Horror

Later

Later

  • Downloads：9428
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-02-27 04:11:50
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stephen King
  • ISBN：1789096499
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

#1 bestselling author Stephen King returns with a brand-new novel about the secrets we keep buried and the cost of unearthing them。

The son of a struggling single mother， Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood。 But Jamie is no ordinary child。 Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret， Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn。 But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave。

Later is Stephen King at his finest， a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong。 With echoes of King's classic novel IT， Later is a powerful， haunting， unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears。

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Reviews

Brennan LaFaro ，

Review/rating soon

Kayla Lenzen ，

I was so excited to get an early audio version of King's latest novel by Simon & Schuster！This story is coming from Jamie's point of view。 He is in his early twenties telling the story about what happened to him in his younger years。 So Jamie's mom， Tia is running a publishing company。 It was started by Jamie's uncle and when he got Alzheimer's， Tia took over the company。 Tia ended up getting caught up in some things which caused her and Jamie to fall on hard times。 She is doing everything she c I was so excited to get an early audio version of King's latest novel by Simon & Schuster！This story is coming from Jamie's point of view。 He is in his early twenties telling the story about what happened to him in his younger years。 So Jamie's mom， Tia is running a publishing company。 It was started by Jamie's uncle and when he got Alzheimer's， Tia took over the company。 Tia ended up getting caught up in some things which caused her and Jamie to fall on hard times。 She is doing everything she can to make ends meet。 The publishing company has a very popular author who is just about to release the finale to a long awaited book series。 When he unexpectedly passes away Tia starts to panic。 She was counting on that money to pull her out of debt。 So she turns to Jamie to help with his "ability。" She always told him to keep it secret and now she is going back on her word out of desperation。 Jamie helps because it is his mom after all。 Then that turns into a domino effect of betrayal and blackmail。 It ends up making Jamie very vulnerable to things no one could see coming。You see Jamie walk through his younger years as he figures out what is right and wrong and how to fight evil and all the faces it wears。 I really enjoyed this novel and Seth Numrich did an amazing job at narrating the story。 When he spoke as the villain I was definitely creeped out so I think he did it very well。 The book has It elements entwined in this book and I really enjoyed how that was done。 I wasn't a fan of the ending。 It left a lot of questions up in the air。 The way he ended it， it could be a series。 I don't think it will be but the way it ends。。。I guess you would hope it would。 。。。more

Sara ，

“You get used to marvelous things。 You take them for granted。 You can try not to， but you do。 There’s too much wonder， that’s all。 It’s everywhere。”At only 250 pages this story is sprawling and spirals just as a King story does。 It’s energetic and flies through Jamie’s life of seeing dead people with ease but also with the sharp & witty narrative style of， daresay， a Martin Scorsese joint- except naturally King delivers a coming of age horror thriller with plenty of tugging at heartstrings。 Ther “You get used to marvelous things。 You take them for granted。 You can try not to， but you do。 There’s too much wonder， that’s all。 It’s everywhere。”At only 250 pages this story is sprawling and spirals just as a King story does。 It’s energetic and flies through Jamie’s life of seeing dead people with ease but also with the sharp & witty narrative style of， daresay， a Martin Scorsese joint- except naturally King delivers a coming of age horror thriller with plenty of tugging at heartstrings。 There’s also a comfort & familiarity to be found here， perhaps the feeling of listening to a close friend tell you a really good story is the kind of comfortable feeling I’m looking to describe。 。。。more

