Billy Summers
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- Create Date：2022-06-03 00:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Stephen King
- ISBN：1529365708
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Summary
Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun。 He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business。 But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy。 And now Billy wants out。 But first there is one last hit。 Billy is among the best snipers in the world， a decorated Iraq war vet， a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done。 So what could possibly go wrong？
How about everything。
How about everything。
Reviews
Dianne
，
Stephen King has sold millions and millions of novels all over the globe。 I think the reason for this is his ability to create characters to whom the reader feels an attachment to， in many cases a sympathy for an underdog。 Billy Summers is just such a character。 His background is an extremely sad one。 There are two deaths by murder in his family when he is a child。 He becomes a decorated war hero but also a contract killer。 Who ever thought that readers would be sympathetic to a contract killer？ Stephen King has sold millions and millions of novels all over the globe。 I think the reason for this is his ability to create characters to whom the reader feels an attachment to， in many cases a sympathy for an underdog。 Billy Summers is just such a character。 His background is an extremely sad one。 There are two deaths by murder in his family when he is a child。 He becomes a decorated war hero but also a contract killer。 Who ever thought that readers would be sympathetic to a contract killer？ That’s the magic of King’s incredible imagination and skill at writing。 I think that he is the Charles Dickens of our times。 。。。more
Lucian Balan
，
One of the best stories i have ever read！
Drew Venzaprone
，
Sicuramente un libro ben scritto e coinvolgente。 La prosa del Re ha pochi eguali in questo campo， ma credo che se fosse durato qualche pagina in meno con un accelerata degli eventi finali， la valutazione sarebbe stata più alta。
Lynda Cohagan
，
I've enjoyed most all of the King books I've read， and this is no exception。 The suspense is good， and the info given about the Iraq war is interesting。 Great characters as well。 But what I really loved was what this book said about writing。 How we all play multiple characters in our own stories。 I've enjoyed most all of the King books I've read， and this is no exception。 The suspense is good， and the info given about the Iraq war is interesting。 Great characters as well。 But what I really loved was what this book said about writing。 How we all play multiple characters in our own stories。 。。。more
Emanuele
，
Libro divorato， come al solito la scrittura di King rapisce e non riesci a staccarti。 I personaggi sono realistici e tridimensionali， la storia non è scontata e ci sono anche dei bei colpi di scena
Mesut Ozikinci
，
one of the best of King’s。 perfect ending
scarlett pierson
，
3。5
Nakib
，
The vigilante we need and deserve。
Sorina
，
De abia dupa ce ajungi la final intelegi ce i-a impresionat atat pe cei care au dat review-uri favorabile。 Cartea a fost scrisa pe durata unui an intreg （aproape） si acest lucru se vede。 Prima parte nu mi-a placut deloc: plictisitoare， haotica， greoaie。 Mi se parea ca e despre toate si nimic， in acelasi timp。 Am sarit pasaje mai ales cand Billy vorbeste in manuscrisul lui despre razboi， de vreo 10 ori am vrut sa renunt， la fel cum am facut cu alte carti ale lui SK， dar tot de atatea ori， ceva ma De abia dupa ce ajungi la final intelegi ce i-a impresionat atat pe cei care au dat review-uri favorabile。 Cartea a fost scrisa pe durata unui an intreg （aproape） si acest lucru se vede。 Prima parte nu mi-a placut deloc: plictisitoare， haotica， greoaie。 Mi se parea ca e despre toate si nimic， in acelasi timp。 Am sarit pasaje mai ales cand Billy vorbeste in manuscrisul lui despre razboi， de vreo 10 ori am vrut sa renunt， la fel cum am facut cu alte carti ale lui SK， dar tot de atatea ori， ceva ma tinea acolo， o forta invizibila imi zicea sa continui。Aproape de final regasesc stilul lui King care m-a cucerit。 Actiunea amestecata cu emotie， iar pe toata durata romanului， situatia au salvat-o referintele facute cu maiestrie la „The Shining”， „JFK: 22。11。63” si alte romane ale autorului。 Pur si simplu， piele de gaina！ Parca la inceput SK nici nu stia despre ce sa scrie， se invartea in jurul cozii， amesteca totul。 Spre final， lucrurile se schimba。 Romanul asta sintetizeaza esenta relatiei mele love-hate cu scrierile lui King: ba imi vine sa abandonez cartea， ba imi place la nebunie。 。。。more
Майя Ставитская
，
