Black House

by Stephen King, Peter Straub

Paperback, 688 pages

English language

Published Sept. 30, 2003 by Ballantine Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-345-47063-8
OCLC Number:: 53250543

(27 reviews)

Preceded by: [The Talisman][1]

In this sequel to The Talisman, Jack Sawyer is now in his late thirties and has taken early retirement from the LAPD, retreating to a small town in Wisconsin. He has no memory of his adventures as a twelve-year-old boy, when he traveled into a parallel universe in search of the talisman that would save his mother's life. A series of murders involving young children force him out of retirement. There is more to these cases than murder, though, and Jack must retrieve his childhood memories to rescue the latest victim, who is coveted by the killer's evil overlord, a powerful force from End-World, in Roland the gunslinger's universe. ([source][2])

[1]: openlibrary.org/works/OL15119769W/The_Talisman [2]: www.stephenking.com/library/novel/black_house.html

23 editions

windchime reviewed Black House by Stephen King

Review of 'Black House' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I approached this book with a little reluctance, after my re-read of The Talisman last year proved less enthralling than I'd expected. I'm pleased to say that Black House, in contrast, exceeded my expectations. Perhaps that's because those expectations were lower, but all the same, I found it a much more engaging read. I also found that I liked the adult Jack Sawyer rather more than the twelve-year old Jack from The Talisman. I also found the secondary characters to be well-rounded and interesting - and on the whole, very likeable (except, of course, the ones we weren't supposed to like!) The pacing was just right, and the plot remained involving all the way through. I did find the narration/viewpoint a little distracting at times, but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book.

If you like Stephen King's horror/dark fantasy novels (and presumably Peter Straub's although I'm not familiar …

The Gnome King reviewed Black House by Stephen King

Review of 'Black House' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I loved the Talisman, one of the best adventure books for a kid to read, now Jack has grown up and so has the story.

This book is dark, mysterious and still a gripping story. When you reach the black house you experience some of Stephen King's surrealist writing. There is so much of the story that I didn't understand it required a second reading a few years later to pick up some things I missed the first time around.

The bad guy, known as The Fisherman, is brilliant, he is one evil dude.

I love how so many of King's books are linked to the Dark Tower and I think this is one of the better ones.