Anthony ，

In Later， Stephen King’s upcoming （March 2， 2021） release from Hard Case Crime， the author returns to that fertile ground he tills so well: a narrator telling us， with more than a little nostalgia， of a horror-touched childhood or adolescence。 Jamie Conklin shares a lot of emotional territory with Gordie LaChance and Bill Denbrough， although the landscape of Jamie’s childhood in the not-so-distant-2000’s rather than the 1950s or 60s。 Jamie still fills his story with nostalgic nods at television In Later， Stephen King’s upcoming （March 2， 2021） release from Hard Case Crime， the author returns to that fertile ground he tills so well: a narrator telling us， with more than a little nostalgia， of a horror-touched childhood or adolescence。 Jamie Conklin shares a lot of emotional territory with Gordie LaChance and Bill Denbrough， although the landscape of Jamie’s childhood in the not-so-distant-2000’s rather than the 1950s or 60s。 Jamie still fills his story with nostalgic nods at television shows， television shows， and New York City neighborhoods。 At 22 years old， Jamie is not the published， well-regarded author that LaChance and Denbrough are when we catch them reminiscing about their childhood traumas （and yes， I know， Bill Denbrough doesn’t narrate IT; we’re still closely privy to his thoughts as an adult， as memories come back to him）。 But even Jamie notices （and this reader did as well） that his writing improves over the course of telling his story， so there’s hope for him yet， especially as the child of a literary agent。 And I don’t believe King is done with Jamie Conklin after this book， not by a long shot。Like Gordie and Bill， Jamie’s life is altered the first time he sees a dead body。 Unfortunately， unlike them， he’s only six years old at the time， and he not only sees the body but also the dead man’s mutilated ghost。 This is traumatic and formative and when Jamie finally tells us the full details of the event his childhood terror， even through the tinge of reverie， is palpable。 Of course， it’s not Jamie’s last encounter with ghosts。 Most of the encounters are quick and benign， but it wouldn’t be a King novel if things didn’t get dangerous。The character acknowledges how like The Sixth Sense this whole set-up is; King has never been shy about wearing his literary and cinematic antecedents on his sleeve and giving inspirational credit where it’s due。 But of course， King’s take on “kid seeing dead people” is much darker than Shyamalan’s。 For one thing， the ghosts Jamie sees know they are dead， and most of them don’t tend to linger among humanity more than a few days， whether they have unfinished business or not。 Which is both good for Jamie and bad， when one spirit decides to stick around longer than the norm。Unlike the childhood trials of Gordie and Bill， Jamie doesn’t have a cadre of intrepid friends to share the emotional journey and physical dangers with。 Classmates are mentioned enough that Jamie isn’t painted as an awkward loner with no social life， but they’re also all off-screen and unimportant to the narrative， grace notes to the main theme。 King heavily leans into the stereotype that Gen Z kids would be more likely to record their friend’s “hallucinations” and post them to social media than join in a quest to save the day under the noses of unsuspecting adults。 I don’t think this is a completely accurate assessment of that generation， but it works well enough as a plot point keeping other kids off-stage and leaving Jamie only the adults in his life to rely on – adults who， as much as they love him， are unreliable at best and in one case untrustworthy as well。 This is yet another thing Jamie has in common with the boys of “The Body” and the Losers’ Club。 They couldn’t rely on the adults in their lives either; the key difference being that Jamie is more fully alone in his moments of crisis。If I have any complaints about the book， they’re minor。 I think King really sticks the ending of the book – but then he adds a final reveal that feels a bit tacked on and which I don’t think really adds anything to the overall story or to our understanding of Jamie’s character。 I’ll be interested to see if I’m in the minority on this once I get a chance to look at other reviews （which I’ve avoided doing while writing this）。 I also think this book would have been a better fit with a publisher like Cemetery Dance; the supernatural element is so important and prevalent that it doesn’t really feel like a Hard Case Crime title， which normally lean more towards “regular” crime and psychological horror。 This might be the most supernatural book HCC has published （feel free to correct me in the comments if I’m wrong; I haven’t read all 100-ish HCC books yet）。 Interestingly， when King released his ostensibly “final” Richard Bachman book， Blaze， he said in the foreword that he’d considered placing it with Hard Case Crime but ultimately thought it wouldn’t be a good fit， whereas I think it would have been a perfect HCC title。 So what do I know？Bottom line: Later is a wonderful addition to the “kid sees ghosts， bad shit happens” oeuvre。 The kid is endearing， the supernatural threat strong and scary， and the human threats even more so。 I reviewed an advance reading copy provided by the publisher。 。。。more

