«Holly» Stephen King: the king is back

The publishing house «KSD» has released a new novel by the cult American writer Stephen King «Holly». This is a separate story about Holly Gibney — one of the main characters of the trilogy «Mr. Mercedes», as well as the novel «The Outsider». I have already read this novelty, and below I share my impressions. And there are a lot of them here.

«Голлі»

Pluses:

an interesting plot with familiar characters and frosty antagonists; King again mixes genres, although the main one is a detective; excellent design; beautiful bright flyleaf

Minuses:

King definitely has better novels; to get acquainted with «Holly» you need to read all the previous books with the character of Holly Gibney

9/10

Rating ITC.ua

«Holly»

Author Stephen King
Translator Olga Zakharchenko
Publisher KSD
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 608
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2024
Size 135×205 mm
Website bookclub.ua

Detective Holly Gibney is exhausted, and her OCD is being severely tested by the COVID-19 pandemic. But a woman named Penny Dahl approaches the «What’s Down, What’s Up agency with a request to find her missing daughter. Starting to dig into the case, Holly comes across a couple of old professors, Rodney and Emily Harris. They live in a cozy house, run the local university, and in their spare time kidnap people and do terrible things to them. Will the heroine be able to cope with this, or will she end up a victim?

If last year’s «Fairy tale» by Mr. King was for fantasy fans, then «Holly» will definitely appeal to those fans of the writer who like detectives and thrillers. It is also important to be aware of King’s previous books, namely the trilogy «Mr. Mercedes» («Mr. Mercedes», «What’s down is up», «End of shift»), novel «Outsider» and novels «If the blood flows» with of the collection of the same name.

The above-mentioned novels are not just a recommendation, but a must-read because without this base, there is no point in taking up «Holly». After all, you will not be familiar with the heroine herself, or other characters, or many of the events and memories described here, which the author often inserts from the above novels.

«Holly» — is a classic King detective story with a slant toward suspense, psychological horror, and mysticism. However, unlike the same «The Outsider» or other works of the series, there is nothing fantastic or supernatural here at all.

We have an intense story with familiar characters that the author reveals from new angles, and also adds new large chunks of biography to them. The book flows easily through the reader, and the 600 pages fly by like crazy.

Stephen King, 75, has once again managed to write a thick, interesting book that, if it does not deserve to be among his best works, is definitely somewhere close. Of course, its disadvantage is its reference to other works by the writer, which will definitely cut off some readers. Because they will at least need to know the previous novels, and some of them will simply not even want to take it up.

One of the main characters in these works is Holly Gibney. As we can see, Mr. King decided to give her a separate novel because, as he admitted, he could never let go of this character. Initially, Holly was supposed to be a cameo character in «Mr. Mercedes», but she became an important part of the trilogy, then appeared in the future until she «stole the whole book».

For me, Holly Gibney is the actress Justine Lupe from the TV series «Mr. Mercedes». And although I like it much less than the miniseries «The Outsider», this particular incarnation of Holly is better for me than Cynthia Erivo in «The Outsider». The thing is, Cynthia’s Holly was too sterile, and Justine Lupe played the Holly described in the trilogy — a woman with OCD who has many problems with social interaction and a talent for investigation.

Stephen King not only creates great stories, but also fills them with contemporary issues. All of this makes readers turn the pages with enthusiasm. It’s like they’re in another universe, but it’s so realistic and familiar. It also gives maximum understanding of the views or feelings of the people who read it. Yes «Holly» is filled with the COVID-19 pandemic, its denial by inadequate Trumpists, Trump’s own policies and their consequences. Of course, this is as close as possible to Americans, but it also resonates with us, Ukrainians.

The writer, as always, has touched a certain inadequate part of the US population because the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads have included one and two, outright insults to the writer. This time from Trumpists and anti-Vaxxers. They accuse King of intertwining politics and topical issues in his novel. They say we just want a good story, and here you are telling us about your dislike of Trump and the inadequacy of anti-Vaxxers.

Probably, these people have not read Stephen King’s novels at all because his views and his reflections on certain pressing problems of the United States and humanity are constantly appearing in all his works. He wrote about smartphone addiction, corrupt politicians, the consequences of the Cold War and nuclear madness, the boundless consumerism of modern generations, alcoholism, drug addiction, racism, and so on.

Like all the author’s other works, «Holly» is filled with many references to pop culture: there are references to the TV series «Ozark», the films «Blood-Red Sky» and «The Princess Bride», and discussions of Netflix and smartphones. The writer also does not shy away from making veiled, and not so veiled, references to his other novels. They are also a part of pop culture, and it’s just nice to understand a hint or reference to a character, event, or plot point.

Like «Fairy Tale, Holly has a great cover, which again I like better than the original one. Yes, it is based on it, but it is definitely brighter in every sense. Moreover, KSD continues to have beautiful, wonderful flyleaves that add to the pleasant visual experience of the book.

Conclusion:

«Holly» — is a bright and modern detective story by Stephen King that makes you turn the pages and not put it down until the story is over. The thick book is absorbed in a matter of days, and you don't want to part with the familiar characters. It's nice that they've been given large chunks of biography and important new lines of development. It's also a book without all the fantastic, although there are horror motifs here, as well as the King of Horror's signature suspense.

You should definitely read «Holly» if you like the «Mr. Mercedes trilogy, the novel «The Outsider», and the collection «If the Blood Flows». But if you haven't read it, you'll have to get acquainted, because without this base, there's no point in taking on a new novel.