Duma Key--**spoiler thread**

[Matt]

I know we have several Duma Key threads going right now, but its a big deal. :excited:

One for news on it
One for collections information

And now one for people who have read it and want to discuss it without worrying about spoilers.

I won't be in this thread again. :lol:

[alinda]

Wireman is so very cool. I am loving this book!:clap: About 1/2 way thru it, and I'm not sure maybe cuz I live in Florida, but its so easy to relate to it.

[jhanic]

I read the book a couple months ago and enjoyed it then. I am now in the process of rereading it and am discovering that there are lots I'd forgotten or didn't notice in the first reading. I love the Wireman character--he seems so down-to-earth in everything he does. I especially enjoy seeing how he is caring for Miss Elizabeth. It rings very true from my personal experience with my mother.

John

[alinda]

I think this will be one of those books for me, reread , repeatedly.
Not all books have this effect, not even all SK books but this one? yeah I think so.

[funky dredd]

I am only about 100 pages in so far and have loved it. Edgar just cracks me up, I don't know if it was meant to be funny or not. But I have had a few good chuckles so far.

[alinda]

The time of year( discribing weather, winter) flora and local flavor are very acurately discribed. It makes for really good reading .

[Heather19]

I'm only up to about the 7th chapter, but so far I love it. Out of curiosity does anyone know if the Dali painting that King described hanging in Elizabeth's house is actually based on a real sketch, or was it just one that King made up to fit with the story. I went online to see if I could find a picture of it, but I couldn't really find anything, but then again I didn't look real hard.

[Matt]

I'm not reading this thread but a scary doll and raw meat was enough to put me over the edge early on. :lol:

[funky dredd]

Where's your sense of adventure? :p

[Matt]

It ran away when the doll talked. :ninja:

:lol:

[funky dredd]

She did have a sweet little voice! :D

[alinda]

I think there were several (albeit very loosley based ) Dt hints what do you all think?

[alinda]

My sister owns many Dali prints etc.... I'll look at the description again, and ask her. There is a Dali musuem in St.Pete, I'll look around there too.





I'm only up to about the 7th chapter, but so far I love it. Out of curiosity does anyone know if the Dali painting that King described hanging in Elizabeth's house is actually based on a real sketch, or was it just one that King made up to fit with the story. I went online to see if I could find a picture of it, but I couldn't really find anything, but then again I didn't look real hard.

[Heather19]

My sister owns many Dali prints etc.... I'll look at the description again, and ask her. There is a Dali musuem in St.Pete, I'll look around there too.

Thanks, let me know if you find anything. I've got a couple of books with his works, I was going to look thru those to see if I could find anything.
And I highly recommend checking out that museum if you've never been there. I went there a couple of years ago. They have quite a collection of his artwork.

[Darkthoughts]

I think there were several (albeit very loosley based ) Dt hints what do you all think?
Well, I've been keeping notes in my notebook for the Tower Connections and I've noticed a few mentions of roses, 19 and even Randall (no Flagg, but still ;) ).

Even the loose links will have a place in Tower Connections eventually - a section called something like "Touched by the Tower", where all these kinds of books can go :)

[alinda]

Sounds great!! Y'all are really making a fine site.....:clap:






I think there were several (albeit very loosley based ) Dt hints what do you all think?
Well, I've been keeping notes in my notebook for the Tower Connections and I've noticed a few mentions of roses, 19 and even Randall (no Flagg, but still ;) ).

Even the loose links will have a place in Tower Connections eventually - a section called something like "Touched by the Tower", where all these kinds of books can go :)

[alinda]

Could you give me a discription, or page # to reference please?





My sister owns many Dali prints etc.... I'll look at the description again, and ask her. There is a Dali musuem in St.Pete, I'll look around there too.

Thanks, let me know if you find anything. I've got a couple of books with his works, I was going to look thru those to see if I could find anything.
And I highly recommend checking out that museum if you've never been there. I went there a couple of years ago. They have quite a collection of his artwork.

[Darkthoughts]

The description in the book is (the page ref won't be the same from the UK version to the US one): The sketch was just pencil, augmented by two scarlet threads, probably added with nothing more than a plain red ballpoint pen...These not-quite-offhand scribbles had been laid along the horizon line of the Gulf to indicate sunset...On the horizon was a ship, probably a tanker. It's said to be signed "Salv Dali".

[alinda]

Really? I think that's fictional then....


As it would be the same or like Edgars painting NO?

[Darkthoughts]

Yes, i think he was quite stunned by it.

Is Duma Key a real place?

[alinda]

No, but the flavor of Florida (as described) is very close to
authentic to this Floridian. ;)


Our beach house is in Treasure Island, off the coast
(near Tampa) and the general feeling of the area
and the beach ....are just like in the book. I felt
at times that Duma Key was just down the road.

[Darkthoughts]

Treasure Island?!! Wow, how amazing would it be to put something like that in your address! :cool:

[alinda]

Its great there.

[jhanic]

As for connections, don't forget the notation on the copyright page regarding one of the items quoted within, copyrighted by R. Tozier and W. Denbrough. Names sound familiar?

John

[Darkthoughts]

:excited: Totally missed that!! Awesome catch John, thank you!!!

[funky dredd]

Oh man I missed that as well! Thanks John for pointing that out.

[alinda]

what? I'm at work now....no copy can you post please?

[Darkthoughts]

Sure. A song is mentioned in the book Dig ~ Shark Puppy. I think Edgar quotes them. So if you look on the copyright page you see: Permission to use lyrics from "Dig" by Shark Puppy (R. Tozier, W. Denborough), granted by Bad Nineteen Music, copyright 1986

[alinda]

um-huh, and the connection is the 19. Thanks for posting Lisa.

[steph]

I have a question.
What about "Wireman Looks West." I don't remember them destroying it.
Granted I have only read it once and I was sick as a dog, so my comprehension was probably no where near 100%.

[Darkthoughts]

um-huh, and the connection is the 19. Thanks for posting Lisa.

And also R.Tozier and W.Denborough being Richie Tozier and Stuttering Bill from IT ;)

[alinda]

wow, its been along time since I heard those names.....
I didnt catch it. :doh:

[Darkthoughts]

I reread IT recently if it makes you feel better :D

[alinda]

a little, thanks!:blush:

[Heather19]

Could you give me a discription, or page # to reference please?

It's on page 144 & 145 of the US version. It probably is a fictional sketch, but I was just kinda curious if maybe he happened to come across a real Dali sketch and incorporated it into the story. I know it's probably a stretch though.

And that was a nice catch jhanic. I never would have caught that.

[Heather19]

I finally finished the book the other day. I thought it was fantastic. I really loved the character of Edgar. I also really enjoyed the chapters on How to Draw a Picture, and how he interwove those into the story. I would recommend that everyone check it out.

One thing that I am curious about, spoilers for end of story!

There was no mention of the paintings being destoyed at the end (especially the Girl and Ship series). I took it that once Perse was put back to sleep, they were no longer harmful, and were able to go to whoever purchased them. Is this true?

[alinda]

I found these pics to give some of you a good visual of
sunsets on the Gulf....and the beaches in the area...

[Darkthoughts]

I have a question.
What about "Wireman Looks West." I don't remember them destroying it.
Granted I have only read it once and I was sick as a dog, so my comprehension was probably no where near 100%.


One thing that I am curious about, spoilers for end of story!

