This review contains no spoilers.
Welcome to the 2nd installment of A Dragon’s Review! If you missed my last review of The Impostor by Suzanne Winnacker, you can find the link to it here.
Now, I decided to do my second review on the popular and incredibly terrifying novel that is Pet Sematary. Despite it being written a long time ago, I only recently heard about it when scrolling through good Stephen King books.
Coincidentally, the same day I heard of it, I went to see Justice League. Imagine my surprise when the Flash made a reference to the very book I had been thinking about reading! Needless to say, I took that as a sign from above and immediately found Pet Sematary.
Pet Sematary has a really weird and creepy back story. It was actually originally based off of Stephen King’s own experience (and of course twisted out of shape). In fact, when Stephen King wrote this book, he shelved it instantly, deciding it was too dark to actually bring to the public. It was only after years that he finally agreed to publish it.
Pet Sematary by Stephen King follows the life of Dr. Louis Creed as he moves his family into a nice large house in Ludlow, Maine. He has just gotten a great job at the university and everything seems lovely as can be. However, underneath the surface, some dark truths lie.
In the woods behind the house, there is a pet cemetery made by kids for their little animals which get run over by the massive trucks that speed by on the main road. Basically, Louis is going to discover the hideous truth behind the cemetery and we get to follow him on his journey.
As always, Stephen King writes in that round-about way that I personally dislike. I’m much more of a fast paced, straight to the point story lover. However, Stephen gives this story time to sink into your mind and unsettle you just enough.
All along, you’re following the mental games at play and you want to reach into the story, pull the major characters out and make them do precisely what you want, when you want it.
Since I promised no spoilers, I won’t go into the nitty gritty details. The book isn’t a traditional horror in the sense that it focuses more on the human nature and just how far we can go when grief pushes us to the boundaries of our sanity.
One line that particularly held my attention was: “Sometimes, dead is better.”
I’m giving this book 4 stars in my personal ranking.
The story itself was gripping and mind boggling. However, I found myself skimming over the long-winded explanations and scenarios that Stephen is fond of. For that reason, I knocked off one star. I need to properly crave every word I read in order to enjoy my reading experience.
The characterization, tension and scene work were superb. Sometimes, I forgot that they weren’t real people, just because of how relatable they were.
Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological horror and intense scenes.
If you aren’t a big fan of massive novels, you can watch the movie here. Personally, I suggest you watch the movie before reading the book!
Enjoy.
