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Joyland

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Joyland

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Michael Kelly
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About this listen

"I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts," says Stephen King, who has combined these elements into a wonderful new story. Joyland is a whodunit noir crime novel and a haunting ghost story set in the world of an amusement park.

It tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a 'carny' in small-town North Carolina and has to confront the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the way both will change his life forever. It is also a wonderful coming-of-age novel about friendship, loss, and your first heartbreak. Who dares enter the funhouse of fear?

©2013 Stephen King (P)2013 Schuster Audio Coming of Age Crime Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Ghosts Historical Horror Modern Detectives Mystery Traditional Detectives Haunted Scary Heartfelt Detective Fantasy Paranormal

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Critic reviews

"A beautiful book, warm and honest, about a boy becoming a man, and his tempered transformation really does pack a punch… In short, Joyland is a joy." (Niall Alexander, Tor)
"An engrossing and ultimately uplifting tale" (Rhian Drinkwater, SFX)
" Joyland describes being young with the necessary vigour, and the slow agony with which a broken heart heals with the necessary tenderness." Laurence Phelan, The Independent)
"What makes King special is that he's an unusually imaginative horror writer who's as interested in characterisation as he is in fright." (Tom Cox, Daily Express)
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The reading gave the story accent and atmosphere you felt that there was a young man growing.. The young boy was wonderful..

A super story very well told..

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really enjoyed this book - strange little story but very listenable to - well recommended

cracking book

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On par to all the other books. Emotional, exciting,, intriguing and don't forget scary It has all the twists and turn's of z mirror maze. I couldn't out it down. I honestly think I'm going to start it again now. Just in case I missed a bit. This book has to be reaf

Brilliant

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I’ve listened to this several times now, not only because I love the story but mainly because Michael Kelly is such an amazing narrator. It’s such a shame that this is the only book he’s done. Just superb.

Excellent story well read

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Engaging and interesting story, good narration and I found the story didn't go off on any unnecessary tangents, would recommend

Great Audiobook

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Would you consider the audio edition of Joyland to be better than the print version?

I havent read this story so can't compare it to the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

It was a gentle story - less of a horror and more of a coming of age story with some super natural twists. It reminded me of other Stephen King novels in that respect.

What does Michael Kelly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Michael give a good reading - brought the characters to life and made the story more compelling - to be honest - not a lot happens through the story but I enjoyed the performance.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Classic Stephen King

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I love King and IT I’d my favourite all time novel but I feel this lacked some depth. I did enjoy the story but I didn’t get to delve into the past of all the characters and get to experience who they really were.
I enjoyed the story over all but feel a lot was missing.

It was ok….

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I have listed to 20+ books from Stephen King and I have to say that his short story's are very quick becoming my favourite and this one very close to the top and a great way to get into Stephen King book's if the long ones seem a bit dongting

Another great short story

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What did you like most about Joyland?

I could picture the theme park and the beach, great suspense!

What did you like best about this story?

The suspense and the who done it element.

What does Michael Kelly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A great atmosphere to the book

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The ghost train

Any additional comments?

no

Joyland Review

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Great book. Well narrated. Good story. Not a full blown king horror but really nice. Good scene setting and as usual, king writes this book like a 50 layer sandwich. Tastes delicious by the end of it.

A brilliant story of murder, a ghost and a teenage crush you can’t help but root for!

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