Duma Key
Stephen King
Scribner (Hardcover)
Pocket (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1416552963
2008

I'll admit this right up front, get the embarrassing part out of the way: Duma Key was the first Stephen King novel I ever read.  I know, I know.  Crazy, maybe a little sad, but true.  I'm not sure of the exact reason for this.  I'd grown up watching the many movies based on his books so maybe I thought I already had a full dose.  Or it could have been that once I reached the age in which reading was done for enjoyment I just thought I'd get more bang for my buck with lesser known—but perhaps more interesting—writers.

Okay, I was wrong.

I've seen the light.  My eyes are open.  I've been reborn.  However you want to call it.  There's a reason the guy is a zillionaire.  He writes damn fine stories told in an engaging and relatable way, at least that is, if Duma Key is any guide.

The novel takes us into the life of Edgar Freemantle, owner of a successful construction company and the victim of a hellish job-site accident.  His slow recovery leaves him angry and frustrated, taking its toll on both his mind and his marriage.  The now one-armed Edgar eventually loses his wife and decides he needs (with a little encouragement from his doctor) a change of scenery.  Still living off a small, but comfortable fortune from his business, he leaves the frigid Midwest and rents a beach house on the secluded island of Duma Key, just off the coast of Florida.  There he befriends Jerome Wireman, one of the only other residents and the caregiver of Elizabeth Eastlake, the aging and slightly senile owner of just about every inch of property on the relatively undeveloped island.

While getting his mind and his life back on track in this new environment, Edgar is inspired to revisit an old hobby—drawing.  He quickly realizes after only a few sketches (and eventually many paintings) that he's become quite the artist.  Whether his extraordinary skill is pure talent or the result of something far more uncertain remains to be seen.  What he's sure of is that the activity seems to, at least temporarily, take away the aches and pains—both mental and physical.  What he's left with, though, are frightening images and dreams of the island's past, of a series of incidents several decades ago that left many lives destroyed.  It's only when he realizes what he has in common with Ms. Eastlake that the pieces fall into place, and it becomes clear that an evil that was once asleep has awoken again.

Duma Key is a good-sized book and it isn't long before you relish the fact that you have many, many more pages to encounter.  The storytelling is crisp and smooth and immediately pulls you along.  The story unravels slowly, but at no time are you ever bored.  King presents us with a character that is under constant barrage, be it from emotional or physical forces, good or bad, and it's inevitable for the reader to feel and experience it all along with him.

Edgar's new friend, Wireman, is also a character you can't help but love as well.  He, too, came to the island as a means of escape after his own life-shattering events.  He's the kind of guy that we all wish we could know and spend time with, and thanks to King, we get the chance.

The book also isn't lacking in the horror department.  There are several moments of page-turning terror, along with long periods of downright creepiness.  But what works best of all is the mystery that King injects in the forces at work on this island.  They don't jump out and make themselves known right away, but slowly sneak up on you, staying just in the corner of your eye as you progress.

For reasons already explained, I can't say that this is (as I've seen written elsewhere) "one of King's best work yet", or that the "King is back!".  I only have this one novel to go by, but I have a hunch that those phrases may be true.  Call it fate or just dumb luck, but my first and overdue introduction to King was an amazing one.  The line was cast and the hook went deep. 

So take it from a new thirty-something King fan: if you've yet to try him, pick up a copy of Duma Key.  And if you've been reading his work for years and haven't yet read the book, do so as soon as you can.  Whether it's the first time or the twentieth, this latest offering is sure to win you over.

-- Michael De Kler