Black House
discussion
Do You Need To Read 'The Talisman' First?
Well, it's been a long time since I read either, but I do remember liking the Talisman better. I know that it came first, but I'm not really sure whether Black House could stand on its own or not. I suppose you could read a synopsis of the talisman so that you'd have the background info, but I would recommend just reading The Talisman first.
I would read the Talisman first. It is one of my all time favorites.
Yes, I'd read The Talisman first - its one of my favourites too.
I read the Black House without reading the Talisman, and I still really enjoyed it. But, I also specifically read it to supplement the Dark Tower series.
I read this one first, but I found it kinda hard to manage, like I was missing half the point. I think I should have read the Talisman first, so that's my advise.
it's not necessary, but you'll enjoy black house more if you do. i read black house before i knew about the contents of the talisman and read that shortly after.
I loved Black House. I loved The Talisman as well, but its not necesarry to read the Talisman first. I got Black House from a friend and didn't even know that The Talisman came before it.However, I would read the Talisman first because there are several things that will make more sense in Black House if you do.
Read Talisman first. It is the better book anyway.
I would say definitely read The Talisman first. I think it definitely does provide some context for understanding Black House. The Talisman remains one of my favorite books, however, I have to say, Black House could not live up to its predecessor. I was disappointed. The Talisman, however, was one of those novels I couldn't put down & was sorry to see end. Enjoy!
Talisman first, then the first four Dark Tower books, then Black House. Black House is a much better read with a bit of the Tower under you :)
Talisman is a WAY better book. I was disappointed in Black House... was hoping it would be a lot more like the Talisman
Black House is a sequel to some degree of The Talisman - and a tie in to the Tower booksbut in all honesty, Black House has one of the worst narration styles I have read, it repeatedly jarred me out of the book and i only finished it out of a sense of king-completion. both king and straub have done much better
I read the Dark Tower before even delving into Talisman- so I was quite familiar w/all story lines. Black House could stand alone- but I don't think it would be nearly as enjoyable. Like the majority on here- it was my least favorite of the books mentioned.
Talisman first - The characters begin in Talisman and continue their journey in Black House. You can catch up in a synopsis but you miss the enjoyment of the first adventure. I have enjoyed King’s novels due to all the character development and background detail. In follow up stories like Black House you get to see how the character has changed, or not. A bit off topic - King always drops in a reference to at least one character that was introduced in a previous book. It is always fun to find. One example that has popped up in a lot of his novels: “The Walking Dude”.
yes read the talisman then finish off with the black house to get the most out of the books, i had trouble with talisman until i got to chapter 13 then it took off!
I would read the Talisman first only because it was a MUCH better book.
I agree. Got to read The Talisman first. Much better than Black House. I thought it was hard to get into.
Actually, read the Talisman and donate Black House to Goodwill. This is the worst sequel I've ever read. It is like comparing the 80's 'Star Trek The Motion Picture' to 2010's Star Trek Movie, but in reverse. Black House sucked and was more entertaining in the fireplace than on the couch.
I'm with Jake. You have to read The Talisman, because it's a great book.
But reading Black House will go a long way towards ruining it for you. It's really that bad. I blame Peter Straub, because King has never written anything that bad in his life.
Jenn wrote: "yes read the talisman then finish off with the black house to get the most out of the books, i had trouble with talisman until i got to chapter 13 then it took off!"The Talisman was one of the few books I gave 5-stars to. In fact, it was one of the books that inspired me to become a writer. I agree, it takes about 13 chapters before it starts moving, but once it did, it went nice. I hated Black House though, I consider it one of the worst novels I ever finished. (Usually, I don't finish a book if I don't like it, but I had to see if it would get better, and it got worse.)
Absolutely. How can you understand the second book if you don't read the first? The Talisman is an book and so much better than Black House, I think you'll be disappointed if you don't read the Talisman before Black House.
The truth is you should read the "Dark Tower" books before as well since King mixes the Dark Tower into everything
I read The Talisman several years ago and loved it. It is one of my all-time favorite books.Black House I liked, but found myself going back to re-read The Talisman, to get myself re-acquainted with the characters.
After that, I found Black House much more enjoyable because I didn't have to keep stopping to refresh my memory.
But I was also disappointed with the ending of Black House. It felt to me as if King and Straub didn't quite know how to finish it (and they do give a warning that if you want a happy ending, stop reading before the last chapter, but that seems almost like a cop-out).
I don't think you need to read the talisman first, they are not really connected in a story sense ,just some of the characters. The dark tower has a lot of the same characters as a lot of Stephen kings books but u do not have to read all of his books to read the dark tower series.If You already have the book then read it first but the novel stands on its own. like people said before the talisman is GREAT.
Either way, make sure you read the Talisman. Incredible book!
