The Dark Half vs The talisman: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Horror, Fiction
The Dark Half
“People's lives-their real lives, as opposed to their simple physical existences-begin at different times.”
The Dark Half is a horror novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1989. Publishers Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. The novel…
1 film adaptation
vs
The talisman
“ON SEPTEMBER 15th, 1981, a boy named Jack Sawyer stood where the water and land come together, hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking out at the steady Atlantic.”
The Talisman is a 1984 fantasy novel by American writers Stephen King and Peter Straub. The Talisman was nominated for both the Locus and World Fantasy Awards in 1985. King and Straub followed up with a sequel, Black…
The verdict
- Readers rate The talisman highest: The talisman 4.1 · The Dark Half 3.8.
- The Dark Half is the quickest read — about 8 hours vs 14 for The talisman.
- The Dark Half has the widest readership — 155618 ratings behind its score.
- The talisman runs the darker storyline; The Dark Half stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Dark Half | The talisman | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (155618) | 4.1 (147440) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (296) | 3.8 (370) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (5) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (167) | 4.5 (782) |
Reception
| The Dark Half | The talisman | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 155618 | 147440 |
| Editions | 61 | 66 |
| Citations | 7 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 81579 | 94672 |
| Reading it now | 2313 | 8999 |
| Written reviews | 4350 | 6564 |
| Wikipedia attention | 5746 | 12507 |
| Pages | 468 | 784 |