Later

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/