The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

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][2]

[2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15119768W

Such a page turner. Building up constantly, without interruption, until the (even more) exhilarating climax, which (fortunately) I was able to read in one sitting, letting me enjoy it along with the conclusion in one single reading session.

I liked the book. But I do prefer when Stephen King doesn't do too much fantasy (I'm talking about the genre).

It reminds me of the “Dark Tower” series.

Filled with interesting ideas, but the execution was not to my liking.

Similarly to The Stand, the middle section of the book is a depressing slog and the ending does not make up for it. The main character goes through ordeal after ordeal and the reader is never adequately rewarded for sticking with the book.

The book is filled with cheeky pop-culture references that are neither funny nor clever and only serve to take the reader out of the book. Particularly the phrase “Can you give me hallelujah”. This phrase is drilled into the readers mind over and over, seemingly as a joke? I don't understand what the motivation for repeating this cheesy line over and over was, but it made the book that much more annoying to read for me.

Again, there are tons of interesting ideas, however none of them are really expanded on which makes the middle section of the book depressing and uninteresting.