Joyland by Stephen King

 I have always admired Stephen King as a powerful and emotive writer and over the last 40 years he has written what I can only describe as literary masterpieces. There are two books in particular which are prominent in my mind at portraying the author’s style from fantasy to horror namely “The Green Mile” and “The Shining”.

Joyland is equal to if not better than the aforementioned and in my opinion ranks as one of the greatest examples of the “coming of age” story ever written.....it is that good! It is true to say that I as a reader have a certain respect and fondness for “Devin Jones” as his experience in Joyland mirrors my own youthful dalliances as both an amusement park worker and a camp councillor in America during the mid 1970’s. The writing is so powerful that at times I lost all knowledge of time and place so engrossed was I in the mystical storytelling ability of Mr King.

Devin Jones has taken a summer job as a worker and ride operator at Joyland Amusement Park in South Carolina. In recent times Joyland was the location and scene for the disappearance and murder of a young lady called Linda Gray. Devin will spend the summer and beyond learning the business and defining his character as he makes the sometimes painful but also memorable journey from youth to adult. He will form long lasting friendships with the amusement park staff in particular his landlady Mrs Shoplaw, Erin and Tom, the tragic and crippled Mike and his mum the mysterious Annie Ross, Devin’s first love.

In King’s hands the layers of the story and the characters unfold as we sweep forward between the past and the present. The crime element remains secondary to the main theme which is in essence a study of human relations and a longing back to a time of excitement and innocence. This is not to say that the hunt for the murderer is forgotten, rather this theme is kept discretely alive as the threads of the story are expertly brought together.

What sets Stephen King apart from fellow authors is his understanding of the human condition and his inherent ability to bring this alive throughout the pages of his writing...

“When you’re twenty-one, life is a roadmap. It’s only when you get to be twenty-five or so that you begin to suspect you’ve been looking at the map upside down, and not until you’re forty are you entirely sure. By the time you’re sixty, take if from me, you’re fucking lost.”

“Fifty yards ahead of us, a doe had come out of the woods. She stepped delicately over one rusty GS&WM track and onto the railbed, where the weeds and goldenrod were so high they brushed against her sides. She paused there, looking at us calmly, ears cocked forward. What I remember about that moment was the silence. No bird sang, no plane went droning overhead. If my mother had been with us, she’d have had her camera and would have been taking pictures like mad. Thinking of that made me miss her in a way I hadn’t in years.”

“It doesn’t have to be the last good time. But sooner or later the last good time would come around. It does for all of us.”

I find it astounding that a book of such beauty and deep emotive thoughts can possibly be targeted with negative reviews....”Shallow supernatural elements. No real suspense or horror or twists-it’s amazing I managed to finish it”.....one such reviewer states. The point of this story is we are not dealing with blood thirsty flesh eating zombies! if you want that look elsewhere...rather the crime, the horror, the suspense is all present but expertly packaged in an enthralling coming of age story...”Mike’s thing was clearer. Simpler. Purer. It wasn’t like seeing the ghost of Linda Gray, but it was akin to that, okay? It was touching another world.

The conclusion of Joyland is nothing short of astounding and expertly brings all the pieces of the story into a satisfactory whole.....I implore you to read this is a major work of such importance from a modern literary genius.

Thirst by Guy N Smith

This book was part of a number I picked up when helping my daughter no 2 decorate her new flat. Having not read anything by Guy N Smith before (living in the UK...not having read anything by Guy N Smith...where have I been!) I was eager to jump right into this fine example of late 70/80s horror. I was a great fan of Herbert and King during this period and indeed I remember reading The Rats on a beach in Greece in the 70s when I was young free and single...and of course beautiful!! The first thing that strikes the avid horror reader about books of that period is the art work and the cover....quite often the books were rubbish but the covers were fantastic and helped undoubtedly sell the material. Thirst has a fantastic cover (1980 edition) with a reservoir in the distance...where all the weed killer was deposited (see later) fronted by a screaming woman whose face is adorned with various sores and abnormalities. In the distance the sun is setting creating a red and cruel sky.....come on admit it...you want to read it!!

Mel Timberley is transporting a dangerous volatile tanker full of weed killer and unfortunately his mind is elsewhere. I just loved the opening paragraph it really drew me in...”The tanker lumbered through the night, its erratic passage reflecting the mood of its driver – angry; punishing the engine on stretches of straight road, torturing brakes and tyres on the bends” So with Mel reflecting on his troubles he is not concentrating on his driving and the responsibility of such a dangerous cargo....the inevitable happens and the toxic week killer ends its journey unfortunately in a reservoir that is the main water feed for the good people of Birmingham.

As with all good horror we meet an interesting cross section of the population and enjoy the spectacle of how they cope when drinking the offending water supply. At 200+ pages the story is short ( I always feel this is a great attribute in horror novels of this type as there is only so many ways an unsuspecting populace can meet its demise) Characters are introduced to the reader only to quickly disappear as they come into contact with the deadly water supply.

One character of note is Benny Wilkes living a life full of wasted opportunities under the watchful eye of a weak mother and a dominating father, Thomas Wilkes, who insists his son follow a nice safe career in banking. One day Benny decides to alter the brakes on his father’s car, leading to Thomas Wilkes demise expertly hidden under all the turmoil happening in a city under seize due to the contaminated water.

All stories must have a hero and I suppose Ron Blythe fits that model perfectly especially as he was the scientist behind the production of the week killer and therefore morally responsible. Ron has a wondering eye for the ladies and has had many affairs with younger more attractive women (well why shouldn’t he...Margaret was beautiful once but age has caught with her...a somewhat chauvinistic attitude!) The city of Brimingham is declared an emergency zone with rampaging looting gangs and inhabitants dying.....the world is crying out for a hero... step up to centre stage Ron. Ron attempts to break out of the fenced emergency zone with the beautiful Carol Evans (someone had to rescue her...why not Ron!) Ron loves Carol...Carol loves Ron...bye bye Margaret!! A bulldozer and an escaped convict, Mike Cummins, help our heroes breach the barriers and head for freedom...is all well with the world? There is a nice unexpected conclusion which leads to a satisfactory ending.

I enjoyed the first half of Thirst, meeting all the characters both good and bad and watching the carnage unfold but I felt the second half was a somewhat wasted opportunity descending into anarchy as a once proud city became the battle ground for warring gangs and wannabe soldiers. So in conclusion a fine example of horror of a certain age, not a work of great imagination but a fun way to spend an afternoon.