King shoots without a missDid you know that this happens？ That you can sit in front of a computer screen or with a notebook and pencil in your hands and change the world？Not everyone does it， but he can do it and has been doing it for more than half a century - changing the world for the better。 Well， just because it can。 In fact， it's a shame somewhere: here feminists go to marches， during which ordinary people and women among them - yes， the very women for whose rights they are fighting - insu King shoots without a missDid you know that this happens？ That you can sit in front of a computer screen or with a notebook and pencil in your hands and change the world？Not everyone does it， but he can do it and has been doing it for more than half a century - changing the world for the better。 Well， just because it can。 In fact， it's a shame somewhere: here feminists go to marches， during which ordinary people and women among them - yes， the very women for whose rights they are fighting - insult them， spit， throw dog poop。 Then they are arrested， they declare a hunger strike in prison， force-feed， tearing the esophagus with a hose。 Maim and kill。And everything is moving at a snail's pace， in the next hundred years progressive women are still counted in semi-idiots。 There are already rulers of thoughts among them， intellectuals， they are already beginning to be allowed at the adult table。 Well then。。。 And then he is the author of mainstream novels， which serious people admit to reading with some awkwardness。 Appears and says through the mouth of his heroine: "U-va-zhenie！ That's what women want。" And the world responds with a wave of enthusiasm: and indeed， women deserve respect！ And isn't it absurd that a husband can withdraw money from a common marital account in the absence of his wife， but his wife can't do the same？ Next on the list。So with everything。 Domestic violence， domestic racism， minority rights。 The topic raised by King instantly becomes legitimate， and his point of view is accepted with enthusiasm: "Well， yes， we have been saying this for a long time。" Such a gift to get to the right point， causing not irritation， but a desire to heal。 A gift that goes to one out of millions， and most often disappears in vain - in his case， brought to laser precision by labor and self-discipline。I read "Billy Summers" last summer， right after the book was published， but reading in the original in a language that you don't know perfectly， and the opportunity to listen to the audio version of the book in your native language performed by your favorite reader are two very different reader experiences。 Of course， I couldn't miss the audiobook read by Igor Knyazev， it's always a holiday。Unfortunately， I can't say the same about the translation。 Vladimir Bakanov is titled， crowned， leads a translation school named after himself， and all that。 But King's books have their own melody， a special rhythm， only inherent in them， that special something that allows his words to penetrate into the blood and enter the flesh of readers， becoming their nature。 Weber's translations， with possible technical imperfections， managed to convey it， Bakanovsky did not， he had extremely impersonal translated prose， which King could have written， and some of their Vasya Pupkin could。I said this a year ago， I repeat now: the novel seems to me a king homage to Elmore Leonard with his crime dramas。 The King treats this writer with great reverence， who is not very well known here。 The book-within-a-book is also remarkably good。 King's heroes are often writers， but he very rarely uses the technique of introducing the text written by the hero into the novel。 Here， both books are beautiful: both the story of the killer-who-killed-only-the-bad， and his biographical autobiography。Life has shown that absolutely everything can change in a short time。 My love for King remains unchanged。 I think I will not be mistaken if I say that I am not alone。Кинг стреляет без промахаЗнал， что так бывает？ Что можно сидеть перед компьютерным экраном или с блокнотом и карандашом в руках – и менять мир？Такое не у всех получается， но он может это делать и делает уже больше полувека - меняет мир к лучшему。 Ну， просто потому что может。 На самом деле， где-то обидно: вот выходят феминистки на марши， во время которых обыватели и среди них женщины - да-да， те самые женщины， за чьи права борются - оскорбляют их， плюют， кидают собачьими какашками。 Потом арестовывают， они объявляют в тюрьме голодовку， кормят насильно， разрывая шлангом пищевод。 Калечат и убивают。И все движется черепашьим шагом， в следующую сотню лет прогрессивных женщин по-прежнему числят в полуидиотках。 Уже и властительницы дум среди них есть， интеллектуалки， уже их начинают пускать за взрослый стол。 Ну так。。。 А потом является он автор мейнстримных романов， в чтении которых серьезные люди признаются с некоторой неловкостью。 Появляется и говорит устами своей героини: "У-ва-жение！ Вот， чего хотят женщины。" И мир откликается волной энтузиазма: а и в самом деле， женщины заслуживают уважения！ И не абсурд ли， что муж может снять с общего супружеского счета деньги в отсутствие жены， а жена не может сделать того же？ Далее по списку。Так со всем。 Домашнее насилие， бытовой расизм， права меньшинств。 