There was no mention of the paintings being destoyed at the end (especially the Girl and Ship series). I took it that once Perse was put back to sleep, they were no longer harmful, and were able to go to whoever purchased them. Is this true?

Good questions. The hurricane Edgar was drawing up at the end, appeared to only be for Duma, would it have reached the gallery? Edgar thought they'd get rain as far as Tampa.
Other than that, I'd also imagine that the pictures would sleep as Perse did.

[kithereal]

I was wondering if anyone else remembered a creature called Big Boy in Lisey's story?
It seemed familiar to me but I regret I haven't openned up Lisey's Story to check this myself....
KIT

[kithereal]

Sure. A song is mentioned in the book Dig ~ Shark Puppy. I think Edgar quotes them. So if you look on the copyright page you see: Permission to use lyrics from "Dig" by Shark Puppy (R. Tozier, W. Denborough), granted by Bad Nineteen Music, copyright 1986

very observant

Thanks
KIT

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

I was wondering if anyone else remembered a creature called Big Boy in Lisey's story?
It seemed familiar to me but I regret I haven't openned up Lisey's Story to check this myself....
KIT

You must be thinking of Long Boy.

[Heather19]

Thanks Darkthoughts, I think you're probably right about the hurricane. For some reason that never even crossed my mind.

[Darkthoughts]

Heather - :thumbsup:

KIT - thanks, but that was actually Jhanic's spot, I just relayed the printed info - all kudos to him ;)

[Nerak]

Finished this morning!

Kudos to King!! Great book! Good page turner.

[Matt]

I'm not reading this but I'm not sure I like Wireman, suspicious of that guy.

The old lady makes me think of the old man in Bag of Bones, but that's okay.

I love how Wireman said "enough Palaver..." :rock:

[Darkthoughts]

Ha ha yeah! I got that in my notebook for the Tower connections ;) BTW, do I have the power to add new books to that section? I got quite alot of stuff for Duma Key.

Wireman is kinda like Henry Leyden (Black House) in that respect I thought, Matt. I was suspicious of Henry at first too.

[Matt]

You can't add them to the graphic (which may need to be updated soon) but you should be able to add new books to the wiki.

I'll shoot you a PM on how.

[Darkthoughts]

Brilliant :thumbsup:

[jayson]

ok, so i just wanted to throw this in here... i live in Tampa, FL which gets some play in DK. Twice I lived on Davis Island [yes, it's real] including the time when King was writing at least some of DK.

King gets the geography a little wrong [though in an incosequential way], but what I care about is when he is setting the scene in Mary Ire's apt about Davis Island, he mentions hearing an electric guitar playing 12-bar blues. Given when King wrote this, and where I lived at the time, I can only assume he was talking about me. :lol: if any of my old neighbors read the book, they may think of me. i was known to play a bit loud. btw, through 415 pages. i just passed

when Miss Eastlake dies and Edgar sleeps with Pam


i've really enjoyed this book so far. when i finish i will come back and read other posts and discuss, but i am avoiding spoilers right now so don't wanna chance it.

[Jean]

for the sake of readability: it's a spoiler thread, so go easy on those spoiler boxes... http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

[Erin]

Jean I just came in to say the exact same thing. We're on the same brainwave. :wub:

and I just started Duma Key yesterday! I'm loving it so far.

[Jean]

Jean I just came in to say the exact same thing. We're on the same brainwave. :wub:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_wub.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_wub.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_wub.gif

[She-Oy]

WOW! What a read. It's been a long time since King put out a book I thoroughly enjoyed (minus the DT series), but this one is a winner! Not only did I absolutely love the setting (it reminded me of my own retreat on Dauphin Island, Alabama...except out house is named "BIg Blue"...not "Big Pink").

There are some aspects of the supernatural in this one that seriously creeped me out for personal reasons...so much that I wanted to throw the book across the room.

Also has anyone caught the blatant reference to Insomnia in it yet? I'm at work, so I can't quote it, but it's regarding "Edgar's string"

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Also has anyone caught the blatant reference to Insomnia in it yet? I'm at work, so I can't quote it, but it's regarding "Edgar's string"

"Too late," I said, and then the string tethering the Edgar over my head broke. He floated away, and for a little while I knew no more.

[jhanic]

A rather tenuous connection (pun intended!). :P

John

[Darkthoughts]

:lol:

I thought another slight Insomnia ref was Perse's collection of her victims belongings on her ship (like the twin's rocking horse) - it reminded me of Atropo's stash.

There's a couple of IT references too:
* Ilse hears Perse's voice coming from the drains and the toilet.
* Edgar notes that Emery Paulson's eye is "an alien, disheartening silver that had nothing to do with humanity."

[Aesculapius]

I'm not quite finished with this one yet, but, I came across something the other night that struck the Heart. I was told by Heather that I MUST read this book very soon. I had a feeling that she came across something that I have been going on about for a while now. However, this part that I am going to quote is probably NOT what Heather was talking about, but, I can see It / Her coming (BECOMING).

*

Chapter 3 - Drawing on New Resources:


"...By then I was on my second box of colored pencils...and I had a third waiting in the wings. There was aloe vera; sea lavender with its bursts of tiny yellow flowers (each possessing a tiny heart of deepest violet); inkberry with its long spade-shaped leaves; and my favorite, sophora, which Common Plants of the Florida Coast also identified as necklace-bush, for the tiny podlike necklaces that grow on its branches...

...There were twenty or thirty photo printouts scattered arund the feet of my easel. My eye happened on a close-up of a sophora necklace. Looking at it, my phantom right arm began to itch, I clamped my yellow pencil between my teeth, bent over, picked up the sophora photo, and studied it. The light was failing now, but only by degrees--the upper room I called Little Pink held light for a long time--and there was more than enough to admire the details; my difital camera took exquisite close-ups.

Without thinking about what I was doing, I clamped the photo to the edge of the easel and added the sophora bracelet to my sunset. I worked quickly, first sketching--really nothing more than a series of arcs, that's sophora--and then coloring: brown overlaying black, then a bright dab of yellow, the remains of one flower....

....Then I went back, turned the easel, and caught my breath. The sophora bracelet seemed to rear over the horizon-line like the tentacle of a sea creature big enough to swallow a supertanker. The single yellow blossom could have been an alien eye. More important to me, it had somehow given the sunset back the truth of its ordinary I-do-this-every-night beauty..."


"Nothing more than a series of arcs, that's sophora..."
:D

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/Obelison/two/VirginMilk.jpg

Without Wisdom, She screams in the streets. Or, better put...

System of a Down - Jet Pilot:

...My source is the source of all creation
Her discourse is that we all don't survey
The skies, right before
Right before they go gray
My source, and my remorse
Flying over a great bay


Also, did anyone see "Blaine" on the cover?
(Big Pink...Little Pink)

[jhanic]

Sorry, but that went way over my head!

John

[Randall Flagg]

I too am lost.

[Aesculapius]

I totally blame my wife. I was just sitting here...drawing nothing more than a series of arcs, when she insisted that I read the book. :lol:

[hairslinger]

I just finished last night. I LOVE this book. The things that I thought were very "Towerish" nods were all the 19's, the roses & palaver. There were a few other things, but I can't remember just now. But what I kept thinking at the end was that Perse was like a female version of the Crimson King with her RED robe & "all seeing" third eye. I also enjoyed the nod to LOST.