Chance Carden ，

First Sentence Rating: 8/10"I don't like to start with an apology-there's probably even a rule against it， like never ending a sentence with a preposition-but after reading over the thirty pages I've written so far， I feel like I have to。"Despite the long opening with not much to say， I feel this sentence does well at inviting the reader in to listen， while also providing a strong desire to want more and know what the apology is for。 Also， as an English teacher， I must give props for the grammar First Sentence Rating: 8/10"I don't like to start with an apology-there's probably even a rule against it， like never ending a sentence with a preposition-but after reading over the thirty pages I've written so far， I feel like I have to。"Despite the long opening with not much to say， I feel this sentence does well at inviting the reader in to listen， while also providing a strong desire to want more and know what the apology is for。 Also， as an English teacher， I must give props for the grammar lesson tucked in for good measure。3。5 rounded up。 This Hard Case Crime short novel gave me serious Joyland vibes， which is an enormous compliment， even though the stories are very different。 The style， however， is very similar。 At times， this coming of age story felt a bit slow， but I felt the plot picked up when needed， and the MC is an enjoyable narrator to follow。 That said， I wish King had stopped writing a few pages sooner， because the reveal at the end was so strange and unnecessary to me （but would it be King if this wasn't the case？）。 Regardless， I feel this is a must for Constant Readers， and potentially a good starter for someone wanting to give King a go。 。。。more

David ，

*Review copy sent in exchange for an honest review*It's hard to believe， but King's writing is as good now as it's ever been， maybe better。 I love the few thrillers he's written under the Hard Case crime label。 The Colorado Kid and Joyland were excellent， in my opinion， and probably underated。 But here， in Later， we get to know Jamie Conklin。 He is another fantastic kid trying to grow up in a rough world。 Coming of age stories are were King kicks ass。 Of course we get horror， but the mystery and *Review copy sent in exchange for an honest review*It's hard to believe， but King's writing is as good now as it's ever been， maybe better。 I love the few thrillers he's written under the Hard Case crime label。 The Colorado Kid and Joyland were excellent， in my opinion， and probably underated。 But here， in Later， we get to know Jamie Conklin。 He is another fantastic kid trying to grow up in a rough world。 Coming of age stories are were King kicks ass。 Of course we get horror， but the mystery and the thriller are just as good here 。。。more

Jessica ，

A big thank you to Hard Case Crime for the free early copy in exchange for my honest reviewIt’s no secret that I love the Hard Case Crime series， and as a big King fan， it was really exciting to see a new one releasing with HCC。 LATER is a quick little crime fiction read with a hint of supernatural elements to it that only King can bring us。 Part coming of age， part mystery， and a dash of horror come together seamlessly for a memorable story。I don’t want to give away anything， especially with it A big thank you to Hard Case Crime for the free early copy in exchange for my honest reviewIt’s no secret that I love the Hard Case Crime series， and as a big King fan， it was really exciting to see a new one releasing with HCC。 LATER is a quick little crime fiction read with a hint of supernatural elements to it that only King can bring us。 Part coming of age， part mystery， and a dash of horror come together seamlessly for a memorable story。I don’t want to give away anything， especially with it being around only 250 pages。 Our narrator and main character， Jamie， is a young boy that can see the dead。 This is a gift his mother has told him to keep to himself， the less people that know the better， right？ When his mom’s ex-friend， a not-so-clean cop， picks him up to use his power to help her benefit， his life changes forever。I think that this would be perfect for those that want to start reading Stephen King but don’t want anything too scary。 This is more crime fiction than horror， but of course there are some moments when it comes to Jamie’s abilities。 For such a short book， King was able to give us such fully formed characters that you could connect with almost instantly。 Definitely a fun little read from King that I highly recommend！ 。。。more

Tanya ，

I tried for an ARC （you miss all the shots you don't take）， but no chance—never have I been let down more gently and nicely， though。 And I got a reply within an hour， on a Sunday。 Bless small publishing houses。Counting down the days until I can dig into this！ I tried for an ARC （you miss all the shots you don't take）， but no chance—never have I been let down more gently and nicely， though。 And I got a reply within an hour， on a Sunday。 Bless small publishing houses。Counting down the days until I can dig into this！ 。。。more

