Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
- By: Juliann Garey
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- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
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In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years.
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Psychosis or Syphilis?
- By Vira on 04-02-13
By: Juliann Garey
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Burn Baby Burn
- By: Meg Medina
- Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora's family life isn't going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 17 and be on her own.
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Couldn't finish listening to this book.
- By Mathis on 12-03-17
By: Meg Medina
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Another amazing story
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Oh, wow.
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Great narrator; awful book
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"I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922", the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife, Arlette, proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.
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Eerie, honest, frightening!
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Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis. In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low-grade - but escalating - battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice.
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Meh...
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Gwendy's Button Box
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There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zigzag up the cliffside. At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. One day a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
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THE PEOPLE SEE A LEVER, THEY WANT TO PULL IT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-07-17
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The Regulators
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Peaceful suburbia on Poplar Street in Wentworth, Ohio, takes a turn for the ugly when four vans containing armed "regulators" terrorize the street's residents, cold-bloodedly killing anyone foolish enough to step outside their homes. Houses mysteriously transform into log cabins, and the street now ends in what looks like a child's hand-drawn Western landscape. Masterminding this sudden onslaught is the evil creature Tak, who has taken over the body of an autistic eight-year-old boy, Seth Garin.
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Frank Muller was the best
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Rose Madder
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Rosie Daniels leaves her husband, Norman, after 14 years in an abusive marriage. She is determined to lose herself in a place where he won't find her. She'll worry about all the rest later. Alone in a strange city, she begins to make a new life, and good things finally start to happen. Meeting Bill is one, and getting an apartment is another. Still, it's hard for Rosie not to keep looking over her shoulder, and with good reason. Norman is a cop, with the instincts of a predator.
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Excellent!
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The Dark Half
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Thad Beaumont would like to say he is innocent. He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the twisted imagination that produced his best-selling novels. He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the series of monstrous murders that keep coming closer to his home. But how can Thad deny the ultimate embodiment of evil that goes by the name he gave it - and signs its crimes with Thad's bloody fingerprints?
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Sparrows
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Anne Heche reads The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, the story of nine-year-old Trisha McFarland who gets lost in the woods while on a walk with her family. Boston Red Sox closing pitcher Tom Gordon becomes Trisha's imaginary companion - and the key to her survival against an unidentified someone (or some thing) leaving death and destruction in its wake.
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Amber Alert
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Just After Sunset
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Just After Sunset - call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.
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King scores another coup
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Dolores Claiborne is suspected of killing Vera Donovan, her wealthy employer, and when the police question her, she tells the story of her life, harkening back to her disintegrating marriage and the suspicious death of her violent husband 30 years earlier. Dolores also tells of Vera's physical and mental decline and how she became emotionally demanding in recent years.
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Absolutely Fantastic!
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Alden McCausland and his mother are what they call “accident rich”; thanks to an unexpected life-insurance policy payout and a winning Big Maine Millions scratcher, Alden and his Ma are able to spend their summers down by Lake Abenaki, idly drinking their days away in a three-room cabin with an old dock and a lick of a beach. Across the lake, they can see what “real rich” looks like: the Massimo family’s Twelve Pines Camp, the big white mansion with guest house and tennis court that Alden’s Ma says is paid for by “ill-gotten gains” courtesy of Massimo Construction.
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I Think Stephen King Knows My Neighbors
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Cell
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The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone. Everyone's cell phone. Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilization's darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature...and then begins to evolve.
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Very, very compelling
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By: Stephen King
What listeners say about Joyland
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Hassan
- 06-04-13
Another Great Horror book
Not all authors can do what Stephen King can do. First of all what made me buy this book before i even read the summary is that its a horror book by Stephen King called "Joyland" that was a reason enough for me. if you liked King's other horror book you will love this one. Remember how his book Duma key was? If you do then just add this and read it, and if you don't go buy Duma Key too then.
I was waiting for this book for a while and i decided listening to a horror book at night would be the greatest thing, so took the day off from work and had a good scary listen to this book
I don't want to say whats going on in the book exactly and i advice you not to check because getting surprised is way much better.
The narrator did a great job, plenty of differente voices, and he gave life to these characters.
highly recommended and you will love it.
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19 people found this helpful
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- S
- 06-05-13
Stephen King's Latest Coming-of-Age Story
Ok, so there's a new Stephen King book out called Joyland. Here are some of the key components:
- A serial killer who slashes throats at amusement parks.
- A ghost.
- A little boy with a special ability to just sort of 'know things'.
- A whodunnit mystery.
- A college kid who loses his sweetheart and grows up.
As everyone knows, Stephen King is the master of terror - so you might expect the first three components listed above to be the most important parts of Joyland... but you would be wrong!
Joyland is, at its heart, the coming of age tale of 21 year old Devin Jones. Devin is an everyman, a nice guy. He's going through a rough breakup with his first true love. He gets a job at Joyland, a second rate amusement park filled with cool college kids at summer jobs and weirdo carnies that are kind of there for life. There's a fortune teller, some sexy girls who take photos and pressure you into buying them, and plenty other flavorful characters. It's a flavorful and interesting backdrop for a novel.
As mentioned above, Devin is dealing with a lot of stuff. He's a young kid in an emotional part of life, and the ghost, serial killer, etc. serve as plot devices for some real growing up. The ghost and serial killer might sound scary, but there aren't really very many scary moments in Joyland. There are a few, I guess, but there are many more touching moments. Moments where you want to reach out to Devin and say, "Devin, hang in there dude - we'll get through this together and things will work out great." This isn't a book that will keep you up at night, this is a book that will keep you wondering how Stephen King can put into words so perfectly what it's like to like a girl who likes someone else better than you. If you're looking for a Stephen King tale of terror, then look elsewhere.
