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| The Tommyknockers |
| Hardcover: 558 pages Paperback: 747 pages |
| 1987 |
| A glance at the book "For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost--that's how the catechism goes when you boil it down." The fate of the small town of Haven, Maine, was forever decided on a quiet summer day in 1988. On that day, successful writer Bobbi Anderson took a walk down a dirt path running behind her home, accompanied by Peter, a rapidly aging, half-blind beagle. As she walks down the path, she literally trips into history. When she takes a closer look at the obstacle, she sees that it is a flat piece of grey middle that is protruding from of the ground. She glances at Peter, and sees that he is shying away from the object. Becoming curious, she reaches down, and feels a strange vibration tingle up her fingers. She digs at it a bit with her fingers, and when she looks at her watch again, over an hour has passed. As she walks back to her home, ideas start crossing her mind. She starts to think that the object she found may be what scientists and maniacs have been searching for since 1947--a flying saucer. After the first moment she sees it, Bobbi can't stop thiinking about the object, and day after day, she obsessively digs at it, trying to extricate it from it's tpmb of dirt and rock, ehich has held this secret for untold millenia. As she starts to dig, strange things start happening to her: she has a very disturbing dream; she sleeps 'til three in the afternoon; and when she is near the object, she has a very heavy menstrual flow, but once she leaves the vicinity of the object, the flow of blood stops. Then one day she notices that she is not the only one who is experiencing odd changes. The cataract which had blinded Peter in one eye is now half gone. And the changes spread... 'Ninety-three million miles from the sun and a hundred parsecs from the axis-pole of the galaxy, Hilly and David Brown slept in each other's arms." My take on the book I felt it was appropriate to post a critique of this novel first, since this is the book that introduced me to the twisted world of Stephen King. The novel is not the greatest tale that SK has ever spun, nor is it the worst. In fact, it's pretty damn good, considering that King wrote this book when he was a serious alcoholic and drug user--for more on that story, read On Writing. This is SK's only book (so far) that deals with anything that is extra-terrestrial, rather than the power of the mind (Firestarter, Carrie), or beings which are just plain evil (It, Desperation). A bit of a departure for King, but I still liked it a lot. I really liked the wacky inventions that the characters come up with. Rating: 8/10 Parental Review A quick list of some of the more inappropriate content in this novel. This should help you determine whether this is something you want your kids reading --Language: Just about every word in the book. --Violence: Plenty of people die. Wait, isn't that a prerequisite for any King novel? --Sexuality: Bobbi tends to walk around her home nude, brief depictions of sex and rape. |