Pet Sematary: A Novel

Absolutely loved this one. Super creepy, great ending that leaves me wanting more. I had a hard time putting it down to get enough sleep at night, and I just kept reading it or listening to it (audible) and now I need more creepy stories from king, I see why he’s considered a master of horror.

Absolutely wonderful. The movie was great but this was so much better. It went further than the movie. My nephew recommended it to me and I highly recommend it to Stephen King fans. Absolutely couldn’t put it down. If you think oh I saw the movie “wrong” read the book

I have to hand it to King- there's a reason this guy sells billions of books. He can really tell a story, flesh it out and pace it very well. He's also great at creating a believable, ordinary setting and then infusing the supernatural in a fairly believable way. Like others, I found the beginning of the book a bit too slow of a buildup; it could've been tightened up quite a bit. However this is probably the fastest I've ever read a long book. So the flow is generally very effective. I don't want to spoil too much, but it's hard to describe without doing that. Sometimes his zombie thing works and sometimes it doesn't. It's most effective when describing his cat. I would say the highlight was the old man Jud's tale of Timmy Baterman; that was truly effective and eerie. By the final climax, it's predictable and off-and-on effective. He's most effective when he's using small details to set an ominous tone. The climax is over the top; it might have been more effective if the son had just been an eerie zombie and not a murderous one. Like others said, it almost becomes a "Chucky bloodbath". His use of pop culture references is effective, if over used. He's used that device before and generally it somehow grounds the atmosphere of supernatural into an everyday setting which is what King excels at. Also, he refers to death as "Oz, the Great and Terrible", based on a child's view of Death as a force. It's overused, but very effective; it fits in with his meditation on death as an ever-present unavoidable danger that we all fight but ultimately surrender to. This is a tale of not accepting death; someone said he could've put more profound thoughts into this but I think he does a pretty good job for a popular novel. I don't expect serious existentiality in a horror tale; he makes his points in a believable way through the eyes of his characters. One of his strong points is in illustrating a character's inner thoughts to really show the true horror. He's much better at this than a typical bloodbath ending. Speaking of characters, his two most effective are Jud the old man (even if it seems cliche of Wise Country Old Timer, it works) and the undead cat. They set the tone of dread and demonstrate compelling force that lurks in the Indian burial ground. I also liked his invocation of the classic monster, the Wendigo, even if its purpose was a little vague. He could've elaborated more on why it was there. There are some vague allusions to cannibalism that don't quite fit, even though he talks about cannibalizing one's grief and sanity. I guess it works but... Like others, I thought the scene of the funeral fight was over the top and unnecesary and lent an unintended slapstick to an otherwise serious story in which death was an everpresent malevolent force. King and some of his readers have said this was his scariest book; i haven't read much King so I can't say, but The Stand was much better at creating a very creepy tone of dread. Also, apparently he did this fairly early in his career-he shelved it for a long while- so it does showcase his talent pretty well. His pacing is impeccable and his skills for creating tension are tight. The grave digging and night scenes are pretty brilliant, as his wife and Jud's futile efforts to stop a morbid escapade. I also enjoyed the historical devices of Jud's tales of setting the history of the burial ground; it's such a cliche to say "Indian burial ground' in horror. So it helps to create a believable back story there. He actually gets away with using a well-worn device. Overall, it has very strong points and a somewhat predictable and disappointing end. As I said before, I would've preferred less of a blood bath and more of an eerie zombie ending. His creation of eerie zombies (as opposed to the brain-eating, Night of the LIving Dead kind) was very effective and chilling. It felt much more real than the movie stereotype.