[ManOfWesternesse]

Finished last night.
Absolutely bloody brilliant piece of writing!
The old man's got it in him yet. :clap:



As for connections, don't forget the notation on the copyright page regarding one of the items quoted within, copyrighted by R. Tozier and W. Denbrough. Names sound familiar?

John
Yes - I was absolutely delighted to see such a great reference before I even got to Chapter 1 !

[Jean]

I want to read it, too!!!!!!!!

[jayson]

Agreed Brian, it was kind of refreshing for me given my lack of enjoyment of some of the other "new King" [ie. Lisey's, Colorado Kid, etc]. It was nice to read a long SK book that I enjoyed from page 1 to page 600-whatever it was. Not that I would ever give up on reading new King, but it did a lot to revive my appreciation. He still goes a little heavy on the foreshadowing, but not enough to completely give up the whole game. I def rec Duma for anyone who is on the fence or has yet to read it. It's King like you're used to reading King.

[Randall Flagg]

Tower smilarity:
Melda has two fingers and part of a third finger on her right hand bitten off.

[Bethany]

wow. just finished it--started it last night. i haven't read a book straight through like that since the last HP. wow. that's all i can say right now.

[Randall Flagg]

I read about 60 pages and almost quit the book. I felt it was plodding.
I pushed through, and then suddenly was engrossed in the book. Half of it I read on a plane, then I almost finished it poolside. I saved the last 50 pages to sit in my room at home, and read/consumed them like a sumptuous dessert accompanied by a liqueur apéritif.
Thoroughly stunning, heartbreaking and enjoyable.

[Bethany]

I just finished last night. I LOVE this book. The things that I thought were very "Towerish" nods were all the 19's, the roses & palaver. There were a few other things, but I can't remember just now. But what I kept thinking at the end was that Perse was like a female version of the Crimson King with her RED robe & "all seeing" third eye. I also enjoyed the nod to LOST.

perse reminded me more of rose madder than anyone.

and jerome, i had the same reaction to the book. i had read the opening chapter at the end of blaze and was so unenthused that i almost bought a star wars book instead of duma key.

[jayson]

jerome and bethany, same here. i wasn't thrilled at first but i kept on going. all of a sudden after 100 pages or so i coudln't put it down.

[She-Oy]

Man, I was ago from the get-go. Although I had read the first couple of chapters about a year ago in a literary magazine....somehow, this story had a hold on me.

I'm going to say at first it was locational...the Florida Gulf Coast, which is a favorite vacation spot for me...and then it just blossomed.

Seriously, King deserves a pat on the back. This book was terrific. I was scared, I was moved, I gave an actual shit about the characters, everything I should in a book.

I hope he has a few more like Duma Key in him, cause I'm a go!

[Darkthoughts]

perse reminded me more of rose madder than anyone.

My thoughts exactly.

[hairslinger]

I just finished last night. I LOVE this book. The things that I thought were very "Towerish" nods were all the 19's, the roses & palaver. There were a few other things, but I can't remember just now. But what I kept thinking at the end was that Perse was like a female version of the Crimson King with her RED robe & "all seeing" third eye. I also enjoyed the nod to LOST.

perse reminded me more of rose madder than anyone.

and jerome, i had the same reaction to the book. i had read the opening chapter at the end of blaze and was so unenthused that i almost bought a star wars book instead of duma key.

I was thinking the same at first because of the painting theme but it's been a long time since I read Rose Madder & it seems to me that Dorcas had a specific reason for her evil(her daughter) & what she did was sorta justified. Perse was IMO pure evil like CK unless I totally missed why she was like that. The boat being named Persephone also made me think that she was "Queen of the Underworld" like the greek mythology she was the wife of Hades, if I'm remembering that correctly.

[Darkthoughts]

Rose Madder had alot of greek mythology intwined in the story too, remember. Also the way Perse kept her face hidden was very much like RM...plus the glimpse of Perse's face where she had "too many eyes", also similar.

Rose Madder was made dangerous by her insanity, it was implied that once she had been sane, so similarly she could have been getting worse and therefore being on her way to being as irrational as Perse.

I didn't think Perse was Rose Madder, I don't think thats what Bethany meant either, we were just saying she was more similar to RM than the CK - although I'd say they were all of the same species (of the Prim?)

[hairslinger]

Rose Madder had alot of greek mythology intwined in the story too, remember. Also the way Perse kept her face hidden was very much like RM...plus the glimpse of Perse's face where she had "too many eyes", also similar.

Rose Madder was made dangerous by her insanity, it was implied that once she had been sane, so similarly she could have been getting worse and therefore being on her way to being as irrational as Perse.

I didn't think Perse was Rose Madder, I don't think thats what Bethany meant either, we were just saying she was more similar to RM than the CK - although I'd say they were all of the same species (of the Prim?)

Gotcha... I totally didn't remember that about her face being covered & vaguely remember her having too many eyes. I should reread all those books that I was, shall we say, under the influence, that I read so long ago. This is why I love this forum. I love hearing everyone's opinions & different takes on everthing! :thumbsup:

[Darkthoughts]

:couple:

[Erin]

Wow! I just finished Duma Key today at work on my lunch break. I absolutely loved it.

This was by far King's best effort in recent years. There were many scenes in the book which actually scared me, like Edgar's frenzied painting during the thunderstorm and the lawn jockey moving around the yard without moving his legs. That last one sent chills up and down my spine.

I also loved all the tension in the book. Like how agonizing it was when Edgar went to sleep, thinking all his paintings were either destroyed or crated up in the art gallery, when we damn well knew that he gave Ilse a painting earlier in the story. I could barely stand reading, knowing something bad was going to happen to her.

Overall, I really really loved it. Especially Wireman. He was such a great addition to the story.

[Matt]

I'm finished now too--I also loved it.

I was so heartbroken at the end--the fact that he left himself a purposeful "out" with his sandy ifsogirl. :cry: How he resisted that.

I also loved Miss Eastlake, she was a really amazing character and her development (the kind of side story all the way through the book) was so satisfying. I really wanted to go back to it from the main story which is rare for me.

I got a really hard dose of Shawshank at the end. Wireman in Mexico--come to see me...I really wish it would have turned out that way but I also understand why it couldn't.

[Darkthoughts]

Yes, I found that really sad too.

[bodacious ta-tas]

Tower smilarity:
Melda has two fingers and part of a third finger on her right hand bitten off.
I noticed that, too, but you're the first person to mention it that I've seen.

The book was FABULOUS! I loved it-gonna read it again soon, just waiting for the right time...
I wish I could see some of the paintings. I bet we have some artists here who could whip something up. If there is a thread for the paintings already, can someone give me a link? I'm new here, and kinda lost...:panic:

[jayson]

i enjoyed the whole "unbottling" thing with edgar's art. i saw a lot of my own artistic process in it [aside from the phantom limb stuff obviously]. like edgar i started painting [digitally in my case] on a whim bc i used to draw. what i was able to do was a surprise to me, and much like edgar, it pretty much all came at once. the 100-something pieces i've done to date were all done in about a 9 week stretch. unlike edgar, i've yet to have a first show and hit it big, but i am planning a show at some point this year, and will be entering some stuff into some group shows in my area. edgar was right about western florida sunsets, that i can tell you! they are very inspiring. i like sunrises myself, but i did at least one sunset. anyway, it was interesting to read a creative person like king on a different style of creative art than his own.

