The Dark Half by Stephen King
The Dark Half
by Stephen King
(Audio)
I was in the mood for some Stephen King and this was one of the only ones on the shelves at the library that I hadn't read and wasn't part of the Dark Tower series. I read the back cover and it seemed interesting enough, so I gave it a shot.
The plot is classic Stephen King. It revolves around an author named Thad Beaumont whose mystery & horror-writing penname comes to life and starts murdering people. Thad feels responsible, but he doesn't understand why or how it's happening... but the sparrows start flying and the line between who is doing what gets blurred.
There were times, while I was earreading this, that it felt it was going on too long. It felt a little too drawn out at times, given the plot. But I really enjoyed the characters and the concept itself (so many of King's protagonists are authors, but he writes them so well I don't mind). The idea seemed a bit far-fetched scientifically. I was completely on the side of Alan, the Sheriff, who was having a tough time wrapping his head around the situation. But twins are common in Thad's family (his wife has given birth to two sets) and this definitely explored not only Thad's "bad twin" but also the double life that writers have to live, needing to believe in the reality of their stories and also the lift they're living.
I saw some of this book coming, but I didn't expect a few of these twists and turns. It was a fun read. My favorite part was the sparrow symbolism coming to life and the way Thad and George Stark were connected mentally and physically.