By Stephen King and Owen King

Hodder, out now

All over the world, women are falling asleep and not waking up just as the mysterious Evie arrives in a small Appalachian town…

The first, and I hope by no means the last, collaboration between Owen King and his father Stephen is markedly different from anything that either has produced before. For the younger King, as he explains in our interview here, it’s because he’d not found a story that he believed in as much as he does this one; for the veteran horror and fantasy master, it’s because the subject matter is approached differently. There isn’t a Big Bad on the lines of Randall Flagg for those involved to battle; nearly everyone is trying to do the right thing in difficult circumstances, and make choices that they believe will help, rather than hinder, the situation. Okay, of course there are some assholes along the way (or as Sophie quite correctly noted, one character is a douchebag!) and sometimes even the most well-meaning action can have unintended consequences. And on occasion those consequences can be truly horrific – the elder King has lost none of his touch for the grand guignol when required!

You’re constantly aware that this is a global problem, but the Kings keep the reader’s focus carefully on the inhabitants of Dooling, from the local women’s prison to the sometimes volatile relationships between the townsfolk. The two are linked by a married couple, one of whom is the Sheriff, and it’s through her that the book’s more fantastical side is revealed. Even in these sections, the emphasis is on characterisation (ironically Evie, the catalyst for these events, is probably the person we know least about by the end, even if she has the name-dropping faults of the third Doctor, and I’d have liked her to be expanded more), and you understand why decisions are made.

There aren’t sections that feel like you can say “Stephen King wrote that bit” or “Owen must have written that” (even the horror moments alluded to above I wouldn’t be in the least surprised to learn was originally written by the latter), and that unified voice helps to sell the story successfully. It’s a huge novel but one that is easily devoured, and I look forward to the next book from either or both Kings eagerly.

Verdict: One of my favourite books of the year. 9/10

Paul Simpson