Later

It had so much potential, the premise was very interesting but the narrative voice was weird. It felt detached somehow and that was strange considering it was narrated by the MC. It had nothing to do with the fact that I listened to the audiobook.
I was interested in the story, regardless, but the buildup was never really there. There was no suspense. The ending sealed this one in the 3-star rating.
The very last reveal felt unnecessary.

Overall a pretty good crime book with a twist.

Pros:
King's writing is easy follow, accessible, and conveys great storytelling.
Decently creepy/scary even for a hard crime book.
A fast paced plot once it gets going.
Avoids being too predictable.

Cons:
Not a whole lot of characters and only two are really developed.
Really wasn't a fan of one of the choices in plot near the end.

If you were to peek at my bookcase you will know that I am a big fan of Stephen King. I am the person who rereads IT every year in October just for fun. I am a big fan of the craft that is a book written by Stephen King. I really did enjoy this latest addition to the King catalog. The book once you start you will notice has familiar elements that hold to classic King novel. The big difference with this one is the added magic that is mystery and crime. I am not sure if any of the other books have that as I am still working my way through the catalog but I can say that I truly did enjoy this one.

There are familiar themes of a child forced to grow up and rely on himself in the face of less than stellar adults; supernatural powers are both a blessing and a curse. Always beautifully described so you can picture it all which is great. The fact that the protagonist is recalling his difficult childhood reminded me of other King books, but this one is more modern;

I was drawn into this story, even though the beginning is a little bit slower than some other crime novels. The action picks up later. I wish I could say I read this in one sitting buy I read it with a friend and we finished it in about four even though I am way behind writing this review. Now let's talk about more things that are great. 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 true Stephen King fan then I think you will love it. It is different and unique. Even if you haven't read any of the classic King books this one is a solid read and worth the time for sure. It stands on its own well and is great. The only thing I wish about this book is that it was much longer. That being said this is a five-star read hands down.

This was a pretty good, short novel that was enjoyable the whole time. The narrator was good and it felt different enough from King's other recent stuff but similiar enough to be comfortably King. I also enjoyed the IT references. I hope King returns to this character because it really did feel like a waste to be done with him so fast.

Heerlijke thiller van meesterschrijver King. Het is niks voor niks mijn most-favorite schrijver. Fantastisch en origineel verhaal met spanningen die vergelijkbaar zijn met IT en The Outsider. Wat ik wel ontzettend jammer vond, is dat het verhaal maar 270 pagina's heeft. En dat is voor SK toch echt heel weinig.

I know a lot of people love Stephen King. I also know a lot of people don't. I'm not a true King fan by any stretch (although I do believe his book on writing/memoir is one of the finest guides to being a better writer I've ever seen), but I do enjoy some of his work. I've also disliked some of his work.

LATER is a book that's clearly not King's best work, but it's definitely compelling and definitely readable. It's a combination ghost story, horror story, and crime story–although it really doesn't oversell any of those. It's all those things, but not any of those things singularly.

The crime in the book is minimal and comes in at the end. The horror is also minimal, aside from a few gory descriptions, one or two literary “jump scares”, and a lingering possibility of what-might-be. The ghosts are constant through the book, but with the way they're treated, it's organic and interesting, not overly scary.

The characters are compelling. The story is interesting enough to keep you turning pages. The work itself is a solid tale.

LATER is not going to go down on any list of King's top ten books, but it is definitely enjoyable. It's worthy of a read. And would I read a sequel? Yes. Absolutely.

On a secondary note, I listened to this one on audiobook (as I sometimes do), and Seth Numrich was the narrator. His narration was excellent and a considerable reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I don't know that I would have liked it as much as I did without the narration.

Everyone has that one author that they are eagerly waiting to read something new from. Although I haven't read any of his novels after The Outsider, Stephen King is one of those writers for me. I started reading horror with his novels and all those years later (20+ years I tell ya) he is still my favorite. When I published my March TBR, I knew about Later but I thought “it's alright, I'll read it in April, it's fine” but nope! Especially after seeing the many, many positive reviews, there was no way I postpone reading it longer. So, here we are. TBR partially went down the drain and I am reviewing Later with absolutely no regrets.

“There are only so many tomorrows.”

Jamie Conklin, a surprisingly well-mannered young boy who lives with his mother in New York sees dead people. Don't let this gorgeous cover fool you, the story is set in 2008 New York, right before the financial collapse. Although Jamie is adorable and feels like King's 1960s children for the same reason he's not a very believable Gen Z. Hence, I really liked him.

Jamie keeps repeating that his story is a horror story, but it's not quite that. Creepy in some places, yes, it has horror elements alright and if they happen to me I would shit my pants for sure but I got no chills while reading. And I also can't say it is a Hard Case Crime either. There are ghosts, dead people, murder, abuse, dysfunctional relationships but I can't categorize it as a Crime story either. To be honest, to me, Later was a cozy coming-of-age story with some fucked up shit going on the side.

As always, King creates a believable, lovable, relatable kid character. He has always been one of the best at telling a supernatural story from a child's point of view and Later is no different. The writing is of course extraordinary and it is a very easy read. The characters that Mr. King created in Later are very real, vibrant and engaging it doesn't get boring for one second. If you have time and in the mood, you can even go through it in one sitting.

“That thing is from outside the universe. There are horrors there that no man can conceive of. If you truck with it you risk death, or madness, or the destruction of your very soul.”

Discovering a Stephen King novel that takes place in the King multiverse is always a delight. For me, reading the book becomes more interesting because it means while I enjoy the story I will hunt Easter eggs too! And Later has some very delicious Easter eggs along the way. There are references to It, Bag of Bones, and Desperation. These are the ones I noticed anyway. I'm sure I'm missing a few.

“I think that people who say life is all about the choices we make and the roads we go down are full of shit.“

And why I'm giving Later 4 stars instead of 5? Because of its ending. Of course, it's the ending. In the end, King throws in something that adds nothing to the narrative and that spoiled the ending a bit for me. The story doesn't need it, and it's not even explained properly. Such a massive reveal should affect the progress of the story but here it's merely skimmed off like some casual information. In fact, the end came so suddenly, when the credits rolled I had to check the page numbers to make sure I'm not skipping any chapters. The reveal and the way King handles it doesn't sit right with me but I guess even that ending is very Stephen King. What's a Stephen King novel without a little controversy, right?

This review and more can be found on my blog too! : http://valiewrites.com/2021/03/23/book-review-later-stephen-king/

It was ok. Had it been longer I wouldn't have finished it, I don't think. The premise was interesting - a boy who can talk to ghosts that can't lie - but I didn't feel like the story really did it justice. It was a bit plain; not much happened. It was written in the first-person, similar to a diary, where the narrator (the boy who can speak to ghosts, Jamie) sort of just outlined the times throughout his life he'd talked to ghosts and something mildly interesting occurred. There he would also sort of talk about his mum, his mum's ex-girlfriend, Uncle Harry and some others. 

I think I just finished it because King is a good writer, but overall fairly boring story, in my opinion.