As a Stephen King fan, I've been disappointed with his work recently. 'Cell' seemed to be just a long personal bitch about cell phones, which was not really what I was looking for. Cell phones (or mobiles, as we call them here in England) are awesome. I will have no man speak against them. However, Duma Key seemed to be a return to form. I loved it.

I was excited about the book before it came out as I'd read that King had moved to Florida and, being an author that seems to firmly believe that you should 'write what you know', I heard the book was to be set in Florida, which it is - on the fictional island of Duma Key. You'll start the book wanting to go there, and end thanking whatever deity you believe in that the island is fictional.

Not to give anything away, but it book is all about a man called Edgar Freemantle, who loses an arm in an accident. His life kinda falls apart around him, and he decideds to move to Duma Key to get away for a while. While he's there he fills his time with painting. Now, these paintings are, by all accounts, freakin' awesome and seem to have some kind of strange power. In classic King style, supernatural freaky things ensue.

What I really love about this book is that the plot focuses on a classic King freaky occurrence, which is discussed and worked out by the usual cast of interesting loveable characters that has kept me as a 'Constant Reader' of Stephen King for years. If I described the plot to a friend (which I have), it would seem ridiculous to them (which it did), almost to the point of them laughing, but the way King tells the story makes it seem like it could happen to anyone. You just accept the world as it is presented to you.

So, if you're a King fan, this is a good book for you. If your a MASSIVE King man, there are a few nods to the Dark Tower in there. Just a couple of subtle ones.

This book gets my first rating ever: Eight Thumbs Up.