[CyberGhostface]

As I didn't care for Memory when I read it at the end of Blaze, I'm happy to say that I enjoyed Duma Key a lot. Probably his best work in a long time. Lots of great characters as well, from Edgar to Ilse to Wireman to Elizabeth...

[jhanic]

Lilja just posted this on his site:



From King's message board:


I recently sent this thread to Steve to read and he asked me to post this message:

Several astute readers have commented on Edgar's last name. The answer is yes, of course he is related to Abagail Freemantle. He is in fact her great-great-grandson. (One has to remember, however, that the Abagail Freemantle readers know existed in an alternate Stephen King universe....call in the Stand-verse.) He has no idea of his Afro-American heritage.
Steve

That answers that!

John

[Darkthoughts]

Awesome find! Ms Mod at the official site originally posted it, so I've asked if she minds if I include it in my Tower Connections article :thumbsup:

[fernandito]

I finished Duma Key today, and I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy it much. I at no point felt 'grabbed' by the story as it usually happens with other King books, and I felt that the ending was a perfect example of anti-climatic.

[ZoNeSeeK]

I completely agree with you FP, and I'd say its the first time I've been a little disappointed after an SK tale, but after reading this thread it obviously just didn't sit well with me but most people loved it... but hear me out.

It was entertaining, but there was very little in it that was surprising, and a story quickly becomes tired if you can see where its going and roughly whats going to happen. The characters were all great (although as awesome as Wireman is, he could have done with a few less Muchachos) but what really let it down (in my retarded and uneducated selfish opinion) was the 1st person narrative.

I considered how the story would have unfolded if the perspective was not limited to Edgar on Duma and thought it may have made for a much wholer, fleshed out story. What really pissed me off was Ilse's death - an answering machine message and a phone call, that was it, with some details filled out later on. I didn't feel it, thats for sure. And I fucking hate criticism like this because I'm not a literary editor and appreciate that art creates itself, but its just my initial reaction after reading it. It was a good story, it just didn't meet my needs, which I'm fully aware it isn't supposed to :)

Diem read Duma Key, and immediately followed it with Lisey's Story, and absolutely loved Lisey's and thought Duma was so-so. I agree with her on that aswell - Lisey's kept me guessing and was dark and original and surprising, it really got to me. I found the mystery in Duma lacking and predictable.

But what made the story worthwhile for me was the backstory of Elizabeth's history that was uncovered. That was truly gripping - if Duma was entirely set in the 1920's and covered that tale a would have been a happy boy I reckon - I thought it was chilling and terrifying, that these horrors were being produced from the mind of a genius toddler, the sense of desperation as the distracted father didn't seem to realise what was going on, the whole race-issue with the black nanny trying to hold everything together, then the deaths of the twins and the terrible fate of the older sister, and the harrowing climax at the end. I thought it was masterful, and the contemporary story and narrative felt worn out and hollow by comparison - it felt like I was reading and reading but the real story was dead and gone 80 years previous. You could really feel the isolation of the characters in the backstory.

That brings me to another point, which I'm interested in seeing what everyone else thinks. We know that SK likes to keep up with the techology of the times, and we've seen its emergence in his latest novels, with e-mail, mobile phones, google being referred to and involved in plotlines. Do you think this adds to, detracts from or has no effect on the atmosphere created in his stories?

I find that when you increase the ways and methods of communication in any particular environment, you're obviously increasing the exchange of information. Many plot constructs rely on characters 'only knowing so much', and I think effective mystery and terror can become more difficult to create when the characters can just jump online and google away. It worked in Cell, I thought it worked against the atmosphere of Duma Key.

[Darkthoughts]

Wow, although I loved Duma Key, that was an awesome review Zones :thumbsup:

I found the use of modern technology very apparent in DK too. It seemed slightly out of character for King to make so much use of it, but it didn't detract for me, it made it more realistic and gave a contrast to Elizabeth's world.

I'd definately have liked to of had more flashbacks from Elizabeth's childhood. You're right, it was very eerie - it reminded me of Bag of Bones for the sheer fright factor - King is so good at ghost stories, it was almost a shame he didn't milk that aspect of the story more.

[jayson]

I'd definately have liked to of had more flashbacks from Elizabeth's childhood.

me too, provided they weren't all italicized for pages and pages and pages like they were in what we did get of her story. It may be a nit-picky thing, but I find multiple pages of all italics to be riddiculous on the eyes. I think I enjoyed the younger Elizabeth stuff less bc of it.

[Jean]

I hate it when more than a couple of phrases is in italics... especially in a language other than Russian... gr gr gr grrrrrrrrrr....

[jayson]

me too, i suffer from bad migraines and the overuse of italics in Duma Key was a little harsh on the eyes.

[Jean]

there ought to be a law...

<--- another migraine sufferer

[jayson]

yes, i will second the Sparing Use of Italics Act.

[jhanic]

I never had a problem with King's use of modern technology in his books. I've been around (and reading King for) a long time and King has always been "attacked" (okay, maybe not the right word, but...) for using current items in his works. Go back and read some of his early works, and you'll note that his use of these sometimes dates them, but the stories are still great.

John

[ZoNeSeeK]

You mean criticised .. but I don't have an issue with it necessarily being used in a story, but for me when reading DK it lessened the overall feel. But you're probably right - its a perspective thing. I'm used to reading King stories set in the 70's, in the 90's and 2000's, reading about one world from another, in a way.

Oh, I loved Reba aswell. Oooouuuww, you nasty man! Diem kept saying that to me in Thailand and i didnt know what the fuck she was going on about.

[Girlystevedave]

I just wish the story had ended with something bigger that a china doll being crammed into a flashlight.

[Matt]

Well, for me it was really cool but mostly based on the idea of character development. I knew enough about his ifso girl from their previous encounters to make what happened with her death take me the way it took him, from his perspective as much as possible I guess.

Loved the back story with Libby--totally cool.

It was really good for me in the way that Kings new books seem to be, very introspective on the human front.

[ZoNeSeeK]

That is true, his perspective seems to becoming from a much more mature place. Gone are the child heroes and young adults, now its all about the middle years. You write what you know, as the saying goes.

[obscurejude]

Finished Duma Key and I'll have more thoughts to add soon, I'm really not sober.

Overall, I liked it and found it very frightening in parts, reminding me of much older King tales. I must confess, though, I was very pissed off at a lot of the foreshadowing- particularly Ilse's death. I just don't understand why it needs to be so blatant.

[Darkthoughts]

It was, wasn't it! I mean, even I totally saw that coming and I can't even figure out whodunnit in Scooby Doo :D

[Matt]

I think King is the "king" of..."...and that was the last time he ever spoke to her"

But I believe it is always done on purpose and acts as a way build suspense.

[jhanic]

King does the foreshadowing bit in lots of his stories. It seems to always bother me, too. Maybe, as Matt says, he does it as a way to increase suspense, but it simply annoys me.

John

[Darkthoughts]

Sometimes I enjoy it, especially when he says it about main characters - you know you're in for a real white knuckle ride because no character is safe.
Also, it's ambiguous sometimes, because you're not quite sure which of the two characters in the dialogue will die.

But with Ilse in particular, it seemed very clear.

[Heather19]

I have to agree with that. With Ilse it was so obvious, I'm surprised Edgar didn't see it coming.