Trade paperback 2018 UPDATE June 2020 (a little overdue) I had re-bought this item a few months later, and got the correct cover art, the one Amazon depicts in their stock photo. However, it's got glue and bits of paper hanging off of it, just a real mess. I saw a copy of the movie tie in addition from the following year available at the big'ol' W A L M..... and it looked to be more robustly printed, but I have mixed feelings about the 2019 movie, although I haven't seen it because it just looks like it unnecessarily adds a bunch of layers that really add nothing to the story, but like I said -- I haven't seen it (yet...(?)).... The "Gallery book 2002" info that the product URL cites is in reference to a popart "comic book style" cover-art that didn't do any favors regarding capturing the appeal of the book visually. The movie this book's author wrote was a by the numbers dry as paint stupid MOFO adaptation. So what's left? That stupid hardcover dust jacket that Doubleday haphazardly slapped onto the initial pressings of the book and the subsequent mass market paperback edition? A respectful hardcover re-issue, put together as part of a set of some of his books sometime in the early 1990s, is almost impossible to find. There was a so-so trade paperback released in England a few years ago with a really stupid tagline. This book deserves a good cover. It's one of those books that's really really really really really GOOD. It's not something God himself would want to read. It's probably not something you yourself would want to make a religion based upon or apply to your life philosophy. Stephen King wrote this book and disowns it because it isn't "truthful" enough. Who cares? Stephen King ain't anyone to talk authoratiatively about the truth. His lesbian daughter preaches the gospel for a living. Apparently having one's head up their butt runs in the family. This book strikes at the heart of man. The heart of man is deceitful above all things --- and exceedingly wicked. We don't need Stephen King to deliver us from that. Some people don't even want to be delivered from that. Sometimes you can't escape it. This book isn't THE TRUTH. But it does speak to the true hearts of real people for better or worse. And it does so in a manner far more effective than most of his horror novels ever did. CARRIE was not the POS that he initially thought it to be when he set out to write it before giving up on it, but it wasn't half as nerverattling as this. 'SALEM'S LOT, THE SHINING and CUJO et al were well and good, but this is the granddaddy of them all. I'm not buying it until I can get it with a decent cover. I tried ordering it after Amazon.com updated the stock photo and they sent me the old one with the popart cover. I guess they still had some of them leftover. This cover-art is the same as the mass market paperback edition issued in February 2017, but I'm not going to pay $9+ so I can "proudly own" this book in some pulp novel format. It'd be one thing if I just didn't have room for it, but unlike my CD collection that is easier to use because its' not vinyl, a trade paperback is every bit as useful as a mass market paperback. The pages are no more flimsy or cumbersome than a mass market and it just freakin' looks better. And a hardcover reissue that doesn't cost $50++ doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. IT (1986) -- also one of S.K.'s superior works -- did finally get a hardcover reissue, but not only was the cover rather pathetic, but it had that stupid promo quip "NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" Since the makers of this past summer's re-make of the movie IT are apparently planning to also remake PET SEMATARY (about dang time!), we might get an equally lame hardcover edition of this book finally -- or maybe it'll be a quality hardcover pressing, i.e.: the mistakes of the past are not repeated (it could happen). Perhaps someone who doesn't feel the need to 'I would tell you, but you're not worthy...." will point me to a place on the www where I can find a copy that I can afford(?)

Pet Sematary is one of those books that really gets under your skin and sticks with you long after you finish it. The story builds a slow, creeping sense of dread that only gets more intense as it goes on. I liked how it explores grief and loss in a way that feels very real, even though the situation becomes increasingly disturbing. The characters are well-developed, and you genuinely care about what happens to them, which makes everything hit harder. The pacing is steady at first but turns into a gripping, emotional rollercoaster in the second half. There are definitely moments that are unsettling and hard to forget. Overall, it’s a chilling and powerful horror novel that shows why Stephen King is so well known

I just felt the urge to put my review of Pet Sematary out into the universe. I love a good horror story—it's one of my favorite joys in this short life. While living on a Farm in 1995, my grandmother told me a story about a ghost that got into a car with a kid, and it scared the life out of me. I loved it. So much so that I've searched my whole life to find a story that would make me feel that scared again. Well, I found it in this book. It’s not a cliché “bump in the night” type of fear. Or H.P. Lovecraft’s more famously humanized “fear of the unknown”. It's more like that dreadful fear of the known. That part of the “human condition” that sits in the background of all our daily thoughts. It's the fear of knowing someday soon, we're all going to lose everyone we love, IF they don’t lose us first. Pet Semetary quietly brings this fear to the front of your mind and forces you to acknowledge it. So, if you like that slow dread, impending doom, Sunday-evening-before-going-to-a-job-you-hate-on-Monday feeling, then you should read this. Or, if you would like to spend 394 pages wondering how many moral barriers it would take the pain in your heart to break down to bring back the ones you love, this book is for you. 11/10

