Joyland

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Michael Kelly

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

"Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book.... Even the most hardboiled readers will find themselves moved."
—Charles Ardai, Edgar- and Shamus Award-winning editor of Hard Case Crime.

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. Joyland is a brand-new novel and has never previously been published.

©2013 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Another Great Horror book

Not all authors can do what Stephen King can do. First of all what made me buy this book before i even read the summary is that its a horror book by Stephen King called "Joyland" that was a reason enough for me. if you liked King's other horror book you will love this one. Remember how his book Duma key was? If you do then just add this and read it, and if you don't go buy Duma Key too then.

I was waiting for this book for a while and i decided listening to a horror book at night would be the greatest thing, so took the day off from work and had a good scary listen to this book

I don't want to say whats going on in the book exactly and i advice you not to check because getting surprised is way much better.

The narrator did a great job, plenty of differente voices, and he gave life to these characters.

highly recommended and you will love it.

Stephen King's Latest Coming-of-Age Story

Ok, so there's a new Stephen King book out called Joyland. Here are some of the key components:

- A serial killer who slashes throats at amusement parks.
- A ghost.
- A little boy with a special ability to just sort of 'know things'.
- A whodunnit mystery.
- A college kid who loses his sweetheart and grows up.

As everyone knows, Stephen King is the master of terror - so you might expect the first three components listed above to be the most important parts of Joyland... but you would be wrong!

Joyland is, at its heart, the coming of age tale of 21 year old Devin Jones. Devin is an everyman, a nice guy. He's going through a rough breakup with his first true love. He gets a job at Joyland, a second rate amusement park filled with cool college kids at summer jobs and weirdo carnies that are kind of there for life. There's a fortune teller, some sexy girls who take photos and pressure you into buying them, and plenty other flavorful characters. It's a flavorful and interesting backdrop for a novel.

As mentioned above, Devin is dealing with a lot of stuff. He's a young kid in an emotional part of life, and the ghost, serial killer, etc. serve as plot devices for some real growing up. The ghost and serial killer might sound scary, but there aren't really very many scary moments in Joyland. There are a few, I guess, but there are many more touching moments. Moments where you want to reach out to Devin and say, "Devin, hang in there dude - we'll get through this together and things will work out great." This isn't a book that will keep you up at night, this is a book that will keep you wondering how Stephen King can put into words so perfectly what it's like to like a girl who likes someone else better than you. If you're looking for a Stephen King tale of terror, then look elsewhere.

Joyland is also nominally a mystery, but I didn't get much out of this aspect of the book. Without giving anything away, there's this murder mystery and then it just kind of gets resolved all at once without the typical back and forth, slow progress, clue gathering, false leads, etc. that most mystery novels are filled with.

If you're a fan of Stephen King, then Joyland is probably most similar in style to Hearts in Atlantis. Hearts in Atlantis is one of my favorite King books, and Joyland is definitely no Hearts in Atlantis. It just doesn't have the unique story hooks, the characters are a bit flatter, and the lynchpin story connecting the coming-of-age theme isn't quite as interesting. Joyland is still good, but I'd recommend Hearts in Atlantis ahead of it any day. If you've already read Hearts in Atlantis and want another great story, then pick up Joyland - it's good. Good enough that I blasted through it in a day without slowing down.

The narrator for Joyland is decent. He did a bunch of different voices well, and breathed some life into the character - but the whole thing did feel slightly BLAH to me. It was good, but nothing I'll remember forever.

Stephen King weirdly keeps getting better

Where does Joyland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I don't know, I've listened to a lot of books. But I thought this was one of the best narrator performances. Michael Kelly was great.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Its kind of short for that. I wouldn't describe the book that way. I would compare this book more to the "Stand By Me"/"The Body" novella.

Which character – as performed by Michael Kelly – was your favorite?

Honestly, I loved them all. His southern voices were incredible, and I loved his dialogue between characters. I hope he'll consider doing some more narration in the future.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely.

Michael Kelly needs to read to me

Joyland reminded me more of The Body (aka Stand By Me) than Salem Lot, It, or The Shinning. Most of Stephen Kings books left me still terrified 30 years later. I am still afraid to look directly into sewer drains just in case a creepy clown is staring back at me.

Joyland, like The Body, is just a good story about growing up, told like only a good story teller can, but with a dash of creepy. If you are expecting to be scared to death this is not the one for you, but if you like The Body, you will love this.

So lets talk about the narrator...

Dear Michael Kelly

Can you read to me every night? Seriously, I like House of Cards, but if Doug is actually dead, audio books narration is your new career.

Xoxo

Quite entertaining.

This had a good atmosphere and, as a 7 hour audiobook, is worth a listen. It fits well into an early summer lazy weekend. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more tension in the plot, as I expected a ghost story and murder mystery. Those elements were there, but without any real feeling of danger or suspense, so the narrative felt like more of a memoir/coming of age story.

The reading is fine. The reader's intonation tends to fall at the end of phrases giving the narrator a sort of sad, tired vibe. But that suits the story quite well.

Reminiscent of Stand by Me

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I really wasn't sure that I was going to , and it took a little to get into, but I did enjoy it. The story kept you guessing, and was very well put together. The narrators voice didn't fit the voice that my mind wanted to hear for teh charater, but he did a good job narrating, so it wasn't really his fault. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

Another great Stephen King read...

If you like a lot of what Stephen King has written recently like Lisey's Story or Duma Key, you will love Joyland.

A true murder mystery

I am really enjoying Stephen King's more recent works. I find him to be a better writer now than he was in the '70s and '80s.

In Joyland, a story about a fictional amusement park in coastal North Carolina in the early '70s, a young adult boy finds himself employed on a temporary stop along the way of life, intrigued by haunted mystery, an older woman and a terminally ill son.

It was a very heartfelt story. I find many of King's more recent books to be heartfelt And that's a good thing.

The book draws on a little bit. I do honestly think it would have been a better short story than a full novel. I spent the majority of time waiting for the story to get to its point, which it finally does in a very very good and satisfying way.

Read it, you'll enjoy it

So Much Fun

I didn't really know what to expect from the early press and descriptions of this book. I "rediscovered" Stephen King as a writer with Duma Key and Under the Dome. Then I went back and picked up some of his earlier work like Bag of Bones and Salem's Lot. These books made me look at King as much more than just a writer of the horror genre. Quite simply, King is a master storyteller of the very best kind. That talent is deliciously on display in Joyland, which makes it a perfect summer novel.

Joyland is a delightful combination of mystery, coming-of-age story, whodunit with a touch of the supernatural and a faint whiff of beach town romance, all with a retro feel. The story works on all levels with a great degree of fun and the clever characters King is known for. In a recent interview King stated that his major job is still to entertain people. He accomplishes that and more with Joyland. King stays true to the lesson the elderly man who owns the Joyland Amusement Park instills in all of his workers.... “Never forget, we sell fun.” 

It was so much fun I also bought the hard copy.

Terrific Summer Tale

I am a big Stephen King fan to begin with and my favorite books of his are the ones that don't depend too much on the supernatural. What I was struck with listening to Joyland was what a great story teller SK is. The book has a gently unfolding story with terrific character development. Michael Kelly's narration was perfect for this story. To me, the ghost story/mystery was almost secondary to the vivid description of Joyland itself. I found the whole thing very enjoyable and have listened to it a second time.