The Outsider

I found myself sitting offshore on an oil rig in a storm running out of things to read whilst we waited for the weather to improve. Searching around a bit I found a copy of this book in the rec room and decided to give it a go - King is one of my partners favourite authors and I have only read a couple of his works. I wasn't sure what to expect of this one but was pleasantly surprised.

The book starts off as a police procedural, with the murder of a young child and a lot of evidence that the local little league baseball coach was to blame. After his arrest, his alibi proves stronger than expected and it becomes increasingly hard to explain the contradictory evidence in the case.

The Outsider effectively builds suspense through this procedural element before gradually moving into the more typical King supernatural horror realm. It was a really intriguing crossover between the genres that was executed with style and aplomb. Reading it was definitely a good way to wait out a storm offshore!

This isn't one of King's major-known books, but in my opinion, I think it compares. There's some graphic descriptions/scenes (esp involving the kid's murder), but the mystery and horror aspect is so RAW and DISTURBING and fucking CREEPY (pardon my language but I cannot adequately express how terrifying this novel is.) King consistently writes books that are weird and out there and unsettling, and this one stood to take the place next to his popular books like The Shining, It, Misery, and so on. I don't hear too many people talking about this one, but there's also a TV show mini-series on this I've yet to watch. Now I think I will. Truly a mind-boggling mystery and visceral horror I LOVED reading. The characters are also all well fleshed out - as usual King has a lot of them, yet each plays a part. And the “entity”/Outsider itself...nightmare stuff.

This is certainly an exciting story. I love Holly so it was great to see her again.

I did feel that this is all ground that King has covered before, specifically with Desperation, The Dark Half, and the Bill Hodges book.

With as many wonderful books as King has written, I can't expect it to be unique every single time, but it did distract me with this particular book, how much it reminded me of others.

This book didn't work for me. It started strong and very promising but then the story started to lose my interest. Maybe if the book was shorter, I would have been more invested in the story. I think there were too many perspectives and way too many details. It might've worked better for me, if some things were just edited out because the narrative got a little repetitive. There were a few creepy moments, unfortunately it didn't scare me or made me lose sleep and that's saying a lot because I'm a chicken!
I had high expectations about this book, but I was more scared before reading it than I was while reading it. I'm bummed.

About 30 pages in you already knew that this was going to be a far better book than Sleeping Beauties, more Stephen-y.
It starts out as a normal, albeit macabre, police procedural but about a third into it it takes a turn... and then another... and then another.
I liked the first half of the book best, and kinda wished it would have stayed that way for the rest of the story, but it was still a compulsive read.
King's well-known talent was on full display, his characters well-rounded as usual.
Also, there's a reunion with an old character...

Highly recommended, 4½ stars :)

Started off sooo strong. Slowed down some in the middle (as most of Kings work does for me) then once Holly was introduced into this one I was HOOKED. I love her character and can't wait to read his new novel based on her! It went a way different direction than I was expecting but overall such a great read, I enjoyed throughout! 

A new Stephen King book will always hold excitement for me. I've been reading him practically my whole life, and my mother read him as well. I'd probably embarrass myself if I ever met him.

I enjoyed this book. The thriller/chiller stuff was pretty late on the scene. King take time to explore the central mystery of how a man could be in two places at once, each conclusively, long before the bad guy makes an appearance.

I'm not going to say the story wasn't at all about the outsider, but I will say that King seems to be more interested in the good – but flawed – characters dealing with issues of morality and belief. How do you clear your conscience when you feel in part responsible for the destroyed reputation of a man who might very well be innocent? How do you find the courage to do the right thing if the right thing is dangerous? How do you pick up the pieces after a sudden loss or multiple losses? How do you learn to forgive? How do you balance being a person with logical, organized mind while also allowing yourself to make room for a belief in the seemingly impossible?

A very beloved character from the Bill Hodges trilogy makes an appearance here, so if you're interested in Mr. Mercedes (and the two related books) you really ought to read those first or else you will encounter significant spoilers. I was very glad to see this character, though, and felt they added something very important to The Outsider.

