Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King is the latest title by Lisa Rogak, and according to USA Today: “King is always present in the book, but he's hovering on the sidelines.”
Another point the article mentions is: “Fans of King — and they are legion — will soak up this well-researched biography. But they shouldn't count on learning anything new. It's straightforward in its presentation of key events in King's life but lacks new insights or information.”
Yet Publishers Weekly did not have the kindest words to say:
“Though critical studies of his vast oeuvre abound, King—the bestselling author of the 20th century—has not been the subject of a book-length biography until this strictly serviceable study.
Rogak (The Man Behind The Da Vinci Code) doesn't probe her subject or his work too deeply. Rather, she strings together the best-known facts of his life with workmanlike efficiency: his family's early abandonment by his father; the author's triumph over an impoverished childhood; his perseverance and prolificacy as a writer; his determination, despite his comfort with genre fiction, to be regarded as more than a horror writer; his struggles with alcohol and drugs; his generosity toward other writers; the accident that nearly killed him in 1999.
Rogak structures her text primarily around the chronology of King's scores of books and their film adaptations. Though she interviewed some of King's friends and colleagues, much of the book is derived from secondary sources. Her text is repetitive and cliché-ridden, but the facts she marshals will serve King fans not familiar with his life.”
Though they sound well deserved. Read the USA Today article here .
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