Joyland is also nominally a mystery, but I didn't get much out of this aspect of the book. Without giving anything away, there's this murder mystery and then it just kind of gets resolved all at once without the typical back and forth, slow progress, clue gathering, false leads, etc. that most mystery novels are filled with.
If you're a fan of Stephen King, then Joyland is probably most similar in style to Hearts in Atlantis. Hearts in Atlantis is one of my favorite King books, and Joyland is definitely no Hearts in Atlantis. It just doesn't have the unique story hooks, the characters are a bit flatter, and the lynchpin story connecting the coming-of-age theme isn't quite as interesting. Joyland is still good, but I'd recommend Hearts in Atlantis ahead of it any day. If you've already read Hearts in Atlantis and want another great story, then pick up Joyland - it's good. Good enough that I blasted through it in a day without slowing down.
The narrator for Joyland is decent. He did a bunch of different voices well, and breathed some life into the character - but the whole thing did feel slightly BLAH to me. It was good, but nothing I'll remember forever.
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- bionichands
- 08-05-13
Stephen King weirdly keeps getting better
Where does Joyland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I don't know, I've listened to a lot of books. But I thought this was one of the best narrator performances. Michael Kelly was great.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
Its kind of short for that. I wouldn't describe the book that way. I would compare this book more to the "Stand By Me"/"The Body" novella.
Which character – as performed by Michael Kelly – was your favorite?
Honestly, I loved them all. His southern voices were incredible, and I loved his dialogue between characters. I hope he'll consider doing some more narration in the future.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Definitely.
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- Donk
- 07-05-14
Michael Kelly needs to read to me
Joyland reminded me more of The Body (aka Stand By Me) than Salem Lot, It, or The Shinning. Most of Stephen Kings books left me still terrified 30 years later. I am still afraid to look directly into sewer drains just in case a creepy clown is staring back at me.
Joyland, like The Body, is just a good story about growing up, told like only a good story teller can, but with a dash of creepy. If you are expecting to be scared to death this is not the one for you, but if you like The Body, you will love this.
So lets talk about the narrator...
Dear Michael Kelly
Can you read to me every night? Seriously, I like House of Cards, but if Doug is actually dead, audio books narration is your new career.
Xoxo
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- Lisa
- 06-09-13
Quite entertaining.
This had a good atmosphere and, as a 7 hour audiobook, is worth a listen. It fits well into an early summer lazy weekend. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more tension in the plot, as I expected a ghost story and murder mystery. Those elements were there, but without any real feeling of danger or suspense, so the narrative felt like more of a memoir/coming of age story.
The reading is fine. The reader's intonation tends to fall at the end of phrases giving the narrator a sort of sad, tired vibe. But that suits the story quite well.
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- Rukkia
- 08-27-13
Reminiscent of Stand by Me
Any additional comments?
I really enjoyed this book. I really wasn't sure that I was going to , and it took a little to get into, but I did enjoy it. The story kept you guessing, and was very well put together. The narrators voice didn't fit the voice that my mind wanted to hear for teh charater, but he did a good job narrating, so it wasn't really his fault. Overall, a very enjoyable read.
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- Kent
- 07-02-13
Another great Stephen King read...
If you like a lot of what Stephen King has written recently like Lisey's Story or Duma Key, you will love Joyland.
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- Audiobookaddict1
- 05-04-20
A true murder mystery
I am really enjoying Stephen King's more recent works. I find him to be a better writer now than he was in the '70s and '80s.
In Joyland, a story about a fictional amusement park in coastal North Carolina in the early '70s, a young adult boy finds himself employed on a temporary stop along the way of life, intrigued by haunted mystery, an older woman and a terminally ill son.
It was a very heartfelt story. I find many of King's more recent books to be heartfelt And that's a good thing.
The book draws on a little bit. I do honestly think it would have been a better short story than a full novel. I spent the majority of time waiting for the story to get to its point, which it finally does in a very very good and satisfying way.
Read it, you'll enjoy it
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- Ms Discus
- 06-28-13
So Much Fun
I didn't really know what to expect from the early press and descriptions of this book. I "rediscovered" Stephen King as a writer with Duma Key and Under the Dome. Then I went back and picked up some of his earlier work like Bag of Bones and Salem's Lot. These books made me look at King as much more than just a writer of the horror genre. Quite simply, King is a master storyteller of the very best kind. That talent is deliciously on display in Joyland, which makes it a perfect summer novel.
Joyland is a delightful combination of mystery, coming-of-age story, whodunit with a touch of the supernatural and a faint whiff of beach town romance, all with a retro feel. The story works on all levels with a great degree of fun and the clever characters King is known for. In a recent interview King stated that his major job is still to entertain people. He accomplishes that and more with Joyland. King stays true to the lesson the elderly man who owns the Joyland Amusement Park instills in all of his workers.... “Never forget, we sell fun.”
It was so much fun I also bought the hard copy.
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- LL
- 06-27-13
Terrific Summer Tale
I am a big Stephen King fan to begin with and my favorite books of his are the ones that don't depend too much on the supernatural. What I was struck with listening to Joyland was what a great story teller SK is. The book has a gently unfolding story with terrific character development. Michael Kelly's narration was perfect for this story. To me, the ghost story/mystery was almost secondary to the vivid description of Joyland itself. I found the whole thing very enjoyable and have listened to it a second time.
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