Check out the wink and a nod to Mr. King's well known disregard for the Kubrick The Shining movie! Also, anyone who knows the author's politics won't be surprised to know there are a handful of comments about the state of our country today – not tons of mentions, technically, but they're there.

As a devoted Stephen King fan, I read - maybe I should say, devoured, this novel in three days as soon as I received it. I have to hand it to Mr King, the man can certainly tell stories! This one was a page turner, although to be fair, his books usually are. The story was very well told as only he can tell it. Briefly, Terry Maitland is a coach of prepubescent boys, one of whom is found murdered, grossly and very viciously. Terry is arrested because his DNA and other factors lead the police to believe they have found their killer. However as it turns out, Terry also has a verifiable alibi including witnesses and even a tv interview. The pace is heightened when unexpected things occur and new information is sought. I have read so many King novels and short stories that I am used to his style and prose. Every now and then he gives us little surprises and The Outsider contains several. If you have read some of his later novels, you will get the inside joke. The only complaint with the book and why I didn't give it 5 stars was because I felt the concluding chapters bogged down somewhat and didn't really explain everything well, In my honest opinion, I like that Uncle Steve is with it and makes references to many of our tech devices, social media and other items that did not even exist five or ten years ago. A nice touch to bring the story into 2018.

“Reality is thin ice, but most people skate on it their whole lives and never fall through until the very end. We did fall through, but we helped each other out. We're still helping each other.”

4.5 Stars to The Outsider

I loved this book. I loved the Mr Merceades trilogy and the Outsider did not let me down one bit! The character of Detective Ralph Anderson really grew on me as I read on and Holly Gibney is basically perfect.

Modern King writes very differently to the King of 10, 20 years ago. I don't hate that, whilst I love classic King the more modern reads are (to me) easy page-turners!

If you havent already, read the Outsider (and the Mr Mercades trilogy)! Onto Doctor Sleep now...

“Just promise me you'll stop every once in a while and acknowledge the day, honey. It's the only one you'll have until tomorrow.”

Executive Summary: I thought this book started a bit slow but got pretty good by the end. It didn't hurt that it's heavily connected to the [b:The Bill Hodges Trilogy 27406812 The Bill Hodges Trilogy Boxed Set Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1-3) Stephen King https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463042065s/27406812.jpg 47454319]Audiobook: Will Patton does a good job again. He does a few voices, but mostly I just think his general reading voice is a good fit for these sort of horror/mystery books King seems to be writing recently. With it's heavy connection to the Bill Hodges books, it was cool that they got the same narrator as that series.Full ReviewStephen King loves to tie his books together. Sometimes there are large connections, sometimes small. Most of them relate back to the Dark Tower, but not all. This book had been on my radar before, but I wasn't planning to read it so soon until I learned of it's connection to [b:The Bill Hodges Trilogy 27406812 The Bill Hodges Trilogy Boxed Set Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1-3) Stephen King https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463042065s/27406812.jpg 47454319]. I'm not sure how much of a spoiler it is to say what the connections are since it comes about halfway into the book, but I will say I'm not sure you'll enjoy this book as much if you haven't already read/enjoyed that series. It certainly includes what I'd consider major spoilers for that series even though I wouldn't go so far as to call this book a sequel to those. Needless to say I enjoyed the second half more than the first.If you plan to read those books eventually, you should probably read them first. If you don't care about this series you shouldn't feel like you have to (although I personally thought that series is some of the best stuff he's written in awhile). I found many of the main characters in this hard to like, especially the lead detective Ralph Anderson and the District Attorney. I should say that both had decent character growth in as the book went on however. For the most part the most sympathetic characters were the victims.This book starts off really dark, even for King and I found the description of the original crime very hard to listen to. In general I don't consider myself a fan of horror, but I'm a huge fan of Stephen King. I don't think all of his books are horror though. This one is probably almost as much thriller/mystery as it is horror, especially later on.Overall, I found this a very enjoyable read and anytime King ties a new book to one I've already read and enjoyed I tend to like it that much more.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really like this book . It's a very enjoyable story, but just short of epic. Certain areas may not be as fulfilling as they could have been. I'm not quite as captivated or blown away, but still had a great experience. I'd recommend this book to others and continue reading from this author. I would probably re-read it.

