Books: The Talisman by Peter Straub and Stephen King (Book One) 1984

“On a brisk autumn day, a thirteen-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America–and into another realm.” 

The Territories, for the few who’ve not read this book in the last forty-two years, is a parallel world physically smaller than the world from which Jack comes. Throughout the novel, Jack uses the size differential to travel quickly across the country. The eastern region, corresponding to the Eastern Seaboard, is the most densely populated and is governed under a feudal system headed by the Queen. The central regions, roughly corresponding to the American plains, are a grain growing area known as "the Outposts." Beyond them, the western region of the Territories is a destroyed area known as "the Blasted Lands" (analogous to the American Southwest – primarily New Mexico, where the atomic bomb was tested). It was apparently wrecked by radioactivity and has dangerous mutants and occasional fireballs. 

Jack begins his quest at the New Hampshire hotel called the Alhambra (a notable location in King's novel The Tommyknockers), where he meets Speedy Parker who tells him he must go on this quest to save both his mother and Queen Laura. So Jack sets off to seek the mystical Talisman in this parallel world, with help and encouragement from Speedy Parker. Parker warns young Jack that Morgan of Orris, the enemy of the free people of the Territories, will be after him, as will his uncle in the real world, Morgan Sloat, the business partner who probably caused Jack's father's death, who wants Jack dead. So both versions of Morgan are hunting for Jack, and both are aware of his nature, as well as their own.  

Back when King and Straub wrote The Talisman, I do not think King intentionally connected this book to the wider DTU. The Gunslinger had been released in 1982 (which was a combination of five short stories he wrote between 1978 and 1981 and The Drawing of the Three was still five years away). However, there are many things within this book that would be revisited in many of King’s other books, just not the Dark Tower (the idea of the train and the blasted lands would be reused in King’s fourth Dark Tower Universe book Wizard and Glass). 

Consciously or not, there are many references throughout the book that make rereading this novel feel like The Territories is just a small part of some bigger multiple universes. 

Even Jack’s Dad notes to his brother-in-law Morgan Sloat: 

“And should I tell you another crazy thing?”

“Why not?” Sloat answered.

“That’s (the Territories) are not the only world out there.” 

Another example comes from Wizard and Glass book again; where Roland’s ka-tet visits a version of the world has been depopulated by the influenza from the novel The Stand. As Jake points out in that book, in his version of 1980’s New York from which he comes from, they never encountered Captain Trips (this is also a clever way to explain the differences between King’s original version of the book, which is set in the late 1970s and the updated, extended version, which moved the dates up to 1986). Roland ponders that Jake’s universe is "another when. Then adds, “There are other worlds than these.”

 

Books: The Talisman Series comes to a Close this October

 

Back in 1984, when writers Stephen King and Peter Straub released The Talisman, I was in the height of my fantasy reading. But I was also reading both authors novels. This book combined a lot of King’s style of pop-cultural reference and teen-age angst with Straub’s sometimes literary style and scholarly attention to detail. Yes, in some way, this should’ve not worked. Both writers, while long time friends, approached their work differently. King was already working on another High Fantasy series, what became the Dark Tower universe and what he often called a mixture The Lord of the Rings with Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone’s Man with No Name trilogy from the 1960s. 

At the time, Straub had never appeared interested in this sub-genre. As a matter of fact, in his life time, he never wrote anything close to High Fantasy beyond this book and its 2001 sequel.

So in the Talisman, we get the staple of most fantasy, where someone needs to make an epic quest to save the great land. Here, 12 year-old Jack Sawyer (another King trope of a kid with some sort on unknown power) must try and save his dying mother in our world and her twinnner, in The Territories. 

The Territories is a parallel world, a sort of pocket universe, which is physically smaller than the world from which Jack comes from. Throughout the course of the novel, Jack uses the size differential as a method to travel quickly across the country. The eastern region, corresponding to the Eastern Seaboard, is the most densely populated and is governed under a feudal system headed by the Queen. The central regions, roughly corresponding to the American plains, are a grain growing area known as "the Outposts." Beyond them, the western region of the Territories is a destroyed area known as "the Blasted Lands" (analogous to the American Southwest – primarily New Mexico, where the atomic bomb was tested). It apparently was wrecked by radioactivity, and has dangerous mutants and occasional fireballs. 

Jack begins his quest at the New Hampshire hotel called the Alhambra (a notable location in King's novel The Tommyknockers) where he meets Speedy Parker (another King trope, the unassuming older black man who seemly has the same type of powers as the protagonist –think of Scatman Crothers Dick Hollorann from The Shinning), who tells him he must go on this quest to save both his mother and Queen Laura 

So Jack sets off to seek the mystical Talisman in this parallel world, with help and encouragement from Speedy Parker. But Parker warns young Jack of Morgan of Orris, the enemy of the free people of the Territories, will be after him, as well his uncle in the real world, Morgan Sloat, the business partner who probably caused the death of Jack's father, wants Jack dead. So both versions of Morgan are hunting for Jack, and both are aware of his nature, as well as their own. 

