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The talisman
First published 1987 · 1147 pages
A sprawling, dark-fantasy road trip where a boy's desperate love for his dying mother pulls him across the terrifying seam between two realities.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like embarking on a grueling, cross-country road trip that slips back and forth across the veil of reality. It is a sprawling, mythic coming-of-age epic that balances grounded, dusty Americana with the terrifying, wondrous landscapes of a dark parallel world. The narrative voice seamlessly marries colloquial grit with lyrical gothic dread, pulling you into a deeply atmospheric journey of childhood courage and desperate love. The pacing is steady and immersive, demanding you settle in for a long, perilous trek filled with monstrous encounters and profound loneliness. It will deeply satisfy readers who crave thick, atmospheric dark fantasy where the stakes are intimately personal yet world-shattering, and where the loss of innocence is both heartbreaking and heroic.
- Mood
- perilous
- wondrous
- dread-soaked
- atmospheric
- Tone
- earnest
- mythic
- gritty
- adventurous
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- loss of innocence · parallel realities · childhood courage · burden of destiny · mother-son bond
- The writing
- A seamless blend of grounded, colloquial Americana and lyrical, slightly elevated gothic sensibilities.
- The arc
- Begins in desperate loneliness and fear, expanding into a grueling, mythic test of endurance that culminates in bittersweet triumph.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sprawling, dark coming-of-age epics where childhood innocence collides with terrifying, otherworldly stakes.
Content notes
- child endangerment
- graphic violence
- animal death
- body horror
- grief
About the book
The Talisman is a 1984 fantasy novel by American writers Stephen King and Peter Straub. The Talisman was nominated for both the Locus and World Fantasy Awards in 1985. King and Straub followed up with a sequel, Black House (2001).
Followed by: Black House
Description from Open Library.
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