I took a break from Stephen King for a while after finishing his brilliant Dark Tower heptalogy (yes, I had to look that word up). Having heard that The Talisman dealt with similar themes, I decided to give this King/Straub work a chance. It was quite interesting.

If you’re new to these works, the theme centers on a plurality of worlds that some people can flip between. Traveling Jack, the hero of The Talisman is one such person.

There were moments that really shone, such as the depiction of ultimate evil as an evangelistic preacher and the sensation and subsequent rejection of being God.

As a stand alone book, it’s a little weak—a bit of an overdone quest story. As someone in Dark Tower withdrawal, this novel brought me right back to the world of the gunslinger.

King, Stephen and Peter Straub. The Talisman. Viking, 1984.