“Joyland” by Stephen King – Ghosts, Lovers and Murderers

Though Stephen King may very well be known as the master of horror around the entire world, many forget that he has written novels that strayed from the stereotypical image we have of him.

Some of those novels include The Dead Zone, Stand by Me, and more recently, Joyland. It is very different from his other works in the sense that he combines three of his favorite topics together: romance, ghost stories, and murder mysteries.

To give you an idea of what’s going on in the first place, it tells the story of a twenty-one year-old aspiring writer by the name of Devon who finds himself having to spend the summer of 1973 working at an amusement park.

Naturally, he makes the acquaintance of a number of more or less eccentric colleagues, proves himself as being a worthy carnival worker, saves the life of a girl, becomes the friend of a dying boy all while being infatuated with his mother.

Up until now, it’s all fun and games, with Devon learning the ins and outs of his environment and slowly but surely discovering what love really is. And then comes the second half of the book, where Devon learns about a woman who was killed in the carnival, and whose ghost still haunts it, launching our main character to solve a murder mystery.

When I first read about this complete change of course in the second half of the book, I was very skeptical towards it, fearing that King would turn a nice, refreshing and interesting journey into a grotesque bloodbath. Fortunately, I was very wrong in that regard.

Though the second half of the book is indeed centered on the murder of the woman at the carnival, it nevertheless maintains its spirit throughout the whole thing, being a somewhat light-hearted coming of age story spiced up with some humorous elements.

All in all, I have to say that Stephen King really returns to his original form in this novel, crafting an original, surrealistic and a tad unsettling story; regardless of what genre of books you prefer.

I pretty much guarantee you’ll find something that will hook you here (unless of course you exclusively read non-fiction and factual books, in which case I’m not really sure why you are checking out a King novel).

If you were a fan of King until his quality declined, are a fan of King, or are trying to get better-acquainted with the author, Joyland is the novel I would recommend for you to read… it’s just a majestic showcase of what he can truly accomplish when at his best.

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Stephen Edwin King Personal site Here is a man who probably needs no introduction. Stephen King is known by virtually everyone as being the master of horror, coming up with classics such as It and The Shining, but his literary talents to extend beyond that as he delivered plenty of memorable novels in other genres, including 11/22/63 and Under the Dome.