Jan

2 stars.
The story was sadly not my cup of tea. I found it very predictable early on and it didn't really catch me but I'm glad other people like this short story more than me. Shirley Jackson's “the Lottery” was obviously influential on a lot of writers and without it we wouldn't have some iconic stories that we know now, so I am grateful for that.
I will definitely give Haunting of Hill House a try though.

Not my favorite. Actually, the concept of the long walk is really interesting. The idea that these teenage boys have to walk each year in this competition. Every day that passes the tension and terror intensifies. But... this concept was a bit too underdeveloped for my taste. So many questions left unanswered.
Also, while all in all liking the writing style, I found the book very tedious and boring especially in the middle. I have to be honest, usually I like the characters most in King novels but these kids were so uninteresting I wasn't sure about who he is talking half the time. Also, what about these weird sexual conversation topics all the time. LOL
And as usual for king novels the ending was a bit unsatisfying for me.