[Jean]

I could barely stand reading, knowing something bad was going to happen to her.
I could barely stand reading at all. It's the best book I've read in years, and one of the best in my whole long life - and with me having grown as soft as I am now, this quality of deep, sweet sadness that penetrates it was hardly bearable. I didn't bawl my eyes out as I had done while reading Roadwork that broke my heart into small pieces, but I had to put Duma Key aside now and then and give myself opportunity to relax, or my old heart could have exploded with this sweetness and sadness.

It's so King - with a ka-tet, and palavers, and really, truly scary parts, and the definitely It-like double circle, and good guys prevailing in the end, so well that some of them even actually survive -

and it's King so different from anything I read by him before.

In all his best works, however tragic or macabre, it was always life and youth (yes, even in Insomnia) and victory that penetrated the story through and through and gave it the main tune... here is it decline and fall, decay and dying and regret and goodbye and nostalgy... it's the first time I see him dedicating more than half of a book to nothing - it's way too long for exposition, and way too slow, event-wise, for buildup... no, it's only a story of happinness, and the longer the story, the shorter that happinness feels when it comes to an end.

Once the Daughter of the Godfather had been a child, holding out her picture of a smiling horse for a photographer's camera, the photographer probably some jazzy guy wearing a straw hat and arm garters. Then she had been an old woman jittering away the last of ther life in a wheelshair while her snood came loose and flailed from one final hairpin under the fluorescent lights of an art gallery office. And the time between? It probably seemsd like no more than a nod or the wave of a hand to the clear blue sky.

[Brainslinger]

I just finished this story tonight. (Ok it was yesterday as I write this after midnight.)

Great story! A very human story, but some old style creepiness too what with the ghoulish crew-members (especially the little girls.)


I have to agree with that. With Ilse it was so obvious, I'm surprised Edgar didn't see it coming.

Well he sort of did, that's why he called her up to burn the picture.

(We of course knew that wasn't the end what with all King's foreshadowing.)

When the picture twisted round and bit her hand as she put it in the oven I thought "Uh oh. She'll die in the night of poisoning." Especially when he remembered off-hand that he should have told her to disinfect the area... then went to sleep.

It completely threw me when I found out what actually happened. I knew she'd die but I didn't see that coming.

As for Perse, when I first saw that red robed figure in the girl and ship painting,
(Dark Tower 7 spoilers just in case you haven't read it)
I thought that a certain bearded weirdie had found his way out of todash space. Did he collect his eyes on the way? I wondered.

Then it was mentioned as 'vaguely female' and I thought maybe it was his mother although she is only mentioned in the Gunslinger Born backstories, and as such may be a Robin Furth creation. Still, that might have been interesting. Grendel was killed, now here's mother, so to speak. Then I thought it might be Rose Madder, after her 'becoming.'

Now I think Perse is just her own creature (as much as she can be her own creature considering all those people she gets to do her dirty work), but the amount of references to red in the book (and not just Perse's robes but the main character's state of mind during negative moments) certainly suggests a strong link. The reference to 'elder gods' certainly suggests she is a related species, i.e. of the prim. But one who has linked her power with the sea for some reason.

As for the ending, I admit I would have liked some kind of climatic battle, preferably with Perse making an appearance in the flesh. Possibly even on the Death ship. But then again King's books aren't really about that, at least not any more. The suggestion almost seemed to be that the china figurineitself was her, but I'm not convinced that's entirely right either. She seemed to have placed more of her essence into it than a regular can-tah though since drowning the figurine affected her too.

[Sam]

I actually thought, for just a moment, that Ilse would survive through it all. I have had plenty of time to think about Duma Key and where it fits in the pantheon of King. I think that it is as good as people have said. I read it as soon as I got my copy (when it was first released) and I still think of it probably once a week. Only the best books hold us under their spell after we're done.

Duma Key will likely rank among his top ten in the years to come. (If not, top fifteen)

[Hannah]

I absolutely enjoyed Duma Key. It even scared me a little as I read it late at night with the lights dimmed.

"The Big Boy has TEEF!" was one of my favorite lines from the book.

[ksmithcats]

I'm not going to read the thread yet, but I couldn't resist a post. I'm almost a third of the way through it, and I can't believe I put off reading it for so long.

I must admit I was put off by the preview at the end of Blaze because of what happened to Edgar. I have a completely irrational but nearly phobic fear of losing a limb.

Finally after some activity here this weekend, I just picked it up and dove in and have been swept away by the story as I seem to be by everything SK writes.

[mungojerrie]

i'm not finished yet but i had to take a peek to see what everyone else was saying and i agree with most of you. i'm loving it! after the first few pages i found myself laughing to tears at edgar.

as for dt ties, what about the use of the word char?

[Jean]

big bearlove for all who love Duma Key!

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/bear_heart.gif

[jayson]

How about for those of us who love everything except the so-called "climax"?

If there is a category in the Constant Reader Awards for "Worst Ending in a King Story" I am voting for Duma Key. Sad too because I loved the rest of the book.

[Jean]

Big Bearlove comes your way non-stop even though you don't understand shit about endings, Jayson! http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_tongue.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_tongue.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_tongue.gif

[jayson]

:lol:

[mystima]

well there was more than the forshadowing(is that a word) of Ilse's passing...remember her telling Wireman to throw the tin with various china dolls into the pond? that was her way of telling them without so many words how to get rid of Perse...

[ksmithcats]

Well, I finished it and of course thought it was wonderful. I, like so many others could have used a little less of the foreshadowing, but my god, who am I to talk....I can barely write thank-you notes.

[Jean]

I think by the whole spirit of it, it's the one book where the foreshadowing isn't out of place, or can't be overdone

[alinda]

It is one of my favorite SK stories. I love this book. I will give it a very BIG 5 when time comes.:clap:

[Sam]

The more time passes, the more I think this will be one of King's greats. When the time comes this one is getting a 5 from me. I won't be surprised to see if move on in the voting.

[Hannah]

Drown the bitch!

I'm certainly giving this one a 5.

[Jean]

The more time passes, the more I think this will be one of King's greats.
it is!
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

[Django]

I'd give it a 4. It was excellent, but spoiled by the ending(s). Too bad, would have been one of his very best, imo.

[jhanic]

What didn't you like about the ending?

John

[Jean]

I personally thought the ending was as perfect as the whole book.

[Django]

I get the feeling it has one too many closures, something like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The Ilse part of the ending was a bit too much maybe. I don't know. It's still a great book, as I said. My girlfriend is reading it now, she's enjoying it. It's her first SK book ever.

[jhanic]

If King had not ended it with the "multiple" closures as he did, he'd have people complaining that he left too many plot threads unresolved.

I agree with the Bear, I thought he did a masterful job.

John

[Jean]

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

[Dave!]

I liked it. A lot. Bought the hardback as soon as it came out and didn't put it down until finished. I do find it to be a masterful piece, and very compelling. It was, to me, a different type of King novel. As mentioned above, it had less to do with youth and triumph in youthfulness as some others, but I believe it directly correltaes a lot with his personal life, with age, with injury, with a general realness about his work. Triumph is definately there, as Edgar for sure overcame some major roadblocks that a lot of maybe could not have, and came out better for it. I found it odd and refreshing that the book didn't take place in the northeast. :P I've been to the area several times, and the description of it was next to none. It made me wish I was back down there.
I say "liked it a lot" because I don't yet love it as I do the DT series. To me I would find it to be a great surprise if he could ever "one-up" those. It is very good, and outside of the DT, I would rank it in the top 5. For sure. CELL was ok. I was very glad to see this one so much more concrete than that one was. I very much look forward to the next one from SK, if it is anything like this one is. (By the way, there is a new one out...Can't remember the name, but looked to be a collection of stories. Anyone read it yet?)