While the 2001 Black House is very much a standalone tale and the writers do a great job explaining some of backstory of The Talisman, the novel also serves as a small stopover to King’s Dark Tower Universe, which by 2001 had become extensive, with certain books and short stories serving as bits of new information. As an example, 1996’s Insomnia actually introduced the main villain to the Dark Tower, and here in The Black House we are introduced to other aspects of that universe. 

Meanwhile, back in ’84, The Talisman was not really designed to be connected to the DT, though it became clear to King fans much later that The Territories must be connected, and The Black House does expose certain things that now make it clear that 1984 book is connected. 

In The Black House, decades after the events in The Talisman, Jack has grown up to become a lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department, where his professionalism and uncanny talent have helped him establish a nearly legendary reputation. He has repressed the memories of his adventures in "The Territories" and his hunt for the Talisman, but the residue of these events has served to subtly affect his life even after he has forgotten them. When a series of murders in Los Angeles are traced to a farm insurance salesman from French Landing, Wisconsin (Straub’s home state; and French Landing is fictionalized version of Trempealeau, Wisconsin), Jack cooperates with the French Landing police to capture the killer. While in Wisconsin, Jack is irresistibly enraptured by the natural beauty of the Coulee Country, echoing his reaction to The Territories as a child. When he later intrudes upon a homicide investigation in Santa Monica, certain aspects of the crime scene threaten to revive his repressed memories. He subsequently resigns from the LAPD, moving to French Landing to enjoy his early retirement. When the Fisherman begins to terrorize French Landing, the police all but beg "Hollywood" Jack Sawyer for his assistance; they are surprised when Jack flatly refuses. Memories of the Santa Monica event threaten to overwhelm Jack, and he fears that involving himself in the investigation may affect his sanity. When a fourth child is taken by the Fisherman, events no longer allow Jack to remain aloof. It quickly becomes apparent to him that the Fisherman is much more than a serial killer. 

In the last two-and-half decades, both writers said that a third book would come. In 2006, Straub said “Steve and I agreed years back that we would do a third one, and that would be it, because Black House virtually sets up, and all but promises a follow-up. And then we would have a three-volume fantasy novel. That's perfect. That's probably what it wanted to be from the beginning” Then in 2009, in another interview he said “We were going to start right about now, but King got sidetracked by a Broadway musical that he was writing with John Melencamp. So that's been taking shape. And I think they were having out-of-town tryouts this autumn. Then we'll see what happens. But at some point we'll get back to it, because we have to. It's like two-thirds of a long, long story, and the other part really should be done.” 

Then in 2010, he told Youtube “Steve and I agreed [...] three years ago that we would in all likelihood write a third book, the last of the Jack Sawyer novels. In a way, though, it was there from the beginning, at least the ending of Black House, because the ending of Black House opens up into another narrative altogether. The protagonist is given a wonderful but profound problem, and he will have to cope with that problem. And it practically writes another book by itself. It doesn't, I assure you, but it does kind of tell us what one of central issues of that novel will be. I think we'll begin in a year or so. It doesn't have a title” 

From then on, both of their assistance kept saying a book was coming, but schedule coordination was very difficult. Then Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip. Asked once again about a third book, Kind said in 2023 expressed the possibility of finally writing the third installment of The Talisman series despite the passing of Straub, saying: "Before he died, Peter sent me this long letter and said we oughta do the third one, and he gave me a really cool idea and I had some ideas of my own.”

Now four years after Straub’s passing, on October 6, 2026, we’ll be getting the finale of The Talisman trilogy. Called Other Worlds than These, and what is has in store for Jack and (probably The Dark Tower) is yet to be revealed.

But in the meantime, I’m rereading both The Talisman after 42 years and The Black House after twenty-five years. So by the time the book hits my doorstep, I’ll be all caught up.

 

Books: Julia By Peter Straub (1975)

 

“In a house in London a woman starts a new life, trying to put tragedy behind her. Then a pretty blonde child runs into view, bringing with her an inexplicable suggestion of evil. Once Julia Lofting had a husband and a daughter, but everything has changed since she bolted from her marriage, in flight from the unbearable truth of her daughter's death. For Julia, there is no escape. Another child awaits, another mother suffers, and a circle of the damned gathers around her. The haunting has begun.” 

Julia was Peter Straub’s third book, but the first that that touched on supernatural elements. I have generally enjoyed his work, including Ghost Story, Floating Dragon, and many others. I have never read his first two books, which were attempts at mainstream fiction. But what starts out as creepy ride into ghosts and haunted houses soon became an exercise in tedium. This book became a chore to finish, because there is no way a 290 page mass market should’ve taken me this long to finish. I think part of the problem lies in Straub basically answering everything about half-way through the book, forcing me to read on despite my misgivings for as this. Plus all the main characters are unlikable, including Julia (who really comes off as unreliable narrator). So, Julia lost a child, but you never get the sense she is mourning for that loss, which I found distracting. Her husband, Magnus, and sister-in-law Lily are stereotypical English folks, put off by modern things, and speak as if they’re stuck in Masterpiece Theater episode set around 1922. The book is also very dated, with women being portrayed as submissive and as objects, with random killings of animals (for really no reason, other than to show kids can be evil).

