Joyland
by Stephen King
New York: Simon & Schuster Audio
2013
7 sound discs (ca. 7.5 hours)
This summer I listened to the audio version of Stephen King's latest book, Joyland. When I first heard about it, I was excited--Hurray, a new Stephen King book! Hurray, a spooky book set in an amusement park! Hurray, more creepy clowns!
Well, although I really liked the story, I was disappointed about the horror factor. No creepy clowns in this one. There is a ghost, though, which for this afficionado of everything ghostly is better than creepy clowns. The only drawback is that the ghost doesn't get to do all that much in this story!
We learn about the ghost early on in the narration from Devin Jones, a college student who has a summer job at the North Carolina amusement park. The ghost has been seen--where else?--in the Horror House ride! Sounds promising, doesn't it? BUT it is not until a couple of hours into the book (page 117 in my print copy) that the main characters go into the haunted ride to look for the ghost. Are they supposed to be real college students?!!! I know that if I were a student working at a haunted amusement park, the first place I would head would be the haunted ride to check out the ghost!
I think the ghost, a murder victim named Linda Gray who was killed in the Horror House, should have done more haunting in this book. She appears to some people but that is about all that happens. Nothing bad happens if you see her, there isn't a curse put on you, you don't go mad, nothing like that at all. She just stands there in the shadows of the horror ride. Devin's friend, Tom, sees the ghost on their first (and only) trip into the Horror House, and seems affected by the vision, but only in a melancholy sort of way. It doesn't spur him on to find out more about the girl and her murder, as it does Erin and Devin. It's more like he had a shock that is hard to get over. But why? Seeing a dead girl who just stands there doesn't sound that scary to me! Now if she chased them, or was dripping blood all over, or screaming like a banshee, I could understand his shock better.
Also, we don't hear very much about other park attendees seeing the ghost. Why not? All summer long, we are in that park, and there is no mention of other people, besides Tom, seeing the ghost. What about other people going on the ride? Surely they know the story of the dead girl and are looking for her. Even though this is 1973 and there is no internet to pass on the story, I would be surprised if people didn't know the ride was supposed to be haunted. This would bring a lot of people to the park just to see the ghost!
With the character of the little boy, Mike, we have echoes of Danny Torrence from The Shining. Mike is also psychic, not in the degree that Danny is, but it saves Devin in the end when he is in mortal danger. The story of Mike and his mother, Annie, is interesting and poignant, and the two play a major role in the climax. But Mike does not see the ghost on his only visit to Joyland, either.
The book is a good detective story, with Devin and his fellow Joyland co-worker, Erin Cook, playing detective to find out who killed Linda Gray. We find out and the ending is exciting, but not horrifying in a paranormal way. The paranormal element is just peripheral. It is still a good story, but not what I expected from the cover or the hype. Still, it was definitely worth reading. A warning for parents of teen readers: there is a sexual scene in this book which might not be appropriate for teens under 15.
I found out there were two real Joyland Amusement park, one in Wichita, Kansas, and one in Lubbock, Texas. The Texas park is still in operation and here is a link to the Texas website:
Joyland Amusement Park
The Wichita, Kansas park is now abandoned. It was in operation from 1949 to 2004. You can explore the park in this video on YouTube. I think this would have made a good back drop for a horror book. Come in if you dare!
We learn about the ghost early on in the narration from Devin Jones, a college student who has a summer job at the North Carolina amusement park. The ghost has been seen--where else?--in the Horror House ride! Sounds promising, doesn't it? BUT it is not until a couple of hours into the book (page 117 in my print copy) that the main characters go into the haunted ride to look for the ghost. Are they supposed to be real college students?!!! I know that if I were a student working at a haunted amusement park, the first place I would head would be the haunted ride to check out the ghost!
I think the ghost, a murder victim named Linda Gray who was killed in the Horror House, should have done more haunting in this book. She appears to some people but that is about all that happens. Nothing bad happens if you see her, there isn't a curse put on you, you don't go mad, nothing like that at all. She just stands there in the shadows of the horror ride. Devin's friend, Tom, sees the ghost on their first (and only) trip into the Horror House, and seems affected by the vision, but only in a melancholy sort of way. It doesn't spur him on to find out more about the girl and her murder, as it does Erin and Devin. It's more like he had a shock that is hard to get over. But why? Seeing a dead girl who just stands there doesn't sound that scary to me! Now if she chased them, or was dripping blood all over, or screaming like a banshee, I could understand his shock better.
Also, we don't hear very much about other park attendees seeing the ghost. Why not? All summer long, we are in that park, and there is no mention of other people, besides Tom, seeing the ghost. What about other people going on the ride? Surely they know the story of the dead girl and are looking for her. Even though this is 1973 and there is no internet to pass on the story, I would be surprised if people didn't know the ride was supposed to be haunted. This would bring a lot of people to the park just to see the ghost!
With the character of the little boy, Mike, we have echoes of Danny Torrence from The Shining. Mike is also psychic, not in the degree that Danny is, but it saves Devin in the end when he is in mortal danger. The story of Mike and his mother, Annie, is interesting and poignant, and the two play a major role in the climax. But Mike does not see the ghost on his only visit to Joyland, either.
The book is a good detective story, with Devin and his fellow Joyland co-worker, Erin Cook, playing detective to find out who killed Linda Gray. We find out and the ending is exciting, but not horrifying in a paranormal way. The paranormal element is just peripheral. It is still a good story, but not what I expected from the cover or the hype. Still, it was definitely worth reading. A warning for parents of teen readers: there is a sexual scene in this book which might not be appropriate for teens under 15.
I found out there were two real Joyland Amusement park, one in Wichita, Kansas, and one in Lubbock, Texas. The Texas park is still in operation and here is a link to the Texas website:
Joyland Amusement Park
The Wichita, Kansas park is now abandoned. It was in operation from 1949 to 2004. You can explore the park in this video on YouTube. I think this would have made a good back drop for a horror book. Come in if you dare!
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