[Matt]

Just Before Sunset.

Very cool collection of short stories.

[theyspunaweb]

Duma Key...this book was so awesome! I must admit, I feel like I want a better understanding of all of it though...so that actually means that I feel like re-reading it in the near future. The whole story of Miss Eastlake and Perse... well I wish we really learned more about Perse actually. There was crap and Kings and Queens...but I really wish I knew where all of the evil came from, it just left me wanting more out of the book, like there was something left unsaid.

THAT being said, so many elements made me love this book. My home away from home is Minnesota (and though just brief mentions I liked it)...and I go to school for art, so the concept of art being so powerful and so involved in the storyline was awesome. I also love Maritime anything...the beach too. So needless to say the basic storyline probably won me over.

I just really needed to know what was going to happen, and wanted more. There were however very disappointed pieces though...I wrote in another thread that being someone with epilepsy, it is upsetting that he describes seizures so incredibly different than what I have experienced. Another is that I don't like how SK mentioned Pop culture references...that were basically like him during the book! He said something about LOST! and M.Knight Shamalan movies....which is actually what this book reminded me of, and that kinda ruined some moments for me, since I like to feel like those shows take elements from SK, not vice versa. I guess it can work both ways.

About the epilepsy thing...I know that if he didn't have it, and that there are many different seizures it would be easy to mix up, but I believe at the end he thanked people for helping him getting contracoup injuries correct in the book. So why not seizures? I think I might actually right SK and explain how I'm feeling as a "Constant Reader" and because I would love to see him create a book where the character experiences the effects of epilepsy and believed those were something else (I guess that it sounds like other stories of his, but in my real life this is what I thought was happening, and I feel like it could be so powerful)...maybe I'll just end up writing it myself one day!

Kinda sidetracked. I overalled loved this book. I just wanted more out of it, and had a few personal tiffs haha!

[Brainslinger]

I don't think the main character in the book actually had epilepsy. In his case it was a head injury. I can't presume to know what you do about these things (the only seizures I had were as a child, when my temperature was too high, and I don't remember), but is it possible there are different kinds depending on person and affliction? (I'm not arguing with you though, I'm just wondering.)

I know that the forgetfulness and emotional difficulties were quite accurate for someone with head injuries.

[theyspunaweb]

No...I don't mean to say that. He describes seizures in the book (different types as well) and they aren't exactly how I've come to known them from my experiences with epilepsy. Also in other books like the one I read before, Insomnia, some characters experience something where they:
see auras, or a bunch of colors surrounding people?
originally believe they are experiencing Epilepsy. I know this is what the characters are thinking, not King himself per-say...but that is not at all what happens to epileptic people! I've never seen such things...!

It's like when people see flashing raingbow gif objects online and say "I think I have epilepsy!" or something like that....but really the flashing lights are not what ARE the epilepsy, but in a EEG test they use a strobe light to trigger a seizure. Maybe that doesn't make sense to you, but I see it online ALL of the time and it drives me crazy that people think epilepsy is all a bunch of bright colors. Epilepsy is a disorder that causes seizures, and is usually brought on by head injuries. That's the basics.

And the different types of seizures he described didn't fully ring true. He said that in the car, Wireman had a seizure, and then shortly after King wrote something like "just as long as he didn't have a grand mal bitch"

But the seizure that King described Wireman having sounded a lot like the effects a person might have while being under the effects of a grand mal to me, or they were rather close to the ones that I have had. You basically become unconscious (I have passed out a few times) and have a seizure that does include convulsions. I've awoken from them and felt the after affects or the end of the convulsions.

Here is a quick found definition:
A grand mal seizure — also known as a tonic-clonic seizure — features a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. It's the type of seizure most people picture when they think about seizures in general.

[Jon]

There is growing evidence that the grand mal seizures of Epilepsy seem to have a kinship with migraines. Many migrains are preceeded with an "aura." I suspect this is the source of the confusion.

[jayson]

There is growing evidence that the grand mal seizures of Epilepsy seem to have a kinship with migraines. Many migrains are preceeded with an "aura." I suspect this is the source of the confusion.

Some of the current treatments for migraine involve anti-seizure medications typically used for epilepsy.

[LadyHitchhiker]

Oooooooooooh good to know. I suffer from many a migraine.

[simongrant]

Not been through all the thread so dont know if this has been mentioned,i seem to recall late on in Duma Key there is a reference to either Edgar or Wireman being or being like a gunslinger.

This was like a classic king book for me loved it
Simon

[Matt]

I loved it to, I'm getting very close to a re read I believe.

Welcome to the site Simon. :rock:

[Brainslinger]

Epilepsy is a disorder that causes seizures, and is usually brought on by head injuries. That's the basics.

Oh ok! I remember an incident when a kid repeatedly bashed my head against a wall when I was in infant school. It left me nauseous and concussed. It's funny (not in a ha ha way) because I knew I suffered from seizures as a kid (we called them 'fits' ;) ) but I never put the two together, cause and affect, until my Dad mentioned it to me years later as an adult.

I do remember later in life after these things had stopped, I was taken to the hospital for a brain scan (or some-such thing.) I remember particularly well because they stuck lots of things like coloured cables on my head. It took a long time. (I think they've simplified the process now, we're talking late 70s early 80s after all. Just to indicate how old I am.) I think there's a picture somewhere. I looked like one of those Egyptian Pharaohs. :P Fortunately, it came up clean after that.


And the different types of seizures he described didn't fully ring true.

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

There are quite a few things Stephen King gets wrong in his books. I remember a lot of people on DT.net becoming irate when (Dark Tower Spoilers) King kept referring to Sussanah's 'disorder' as schizophrenia, when it was more likely to be MPD. I didn't have a particular problem with that at all though, as a lot of people make that mistake. A term 'schizoid' has come into usage based on that error! And I think it's more likely that Eddie would consider it schizophrenia.


This is a bit of a different case though, since it is the man character himself who is suffering the trauma, someone who likely had access to medical research. Best to just take it with a pinch of salt though, it's only a very small part of the story. If you feel strongly about it though, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to send Mr King a letter.

Back to the book, I really liked the book, and loved the DT connections, and the 'magic art affecting environment' thing is always rather fun. I was a bit disappointed that we were never confronted with Perse herself, outside of the visions and the figurine. Ok maybe the figurine actually was Perse, but I saw it as another kind of can-tah.

[simongrant]

Thanks for the welcome mat,i was on a few years back but i think it was thedarktower.net.The layout and everything is very similar so may be they are the same???

Simon

[Matt]

It's a forum so in that sense it is the same. We have all kinds of folks that used to frequent the dt.net here.

However, we're a totally separate and new operation. Great to have you either way.

[theyspunaweb]

Brainslinger- It bothers me that seizures seem to re occure in his stories but they don't ring true as someone who has experienced them. I just wished they were right since I notice they pop up a lot...randomly sometimes. But I don't think that it ruins a story and I didn't mean to sound nit picky if that's how it came across...I just think in the right light, it could make a great story all it's own, and I feel like King might want to know. I bet he would get plenty of letters though...so who knows if he would even get it.

Again I loved this book.

