The Talisman

Stephen King

Paperback

1st

Second Person

Fiction

645

4

2018-06-26 15:43:43

This book charts the adventure of twelve year old Jack Sawyer who travels across the country to save his mother, who is dying from cancer, by finding a crystal called "the Talisman."

The premise of the novel involves the existence of a parallel world to Earth, called "the Territories”, a strange fantasy world with ties (though these ties did not exist at the time of publication) to the Dark Tower series. Individuals in the Territories have "twinners,” or parallel individuals, in our world. Twinners’ births, deaths, and (it is intimated) other major life events are usually paralleled. Twinners can also flip, but only share the body of their alternate universe’s analogue.

In rare instances (such as Jack Sawyer’s), a person may die in one world but not the other, making them "single-natured” and giving them the ability to switch back and forth between the two worlds if taught how. Jack is taught how to "flip” by Speedy Parker, who may be a gunslinger named Parkus in the Territories. In his world the beloved Queen Laura DeLoessian, the twinner of Jack’s mother (a movie actress known as the "Queen of the B Movies”) is also dying.

Various people help or hinder Jack in his quest. Of particular importance are the Werewolves, known simply as Wolfs, who inhabit the Territories. These are not the savage killers of tradition. They serve as royal herdsmen or bodyguards, and can sometimes under stress voluntarily change to wolf form. A sixteen-year-old Wolf, simply named Wolf, is accidentally pulled into America by Jack Sawyer and adopts Jack as his herd, serving as his companion. Wolf is extremely likeable, kind, loyal and friendly, much like a dog, though his wolf nature shows through on occasion.

Viking

9780425081815

United States

United States

1984-11-07

1985

1

English

New York

~$6.29

2026-02-23

2018-06-26 15:43:43