I was let down with the ending. The Outsider was too easily overpowered. I expected it to be deadlier and more formidable than how King portrayed it. I deducted a star for that (maybe half a star if I could in Goodreads). The ending in the HBO series was much better.
The rest of the book was very well-written and fast-paced.

Rating: 4.10 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3.75/5 -Cover: 5/5-Story: 4.75/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Crime-Fantasy: 4/5-Horror: 3/5-Mystery: 4/5-Thriller: 3/5-Crime: 5/5 Type: BookWorth?: YesTW: Child SA, body horror Hated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedWell well well, something of King's that I didn't feel disappointed by. A rarity. I really loved this story and can't wait to sink my claws it the Bill Hodge trilogy (and the other books associated with this.) It kept me on edge and I really wanted to know more!I did hate the pigs in the beginning and I still dislike them a bit. I understand when emotions blind you but they really are crappy people. I do love love love HOLLY! And I can't wait to read her book coming out.

I was really into the first 1/3-1/2 of this book. It was all laid out super nicely. Guy gets accused of murder. All of the evidence points directly at him with absolutely no room for an alibi. However, the guy actually has an airtight alibi, so what's going on? This all leads to the oft-repeated line in the book: a man can't be in two places at once.

Let's backtrack a bit. The Mr Mercedes trilogy came and went. As the reader may or may not know, the first two books in the series are more straight up crime novels while the third dabbles in the supernatural. It's also no secret that Holly Gibney takes over the helm as King's go-to investigator. This was well advertised when The Outsider came out.

Holly is thrown into this novel around the halfway mark. I wouldn't exactly say it's necessary. In fact, it does feel a bit shoehorned in. As others have noted, her appearance is about the time book took a turn for the worse.

At this point, the reader still has about 250 pages left. Whereas the story of Terry Maitland is super interesting, the rest of the novel just sort of exists for no other reason than for Stephen King to drop every Kingsian trope he knows. The reveal of the killer and everything leading up to the ending has been done by King ad nauseum.

I'm giving this a 2.5, so I'm rounding up to 3. I'd honestly recommend skipping this one if you've never ready the Mr Mercedes trilogy or if you hated the third book. However, feel free to read it if you just want some mindless fun, I guess.

3.5/5 Stars

I feel as though Stephen King books are either a solid hit or a solid miss. The Outsider, however, was the first Stephen King book I read where my overall thoughts & feelings on the story were just very...neutral. Let me break down what I enjoyed and what I was not so much enjoyed:

Likes:
The idea of the “Outsider” was a really cool, unique idea that really only Stephen King could concoct.

The characters - I like how well-liked men of their communities were the main target, and were the ones that stood trial.

I liked the connection between Heath Holmes and Terry Maitland, one that came deep in the story.

The element of sci-fit that Stephen King can so tastefully intertwine into a thriller. The characters themselves were acknowledging the fact that the supernatural is unbelievable, which made this seem more realistic as opposed to a far-out-there idea.

I always enjoy how Stephen King weaves in characters and little “Easter Eggs” that are a nod to his past work. In this case, Holly Gibney is a character that comes into play about halfway through the book - she is actually a main character in the End of Watch book I reviewed (read that review here!).

Now that I have discussed some positives that really stuck with me throughout, let's pinpoint some dislikes, which ultimately drove the review from a 5-Starrer to the 3.5 mark (which, by the way, is above average!).


Dislikes:
The book started to drag about 3/4 of the way through, as Detective Anderson, Holly and crew worked to find this perpetrator before he gets ahold of victim #3. I felt as though some parts were unnecessary and wordy.

Too many characters. There is a good host of characters in this story, but there's too many to really follow and get to know. I usually enjoy books with less characters and more time/info/mannerisms to get to know them as if he or she is real.

Some unacknowledged “leads”. I swore swore swore that Bill Samuels was going to have something more to do with the murders, because there were notes here & there of his odd mannerisms.

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Stephen King, as you folks have a greater love for his lengthy, character-dense stories. However, if this book would be your first Stephen King novel, I would suggest maybe starting off with something smaller. I really loved End of Watch and I heard Elevation is great.