Billy Summers by Stephen King

Stephen King, el narrador legendario de imaginación incontenible, nos regala una espectacular novela sobre un buen tipo con un trabajo muy malo. Billy Summers es un asesino a sueldo y el mejor en lo suyo, pero tiene una norma: solo acepta un encargo si su objetivo es realmente mala persona. Ahora Billy quiere dejarlo, pero todavía le queda un último golpe. Y siendo uno de los mejores francotiradores del mundo, un veterano condecorado de la guerra de Irak, un auténtico Houdini cuando toca desaparecer después de finiquitar un trabajo, ¿qué podría salirle mal? Todo. Reseñas: «En Billy Summers (como ya lo hizo en Misery) King insiste en la idea de que escribir es sobrevivir y que no hay nada más importante que el vivir para contarlo». Rodrigo Fresán «Excombatiente de la guerra de Irak, Billy Summers tiene un pasado más jodido que el de Rambo, pero es un tipo estupendo: buen vecino, buen niñero, buen amante... Y un soldado que sabe que nunca se deja atrás a un compañero, aun cuando esto sea un mal negocio». Esquire «Con Billy Summers, su segunda novela en un año, el Rey del Terror vuelve a su mejor nivel». El País «Si su ingenuidad sin malevolencia es el atractivo de Billy Summers, a medida que avanza la acción se transforma en un justiciero digno de admiración». La Razón «Todo confluye, una vez más, en lo que probablemente sea El Tema recurrente de King: el hacer justicia deshaciendo injusticia». ABC «Una negra crítica a la sociedad con la que el prolífico escritor vuelve a ponernos frente al horror, pero en esta ocasión enfrentándonos a nosotros mismos y a la sociedad en la que vivimos». Cosmopolitan «Billy Summers lo tiene todo: es una inquietante novela criminal, es una dulce historia de amor, es un crudo relato de guerra, es también un excelente manual sobre cómo escribir un libro y, además, una trepidante trama de venganza, al estilo de las de Yo soy la justicia». La Voz de Galicia «No hay asesinato más criminal ni caos más entretenido. Otra lectura adictiva de un maestro de mente proteica». Kirkus «Otra novedad excepcional de un escritor que siempre les da a los lectores mucho más de lo que esperan». Publishers Weekly «En Billy Summers no hay elementos sobrenaturales (salvo una referencia oculta a cierto hotel embrujado). En lugar de eso, [Stephen King] se pone en modo noir y nos cuenta el relato de un asesino a sueldo con un último trabajo por delante... Y es su mejor libro en años». The Guardian «Billy Summers está tan plagada de monstruos como sus anteriores novelas. Pero no son de los paranormales que solemos asociar al maestro del terror. Aquí, los monstruos son asesinos, mafiosos, violadores y ladrones... En resumen, maleantes de la peor calaña». Star Tribune «¿Ahora también es el Rey del Crimen? Stephen King da en el clavo con su thriller sobre un asesino a sueldo, Billy Summers». USA Today «Billy Summers es mitad El día del Chacal, mitad homenaje a la parte más rural de Estados Unidos, mitad historia de amor y completamente adictiva». The Times

I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.

Mr. King is turning into a crime writer and I am worried. Not that I don't like his crime stuff. I really enjoyed Later, Mr. Mercedes was alright and I LOVED The Outsider until a certain point. But Stephen King is my go-to horror writer when I want some chills and I find them less and less. I miss his horror novels and it is upsetting.

Billy Summers did not work for me.

It is a good “last job gone wrong” story with a spin towards the middle and it is a decent adventure but without any thrills or surprises.

My main issue was that spin. In the beginning, I really enjoyed the story. I liked the world that was being built around Billy. Billy Summers, a hitman who settles in a small town for his last job disguised as a writer. A quiet neighborhood, friendly, accepting neighbors, their children, etc. This is what King writes best right! Then something happens towards the middle and changes the whole story. After that point, the novel lost its charm, got boring and predictable. That's my first issue with the book. It was very sad to witness the book lose all its potential for me with the sudden change it made, while it started with great potential and follow in the footsteps of Stephen King's best books.

My second issue was the character work. I found Billy quite superficial for a Stephen King character. I liked what I saw, I wanted him to be successful, I wanted him to live happily ever after but he didn't come out of the page and materialize for me, even though as part of the narrative he articulated what made him what he was.

And Alice, my god Alice. I really didn't like her. Alice lost this book a whole star. I did not find her decisions and general attitude compatible with her experiences and her backstory. King isn't usually as good at writing female characters as he writes men, but Alice is truly unconvincing. Therefore the feeling of love and devotion between them seemed baseless to me and I could not take it seriously.

My third problem was that King's political views were incorporated into the story quite densely. I mean, we know dude, you hated Trump, every sane person did and you are already very vocal on Twitter. We. Get. It. The fact that he vomited his hatred at every opportunity he could find, whether it's irrelevant to the subject or not, without any contribution to the story, got boring after a few times.

I like the multiverse stuff, the ones I caught at least. It's impossible to miss one of the references anyway, as King has repeatedly mentioned it. Keep it, subtle man.

This book could've been amazing. This book could've been amazing if King had continued to tell the story of Billy, using themes of innocence and redemption, as at the beginning of the book, through a small-town, safe home, and accepting community. Could have been one of his recent bests.

Would I recommend Billy Summers? Sure. Absolutely. It sounds like I hated the book after all these complaints, but I read it in a few days, not looking for other options or thinking about dropping it. Billy is a character worth getting to know. I've been reading King's books since I was 11, 12 so that's why I go into the story with high expectations when I start his books. Maybe partly, for this reason, I was not satisfied with the story that I encountered along with the effect of the high praise Billy Summers received.

Sorry, Mr. King, it's not you, it's me.

Hopefully this isn't too much of a spolier, but I really couldn't get past Billy's relationship with Alice. It didn't feel like a believable connection considering how they meet, and I don't think King wrote her as a well rounded character. It felt very much like she was a prop to make Billy a hero and at times it was even a little creepy.

Honestly I'm really confused as to how this book has so many high ratings. It's far from his best work. Not a bad book by any means, but not great either? It still had a solid ending though and I'm glad I finished it.

This is such a wonderful and surprising book. The main character, Billy Summers, is best described as a good man who does bad things. Despite his less than clean living past, he has managed to be able to survive with a tarnished soul capable of some level of goodness.