Michael Hicks ，

Later， Stephen King's latest release via Hard Case Crime， is a supernatural coming-of-age story that fits quite neatly within the crime genre。 King has progressively become more invested in the crime genre in his sunset years， having penned a couple previous Hard Case Crime books， along with those titles in the Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider （it sounds like his forthcoming hitman book， Billy Summers， will continue this trend）， along with other earlier works like The Green Mile and Rita Hay Later， Stephen King's latest release via Hard Case Crime， is a supernatural coming-of-age story that fits quite neatly within the crime genre。 King has progressively become more invested in the crime genre in his sunset years， having penned a couple previous Hard Case Crime books， along with those titles in the Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider （it sounds like his forthcoming hitman book， Billy Summers， will continue this trend）， along with other earlier works like The Green Mile and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption。 It's proved to be a natural and comfortable shift for King， and Constant Readers will find Later as eminently readable as virtually any other story in this author's massive backlist。 While this is certainly a crime story at heart， it is also very much a horror story。Jamie Conklin sees dead people。 While not exactly a unique premise， and King makes some knowing nods toward The Sixth Sense， it is compelling in its own right and has a few neat twists along the way。 Later is narrated in first-person by an older Conklin looking back on his younger years， autobiographical style， from age 6 and up。 We get an excellent look at his young life in New York， living with his lit agent mother as they navigate the turbulent economic crash of 2008 and cope the death of their primary breadwinner client， an author of historical bodice rippers whose demise leaves his celebrated series unfinished after the penultimate novel。 The hard crime component。。。 well， that comes later and requires a modicum of patience。King explores the conceit of being a child medium quite credibly， as well as how that talent can be exploited and challenged in pretty terrific ways， including a callback to an earlier King classic that took me by complete surprise。 He also lays out the ground rules of this particular talent in believable ways， and then throws a real nice curveball into the mix to keep us on our toes。 King's writing of young characters doesn't always ring completely true （here， a thirteen-year-old Jamie uses the phrase 'doc-in-a-box' to refer to a small-town clinic， a term I'd never heard before， let alone ever heard a kid say）， but he's developed a neat work-around here with this story's narrative structure。 By and large， Conklin is a pretty relatable kid， no doubt made wiser than his years thanks to all his communing with the recently departed and the knowledge of hindsight as he recollects his life's story。Later is a quick and compelling read， and a real fun cross-genre affair that expertly blends crime， horror， and coming-of-age elements seamlessly。 Constant Readers likely won't find much surprising about that， though， given King's naturalness as a storyteller。 What they will find is yet another comfort food-equivalent read， and a perfectly fine way to while away the hours。 。。。more

Andy ，

Another gem from Stephen King and Hard Case Crime。 While not everyone agrees with me， I actually love The Colorado Kid and Joyland。 So， I was thrilled when Later was announced。 It doesn't disappoint。 Later has the cadence of a hard-boiled crime novel， but this thing is vintage horror writer King through and through， including some surprising connections to his other notable works。 Actually， those connections at times felt shoehorned in for me and slightly derail the story in the back half。 King Another gem from Stephen King and Hard Case Crime。 While not everyone agrees with me， I actually love The Colorado Kid and Joyland。 So， I was thrilled when Later was announced。 It doesn't disappoint。 Later has the cadence of a hard-boiled crime novel， but this thing is vintage horror writer King through and through， including some surprising connections to his other notable works。 Actually， those connections at times felt shoehorned in for me and slightly derail the story in the back half。 King is also cheekily self-referential， mentioning Shawshank Prison and quoting himself from On Writing at one point。 Which is fine， just， a tiny bit distracting and unnecessary。 Especially since overall this book is an absolute scorcher that is impossible to put down。 As always with King， it's the little details of the character's lives and relationships that draw you in， even with the supernatural elements driving the plot。 Speaking of that， Jamie Conklin's unique ability to speak with recently deceased people and compel to tell the absolute truth is one hell of a hook。 I'd be really keen on reading more of his story if it's ever continued。 。。。more

Bruno Neute ，

4。5*

Phillip ，

I am not a King fan， the man needs an editor。 Over he years I keep trying and I keep being disappointed （with the exception of The Talisman， read it a long time ago and I remember loving it）。 But I must admit I mostly very much enjoyed Later， a quick read that had me picking up the book even though I knew I had a few minutes to read at any one time。 Later is narrated by young Jamie， a boy who can see the dead。 At first this is scary， then familiar， and even beneficial until an ex of his mother's I am not a King fan， the man needs an editor。 Over he years I keep trying and I keep being disappointed （with the exception of The Talisman， read it a long time ago and I remember loving it）。 But I must admit I mostly very much enjoyed Later， a quick read that had me picking up the book even though I knew I had a few minutes to read at any one time。 Later is narrated by young Jamie， a boy who can see the dead。 At first this is scary， then familiar， and even beneficial until an ex of his mother's is desperate enough to kidnap Jamie to use his power to get herself out of trouble。 While things start off well for Jamie， he keeps reminding his reader that 'this is a horror story'。 There is something that happens right at the end of the book the annoyed me， but it was a minor thing and so I will forgive the author for it and pretend the book finished two pages before it did。 。。。more

