‘The Dark Half’ by Stephen King

The Dark Half

When novelist Thad Beaumont dreams up pseudonym George Stark, he allows a different side of his imagination to emerge and, weirdly, the books ‘Stark’ writes turn out to be way more successful than Thad’s usual fare. However, when the writer decides to get rid of his other half, things don’t go to plan, and a series of gruesome murders threaten to land Thad in jail, if not the nearest asylum.

Whenever I read a Stephen King novel, I’m always rewarded with great writing and sharply-drawn characters, and this one is no different. King’s own foray into the world of pseudonyms (as alter-ego Richard Bachman), was the inspiration for this tale of dark deeds and deadly doings. Taking the idea of ‘killing off’ the Bachman side, King has his hero Thad Beaumont put out press releases and stage photographs at the dead writer’s graveside. Unfortunately, that’s when things begin to go wrong.

I loved this book – it kept me guessing all the way through, wondering if King’s hero was just completely mad, or if his belief in the reality of George Stark was justified. As always, the writing is tight and clever, though it also had me laughing out loud in places, which is nice.

A must for fans of horror, murder and imaginary authors coming to life and killing loads of folk.