great Stephen King crime/mystery

I enjoyed this Stephen King novel as much as any I have read of his in a long while. King captures the life of a 21 year-old in 1973. At the center of this novel is an unsolved murder on one of the rides at an amusement park, Joyland. Some claim that the ghost of the murdered woman comes out at times. King drew me in to the time and place, and I liked the fact that there was just a small supernatural twist to this. Mostly, it's a college student and his friends enjoying their summer and trying to solve an old murder on the side. I found myself caring about the main character and the subplots. It's a short, fun, fast-moving novel. The reader is good. Overall, it was a 4.5 star book to me. It's a perfect summer book (light, escape fiction), with a good ending that made me round my rating up to a 5.

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Best Audio book of 2013!

Where does Joyland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The very few people who actually read my audio books reviews recognize that I am an unapologetic Stephen King fan. Many Stephen King fans enjoy being sacred or are followers of the American of horror genre. I am not one those readers. Instead, I admire Stephen King (SK) due to the rich storylines, engaging plots, and interplay between characters. Joyland has all of these elements in abundance.

Joyland is ultimately a nostalgic novel that brings your back to in time and age. SK seems to have a perfect recollection of what was like to be a heart broken college student unencumbered by social obligations. Devin Jones (main character) is free to explore life, take risks, and discover himself. Along the way Devin develops lasting friendships and learns the value of helping others. Joyland's characters are memorable, fun, and full of energy. Like all SK novels, Joyland allows the reader to enter into situations one rarely gets to see in real life. Devon's journey to self actualization is exciting, touching, and never (ever) boring. Many readers/listeners may assume that Joyland is scary or full of crime because it was written by SK. Although the plot revolves around an unsolved murder, Joyland is a vehicle for SK to write about pinnacle life events that serve to shape one's life.

Stephen King's Joyland is a perfect audio book. The number of characters, settings, and situations are easily manageable without referring to written materials. I hope you give Joyland a try.

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Realistic scary is better than blood & guts scary!

For those of you, like my wife, who think that Stephen King is "just a gross horror writer," I ask you to read this book. I tell my wife, at least once a year, Mr. King is so much more than what you accuse him of being. She points to old movies and say's there's no character development and only blood and scary stuff. To my wife and to everyone else that consider his books no more, I offer you "Joyland" as proof that your wrong.
Joyland is a well written story about a young man's life in the 1970's. He is losing his first true love to another man, so he tries to lose himself in work at an amusment park. Helping him stay there are good friends, life lessons, and the promise from a palm reader that he will save a life or two if he stays longer. While there he finds an unsolved murder mystery that he tries to solve. It is a "who done it", wraped in a "realistic scary story" that's rolled up with "great characters." It is shorter than most of his past works, so it shouldn't scare off too many readers that fear long books. At around 8 hours I got a great read. One last thing, for me, keeping a horror story realistic, keeping me entwined in solid characters, is better and much more scary than making it based on a bunch of blood and guts.
Thank you Stephen King!!!

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Somewhat Typical

I have had a love/hate relationship with Stephen Kings writings over the years; I either loved or hated many of his books and TV miniseries. In this case Mr. King takes us back to the 1970s in a mystery/horror tale about a young college student struggling to come to grips with the loss of his first love. Mr. King's 70s are a bit anachronistic as he mentions things that either were not prevalent or hadn't been heard of in 1973. Devon Jones, is a bit too sensitive and effeminate for my tastes as the big hero of the piece, and the carnival talk he learns as he works at the Joyland Amusement Park sounds a bit clichéd'. I really couldn't decide if this was supposed to be a mystery, a horror story, or a coming of age story. We have the usual King potboiler cast of characters, the sensitive youth, psychic handicapped child, a somewhat lack-luster psychic who goes around giving Devon dire warning that he doesn't heed, and the ghost of a murdered woman who lives in the haunted house of the park. The performance of the reader was very good and I certainly don't fault him for my mixed emotions about the story. If you are expecting big chills you're bound to be disappointed, but the mystery part of the tale is entertaining without the help from the paranormal part of it.

Final analysis: Joyland is somewhat of a hodge podge of the types of things you've come to expect in a King novel--if you like his usual stick, you'll like this, if you're kind of over the formula than skip it. It rather fails as a mystery novel or a supernatural one--it's a book that didn't know exactly what it wanted to be when it grew up.

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Strangely good

I can't say what it is about this book, but there is something that makes it painful to stop listening. I never wanted to stop.

If you take a step back and think about the plot it really isn't very interesting and yet I could not get enough.

Not sure if it's the characters or the writing, but King really draws in readers (or listeners).

Definitely recommended.

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The sweest and creepiest coming of age story!