Тема， затронутая Кингом， мгновенно становится легитимной， а его точка зрения принимается с энтузиазмом: "Ну да， мы давно это говорили。" Такой дар попадать в нужную точку， вызывая не раздражение， но желание исцелиться。 Дар， который достается одному из миллионов， и чаще всего пропадает втуне - в его случае， трудом и самодисциплиной доведенный до лазерной точности。"Билли Саммерса" я прочла прошлым летом， сразу после выхода книги， но чтение в оригинале на языке， которым не владеешь в совершенстве， и возможность послушать аудиоверсию книги на родном языке в исполнении любимого чтеца - это два очень разных читательских впечатления。 Конечно， не могла пропустить аудиокниги， прочитанной Игорем Князевым， это всегда праздник。К сожалению， не могу сказать того же о переводе。 Владимир Баканов титулован， увенчан， ведет переводческую школу имени себя， и всякое такое。 Но у кинговых книг своя мелодика， особенный ритм， только им присущий， то особое нечто， что позволяет его словам проникать в кровь и входить в плоть читателей， становясь их естеством。 Переводам Вебера， при возможных технических несовершенствах， удавалось передать ее， бакановскому нет， у него предельно обезличенная переводная проза， какую мог написать Кинг， а мог какой-нибудь их Вася Пупкин。Я говорила об этом год назад， повторю сейчас: роман представляется мне кинговым оммажем Элмору Леонарду с его криминальными драмами。 Король с большим пиететом относится к этому писателю， которого у нас не очень хорошо знают。 Книга-в-книге тоже замечательно хороша。 Героями Кинга часто становятся писатели， но он очень редко пользуется приемом введения в роман написанного героем текста。 Здесь обе книги прекрасны: и история киллера-который-убивал-только-плохих， и его биографический автофикшн。Жизнь показала， что в короткий срок может измениться абсолютно все。 Неизменной остается моя любовь к Кингу。 Думаю не ошибусь， если скажу， что я не одна。 。。。more
Andrew Parasino
，
I went into this book genuinely wanting to give it a chance。 I’ve been going through my King collection， rereading some old favorites and reading some that flew by me。 This was one that flew by me。 I went into it optimistic because I figured King changing genre would freshen things up for him and he would actually be entertaining again。 That didn’t happen。 I read about 300 pages of mostly really dry boring writing（is Stephen even trying anymore？） The final nail for me was when he started to hint I went into this book genuinely wanting to give it a chance。 I’ve been going through my King collection， rereading some old favorites and reading some that flew by me。 This was one that flew by me。 I went into it optimistic because I figured King changing genre would freshen things up for him and he would actually be entertaining again。 That didn’t happen。 I read about 300 pages of mostly really dry boring writing（is Stephen even trying anymore？） The final nail for me was when he started to hint at a romance happening between two characters that was just outright bizarre and at worst， kinda gross in all the wrong ways。 I hate doing this， but this is a rare DNF for me。 From a Buick 8 was better than this book and that book is terrible。 Oh well， there’s always classic King to revisit。 。。。more
David
，
The relationship between Billy and Alice is unconvincing and contrived。 Stephen King is peculiar when he writes about women/sexuality， this book is no exception。While not exactly like anything I've read， the plot is a familiar one。 "Léon: The Professional" came to mind several times。 The relationship between Billy and Alice is unconvincing and contrived。 Stephen King is peculiar when he writes about women/sexuality， this book is no exception。While not exactly like anything I've read， the plot is a familiar one。 "Léon: The Professional" came to mind several times。 。。。more
Monica Albright
，
I liked the first half of this book。 （Maybe even the first 3/4。） I enjoyed how excellent King's writing was， taking me through characters' lives and making me become invested in them。But then I felt like I was working on finishing it。 I liked the first half of this book。 （Maybe even the first 3/4。） I enjoyed how excellent King's writing was， taking me through characters' lives and making me become invested in them。But then I felt like I was working on finishing it。 。。。more
Paola Moreno
，
4。5*
Alayne Rasmussen
，
YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK！！！！ LOVED IT！！！
Eva Kouvari
，