John Katsanakis ，

King is always at his best， in my opinion， when there’s a strong focus on character and on sentiment。 Lots of folks go to him for the spooks （and LATER does deliver on that front）， but I’ve always preferred his more subdued efforts。 I’d count this one among that group。 Loved the narrator。 Couldn’t put it down。

Ariel ，

I will try my hardest to wait about one more month for this book。 I'm eager to read and review it！ :） I will try my hardest to wait about one more month for this book。 I'm eager to read and review it！ :） 。。。more

Kim McGee ，

A young boy with the unique ability to see the dead soon after they have passed causes some worry for his single mom while others see only opportunity。 Jaime， like other kid characters by this author ， has a good heart， a great sense of humor and a trusting nature so when his mom's ex friend a drugged police detective snags him to help her find a dead terrorist's last bomb， he gets in the car。 He will regret that car ride for the rest of his life。 This slim novel combines all the best elements f A young boy with the unique ability to see the dead soon after they have passed causes some worry for his single mom while others see only opportunity。 Jaime， like other kid characters by this author ， has a good heart， a great sense of humor and a trusting nature so when his mom's ex friend a drugged police detective snags him to help her find a dead terrorist's last bomb， he gets in the car。 He will regret that car ride for the rest of his life。 This slim novel combines all the best elements for which Stephen King is known for - terror， believable vulnerable characters that we identify with and a good dose of humor to let off some steam。 For fans of the author as well as those that enjoy a coming of age story that will scare you while it steals your heart。 My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy。 。。。more

Soleil ，

A perfect crime novel， with just enough horror and suspense to not be able to put the book down。 I loved it。

Jenny Lawson ，

My granny got me hooked on Stephen King when I was young。 I wish she was still here for this one。 Couldn't put it down。 My granny got me hooked on Stephen King when I was young。 I wish she was still here for this one。 Couldn't put it down。 。。。more

Daniel ，

I just pre-ordered my signed special edition of Later and I can't wait to start reading it。 I just pre-ordered my signed special edition of Later and I can't wait to start reading it。 。。。more

Angie Miles ，

The best thing about Stephen King is that you never have to wait long for another release！ I love the sound of this book， and the cover reminds me of some of his older covers which I am enjoying。 Here's to hoping its long！！ The best thing about Stephen King is that you never have to wait long for another release！ I love the sound of this book， and the cover reminds me of some of his older covers which I am enjoying。 Here's to hoping its long！！ 。。。more

Pedro ，

MARZO 2021 LA NUEVA NOVELA DEL VIEJO TROLOBájale un cambio bro， el último libro más reciente que pude comprarte fue El bazar de los malos sueños 😞 @stephenking（No， mentira， sigue escribiendo mucho， no te mueras nunca por favor ❤）

Manish Kumar ，

Kind of like the vibe of this cover。 Please make it as thick as IT。

megs_bookrack ，

Constant Readers，This is not a drill。I REPEAT， THIS IS NOT A DRILL！We're one week away from new King！！ A boy with special powers stopping， what sounds like， supernatural crimes。。。Someone please revive me on release day。 Constant Readers，This is not a drill。I REPEAT， THIS IS NOT A DRILL！We're one week away from new King！！ A boy with special powers stopping， what sounds like， supernatural crimes。。。Someone please revive me on release day。 。。。more

Charlie Brown ，

If it's anything like Joyland， it's going to be one of the best books of the year。 Hard Case Crime did everyone a solid by getting Stephen King to be one of their authors。 If it's anything like Joyland， it's going to be one of the best books of the year。 Hard Case Crime did everyone a solid by getting Stephen King to be one of their authors。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Later

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Later&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Later&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0