Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Talisman

The Talisman
The Talisman
Author: Peter Straub, Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Book Type: Paperback
Kibi avatar reviewed on + 582 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


A Good Read..., February 18, 2006
Reviewer: P. Robinson "Relic113" (Calgary)

The Talisman chronicles the adventure of a twelve year old boy named Jack Sawyer. The young hero sets out from the East Coast of the USA in a bid to save his mother, who is dying from cancer. Jack needs to find the mystical artifact known only as the 'The Talisman'.
Werewolves, both good and bad, inhabit the far western parts of a world parallel to America known as The Territories - which incidentally are part of the Dark Tower World. A sixteen-year-old Wolf, simply named Wolf, is accidentally drawn pulled into America by Jack Sawyer, and the two form a strong friendship as they seek ways to travel between their worlds and find the talisman.
The book is split between The Territories and our world's America. King and Straub are able to constantly throw Jack from the frying pan to the fire, as he escapes from one life-threatening situation to another. Jack must retrieve the Talisman before it falls into enemy hands and will be lost to him forever.
A different type of book for King, as it involves the creation of worlds other than our own...A concept he uses almost exclusively in his Dark Tower stories and the Eyes of the Dragon. However, this is a successful stand alone novel, in its own right and I would suggest picking up a copy of this for a rainy day so you too can visit another world...