The Black House by Steven King and Peter Straub

[EmBeRFall]

The second collaboration between King and Straub is actually the sequel to their first, "The Talisman".

Beginning as a typical "serial killer stalks small town" affair, and ending up as something altogether different, "Black House" is centred around Jack Sawyer, the main protagonist of "The Talisman".

A child killer is stalking the small town of French Landing, kidnapping, molesting and eating the kids there, before sending explicit letters detailing his exploits to the dead childrens parents. At their wits end, the PD there call in the extraordinary talents of one Jack Sawyer, ex-lieutenant. From here on in, things get... Messy... Especially when the titular "Black House" gets involved in the proceedings...

The best thing about having two prolific horror writers working together is the wonderful detail we get about everything. The entire book is chock full of extremely vivid imagery, from the beautiful to the downright shocking. Also, the characters in the book are so real, so colourful that you actually grow attached to them, a trademark of King. And the twist at the end is so excellently presented, you're so gripped that even though the writers give you the chance to put the book down and not continue, you simply cannot help it.

I'd recommend this book particularly, although not exclusively by any means, to die-hard King fans, as he ties up alot of loose ends and makes many references to the world he created with the "Dark Tower" series of books. In fact, King has said that this could be another in the series, which he plans to conclude within the next few years.

So, any horror/fantasy fan should definately check this out and, although it's a sequel, the reading of "The Talisman" is by no means a necessity to enjoy this book to it's fullest. A horror epic.

9/10