Book Review - The Outsider by Stephen King

Stephen King has once again blessed his Constant Reader with another thrilling tale of the supernatural. The Outsider stands at a marvelous 576 pages. While not the longest book he's ever written (The Stand - 1,153 pages) it's defiantly not the shortest. To fully enjoy King's work you can't be afraid of big books, and to be honest this is a BIG book.

While size doesn't matter when it comes to his novels or stories it's all about what is written in those pages.

The novel starts out as a murder mystery but over time starts to change into a supernatural thriller of good vs evil. Even though King is no stranger to the supernatural he hasn't really given the crime thriller genre a try. But with this attempt it blends all the things you love about crime thrillers and supernatural horror. He takes the harsh reality of crime in the real world, morphs it with local urban legends, and somehow manages to connect to The Dark Tower all without skipping a beat.

In my opinion though the book does have some flaws. Nothing that would turn the casual reader away, but a few that might get under some more hardcore fans' skin. I consider myself one of those hardcore fans, but these flaws didn't irritate me that much.

Firstly the novel plays off the idea of having a person in two places at once. While the novel executes this very well another novel of his, The Dark Half, does so as well. I'm not holding it against him to recycle themes considering he's written over fifty novels and over two-hundred shorts a little repetitiveness is bound to happen.

Secondly was the inclusion of Holly Gibney, a character from the Bill Hodge's Trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch). This may just be for me but Holly is not my favorite of King's characters. While she does have her moments, she seems to be more of a filler character.

Earlier on I had made a point about the connection to The Dark Tower. In the novel King uses the word "Ka" once, and only once. If you haven't read The Dark Tower then this might seem a little odd. Ka is the equivalent of fate or destiny and is used primarily in the series.

All in all the novel was worth the time and money I invested into it. If you get the chance do pick up a copy and give it a read while it may not be one of King's best works, it definitely stands above others.