It just reminded me why it took all these decades to read Straub’s first foray into the horror genre. It’s gothic to the core, but dull as dishwater.  

Books: Ghost Story By Peter Straub (1980)

I originally read Peter Straub’s Ghost Story in 1980, right around when the paperback version was released. I was in the midst of reading Stephen King and knowing that Straub and King were friends, I thought I try another horror novelist. I had already read Dean Koontz, and found him lacking (and find him even today, a pale imitation of King, and John Saul seemed to be stuck going over the same territory again and again. I had enjoyed –for a time-the gothic aspects of V.C. Andrews. But on the whole, over these decades I’ve been reading, only King remained the one author I read continuously in the horror genre. 

After the huge success of Ghost Story in 1979 –Straub had published two mainstream novels before he found moderate success with Julia (1975) and If You Could See Me Now (1977), books with heavy supernatural themes –he went on to write the best-sellers Shadowland (1980) and Floating Dragon (1983). He teamed up with Stephen King to write The Talisman in 1985 before his writing took a turn into more gothic and psychological territory that was formed with what would be called The Blue Rose Trilogy in Koko (1988), Mystery (1990), and The Throat (1993). These complex and intertwined novels extended Straub's explorations into metafiction and unreliable narrators. The thriller Hellfire Club (1996) and Mr. X (1999) would follow, continuing his more literary approach things that go bump in the night. In 2001, he and King published the loose sequel to The Talisman called Black House (which was also disguised as a Dark Tower novel).

Lost Boy, Lost Girl (2003) and In the Night Room (2004) where a return to previous characters featured in The Blue Rose Trilogy (like King, Straub had a tendency to set his stories in and around the same areas, which meant characters and towns from previous novels popped up). A Dark Matter was released in 2010 and remains his last book, though he seems to have a book coming, possibly in 2016.

Anyways, I’ve not read every Straub book, like I’ve done Stephen King. While I like his work, his books are fairly dense and defiantly more literary than long-time friend King. But I had been thinking lately of re-reading a few of his old books, in particular Ghost Story, Shadowland and Floating Dragon. As I’ve noted many times before, I don’t usually re-read books. But here is October and maybe, in this month of Halloween, reading a spooky book seemed appropriate. So, yeah, I re-read Ghost Story.

While I still remembered the structure of the book –it is a ghost story that spans fifty years- I found I still things I had forgotten. The book is way over long, though. This book could’ve been 100 pages less and not lessened his ideas one bit. But it also contains one the best scenes I still remember to this day, when Peter Barnes figures out where some of the ghosts haunting Milburn are hiding out. 

It also got me thinking about the 1981 movie adaptation of this book. I remember how much I disliked it, as the movie jettisoned a lot of the book and stuck with its basic themes of a vengeful ghost. Much like what Stanley Kubrick did with Stephen King’s The Shining, director John Irvin and screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen sort of took a bare-bones approach. Most likely though, because the novels structure of flashing back and forwards in time and its large cast of supporting characters would’ve made a linear movie difficult. 

Honestly, though, much like Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, I would not mind a large screen (or even a small screen, multi-part) remake of this book. I think it deserves a better treatment.  

Books: In the Night Room by Peter Straub (2004)

Near the end of Peter Straub’s Lost Boy, Lost Girl I discovered he wrote a sequel to the book that was released in 2004, a year after the first one. So I looked up the book at the library by my house –and not a huge surprise- they did not have In The Night Room (when it comes to the books I want to read, my library –a four minute walk from my front door- never carries them), but the San Dimas location did. I was going to go there, but on Friday last week, I went to the local used book store by my house and found a beat-up copy at the Book Rack, so I bought it. 

In some ways, this book seems less a sequel and more a continuation of Lost Boy, Lost Girl. Set a year after those events, Tim Underhill is struggling writing his newest book. Still traumatized by the loss of his nephew -to some Elsewhere land- he begins getting cryptic email messages that tell him that the Dark Man –Joseph Kalendar- is in need of something, and Underhill is the man to do it. Whether he wants to or not. He’s also being stalked by a fan that has menace on the mind. Meanwhile, we meet a woman named Willy Patrick –who after a horrible young life that continued with the murder of her husband and daughter- who is about to marry the perfect man –at least in her eyes. But this award winning author is also drawn into places, like a warehouse, where she knows that her daughter Holly is being held in there, despite knowing she is dead.

But worlds are about to collide for both Tim and Willy, and the doorway between reality and fiction blurs and nothing will be the same.

With In the Night Room, Straub’s recent stab at metafiction comes fully out. Readers of Jasper Fforde will understand what Straub is doing here, by creating a novel within a novel, and mixing in some dark fantasy along with psychological horror, he blends the genres and creates a fast-paced, at times Dickensesque type story. 

Plus, I sense, Straub is not done with this arc.