Eric Stone
This book started off reasonably solid, but I quickly struggled with the "men writing women" aspects of Bobbi's narrative. It was jarring enough that I actually paused to research the context of this book's creation. Finding out it was written at the absolute peak of King's substance abuse issues - and that he has personally referred to the book as "awful" - really soured the middle third of the experience for me.
That middle section is a nightmare to get through - hard to follow, oddly paced, and jumping all over. I’m pleased to report that the book resolves fairly well, however. The closing scene was surprisingly tender, which I appreciated.
Thematically, the book is a success in specific areas: it portrays intelligence without empathy very well, and its depictions of substance abuse and hive-mind are super interesting. It just doesn’t represent King-level storytelling at its finest. If you’re a completist, get it out of the way - but try to avoid reading too much outside commentary until you’re finished.
This book started off reasonably solid, but I quickly struggled with the "men writing women" aspects of Bobbi's narrative. It was jarring enough that I actually paused to research the context of this book's creation. Finding out it was written at the absolute peak of King's substance abuse issues - and that he has personally referred to the book as "awful" - really soured the middle third of the experience for me.
That middle section is a nightmare to get through - hard to follow, oddly paced, and jumping all over. I’m pleased to report that the book resolves fairly well, however. The closing scene was surprisingly tender, which I appreciated.
Thematically, the book is a success in specific areas: it portrays intelligence without empathy very well, and its depictions of substance abuse and hive-mind are super interesting. It just doesn’t represent King-level storytelling at its finest. If you’re a completist, get it out of the way - but try to avoid reading too much outside commentary until you’re finished.