This was the first novel I read for Stephen King. I like it a lot. I generally dont give that many 5-stars, but in this case I cant help it.The story is about a rabid dog. He was not rabid from the beginning of the story. He got rabies from some bats. The dog starts biting people, starting from its owner ... not that interesting, eh?
This was not what I liked. What I liked was the so many characters King had devised in the story.
The story starts with a serial killer becoming a spirit and haunting the cupboard of a young boy. As usual his parents do not believe what he says. The father is a commercial designer and the mother is a simple housewife. The dog was owned by a different family. And at the end there was a big encounter between the mother and her child and the dog. It was marvelous.
Kings style is so simple that even I can understand it. He goes along the story with his simple everyday terms, and knows when to introduce which character. He knows when to stop and when to continue, and you never get bored. This story was the one that hooked me on Kings writings.
It remains to say that this story is not your common ghost horror stories, it is more realistic than that, yet is still breathtaking. If you never read any Kings stories and plan on starting pick this one first. If you have already read "The Shining," "The Stand," "Carrie," or "The Dead Zone" you would like this one, because it is plainly better than those.
Mediocre at best
King Really Can Write!