paperback, 318 pages
Published June 6, 2013 by Luitingh.
Verano de 1973. Carolina del Norte. El joven universitario Devin Jones consigue trabajo en un pequeño parque de atracciones llamado Joyland. Allí se encarga de las tareas de mantenimiento, se disfraza de la mascota del parque o entretiene a los niños. Y allí descubre también la historia de un cruento crimen que tuvo lugar en la Casa Embrujada y que nunca fue resuelto.
Pero Devin no es el único fascinado por el parque y su leyenda negra. Cerca de su pensión vive Mike, un chico enfermizo con el que pronto traba una peculiar amistad. El chaval no ha visitado nunca Joyland y le encantaría hacerlo antes de morir. Es entonces cuando Devin planea una visita privada para el final de temporada.
El día transcurre entre montañas rusas e historias de terror sobre lo que pudo haberle pasado a la joven asesinada. Sin embargo, las visitas indeseadas y las preguntas indiscretas …
Verano de 1973. Carolina del Norte. El joven universitario Devin Jones consigue trabajo en un pequeño parque de atracciones llamado Joyland. Allí se encarga de las tareas de mantenimiento, se disfraza de la mascota del parque o entretiene a los niños. Y allí descubre también la historia de un cruento crimen que tuvo lugar en la Casa Embrujada y que nunca fue resuelto.
Pero Devin no es el único fascinado por el parque y su leyenda negra. Cerca de su pensión vive Mike, un chico enfermizo con el que pronto traba una peculiar amistad. El chaval no ha visitado nunca Joyland y le encantaría hacerlo antes de morir. Es entonces cuando Devin planea una visita privada para el final de temporada.
El día transcurre entre montañas rusas e historias de terror sobre lo que pudo haberle pasado a la joven asesinada. Sin embargo, las visitas indeseadas y las preguntas indiscretas pueden provocar reacciones imprevisibles. Sin saberlo, Devin se ha metido en un peligroso juego del que tal vez no saldrá nunca.
Enjoyed this summer job coming of age storytelling, my first King in a long time. There's much intentional cliche, with smart perspective, but I felt the constraints of turning this towards mystery and murder dragged at the more central story around how we grow our sense of relationship and friendship after those first crushed crushes.
A solid murder mystery set in a theme park in the 70s. Pretty much a coming of age story as 21-year old Devin works in the park before starting college, falls in love with the carny ways and learns about the murder of a young woman in the 60s in Haunted Horror House.
Not his best work, but I was entertained enough and enjoyed the characters and the resolution.
3 stars is about right. I definitely enjoyed the story. There were interesting characters and a terse tight plot. I actually guessed the culprit, but not through the clues, but the psychological trail. All those women were charmed. When Jonesy suspects Eddie but realizes it was a bad choice, I started asking myself if there was someone that fit the bill better and the answer leapt out. The actions afterward solidified my opinion so I wasn't too surprised.
A bit of a deux ex machina to save him, but if you except psychic revelations - as you are asked to from the beginning - being valid, you won't have a problem with the plot.
Not a bad story at all but definitely it was not a horror story, despite the actions of spirits from beyond, so if that's what you are looking for, choose one of his other books. On …
3 stars is about right. I definitely enjoyed the story. There were interesting characters and a terse tight plot. I actually guessed the culprit, but not through the clues, but the psychological trail. All those women were charmed. When Jonesy suspects Eddie but realizes it was a bad choice, I started asking myself if there was someone that fit the bill better and the answer leapt out. The actions afterward solidified my opinion so I wasn't too surprised.
A bit of a deux ex machina to save him, but if you except psychic revelations - as you are asked to from the beginning - being valid, you won't have a problem with the plot.
Not a bad story at all but definitely it was not a horror story, despite the actions of spirits from beyond, so if that's what you are looking for, choose one of his other books. On the other hand, this is a good example of how well King's talents work in other genres. His stories are almost always impressive and you end up caring about the characters.
Note: I don't care if some of the characterizations of the amusement park are inaccurate. It's fiction.