Stephen King once said that Pet Sematary is the scariest book he’s ever written. Here’s why I agree. Beware of spoilers for the following review. As a horror fan, I can tell you that horror isn’t typically scary. Grotesque, sure- but scary? Besides jump scares, horror has very little horror in it, because most horror fans have the recognition of the horror not being real. Vampires, aliens, monsters? Not real, so in the back of your head you know it’s not scary. Instead, you enjoy it because of how unbelievable it is. But then there’s real horror- the kind that reflects very real situations, that makes your stomach churn and your heart race because as you read it, you can imagine it happening to yourself. Stephen King is a master of this. The scariest part of IT wasn’t the clown alien- it was the domestic abuse, the horrors of an ugly, violent reality. Pet Sematary, on the other hand, tackles the very raw and real fear of death. Stephen King himself had a close call with his son and a truck- and he also went through having to explain death, especially pet death, to his children. It’s a relatable situation, and one that I believe you can feel the turmoil of in King’s writing. The horror, the struggle, the fear was real. Louis Creed’s thoughts, his imagining of everything being okay, was well written and crucial to the story. King’s personal stake made these moments all the more thought provoking. Though the writing is slow, the darkest parts of the novel are written beautifully, with a masterful use of emotion. It’s real, honest, and raw- making it a brilliant read. Pet Sematary is a very human novel, at its core. One of the most well written parts of the novel was the descriptions of Gage’s death and the scenes that follow; the heartbroken reactions of the characters reacting to a tragic event. The grief in this novel is a very real depiction of how it is in real life. I also loved the truth of Rachel’s family- what they had been through, how they reacted, the strained relationships of her parents and her husband and the way her father tried to make things right in the end. There’s an honest discussion about death being natural versus death being unnatural, and I respected King showing both sides, showcasing Louis’ view of death and tragedy versus Rachel’s extremely opposite view. Another thing to mention is the depiction of love in this book. King is known for his sex scenes often being written with an inappropriate or crude edge, but the romance between Louis and his wife Rachel was one of my favorite parts of the book. It feels very believable that they have the relationship of a husband and a wife, and the scenes between them were not as cheesy as I expected them to be. Moreso, the love that Louis had for his children was extremely apparent in this book. The other works I’ve read from Mr. King have not had healthy love in it, and Louis is a different kind of character- one who cares deeply for his family. Emotionally, this was a very strong read. Now, all this sounds good, so you might wonder why I chose to give it a four and not a five star review. There is one main reason for this. I believe that King gave away too much of the plot. It’s a great writing device, but I am not sure it worked well here. I knew the plot of the novel already, because I’ve seen the movies many times. But I found it jarring when King alluded to Norma Crandall’s death before it happened, and then again with his own son. It was clever, in many ways, but I just struggled with it having been revealed in that way. There was very little surprise in the novel- it all was rather linear, and while the writing was great, that lack of intrigue took it down a notch for me. I still believe this to be one of King’s better novels, though.

This is my first time reading SK. I have IT and now after reading this I’m pretty excited of what awaits me with that story.

Amazing book. Fast delivery and got here in excellent condition.

J’ai commandé le livre car impossible de le trouver en librairie et vu le prix j’ai opté pour l’option seconde main et franchement je dois dire que je suis surprise du bel état du livre! On dirait un neuf franchement trop trop contente et impatiente de le lire pendant la spooky season 👻

A very scary and worth to read book. I wanted to finish the whole book in one night. It kept me occupied for many days.the settings are very spooky... and we know something terrible can happen at any moment.Very sad ending but we are not sure what happens to ellie at the end. I really wish for a sequel for this book.Gweat and tewwible settings...you will know what that is as you read the book. The secluded place, far away from the busy cities is the place where the Orinco trucks roam.. taking the lives of many pets over the last 100 years. but this place hides a dark secret which may seem a dream come true.. but the dream isnt a good one. Louis,his wife rachel, and their kids ellie and gage move in there new house in a secluded place in maine. They meet their new neighbor judson crandall and he takes them up the hill by their house and shows them the pet sematary. But beyond the pet sematary...lies the old micmac indian burying ground..which hides a dark secret. After some time their pet cat dies,crushed under the orinco truck and louis buryies it in the pet sematary, without telling his family about it. Then when their son gage dies, he takes a bad decision which proves to ruin their whole family

