Stephen King Revisits Familiar Territory in ‘Later’
A review of the king of horror’s latest novel
As a longtime horror fan and Constant Reader, I always look forward to reading new Stephen King books. However, I’ve found his recent work to be sort of hit or miss. Thankfully, King goes back to his roots with Later. Although published under Hard Case Crime like his previous books The Colorado Kid and Joyland, the novel reads like his classic character-driven, coming-of-age tales echoing The Body and It. As the protagonist reiterates throughout the narrative, Later is a horror story, but it’s also a mix of crime, mystery, and contemporary drama.
“There’s always a later, I know that now. At least until we die. Then I guess it’s all before that.”
The book is narrated by a 20-something Jamie Conklin reflecting on his childhood and his ability to communicate with dead people. But unlike The Sixth Sense (as Jamie references), King adds his own twist and rules. Jamie can only communicate with the deceased right after they’ve died. And if asked a question, they have to tell him the truth.
Jamie lives a comfortable life with his literary agent single mother in New York. After an initial scare witnessing a deceased bicyclist hovering over his body in Central Park, Jamie’s mother urges him to keep his ability a…