Για άλλη μια φορά， ο King μας αφήνει έκπληκτους με το βιβλίο του。Η ιστορία ακολουθεί τον Billy Summers， έναν πληρωμένο δολοφόνο， ο οποίος όμως， σκοτώνει μόνο κακούς ανθρώπους。 Ανθρώπους που αξίζει να πεθάνουν πιο νωρίς。Έχει μια τελευταία δουλεία και η κάλυψη του είναι το επάγγελμα του συγγραφέα που προσπαθεί να τελειώσει το πρώτο του βιβλίο。Κάποια στιγμή， αποφασίζει να ξεκινήσει να γράφει για να ασχολείται με κάτι και μας δίνει το παρελθόν του。 Από την παιδική ηλικία， μέχρι τον πόλεμο για να φτά Για άλλη μια φορά， ο King μας αφήνει έκπληκτους με το βιβλίο του。Η ιστορία ακολουθεί τον Billy Summers， έναν πληρωμένο δολοφόνο， ο οποίος όμως， σκοτώνει μόνο κακούς ανθρώπους。 Ανθρώπους που αξίζει να πεθάνουν πιο νωρίς。Έχει μια τελευταία δουλεία και η κάλυψη του είναι το επάγγελμα του συγγραφέα που προσπαθεί να τελειώσει το πρώτο του βιβλίο。Κάποια στιγμή， αποφασίζει να ξεκινήσει να γράφει για να ασχολείται με κάτι και μας δίνει το παρελθόν του。 Από την παιδική ηλικία， μέχρι τον πόλεμο για να φτάσουμε στο τώρα。Στην διαδρομή γνωρίζει και μια κοπέλα και την βοηθάει να ξεπεράσει κάτι που της συνέβει και κατέληξε στην πόρτα του σπιτιού του。Οι χαρακτήρες， πολύπλοκοι και υπέροχοι， Ακόμα και οι δευτερεύοντες έχουν δική τους προσωπικότητα και δεν είναι εκεί μόνο και μόνο για να προχωρήσει η πλοκή。Οι περιγραφές， όλες οι περιγραφές， σε κάνουν να ανατριχιάσεις。 Αυτό το βιβλίο δεν είναι το συνηθισμένο του King， με στοιχεία τρόμου και φαντασμάτων。 Αν και οι αναφορές στον Trump μπορούν να σε κάνουν να ριγήσεις。Ένα υπέροχο βιβλίο。Τίποτα λιγότερο από όσα έχει προσφέρει μέχρι στιγμής ο συγγραφέας。 Και με το υπέροχο μήνυμα πως ένας συγγραφέας μπορεί να σχηματίσει την αλήθεια και τον κόσμο γύρω του όπως εκείνος θέλει。Μια Προειδοποίηση Περιεχομένου。 Υπάρχει βία， σωματική και σεξουαλική。 Γραφικές σκηνές。 Και μετατραυματικό στρες。 。。。more
Ann Webb
，
Well， Stephen King has a new schtick with his novels; he takes on whatever political issue is bothering him at the moment。 Billy Summers is a classic case of expecting one type of novel and getting another， which perhaps was planned by King， but I suspect came to him in the middle of writing it。 Billy Summers is a sharp-shooting Marine veteran who fell into taking assassination gigs in his private life after the military。 He only kills those he considers "bad" characters， never innocent people， Well， Stephen King has a new schtick with his novels; he takes on whatever political issue is bothering him at the moment。 Billy Summers is a classic case of expecting one type of novel and getting another， which perhaps was planned by King， but I suspect came to him in the middle of writing it。 Billy Summers is a sharp-shooting Marine veteran who fell into taking assassination gigs in his private life after the military。 He only kills those he considers "bad" characters， never innocent people， which is how he justifies his choice of career。 Until for one assignment， which was going to be his last and which would pay out his biggest bounty， he gets stiffed for the money and actually finds out he wasn't supposed to come away from it at all！ During his getaway， he meets a girl named Alice in the most tragic of ways， which sets him on a course far different from what he intended。 He describes what happened to Alice in sometimes uncomfortable and disturbing detail and I even go uncomfortable reading it。 I also got the impression that right in the middle of this turn of events， an idea about the story's conclusion came to King because the explanation for all of it comes so swiftly and with such detail that it felt forced。 We had no hint of this in the beginning and all of a sudden， we are in the middle of a different story entirely and for different reasons。As always， I'm a fan of King's writing。 I love his references to previous stories and locales。 Sometimes， he's in desperate need of an editor， but who wants to tell Mr。 King how long his books should be or how they should be written？ In his old age， King is aching to convey how clued in he is to modern hot-button political issues and you can tell。 His characters always have the perfect mix of racially diverse neighbors and mentions are made to issues that the country is divided over， so much so that it never resembles any neighborhood I've ever lived in。 At least we don't have the over-the-top caricatures of Christians that he put in The Mist。 Sheesh！ That was overwrought。 The Mr。 Mercedes TV adaptation particularly suffers from this sort of homage to PC writing。 All that aside， King can tell a good story and also a story within a story。Even with all his flaws， I recommend reading whatever King writes！ 。。。more
Kreenny
，
DNFed @ 21%。 First time for S。King in my reading journey， but this book just isn't for me。 DNFed @ 21%。 First time for S。King in my reading journey， but this book just isn't for me。 。。。more
Teresa
，
Great ReadI absolutely loved this book and I will re-read this book。 Wonderful I loved the characters and wish they were real。 I want to meet them
Flower