Questo è l'ottavo libro di King che leggo (se contiamo il ciclo della Torre Nera come uno solo). Sinceramente trovo la sua scrittura molto scorrevole e intrigante proprio perché apparentemente molto semplice, sia in termini di contenuti che di costruzione della trama, quando invece la sua complessità nasce proprio dal saper intrecciare sapientemente poche idee chiave fino a creare una rete in grado di reggere degnamente centinaia di pagine. Non so se definire lui un maestro, ma sicuramente i suoi romanzi sono palesemente materiale da cult. Devo dire che questo è stato il primo suo libro ad inquietarmi davvero un po': contiene nella storia non solo la suspence tipica di questo autore, ma si aggiunge un mancato senso di catarsi (che invece si ritrova in molti altri suoi romanzi), che lo rende in qualche modo crescentemente disturbante fino al suo epilogo. In definitiva lo consiglio.

When my mother died my father and I where devastated, we didn’t even want to come home after we buried her. We delayed the return home as long as we can (at least 7 hours) but eventually we had to do it. The next couple of months the pain was still unbearable and suddenly we became aware that we still feel her presence among us and we crave seeing her one more time. But... What would we do if she really materialized before our eyes? What would a person with the chance of bringing a loved one back to life do? That’s the reason I felt such a strong connection with the story. And that’s the moral crossroad Louis Creed has to face in this heartbreaking novel. He has the opportunity to play God and bring back to life one of the members of his family. But we should have known better that playing God is never a good idea. And, well, chances are that, by this time, you’ve already know that <i>Sometimes dead is better.</i> Every story is different for every person. You can’t expect every story having the same impact to everyone. That’s not how it works. But there are few novels that, even if they don’t affect the people the same way, they’re good enough to be in the liking of a great majority. Pet Sematary is one of those novels. It’s one of King’s most famous novels. And according to him, his most terrifying one. The reason for King to assure this is very well explained in the introduction which he wrote years later for a paperback edition. And as he takes us behind the scenes of the story you can easily see that he took a lot from his own personal experiences and put them all in here. Therefore, as the main turn of events in the novel happened to him, this is his most terrifying novel, at least for him, and I’m guessing that for everyone being a father. Cause I’m sure that it wouldn’t be the same experience if someone read it at a young age (Although it has the quality that it can affect any person) than someone who already have a family of their own, or someone who re-reads it after family arrives. And although I don’t think it’s the most frightening I do believe is his most disturbing one. King takes his time for you to really feel emphatic for every damn character in the story. They have souls and he makes you watch closely how they lose them. You follow Louis Creed in this downward spiral of madness as he take his choices and live with the consequences, and you can easily see how this affects him and his mind. You can feel an ambient of grieve all throughout the book. Since the beginning I could sense an ambient of grieve, in fact, I never really felt like the Reeds where happy in any moment of the novel, even when they supposed be. It’s almost as you can taste little chunks of bitter darkness in every word written. The characters are very well written they linger in a gray area, they’re not just simply black or white. They’re just regular people taking their choices and their consequences, like any other regular people. Although Rachel got in my nerves a lot of the times because of her negligence to deal with death in general. The odds are that, to this date, you’ve already seen the 1989 movie and probably watched it a million times. And you are avoiding reading it because, you know, What’s the point? You already know everything that’s gonna happen in the book. You couldn’t be more wrong. You <b>NEED</b> to read it, cause the novel goes deeper and darker than the movie does. You can literally feel the pain and grief that King bled over every page of the book. It has a several connections to other King’s works like Cujo, The Shinning and Salem’s Lot. And probably King got a little hint from here to develop later on The Dark Half. Something that is worth highlighting is an event in the first chapters that seems like King was foreshadowing the accident he had in 1999.