Having spent most of the day writing, I decided to take a break at 4 pm and dug out another Hard Case ebook from the big supply I have now on my reader. My friend Flavia posted about starting to re-read once again Stephen King’s Joyland, and I thought, why not?
I always liked the cover of this one, time to see if the story is up to it.

Apart from the cover, another reason I wanted to get a copy of Joyland was, I heard a lot of King cultists say very bad things about it – and this was to me a certain guarantee of quality. I don’t like King cultists very much (and I am sure the feeling is mutual).

So, I am now past the first quarter mark (the novel is quite fast) and I must say I am pleased. There’s a lot of reasons for me to like this story, and the only drawback is, I can’t seem to be able to ignore the technique – I am reading this as a writer, not as a reader, and this is wrong.
But I am appreciating the way King plays his game – it’s like watching a seasoned stage magician. And if it’s true I’m burning him – meaning I am looking out for his tricks, not for the effect, well, at least I’m potentially learning a lot.

Nice way to spend a tired late afternoon and, possibly, part of the evening.
I’ll do a full review when I’m finished.