Later

I purchased both the kindle book and the audiobook and read and listened to both at the same time, a feature offered by Amazon that I really like. This review is for the Stephen King novel, though the audiobook narration itself is really superb. The actual book though, not so much, not Stephen Kings best.

– The incest part just wasnt needed and detracted from the enjoyment of the story.
– The recycled part from his novel, It felt exactly like just that, unoriginal and recycled, and this was a fairly important part of this novel. Readers of that novel will recognize it immediately. It would have been better if King had come up with a more original idea for this book, rather than import his past writing ideas.
– This book doesnt belong in the Hard Case Crime series. Hard Case Crime conjures a Noir image, with gritty detectives and police officers dealing with difficult to solve crimes, ferreting out hard cases, and putting themselves in danger with worthy criminal adversaries. Authors such as Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins, Raymond Chandler, James Ellroy, and similar belong in this genre. This Stephen King short novel is really just a type of ghost story and a mild horror story at that; the crime part of this is just incidental.
– Largely formulaic, somewhat predictable from one scene to the next, no real twists, it just never really gets exciting.

This is a type of ghost story. The protagonist sees dead people, that is established near the beginning, not really a spoiler. So of course it is quite predictable that he will be sought out, on the one hand by police, to solve or prevent crime, and on the other hand by bad guys, to take advantage of him being able to glean information from the dead as well. There are a couple of other plot lines thrown in, but I dont believe in dropping spoilers like that for people who want to read the book. Overall however, Stephen King has many other good books out there. It is ok to skip this one.

I really enjoyed this latest book for the legendary Stephen King. The book has so many elements that seem familiar to classic King novels, but this time blended with the crime/mystery genre to create something slightly different. There are familiar themes of a child that is forced to grow up and rely on himself in the face of less than stellar adults; and supernatural powers being both a blessing and a curse. The fact that the protagonist is recalling his difficult childhood reminded me of other King books, but this one is more modern; as the events are still in this millennium.

I was really drawn into this story, even though the beginning is a little bit slower than some other crime novels. The action picks up later, and I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. I love the way King describes his characters; so that the feelings and emotions of the characters seem so realistic, even when their abilities are supernatural. I really liked the ending too, even though there was something that I didn’t see coming.

If you are a fan of King, I think it would be hard to dislike this book. Even if you haven’t read any of his other great books, this one holds up as a solid story. It is an easy read, that to me was well worth the time and money. 5/5

“When the fickle finger of fate points at you, all roads lead to the same place, thats what I think.

Stephen King has delivered LATER, his third novel for Hardcase Crime, preceded by JOYLAND and THE COLORADO KID.
And, yes, Stephen King has done it again.
LATER is a mismatch of many genresthriller, ghost story, supernatural-coming-of-age. This is something King has always done throughout his career, and he is only getting better and better at it. The novel clocks in at a brisk 250-something pages, when all is said and done, and it features some very fine, sharp, and precise writing. I am always attracted to first-person narrators, and Jamie Conklin is a character I wont soon forget. His voice and his perspective is handled with care, and King really has a penchant for writing about children, and the bittersweet experience of growing up. Of course, his characters are always forced to grow-up in ways that both frighten and delight us.
I dont want to betray more than the synopsis offersthat would be a disservice to the reading experience. What I will say is there are some surprising easter eggs tucked in this spectacular little gem. What starts off as a slow-burner, (King is building the world, the characters) quickly escalates into a page-turner, with supreme tension and suspense. In fact, this is a particularly violent, bleak, and dark Stephen King novel. It almost reads like a Richard Bachman novel. Almost. There is still a little more heart here. Maybe there is a bit of a Salinger-esque vibe, if Holden Caulfield had a supernatural awakening to accompany all the angst.
What keeps me coming back to King, a lifelong Constant Reader, are the characters that come alive in his stories. The plots often take a backseat, though they are just as alluring and expertly underscore his work.
Many critics say many things about Stephen Kinggood and bad. LATER, his newest, is exemplary of all that I love about Stephen King at the top of his game.
If you’re looking for a launching point into King’s canon, this isn’t a bad place to start. If, like me, you’ve been reading King for a long time, you’ll be delighted to surrender to a Master Storyteller at work. There is a reason we come back, again and again.
Pick up a copy. Sooner, rather than later.

I was reading along until 1:00 AM when chapter 30 hit me like a bad case of covid. You don’t want to be reading what’s in chapter 30 late at night. Just put the book down and pick it back up in the morning. Trust me. It will be fine in the daylight with other people around.

Firstly – you can ignore the ‘uncorrected proof’ complaints. The Kindle version is NOT uncorrected – it IS the final version despite the early editions available saying otherwise. The only uncorrected thing about it is that cover and page being left in.
So – I love the Hard Case Crime books – while the three Stephen King books published by them probably outsell everything else combined there really are some rediscovered classics amongst them from the very best crime and mystery writers to have ever lived.
And then there’s Stephen King. His first publication with them The Colorado Kid was a slight piece, firmly in the crime genre (the author said so himself at the time)…it went on to be adapted to a long running tv series I believe. The second book – Joyland was a murder mystery with definite ‘spooky’ creeping into it. (And is one of the best King books in years in my humble opinion.
And now Later – the story of Jamie Conklin – a young boy who sees dead people. And if that sounds a familiar concept it’s one the narrator himself points out in the first couple of pages ‘not like the Bruce Willis movie’. Of course, it IS to a degree, but with King’s take on it and taken to a (by his standards very short) novel length tale.
There’ll be plenty of reviews going through the plot so I’ll keep this short.
It’s a remarkably relaxed style of writing from King. No long set ups. None of the extended world building and small town colloquialisms. No 600+ pages. This gets into things quickly and is told in the ‘pulpy’ style of a hard boiled crime even if the subject matter doesn’t match it. YES it is more horror/ ghost story than anything the publishers have put out before. But there are some crime elements and it DOES feel like a period piece: it’s just that the period piece in question is the ’80s.
I enjoyed it a lot. I see some of the other reviews already up are saying it’s too short. It’s not. It’s the right length for the story it has to tell. It zips along (I mean come on – half the negative reviews on King’s standard ‘mainstream’ titles complain they take for ever to get to the point…can’t win situation…And there’s an honest to goodness ending, for those naysayers who seem to think the man can’t write one (a lazy go to complaint itself). Me? I’m an unabashed King fan and this was a quick, fun read. The characters are likable where they’re meant to be, and creepy when they’re supposed to be.
If you go in expecting a new Stand or IT or even the more recent Bill Hodges stuff you may be disappointed – in terms of length and, possibly, subject matter.
But if you like to get lost, however briefly, in the characters King conjures up, you’ll have a fun couple of hours in the company of Jamie Conklin and some of his acquaintances – from both sides of the grave.

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