Welcome back to Books With Cause. Let’s dive straight into my latest review.
With The Talisman published in 1984, readers experiencing the book in real time had to wait until 2001- that’s some seventeen years – for the release of Black House. Moving a little like a time traveller, I barely waited a few hours between finishing one book and starting the next.
Despite the seventeen-year gap between publications, there is actually twenty-three years of story-time between The Talisman and Black House. When we meet Jack Sawyer this time, he is now thirty-five and living in the town of French Landing, Wisconsin, where he is retired from the LAPD. He has repressed most of his memories from visiting the Territories as a twelve-year-old.
But there is a serial killer on the loose in French Landing, known as the Fisherman due to the similarities in MO to Albert Fish (a serial killer who was active 1924-1928). The French Landing police beg Jack to come out of retirement and help them catch the Fisherman. Jack initially refuses, but when he comes to learn that the Fisherman may have a connection to the Territories, Jack realises he might be the only one who can stop him.
After not enjoying The Talisman as much as I’d have hoped, I didn’t know what to expect entering Black House. The first thing I will say is that this book is strikingly different in style. First of all, this book has an omniscient narrator with a quirky voice. “Moving toward the sun, we glide away from the river and over the shining tracks, the backyards and roofs…” is a genuine example from the first pages. I don’t know what it is, but I found it quite jarring. The narrator doesn’t dominate every single page, but I noticed when they were there, and I never really jelled with it.
Stylistically, I also felt this book was similar to Needful Things in the way it is set in a small town with quite the cast of characters. We actually don’t meet Jack again until a little way into the book. Because of that, I found the book quite slow to get started, but once it did get going, I was in.
The book works well enough as a standalone if you haven’t read The Talisman, but of course it’s a more rewarding read if you have. Likewise, this book makes numerous references to King’s Dark Tower series, especially the lead, Roland of Gilead. It’s been a little while since I read the Dark Tower series, so I can’t say I remember them perfectly.
I have seen a couple of other fans saying it’s odd, because we don’t really associate Peter Straub with Mid-World, The Tower, or Roland. And while that’s true, I bet Straub had a hell of a lot of fun playing in this world.
Speaking of worlds, we have one more trip to make on this journey. After all, there are other worlds than these.
My Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)