Stephen King has penned his first hard crime novel in Joyland, the tale of a serial killer in a amusement park. College student Devin Jones takes a job at a amusement park one summer. It will be a summer he won't forget as he recovers from a broken heart, learns what life is like as a "carny" and tries to solve a murder.

I'm a big mystery reader. I have a whole bookcase dedicated to the greats and the more recent releases. So when I heard Stephen King was writing a mystery I was intrigued. I have loved everything King has written and I was really interested in seeing if he could pull off a mystery, without it turning into a horror "slash-em" novel. Well let me reassure die hard King fans - he can!!

For me Joyland was more than just a murder mystery. It was a cold case murder mystery combined with a coming-of-age story that was possibly the sweetest coming-of-age story I've ever read. Well if you take away the creepy-serial killer-at-a-amusement-park thing!

I really enjoyed the story from Devin's point of view. He is young, in love, and later nurses a broken heart. His year at Joyland was the year that he grew up and learnt so much, and this comes across so clearly in both King's writing and Michael Kelly's narration. It's a story of heartbreak, sorrow and death. It was a story that I am so glad I read, and one I will never forget.

Joyland is a intriguing mystery and a coming-of-age story all rolled into one. I highly recommend it to both King fans and mystery fans alike. Michael Kelly's narration was fantastic, as he tells of the highs and lows of the summer.

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Simply Marvelous!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a good read/listen. It is an entertaining story superbly written with broad appeal. If you're just looking for hair-raising horror this is not the story for you. Poignant is not what usually comes to mind with Stephen King’s stories but I think that’s the best way to describe Joyland even though there is a murder mystery.

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Gripping!

7.5 hours of ghosts, murder and Stephen King's unique and colorful brilliance. If you enjoy Stephen King's crime stories, this is a great listen. If you enjoy his horror stories, this has it too.
Not normally being a night person, I started listening to this late last night and couldn't stop until I finished it this morning. I purchased it in hopes of using it for a road trip this weekend...too late! It was just too good to stop listening.

I don't like to write reviews that give away too much of the story because I don't like reading reviews that are written like book reports for a college course. So I will just say that you will not be disappointed. Local amusement parks are always a bit haunted and creepy, unlike the Disneys and 6 Flags. Joyland was a great setting for a really great scary story.

The reader has a great voice. Although telling the story from the rear view of a 60 year old man, it was very easy to envision him as the college boy with a broken heart. Often the voices detract from the story for me. This book could not have been read by a better voice. (Although I love the Stephen King books that are actually read by Stephen King)

This not available on Kindle yet so whispernet is not available, but listening you can't go wrong. I wish I had it in front of me rather than already finished...this would have been great for my road trip alone, very scary!

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Really Good Tale

I think it's fair to say this is a quickie by King standards. It's a very good one. Like most all of his work the characters seem more like old friends, people you know and like and hope the best for.

It's a murder mystery set in an aging carnival type theme park in 1973 North Carolina. There actually is one here called South of the Border. Google it for a laugh. There's a very small supernatural element which has little to do with the story or it's outcome. In truth it would be a great thriller without any supernatural occurrences.

Just sit back and let reader Michael Kelly take you back to 1973. You won't regret it for a moment.

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King in his Summer Finest

I read Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1962) years ago and never forgot it. I've reread it several times, and always find something new in the story of a traveling carnival lead by Mr. Dark, whose followers are marked by tattoos.

I felt the same way when I listened to Stephen King's "Joyland" (2013), even though the plots of the books are quite different. The atmosphere is the same, and so is the sense of evil. The carnival rides play a key part in both.

"Joyland" is a regional 'Six Flags' type of amusement park, not an international destination like Disneyland. I loved the new 'carny' language I learned. Guess that makes me a 'greenie', but at least I'm not a 'rube' if I know the lingo. That makes this the perfect book for a patient parent to listen to/read if she's been drafted as chaperone on one of those long, hot summer days of not-quite-cutting edge rides, junk food, and sunburned children excited enough to throw up on her shoes.

"Joyland" is a true mystery. Solving the mystery does not rely on the supernatural elements in "Joyland", so mystery fans won't be disappointed by vague clues from beyond being the key to figuring out 'who dunnit'. Finding the killer was no easy task for Devin Jones, the protagonist (aptly narrated by Michael Kelly) and it isn't easy for the listener/reader either.

"Joyland" is also a sweet coming of age story of love lost and love found, set against the backdrop of the most powerful love of all.

This book has some mild, not explicit sex. There is some violence, but it doesn't come near the violence in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. It's good for 'young adult' readers. For Stephen King fans, there are plenty of references to his other works - and it's fun to find them. However, the book stands on its own - you don't need to get the inside joke from King's "The Dead Zone" (1979) to love the story.

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