It wasn’t until I was 21 that I learned about Stephen King. Watching the ’80s miniseries in the holiday season of 2001, on SciFi (yes, dating myself quaintly aren’t I!), I became an instant fan. That said, the rambling paper pantheons he built, like many a spider from his own book made it hard to read the books. Then came the audio books, and Lisey’s story and The Talisman simply blew me away. Hours and hours of being enraptured by his works seemed to never be enough! Then came “Cell” – another endearing King masterpiece. I still remember coming back from Yosemite, listening to the book as my Hyundai winded down the 120, picturing Samuel Jackson as the villain…

Lisey’s story itself was such an enthralling book, taking me through the valleys and peaks of horror, joy and just plain, damned good storytelling that is rarely matched!! I had a friend who was usually opposed to listening to books in the car. I was giving this friend a lift and I told her I just had to keep listening to a particularly interesting bit and she just had to put up with it, or walk! After 5 minutes, when I was finally ready to take a break, having only listened to a particularly horrifying bit, she didn’t want me to stop! That is King for you.

Then, there’s It. I had been telling myself for years that I would listen to the book. So when the new movie came out, I simply stayed away from it all! I still haven’t watched the new movies. I started reading It, and in the interim, started watching Haven, based on The Colorado Kid. A well done show, it has many, many “It” references!

I could make those references, as I had watched the miniseries with such a sense of wonder, and even after almost 2 decades passed, I remembered a lot of the story. Well, the book, what can I tell you. What an original master of horror King is! And what a novel story. He created his own Universe, his own Good, his own Evil and his “It”!

You really haven’t read, till you have read (or listened to) this book. The flashbacks and the flash forwards, the plots, the subplots, the romance, friendship and on and on it goes! I am not in the habit of revealing the story, but here is what I will say. Go to the local store, or the library and pick up your copy asap!