The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub; read by Frank Muller

Jack Sawyer doesn't want to save the world. He just wants to save his mom.


It’s 1981, and twelve year old Jack is living in the Alhambra Inn with his dying mother. Jack might be able to save her, and maybe someone else in the process. All he has to do is travel to an alternate world, cross the country, find the Talisman, and then… Well, Jack doesn’t know what then. He hopes he can figure it out, though, because it’s the only way to save his mom. And maybe a world or two.

This collaboration between horror heavyweights Stephen King (Carrie, It, The Shining) and Peter Straub (Ghost Story, In the Night Room) has much to recommend it to fantasy, as well as horror, fans. The quest motif is a staple of fantasy fiction, and Jack is a sort of prince in hiding. His mother is a former B movie actress referred to as the Queen of the “B”s, and his Twinner’s mother is Queen of the Territories. (The Territories is parallel world Jack can – must – travel to, and a Twinner is a person’s counterpart in the Territories.) The story runs smoothly and the characters are consistent.
The unabridged digital edition is read by Frank Muller, who reads it like a film noir voiceover. It took some getting used to, but the story is worth the effort.