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really enjoyed the story: the two main characters are great and I loved the book within a book style。 I'm not fan of war stories but I thought it was necessary to read about Billy's past in order to understand him better。 I really liked Billy and I guess the ending was perfect even though we all hoped for a happy ending。 This would easily have been a four star read。What I didn't like （here come the three stars）: after the confrontation with the first bad man， it felt like a repetition going af I really enjoyed the story: the two main characters are great and I loved the book within a book style。 I'm not fan of war stories but I thought it was necessary to read about Billy's past in order to understand him better。 I really liked Billy and I guess the ending was perfect even though we all hoped for a happy ending。 This would easily have been a four star read。What I didn't like （here come the three stars）: after the confrontation with the first bad man， it felt like a repetition going after the second。 Also I absolutely dispise stories about child molestation。 So I rushed through the last part and even considered putting the book aside。 I only went all the way to the ending because I really liked the first part of the book and hoped for a good ending which I eventually got。 。。。more
Jim Collins
，
I've been an off and on reader of Stephen King since I read The Stand in High School （and that's going back quite awhile）。 Billy Summers engaged me as much， if not more， as any of his other stories that I've read before now。 I like when he plays it straight and this one reminds me of the type of stories that you read back in the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback days。 The type of story that might have been written by MacDonald， Goodis， Westlake，or Brewer， and is the type of stuff that Hardcase Crime I've been an off and on reader of Stephen King since I read The Stand in High School （and that's going back quite awhile）。 Billy Summers engaged me as much， if not more， as any of his other stories that I've read before now。 I like when he plays it straight and this one reminds me of the type of stories that you read back in the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback days。 The type of story that might have been written by MacDonald， Goodis， Westlake，or Brewer， and is the type of stuff that Hardcase Crime publishes nowadays。 Read that as a good thing。The characters in Billy Summers are damn likeable， which is essential when writing an engaging story。 You have to hang your hat on someone in the story to feel an affinity for what's happening on the written page。 King always gets flak from certain quarters of the "literati" but to me he is a writer's writer and is constantly improving his craft。 He seems to truly enjoy the writing process。 There are some truly suspenseful moments in the book and as I said King plays it straight without throwing in anything supernatural （aside from a few easter eggs referencing some of his other books）， which I appreciated。 This book is highly recommended！#stephenking 。。。more
Brandi Newsome
，
My favorite Steven King book。 Offers so many emotions。 So much character。 Loved it。 Cried。 Laughed。
Peter Østergaard
，
Really good story。 Interesting characters。
Mark A。
，
One more job and Billy Summers can call it quits。 But this final hit will allow him to be comfortable for quite sometime。 It seems too good to be true， and in this case， it is。 Once again， Stephen King does a masterful job in this hard-boiled crime novel， Billy Summers。As always， King builds in-depth characters that will help the reader become invested in the outcome。 Expertly written， King uses an interesting and enjoyable style that alternates between his writing and the flashback narrative hi One more job and Billy Summers can call it quits。 But this final hit will allow him to be comfortable for quite sometime。 It seems too good to be true， and in this case， it is。 Once again， Stephen King does a masterful job in this hard-boiled crime novel， Billy Summers。As always， King builds in-depth characters that will help the reader become invested in the outcome。 Expertly written， King uses an interesting and enjoyable style that alternates between his writing and the flashback narrative his fictional protagonist is creating。The characters are likable， perhaps too much for being criminals， but overall this is a great story and yet another King classic。 Four stars。 。。。more
Jay Shields
，
I don’t know why I always get so scared to start a Stephen King book， but every time I finish one， I am so impressed with his writing style。 This book is definitely no exception。 Mr。 King does an amazing job of writing from several POVs。 This is the closest I’ve ever read to a love story from Mr。 King。
✨Susan✨
，
3。5 stars。 Buddy read with friends， but just forgettable for me。
Jean Campbell
，
I liked it though I don’t think it lived up to the rave reviews as much as I expected it would。
Bury_Booknerd
，
Jednoznačně jedna z těch lepších， nových knih od Kinga。
Chris
，
Α， ρε πουτάνα， Στίβεν。。。
Kristi Kelly
，
Master of the psychological study， King turns the story about a sniper job into a story about the sniper。 Well developed， memorable characters。 Action is slow but steady。 Definitely didn’t know where this was going but once it really got started I was hooked。 Great read！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Billy Summers
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Billy Summers&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Billy Summers&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0