Pet Sematary

4.25 stars

Louis is a doctor and has moved his family (he, his wife Rachel, his 5-year old daughter Ellie, and his 2-year old son Gage, plus their cat Church) to small town, Ludlow, Maine. Their house is on a busy highway, where big trucks regularly speed past. A bit of a distance behind the house, down a well-kept path, is the "Pet Sematary", where locals often bury their pets.

I don't want to give away too much more of the summary, though I know as it is, the summary isn't saying very much. This is the best King book I've read in recent memory; it's harder to compare to the King books I read years ago, though. It just builds and builds to it's horrifying conclusion, and it IS a horrifying conclusion! The book is already rising in my mind on what I'd like to rate it, but I'm going to leave it as is, as this is how I felt I wanted to rate it as I read it. It seems, though, that with time and thinking back on it, it will just get better in my mind.

I wish I could say that I tried harder to get through Pet Semetary before giving it up, that I carried it with me, that I read it in those stolen moments of banality, which I do with most books, but the fact is I didn't. And that says much about why I've decided to put it down unfinished.

It's not that the story is a bad idea. Stephen King's story of the Creed family -- new to Maine and a life near Bangor -- is pretty clever and has enough going on that it should be interesting. They move in, they argue about how to explain death to their children, their cat dies and is born again with a mean streak, then there son Gage dies and all hell breaks loose.

It should be creepy (I remember the movie being creepy when I was younger), and it probably would be if I could go on, but I just don't care.

When I am reading it I enjoy it well enough (it has been my walking home from jogging book), but once I put it down I don't really want to go back. I'm not sure why, although I think it might be have something to do with it just not frightening me. Indeed, nothing by King frightens me...ever!...and when I am reading a horror I want more than creepy and readable, I want freaky-to-the-core, make-it-hard-to-sleep-late-at-night, compel-me-to-keep-going-in-spite-of-myself scary. And King never seems to do that.

Thus ends my third attempt at reading King. I am sure I will try again a few years from now (something always pulls me back), but after book one of The Dark Tower underwhelmed me and Pet Semetary went onto my unfinished shelf, I realized it was time to concede my indifference and move on once again.

Sorry King fans...he's just not my bag.

This book was very silly. It wasn't scary and for the most part it was very boring.
(JUST KIDDING!) This book is awesome! Its one of the best horror books around!
5 stars!

This was one of Stephen Kings scariest book I have read. The concept of the novel is having those you love come back to live with you as the walking dead, in the form of how they died in. This novel reminded me of my favourite short story in highschool called "The Monkey's Paw". The only thing about this novel is the story goes at a good pace until the end where all of a sudden the story turns chaotic and it is hard to follow. This book is a good read for all you horror fans!!!