Needful Things

By Stephen King
2 Stars
Horror/Suspense
Adult

I hear that Stephen King is a better writer than this book would seem to indicate. I’m not into horror, and this book gives me no desire to seek out any more of his work. I got the book from a thrift store for next to nothing, because I wanted to see how he writes. I was disappointed.

There is a scene where he rips off Edgar Allan Poe. Okay, I’m sure he did that as some kind of tribute, and maybe that makes it all right. Meh. Every single English literature and creative writing professor I ever had would have crucified me for doing something like that.

Second, he would throw in random sexual references in at least one scene where that was unnecessary unless you wanted to add some interest to a scene that really wasn’t very good. I understand the technique, and I don’t view it as a mark of good writing.

The climactic scene required a leap in logic. I’m not ashamed to say that I did not see that coming. I did not feel smarter after reading that.

That being said, I did read the whole thing, which means the writing was not completely atrocious. Stephen King fans seem to like it. I don’t feel any guilt about rating it a two. I usually don’t review or rate anything less than three, but I think Mr. King is tough and can take it.