I loved this book. Read it so long ago. I am a pretty old lady now, but would still jump at the chance to be able to "flip" into another dimension. Well, maybe that's what I was trying to do in the 60's.
Yes, you remember it better than I do, whidden--it was a drink of some sort given to him by Speedy Parker. And Jack did flip by force of mind alone later on.
I read Black House (again, a while ago) and while I enjoyed it, I did not enjoy it as much as the Talisman.
They are making a movie of The Talisman. They have gone through 2 directors already and seem to be having all sorts of problems with getting a decent screenplay written that is faithful to the book but doable on screen. I believe Spielberg owns the rights and maybe it is Dreamworks trying to do this thing. But I would love to see The Talisman in movie form.
I think I read somewhere that Stephen King's mother was dying of cancer or had just died of cancer when he wrote The Talisman. I wonder if it was ironic but comforting to save her on paper.
It'll suck to all who read the book. You know how it works, Bro. Funny post BTW. I loved this book, but like erewhon, it has been a while. I think it was my favorite. I did only read a handful however. Which is your favorite Whidden?
Yeah, my mother is a huge fan and she also fancies the Stand. I suppose I should crack it. Isn't that a 4 incher? Good grief Steven, do we really need to know what kind of shoes and the history of the country from which the leather came?
I came here to make a thread about this book, but there was already one. Good deal.
I'm reading this at the moment, and I'm not really enjoying it as much as I probably should be. I guess its just not my cup of tea. But like any book, I'm gonna see it through 'til the end before I make up my mind.
What I want to know is how does this book interconnect with the Dark Tower series? Whidden, you got any clue, man? I'd be interested to know.
I don't like how the story is based on some 12 year old boy being conned into drink some funky jesus juice kind of thing by this weird loner fellow... it just ain't cool man, just ain't cool at all!
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
the book starts out odd, but it gets better man, trust me.
have you read Dark Tower?
for some odd reason, while the word "Ganya" was still just a thought-dropping in my head, I thought it'd only be four letters. But apparently it's five. yep.
The first third of the Talisman was written by Peter Straub, who is a sucky author. His words fall off the page like old tree sap. I never could get into his writing. But many do, as he is a successful novelist. He just aint my style.
If I remember right, you are into the Peter Straub books, and I was going to read that one about the dragon, but never got around to it, so sorry if I'm cracking on your author, all I have read from him is the first part of the Talisman and one other book, can't remember the name right off, but I thought he was too mean, and too slow.
The middle third was written by him and King, and it starts picking up. Jack meets up with his werewolf friend, meets Sunny Gardner, the evil messed up sadistic preacher, the story starts to move a little bit.
The last third of the Book is all King, and it is a very satisfying read.
Minor spoilers ahead:
As for the Dark Tower connection, the Talisman is thought by many to be "Black Thirteen", the orb in Dark Tower five and six.
Parkus, the old black man who helps Jack, is revealed in Black House, as a Gunslinger, like Roland from the Dark Tower series.
Roland is a cowboy on a search for the Dark Tower, a black pylon that controls all wheres/all whens. A device that sustains and powers the INFINITY of universes.
(King wrote the first book after seeing the Good the Bad and the Ugly and wanted to make a hero in a sci fi supernatural thriller about Clint Eastwood's man with no name.)
There are 6 beams that come from the tower, the beams hold up and support all of creation. There is a Guardian at the end of each beam to protect it, so you have 12 Guardians. Likewise, there are 12 orbs, which are kind of like the Planitar (or however you spell them) from The Lord of the Rings.
Roland found one in Dark Tower 4 in a flashback sequence, it was pink, as they all have their own color. The pink orb showed him the Dark Tower, and it's what started him on his quest for it.
Where the beams intersect is the Dark Tower, and likewise, there is a black orb, named Black Thirteen, as it is the thirteenth orb.
Jacks dad thought the talisman was the hub or axle of all worlds, all wheres all whens, but as Jack holds it, he sees that it IS all worlds all whens.
So, the speculation goes, the Talisman is the Dark Tower in a way, as it is Black Thirteen from the Dark Tower series. I think it's there and if you read the books enough, it becomes really clear this is the case.
But it's not 100% proven fact. I'm curious to see if Dekka agrees with me.
Also, in the Talisman, the Sunny Gardner figure is the False Prophet, and Morgan Sloat is the Beast figure, while Jack is the Christ figure. It gets pretty heavy into this metaphor when Jack is fighting Morgan on the beach towards the end, while they dance around each other flipping between worlds.
yeah, I read the Talisman when I was young, around 17, and this guy kept asking me to read it, and I kept trying, but all this "jack was standing on the beach in so and so a year", then it got repeated later, the same crap,
I hated it and only read it because it was supposed to get better. I'm glad I did, wound up being a classic.
09-13-2004 01:57 AM
