SciLens November Issue: Unheard Noises

Desperation: A Book Review

Kimiko Sandig

Stephen King is undoubtedly one of the most prolific and popular writers in the world. Although his commercial success is admirable, many, in the literary world, think less of his achievements. Harold Bloom, a renowned critic, stated, "Stephen King is beneath the notice of any serious reader who has experienced Proust, Joyce, Henry James, Faulkner and all the other masters of the novel." In spite of the generally bad assessments that critics have of his works, he is still a great storyteller. Having published 55 novels, his famous novels such as Carrie, The Shining, and Shawshank Redemption foreshadows most of his other books.

Desperation is one of King's lesser-known work, yet it doesn't fail to deliver the same impact that the others have. A reminiscent of King's early outputs (The Stand and It) and 80's horror, it's set on the "loneliest place on Earth", Desperation, Nevada where unknown horrors lurk around the corners. In this isolated town, everyone suddenly dies. It then becomes the mission of an unlikely band of survivors to find out how everyone, aside from them, had died and how to stop whatever caused it. Surprisingly, it's preteen David who leads the group and with the help of the divine grace of God, they ascertain how to stop the ancient spirit, Tak, from wreaking more havoc.

In one aspect, it's typical Stephen King at work: isolated town, multiple point of views, ancient supernatural evil, etc. But the religious theme present in the book separates it from King's other works; he tackles the theme of divine intervention and redemption in the book similarly as to what he did in The Green Mile. Desperation then, in a sense, is very similar to It and The Stand.

Despite these, King's effective use of imagery builds up the tension throughout the novel albeit weakening by the conclusion. In a certain scene, he described an abandoned RV with its door rattling with the wind and a doll lying by the roadside and it's enough to raise a few hairs here and there. Stephen King wholly capitalizes on common human fears: dark, desolation, confined and wide spaces, possession and bodily decay, and is not afraid to provide the gruesome and sickening details of it. He uses his tools excellently to create an atmosphere of paranoia and an inkling feeling of dread while reading the novel. These what makes Desperation a well-written book, having the perfect amount of horror and suspense to make it riveting, but not for the faint-hearted.