Final thoughts: This novel had a good plot but at times it could get tedious with how stretched out it felt. There could have been some parts that were cut out just to keep things moving. That’s what really dragged the reader down, the unnecessary parts that could have been summed up better. The way this led up to the end was very well written and had the reader emotionally invested in both the plot and the characters; how it actually ended, leaving it open to however the reader wanted to interpret it was kinda lame. It would have been so much more powerful had both these authors just picked a way for this to end instead of leaving it to their readers. The characters were really strong; the fact that by the end we felt for Richard was pretty impressive because the whole time, this reader was not invested in his story or cared about him, but right at the end there was something about the way the ending was written that compelled the reader to like him. Jack was a really strong character from the start; for a 12-year-old he had to be really brave to do all the things he did; and even in the middle of the book it didn’t feel like he was a kid any longer and that was interesting to read. Getting to watch him grow not only up, but as a character was really well done. Sloat was also an interesting antagonist; at times he was kinda boring, but when he needed to, he stepped up to really mess things up and really shake up the plot. In the end, this wasn’t the reader’s favourite King novel, but it was decent.