Predominatnly known as the master of horror, Stephen King has been known to occassionally write epic fantasy sci-fi novels, having penned notable titles such as The Dark Tower Series (8 novels), The Eyes of the Dragon, and Fairy Tale.
However, one of his earliest fantasy entries, The Talisman, is often regarded as his most criminally underrated fantasy effort.
The book definitely has its fair share of fans and there have been several attempts to turn it into a film or television series over the years, with The Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things) most recently attached to an adaptation at Netflix.
With Stranger Things now ended, many thought that the siblings would turn their attention to the King and Peter Straub collab but The Duffers shocked the industry a few months ago by spurning Netflix to sign a four-year development deal with Paramount.
And it seems one of the casualties of this decision is the adaptation of The Talisman, which was apparently a passion project for the pair.
Speaking to CBR recently, The Duffers revealed, "Sadly, ‘Talisman’ is no longer at Netflix, so we’re not involved... I think it was probably naive of us to think we could break ‘The Talisman.'"
Ross Duffer added, "When I interned, when I was really, you know, back in college at Kennedy Marshall, I remember reading, I think it was a movie script for Talisman. So it’s been in development forever, so I’m sorry that we were not the ones to break the curse."
Released in 1984, two years after The Gunslinger (the first entry in The Dark Tower series), The Talisman marked Stephen King’s first foray into a large-scale, fantasy epic in the vein of a "modern-day Lord of the Rings."
The book follows a young boy named Jack Sawyer, who discovers the ability to “flip” between the United States and a parallel fantasy realm known as the Territories, embarking on a dangerous journey to find a cure for his dying mother.
The Territories are a mirror reflection of the U.S. where nearly everything is identicial except given a more magical or medieval twist, including the people, who have a twin or 'Twinner'. The magical land is full of werewolves, sorcerers, shape-shifters, mutants, snow trolls, and more.
King would later tie the book and it's sequel, Black House, to The Dark Tower Series, revealing that The Territories is actually a land mass in Mid-World and that the primary antagonist in the books is actually The Crimson King in disguise.
Earlier this year, King revealed that he had recently completed his work on a third entry.
Readers have widely praised Stephen King and Peter Straub’s collaboration for its sweeping journey and carefully constructed plot, noting especially the depth and richness of its characters, which hook readers from the very first pages.
It's described as an outstanding mix of fantasy, horror, and action elevated by emotional storytelling depictions of love and friendship.
The lone, predominant criticism its length, with some readers pointing to the deliberate, slow-burn pacing as a potential drawback.
Why had twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer’s mother frantically moved the two of them from Rodeo Drive to a New York City apartment to the Alhambra, a fading ocean resort and shuttered amusement park in New Hampshire? Who or what is she running from? She is dying . . . and even young Jack knows she can’t outrun death. But only he can save her—for he has been chosen to search for a prize across an epic landscape of dangers and lies, a realm of innocents and monsters, where everything Jack loves is on the line.
The Talisman: A Novel is the iconic, “extraordinary” (The Washington Post) collaboration between #1 bestselling author Stephen King and Peter Straub—an epic thriller about a young boy’s quest to save his mother’s life.