[Jon]

Brainslinger- It bothers me that seizures seem to re occure in his stories but they don't ring true as someone who has experienced them. I just wished they were right since I notice they pop up a lot...randomly sometimes. But I don't think that it ruins a story and I didn't mean to sound nit picky if that's how it came across...I just think in the right light, it could make a great story all it's own, and I feel like King might want to know. I bet he would get plenty of letters though...so who knows if he would even get it.

Again I loved this book.



yeah...it bothers me no more than his inaccuracy of describing Roland "fanning the trigger" of his gun. I know it was wrong, but I just moved on.

[Brainslinger]

Brainslinger- It bothers me that seizures seem to reoccur in his stories but they don't ring true as someone who has experienced them. I just wished they were right since I notice they pop up a lot...randomly sometimes. But I don't think that it ruins a story and I didn't mean to sound nit picky if that's how it came across...I just think in the right light, it could make a great story all it's own, and I feel like King might want to know. I bet he would get plenty of letters though...so who knows if he would even get it.

Again I loved this book.

That's all fair enough. As for nitpicking, no worries. It's ok to dissect the book and make known your views. That's what the thread is all about.

[juliebcreative]

I have to say as an artist...I found this book frustrating to read. I love everything SK writes, but I think it was my own personal issues that got in the way. Reading about someone who just "picks up a paintbrush and makes masterpieces" whether super-natural or not...is a frustrating thing for an artists to read. Anyone else feel that way? Other than that the mental imagery for this book was phenomenal and I did love the wireman character.

I often create paintings based on books I've loved (the Talisman series at http://juliebcreative.etsy.com) but I'm not sure if this book is calling to me to do a painting around. I think my next one is going to be based on Black House.

[Lily-sai]

Where will I start? There's so much I'd want to say about this book, but now I realise my head is quite empty. hmph. Well, let's give it a try.

Finished DK a few days ago. I was having this 'reader's block', but Duma Key managed to get me in its grip and kept calling for me even when I wasn't reading it. So I had a slow start.. and in the end, I was reading it almost feverishly.

It really was different. Something in the language, in the atmosphere. And it really managed to creep me out (it's just a good thing - it means it's well written) at some points (the lawn jockey, anyone?). I even had to put the book down when I couldn't bear the horror slowly crawling up my neck anymore.

In the beginning, I kept thinking if Edgar's pains after his accident were Sai King's pains as well. Everything doesn't have to be allegorical, but mayhap King did transfer some of his agony to Edgar? Ah, well.

Everything was so alive in this book, if ya ken what I mean. So real, and thus so horrifying to read sometimes. I'm amazed I haven't seen upside-down flying birds in my nightmares yet, phew.

^ julie's comment about Edgar's painting speed, I can understand how you feel, Julie. It's really rare for me to see how the painting just emerges from the canvas - usually it's a great struggle and eventually I throw away my paintbrushes, frustrated. Yet I wouldn't want Edgar's gift, because those aforementioned rare moments of mine are so worth of all the frustration.

I think I'll write more later, when I've recovered from Duma Key (or rather, returned from there).

[Lost Rose]

I just finished Duma Key for the fifth time..read it once and listened to the audio the other times...don't know where I should put this..or if it should be in a thread of it's own...but..this guy could be Wireman..he's heavier now and his hair has more gray...
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/JeannDave/b94d_1.jpg

[Jean]

he is totally Wireman, - and your example (fifth time!) is, I am afraid, about to make me put aside the ninety five books I'm currently reading and start rereading Duma Key... bears love... and Lily, my меховая sister, is so right: everything is alive there, even more so than in any other King book.

[Lost Rose]

he is totally Wireman, - and your example (fifth time!) is, I am afraid, about to make me put aside the ninety five books I'm currently reading and start rereading Duma Key... bears love... and Lily, my меховая sister, is so right: everything is alive there, even more so than in any other King book.
Thanks..It took me a while to come up with a Wireman..then I saw him with his long gray hair on a tv show and Bam...there it was...I usually think of actors when I'm reading or listening to a book..I like a lot of Mr. King's books but this one hooked me..HARD...Have to agree with Lily, too!!:huglove:

[Heather19]

I agree, that's pretty much how I pictured Wireman in my head. :thumbsup:
Who is the actor?

[Lost Rose]

I agree, that's pretty much how I pictured Wireman in my head. :thumbsup:
Who is the actor?

Eric Roberts..Julia's brother...

[Matt]

People on the SKMB are convinced he is black because of the "Freemantle" last name. :lol:

I'm like..."It doesn't say that!"

[Lost Rose]

I thought his last name was Wireman...

[Heather19]

It is (Jerome Wireman)

I think Matt's referring to Edgar

[Lost Rose]

Duh...I have Wireman on the brain..also agree with Matt..there's nothing to make you think Edgar was a man of color..just because of the same name used in the Stand..he crosses a lot of names in his books...thanks heather..don't get old..you're mind tends to go off on it's own sometimes..LOL!

[AcidBumbler]

I really liked Duma Key, although I can't actually remember much at all.
I just remember really enjoying it.

[divemaster]

Just finished reading it yesterday. Like most others in this thread, I really enjoyed it. This sums up for me what I felt, although exactly the opposite.


I thought [the ending] was masterful, and the contemporary story and narrative felt worn out and hollow by comparison - it felt like I was reading and reading but the real story was dead and gone 80 years previous. You could really feel the isolation of the characters in the backstory.

I preferred the contemporary story. I loved Edgar and Wireman and the way Edgar had to deal with his injuries and his divorce and all the emotions that come out of those life-changing events. The way he felf about his daughters (loved each one, but one "more" than the other and the guilt that comes along with that). Dealing with his new-found talent. These and other aspects of the book were more impressive to me than the horror story of Perse and the zombies and the race against the sun to get the china doll into freswater.

The backstory was okay. Served the plot well by setting the stage for the horrors to come. But I didn't "feel" those characters like the ones in the contemporary story.

Don't get me wrong. There were some chilling passages. Going down into the cistern; the lawn jockey; the upside down bird; and especially Edgar meeting up with the ghost of Ilse under Big Pink. That was well-written. Until the end of that section I was almost convinced that he was going to just give up and go with her.

But all in all, the last 100 pages or so almost struck me as "Oh, man, I've been writing this great book with these great characters but no real horror to show my readers yet so I'd better come up with something to wrap this up."

So, final tally I give it a 4.5 out of 5. Definitely a re-read at some point.

[lowdown]

this book is one of SK best i think......it was a little spooky in spots and it takes alot to spook me now....but books always get me worse then movies...i read at night mostly...maybe thats it

[Letti]

I have finished it. What a sad book. I think I got to love Edgar's family way too much.
I liked it. A lot. But there were some solutions I didn't like.. but they didn't ruin the book.
The ending at the beach was brilliant. More than brilliant.
If only we had got more information about Perse.

[alinda]

Has anyone noticed that Duma Key said just a bit differenttly
Doom Aqui ....or doom here (in spanish) , this just was mentioned
to me by a fellow employee I just met, as he was telling me he had
read The Dark Tower...altho small islands here off the coast of Florida
are indeed called keys, I found this quite amusing, and relevent to the story.:P

[Sickrose]

I really enjoyed this and raced through it. I really enaged with the character of Edgar and really felt for him.

I love the Wiremanisms in it. The other day, I very nearly said "when it comes to memory we all stack the deck" It's sooo true I love that saying. I think it's up there as being as quotable as DT.

