Billy Summers

Anyone who knows me knows who my favourite author is. Just has to be Stephen King.  The guy is a literary legend and a hero of mine. He’s the reason I’m a constant reader and why I constantly have a book in my hand. Some people say he’s lost his touch. Well, they can now shut the hell up!  In his latest release Billy Summers he proves he’s still got it.

It’s no secret that King is regarded as the big cheese in horror fiction.  With his influence on the genre and pop culture in general it’s pretty much undisputable. But in the last two decades he’s branched out and invested a lot of his effort in crime fiction, as he somewhat reinvents himself.  He still dabbles in the supernatural. But in books like the Bill Hodges series, the Colorado Kid and Later we’ve seen he has developed a passion for hard crime.  With Billy Summers he takes a walk on the dark side as we follow an assassin on his last job before he leaves the criminal underworld for good.

” It goes without saying that he has made a living working for bad people, yes, but Billy doesn’t see this as a moral conundrum. He has no problem with bad people paying to have other bad people killed. He basically sees himself as a garbageman with a gun.”

Ex army sniper turned hitman Billy Summers is tired of the violence and working in criminal circles.  He’s an anti hero with a moral compass as he only shoots bad guys.  The opening of the story see’s Billy presented with the opportunity for a huge pay day for taking out a fellow professional killer.  What could possibly go wrong?

While waiting for his opportunity to take the shot, Billy posses as a writer. Something which he embraces by starting to write his first book.  It’s an autobiography, and provides a story within a story where we get to see Billy’s history, from childhood and through his time in the military.  It’s quite frankly some of the best and most intense aspects of the story and a fantastic device King uses to provide the character development that’s a major feature of all his novels.  I enjoyed it immensely.

I was initially reminded of 11/22/63, in the way he has to build an identity within a community whilst looking to assassinate an individual.  Although it starts out fairly formulaic, there’s plenty of twists and turns and King takes us in some completely unexpected directions.  I won’t go as far as to tell you what’s in store, but the narrative is multifaceted with plenty to offer the reader.

The story takes on some heavy subject matter and then winds up going to some surprising places. This is an emotional ride and King uses his ability expertly to pull on the readers heart strings.  Ultimately this is a story about redemption as Billy strives to make amends for the past and turn his life around and have a positive impact, it’s so engaging. Can a person who kills people of a living ever be a good person? If, like me, you’re a fan of movies like Leon, you’ll know how effective this can be.

“Did you know that you could sit in front of a screen or a pad of paper and change the world?”

While Billy Summers probably won’t wind up being heralded as one of his great works of fiction, it is absolutely brilliant.  The sumptuous character development and King’s portrayal of life in small town American is a joy to behold.  King sometimes seems out of touch, children still playing monopoly rather than on I Pads, but his writing is as magnificent as ever.

King also goes deep into the art of writing.  He’s famous for featuring writers in his stories, as we’ve seen in Salem’s Lot, Misery, the Dark Half and Bag of Bones.  But a fundamental change in this one is that Billy is never writing to sell books and make money.   King instead explores how empowering and cathartic the process can be when you write for yourself. The ability to create new worlds and explore possibilities as well as relive the past. If you’re a fan of writing you really will eat this up.

“The door to the past is open,” Summers reflects. “He could push it shut, latch and lock it, but he doesn’t want to. Let the wind blow in.”

My only gripe is King’s political commentary. He just can’t give up trying to ram it down the readers throat. Every bad character is a republican and all good guys are democrats. Trump is the antichrist and the root of all evil. It would be great if he stuck to Twitter and didn’t use his books to air his political views. But honestly don’t let that stop you from reading this great book.

There’s also the issue of this being a slow burn and taking its time, which may present an issue for some readers. But King’s writing is so good I loved those parts. His ability to dissect human behaviour and pick out those aspects that make us who we are is second to none. Yes he can terrify his reader and build suspense, but those slice of life moments are what sets him apart from other authors and this book is loaded with them. Fantastic stuff!

I’ll stop there before I bore you to death. My longest review for my favourite author. He deserves nothing less. Just read the damn book and enjoy a true great who’s showing us all that he’s not lost it. Peace!

