This is the Stephen King book where everything seems to be going wrong. Tad Trenton is seeing monsters in his closet. His mother, Donna, is screwing another guy but wants to break it off. His father, Vic, is having some trouble at his ad agency. And while Charity Cambers has just won the lottery and is taking her son, Brett, to her sister’s, it seems that their loveable Saint Bernard has just contracted rabies.

It’s just another day in paradise for the unfortunate residents of Castle Rock.

This was one of the first books I was able to read of King. I was curious since I had seen the movie and wanted to know how it was supposed to turn out. I mean, come on, there are rarely any books out there that the movie stays true to. It’s been a few years since I saw the movie, but the book is fresh in my mind like it was yesterday.

There are many things that I enjoyed about this book. I loved how we were able to follow Cujo’s plunge into insanity and bloodlust, seeing how even the tiniest little thing could set him off. And when he truly loses it, you can expect some major blood shed. I also loved it when Donna and Tad become trapped in the Pinto. I felt scared for them, since they were helpless to do anything but wait for Cujo to die.

But while there is good, there is bad. Everything seemed almost...convenient. All this is happening suddenly. A lot of the factors didn’t seem too realistic. And Tad’s “Monster in the Closet” confused me. I couldn’t tell if it was symbolic of things to come or just the musings of a young child. Maybe both. And a good and bad thing is that it holds you and refuses to let you go. I was scared for everyone by the time the book ended and wanted nothing more to have a happy ending. Even a bittersweet one. I won’t tell you what you get, because that’s a spoiler. And spoilers are bad if you don’t want them.

The Good News: It’s one of King’s better novels in my humble opinion. It seemed realistic in some aspects, and was scary and sad. It’s Man Vs. Nature, except this time, both lose.

The Bad News: Like I said, everything was too convenient. It bothers you a little bit. There is a bit of supernatural in it, but in a book like this, you don’t exactly want it.

This is a pretty good book. I enjoyed it, and I would like to read it again. I’d add it to your collection, if you’re a fan.

7 out of 10 bats in rabbit holes

If you notice that this may be shorter than most of my reviews, that’s because I don’t want to say too much and spoil it for you. Now, you can’t ever say that I didn’t do anything for Horror Watch.