Black House

by Stephen King
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Amazon editorial review Black House is the second collaboration by Stephen King and Peter Straub, two of the most important writers in genre fiction, and the expectations of their first team-up were considerable. But despite its impressive sales, many were disappointed by The Talisman. Rather than a truly chilling epic, what we got was a rather derivative and by-the-numbers fantasy saga. So fans were reluctant to be too hopeful about their second collaboration... but we needn't have worried. Black House is much more like it, although even here King and Straub have not quite delivered the ultimate horror marathon--this is a psycho-thriller in the vein of Thomas Harris, but none the worse for that. And there are supernatural elements.

This is the tale of a small American town held in the grip of evil. Three children have vanished, abducted by a monster called The Fisherman (after a legendary murderer) with a craving for children's flesh. Ex-detective Jack Sawyer, dealing with his own personal problems (in which he is tormented by visions of another world), is keen to stay away from the horrors of this case, recognising how bad involvement will be for him. But--guess what?--Sawyer is soon supping full on the horrors, and the reader is in for an exhilarating (and highly disturbing) experience. Jack is a powerfully realised protagonist, and his journey into the dark world of The Fisherman is genuinely unsettling. Although more of King's fingerprints are on this one than Straub's (notably the conflicted hero, struggling with his own demons), the co-authors' individual styles merge indivisibly in this highly impressive chiller. --Barry Forshaw

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