Stephen King Anyone who knows me knows who my front-runner generator is. Just has to be Stephen King. The guy is a literary caption and a bomber of mine. He ‘s the reason I ‘m a changeless reviewer and why I constantly have a reserve in my hand. Some people say he ‘s lost his touch. Well, they can now shut the hell up ! In his latest let go of Billy Summers he proves he ‘s even got it.It ‘s no secret that King is regarded as the big cheese in horror fabrication. With his influence on the writing style and pop culture in general it ‘s pretty much incontestable. But in the end two decades he ‘s branched out and invested a bunch of his feat in crime fiction, as he somewhat reinvents himself. He still dabbles in the supernatural. But in books like the Bill Hodges serial, the Colorado Kid and Later we ‘ve seen he has developed a passion for intemperate crime. With Billy Summers he takes a walk of life on the blue side as we follow an assassin on his last occupation before he leaves the criminal hell for good.Ex army sniper turned gunman Billy Summers is tired of the ferocity and work in condemnable circles. He ‘s an anti hero with a moral compass as he only shoots bad guys. The orifice of the narrative attend ‘s Billy presented with the opportunity for a huge pay sidereal day for taking out a chap master killer. What could possibly go wrong ? While waiting for his opportunity to take the shoot, Billy posses as a writer. Something which he embraces by starting to write his foremost script. It ‘s an autobiography, and provides a floor within a narrative where we get to see Billy ‘s history, from childhood and through his time in the military. It ‘s quite honestly some of the best and most acute aspects of the report and a fantastic device King uses to provide the character growth that ‘s a major sport of all his novels. I enjoyed it immensely.I was initially reminded of 11/22/63, in the way he has to build an identity within a community whilst looking to assassinate an individual. Although it starts out reasonably formulaic, there ‘s plenty of twists and turns and King takes us in some completely unexpected directions. I wo n’t go arsenic far as to tell you what ‘s in store, but the narrative is multifaceted with enough to offer the reader.The fib takes on some heavy subject matter and then winds up going to some surprise places. This is an emotional ride and King uses his ability expertly to pull on the readers affection strings. ultimately this is a narrative about redemption as Billy strives to make amends for the past and turn his life around and have a positive affect, it ‘s sol betroth. Can a person who kills people of a exist always be a adept person ? If, like me, you ‘re a fan of movies like Leon, you ‘ll know how effective this can be.While Billy Summers probably won ’ thyroxine wind up being heralded as one of his bang-up works of fabrication, it is absolutely brilliant. The deluxe character development and King ‘s portrayal of life in minor town American is a joy to behold. King sometimes seems out of touch, children however playing monopoly preferably than on I Pads, but his writing is arsenic brilliant as ever.King besides goes deep into the art of write. He ‘s celebrated for featuring writers in his stories, as we ‘ve seen in Salem ‘s Lot, Misery, the Dark Half and Bag of Bones. But a fundamental change in this one is that Billy is never writing to sell books and make money. King alternatively explores how empower and cathartic the march can be when you write for yourself. The ability to create new worlds and explore possibilities equally well as relive the past. If you ‘re a fan of writing you in truth will eat this up.My lone gripe is King ‘s political comment. He good ca n’t give up trying to ram it down the readers throat. Every bad character is a republican and all effective guys are democrats. Trump is the antichrist and the beginning of all evil. It would be great if he stuck to Twitter and did n’t use his books to air his political views. But honestly do n’t let that stop you from reading this great book.There ‘s besides the issue of this being a decelerate burn and taking its fourth dimension, which may present an issue for some readers. But King ‘s write is so full I loved those parts. His ability to dissect human behavior and pick out those aspects that make us who we are is second base to none. Yes he can terrify his reader and build suspense, but those slice of life sentence moments are what sets him apart from other authors and this book is loaded with them. fantastic thrust ! I ‘ll stop there before I bore you to death. My longest recapitulation for my front-runner author. He deserves nothing less. Just read the damn book and enjoy a true great who ‘s showing us all that he ‘s not lost it. peace !