[JRM]

Don't remember posting here. :beat:

But just wanted to say I loved this book. The climax and ending weren't as strong as the rest of the book, however. It all just happened too quickly and got way too over-the-top. My opinion, of course. That being said, one of my favs.:clap:

[mtdman]

I'm doing a re-read of Duma Key right now. I really like this book, and the guy that narrates it has a great voice.

Something that bugs me about this book though. Edgar's wife, and friend Tom, are kinda slimey people. First off, his wife is kind of a bitch towards him. Never mind the fact she divorced a crippled dude barely off his death bed, she's just down right mean towards him. Especially when he calls to get her to check on Tom. The you have Tom, the guy that Edgar says he would have asked to be his best man, someone that worked for him for years, and knew him pretty intimately. As soon as Edgar takes off for Florida this Tom dude is hitting on Edgar's ex-wife and they start banging. What kind of friend goes after his friend's ex-wife? And the fact that Edgar isn't mad enough to spit nails over that whole thing is just crazy. I'd want to kill them both. That whole thing is creepy.

[beam*seeker]

I finished Duma Key today, and I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy it much. I at no point felt 'grabbed' by the story as it usually happens with other King books, and I felt that the ending was a perfect example of anti-climatic.

My feeling exactly. That being said, I really like the book and its one of my favorites of his (along with Hearts in Atlantis). Maybe it is the semi-historical aspect in connection with the feeling that he really was channeling a lot of his own pain and struggle with his own head injury and how he had to fight back to get function after that--it really made Edgar a sympathetic character to me, as it did Wireman and Li'Bet.

However, containing Perse with a flashlight was, I don't know, childish? A little too easy? Maybe they could have had a more ritualistic aspect to it? (Chud?)

This, is really my only problem with Sai King, his fatal flaw if you will. If he had come up with an ending like the Ritual of Chud, this would have been his best IMHO. I guess I can't expect it all (and he already used up that ending!)

[Jean]

interesting that DK is one of the very few SK books whose ending (or the last part) never felt anti-climactic to me. Maybe because he refrained from universal running, burning, collapsing and exploding, which so often bores me by the end of his books.

[mtdman]

Duma Key is a very good book. Has it been optioned for a movie yet?

[Brice]

I'm doing a re-read of Duma Key right now. I really like this book, and the guy that narrates it has a great voice.

Something that bugs me about this book though. Edgar's wife, and friend Tom, are kinda slimey people. First off, his wife is kind of a bitch towards him. Never mind the fact she divorced a crippled dude barely off his death bed, she's just down right mean towards him. Especially when he calls to get her to check on Tom. The you have Tom, the guy that Edgar says he would have asked to be his best man, someone that worked for him for years, and knew him pretty intimately. As soon as Edgar takes off for Florida this Tom dude is hitting on Edgar's ex-wife and they start banging. What kind of friend goes after his friend's ex-wife? And the fact that Edgar isn't mad enough to spit nails over that whole thing is just crazy. I'd want to kill them both. That whole thing is creepy.

The friend who goes after your ex is just the friend who deserves your ex. :)

[WeDealInLead]

I don't get why he killed Wireman. That was IMO pretty pointless at that point.

[Brice]

I don't remember. I probably should reread soon.

[CRinVA]

I am listening to the audio cd version right now during my commute time! Just a tad more than 1 third of the way through. :-)

[jhanic]

Funny (as in a coincidence), I'm about a third of the way through a reread.

John

[mtdman]

I am listening to the audio cd version right now during my commute time! Just a tad more than 1 third of the way through. :-)

That narrator is great, wish he'd do some more King stuff


I don't get why he killed Wireman. That was IMO pretty pointless at that point.

It leaves Eddie totally alone and friendless.

[Dan]

Just finished Duma Key. Great novel! I loved it!

[Jean]

awesome! big bearhugs

[WeDealInLead]

I am listening to the audio cd version right now during my commute time! Just a tad more than 1 third of the way through. :-)

That narrator is great, wish he'd do some more King stuff


I don't get why he killed Wireman. That was IMO pretty pointless at that point.

It leaves Eddie totally alone and friendless.

I guess anything's possible. Maybe King just wanted to hurt us more.

[Cass]

Man... SK killed me when the doggie died... also, Wireman is DA man!

[Stebbins]

Has anyone noticed that Duma Key said just a bit differenttly
Doom Aqui ....or doom here (in spanish) , this just was mentioned
to me by a fellow employee I just met, as he was telling me he had
read The Dark Tower...altho small islands here off the coast of Florida
are indeed called keys, I found this quite amusing, and relevent to the story.:P

I never thought of that, but it's very interesting/clever point.

WeDeal: I'm right there with you on the Wireman point. I thought it was, to use a small pun, overkill. Not necessary IMO.

[mtdman]

I just did my annual re-listen to Duma Key, and something kinda puzzles me. I've never really understood this part:

What's up with the Sand Ilsa at the end, after they get Perse out of the well? Is that part of Perse's power, and if so, how is it possible if she's asleep in the water in the flashlight? Or is it part of Edgar's power, that he drew her in the sand and she came to life as a sand girl? And/or, did Perse capture Ilsa and is she part of her crew now on the Persephone? Is that why Mary drowned her in the salt water? What happens to the crew and the ship why Perse is trapped in her fresh water 'grave'? None of that made much sense to me.




The friend who goes after your ex is just the friend who deserves your ex. :)

Maybe so, but it's still pretty low on both the friend and the ex's parts. I wouldn't be able to overlook that like Edgar did. I'd probably let him kill himself and let her blame herself for it. What kind of person does that?

[mtdman]

I just did my annual re-listen to Duma Key, and something kinda puzzles me. I've never really understood this part:

What's up with the Sand Ilsa at the end, after they get Perse out of the well? Is that part of Perse's power, and if so, how is it possible if she's asleep in the water in the flashlight? Or is it part of Edgar's power, that he drew her in the sand and she came to life as a sand girl? And/or, did Perse capture Ilsa and is she part of her crew now on the Persephone? Is that why Mary drowned her in the salt water? What happens to the crew and the ship why Perse is trapped in her fresh water 'grave'? None of that made much sense to me.




The friend who goes after your ex is just the friend who deserves your ex. :)

Maybe so, but it's still pretty low on both the friend and the ex's parts. I wouldn't be able to overlook that like Edgar did. I'd probably let him kill himself and let her blame herself for it. What kind of person does that?


As I am doing my annual re-listen to this fine Stephen King book, I came to post this exact same question and then find that I had already posted it last year. Problem is, no one answered. I'm really not clear on the Sand Ilsa thing. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Jean]

I see now that I need to reread it some time soon.

[EyesofFenrir]

.

[EyesofFenrir]

Def one of his better post 80s works, but yeah, it suffers from quite a few of his usual pitfalls. E.G. it goes off the rails towards the end, has too many endings (RotK style), too many distracting modern references, etc.

[mae]

The Losers Club Podcast episode on the novel:

https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3763564/duma-key-the-losers-club-podcast/

[fernandito]

The only thing I remember from that book is some character that kept saying muchacho.

[Heather19]

The Losers Club Podcast episode on the novel:

https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3763564/duma-key-the-losers-club-podcast/

Can't wait to listen! I love this book, it's one of my favorites.

[ratchet41]

i'm currently reading this i just started this last night i'm on page #59 as of this typing