Definitely read the Talisman first. It's not only an incredible book but it will set up some stuff for Black House. The stories are completely separate but there are several references that will make more sense if you read The Talisman first. Basically the Talisman was amazing and Black House is good for if you are having some Talisman withdrawals lol. And I very much agree with Daniel... you should read The Dark Tower series first. Almost all of King's novels are tied into the Dark Tower series even if only a little bit... and that series is fantastic!
Talisman is my favorite King book by far. Definitely agree with others here that it is a must read. I wasn't as fond of Black House, but it was okay.Oddly, as much as I loved the Talisman, and Stephen King in general, I am not a Dark Tower fan.
I don't think you would get everything if you didn't read The Talisman first. It is one of my favorite King books. I wasn't has impressed with Black House, but it was OK.
i enjoyed them both. would recommend reading both talisman first. blackhouse was good
My wrote: "I saw a few comments regarding the book The Talisman. Are you supposed to read that book first? Or, can this book be read independently of The Talisman? Probably a silly question really. Would ..."Not a silly question! Here's a silly answer, though...haha. :o)
I read Black House (I actually haven't read the Talisman) and it was a good read regardless!! And, BTW - The world neither folded in upon itself, nor did it cease to spin due to my reckless choice of reading disorder and chaos.
This post caught my eye, as I was just thumbing through it yesterday, wondering if my "midlife" (IDK, is 43 midlife?) dementia would allow it another "go" already, aaaand:
Go for it!! And if you DO read Talisman first (or HAVE read both since you did ask this question early June) let me know if you recommend the implied order of events, I'm rather curious now!
Thanks, and, I hope my ramblings helped you - I could have just freaking answered "NO, it's fine to read it alone!" (Sorry!)
Read The Talisman. You will never regret it. It's one of his best books.
i have read black house and followed it quiet well, then found out that the talisman goes with it, which i have yet to read. but if you look in any of his dark tower books, there are many that go together, but can all be read seperate.
THE TALISMAN comes first, and, yes, I think you'll understand BLACK HOUSE better if you read TALISMAN first (it's actually a superior book, anyway)
Black House can stand alone, but from my experience (as I read Black House before Talisman), the story itself will tap you to read Talisman, so you chose - which one first, but they go together, no doubt.Black House was a bit tough cookie so to speak. So I am happy that I read it first, because if it would come after Talisman, I may have put it down after first 50 pages. xD
I definitely would read Talisman first. But I did enjoy Black House better. I guess I'm in the minority. I think I really connected to Henry Layden in Black House more than any characters in the Talisman, though I enjoyed both stories.
I have to agree with Heidi and stand as the odd couple out. Other than a couple of instances of King's usual runon scenes I was thoroughly caught up in Black House and enjoyed it immensely. Later when I found a copy of the Talisman I was very excited. Three attempts later to get past the first 75 pages and I gave up on ever reading it.
The very first line from Black House suggests reading The Talisman first. God pound you! Right here and now!
The Talisman is sublime. Black House is an averagely written book. I don't think it's necessary to read it first. In fact I probably wouldn't. As a sequel I think King and Straub should have left well enough alone.
I read Black House first and i was confused about a lot of stuff but then i read the talisman and then black house and it seemed to make more sense so in my opinion you read the talisman first
After having just picked up Black House (Not having known Talisman was a prequel)Then reading all these comments- especially about how "bad" Black House is and "not to read it at all", it makes me almost want to just read the book before I get my copy of Talisman and it "overpowers" the book I already have waiting here beside me! I'm a huge King fan, and I have yet to find a book of his I don't like... your comments are making me fear my favorite writer. What a shame.
Both books are great - If you like King read them both life is to short to not read SK
No worries Daniel, I'd already ordered (and have now started reading) The Talisman... and will not let others fear me out of reading anything... even if it isn't a King book, and it may be horrible... (in my eyes, no king book could be horrible, :P)
You can read it as a stand alone, but the Talisman is way better imo- my all-time favorite of favorites. I've read it like five times & will be reading it again in the near future. :)
I also like rereading The Talisman from time to time!
I think if you read Talisman first, you may be disappointed in Black House (I did and I was). Knowing that the MC in Black House was the MC in Talisman, you keep expecting something and Black House never, IMO, delivers on that something. (Well, maybe it did, but I wound up skipping huge chunks just to find out the ending so I could close the cover on the book.)
My wrote: "I saw a few comments regarding the book The Talisman. Are you supposed to read that book first? Or, can this book be read independently of The Talisman? Probably a silly question really. Would ..."I didn't realize when i read Black house that it was a second book to the Talisman. SO I read Black house first and then the Talisman it didnt mess me up and I understood everything that was going on in Black house but when I read the Talisman it answered some questions for me. I think you could read those either way.
Read The Talisman, first or last, read the Talisman. Loved and have re-read it. Worst money I ever spent was on Black House. It never should have been promoted as a sequel to The Talisman.
it is many years since i read these, i think they can be read as stand alone novels but i would advise reading The Talisman first
Yes. You'll be depriving yourself of so much--including a better book--if you go straight to BLACK HOUSE.
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