“The Dark Half” is the last novel by Stephen King published in the 80s. I like to think it sort of closes a cycle to make room for another, even though the final book in the Castle Rock series came much later, in 1991, in the form of “Needful Things”, which I have yet to read.
However, I felt a connection to “The Dark Half” for a different reason. It was written in 1987, the year I was born. The main character is a writer, an entity with which I often identify myself even though I have yet to publish something “in the real world”. And the whole idea behind the book is what we build when we are writing and the impact it has in the real world.
It has been a while since I have read a Stephen King book which I deemed at least “among his best”. The last time this happened was with “Cujo” four years ago, coincidentally right before I got to meet The Dog Of My Life. In exchange, “The Dark Half” gave me a thirst for storytelling, a thirst that I missed for a while and that I actually needed in my life. From my point of view, he closed the 80s with a bang, and “The Dark Half” was the best way to do it. I strongly recommend it to everybody, King fans and newcomers alike. This feels like a very good starting point if you haven’t read King before. My second recommended starting point is, of course, “Pet Sematary”, which is how I got into his works.
5 Stars!
