If you've read Stephen King before, you know how detailed he gets with his characters and his stories. The Tommyknockers is no exception. The book is around 750 pages long. One of the things that sets King apart from a great many other writers is that he will develop ALL his characters, not just the main two or three or four. He'll describe the kind of childhood one guy had, then kill him off two pages later. It makes for better reading, and it lets you (as the reader) know more about what's going on, who's who, and why some characters are the way they are.
It also makes the book longer. A lot longer. Some people may see this as a bad thing. I like it. As a kid I used to read voraciously, and whenever I found a good book, I would always dread coming to the end. It was like waking up from a particularly pleasant dream. You feel like there was more of the world that the author created left to explore, and you didn't get the chance to discover it. But with King's books, he delves into every corner, shines light down every hole, and leaves no stone unturned, so you don't feel like you missed anything.
The Tommyknockers is about a small Maine town (surprise!). A woman who lives on the outskirts of the town finds something metal buried in her backyard. She attempts to dig it up, and suddenly everyone in town starts acting just a little weird.
The woman keeps digging, enlisting her best friend to help her, and as she uncovers more of the strange object, the town becomes crazier and crazier... and deadlier and deadlier, especially to outsiders.
Fans of Stephen King will enjoy The Tommyknockers, and if you jump at sudden noises, it will probably keep you up at night. It's not a book you can read in a short time, but it isn't so detail-intensive that you will have a hard time remembering what happened the last time you sat down to read a chapter.
The Tommyknockers was the second King novel I ever read. I've read about 10 or 15 more since, but this one still ranks up there as one of the best.
The Tommyknockers is available from most major online booksellers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon, or you could probably find a cheap copy at your favorite used book store. It's a good book, one you can read again in a few years and still enjoy.
(Originally posted on Helium.com, Apr 2009)
(Disclaimer: I earn a commission on Amazon sales made from links in this post.)
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