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Matthew's Reviews > Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary
by
by
Matthew's review
bookshelves: zombies, horror, stephen-king, own, supernatural, 2020, audio, read-more-than-once
Jan 08, 2013
bookshelves: zombies, horror, stephen-king, own, supernatural, 2020, audio, read-more-than-once
Read 2 times. Last read June 7, 2020 to June 13, 2020.
Sometimes dead is better
First read (mid-1990s) – 5 Stars
Re-read (June 2020) – 5 Stars
Two things about this book:
1. It is one of two Stephen King books I finished in one sitting (the other being The Dead Zone)
2. When I was a kid, I had to make sure the cover of this book was not facing out or I could not sleep. I didn't even like to look at it when I was awake!
In the introduction to Pet Sematary, King says he almost didn’t submit it for publication, and that would have been very sad. Of course, I have listened to other book intros of his and it seems to be a common theme that he almost didn’t finish or submit a book. Maybe that is just his usual explanation to increase the drama going into the book. One of the intros (it was to his written as Richard Bachman novel Blaze) said he didn’t submit the book for publication originally because it is not that great. Blaze is one of my favorites of his, so, I guess King is his toughest critic! Makes me wonder what other great ideas he has scrapped that we may have missed out on.
This is King in his prime! Pet Sematary is the perfect blend of character building, suspense, supernatural, gore, horror, and gut-wrenching shocks. Like his other novel, Cujo, some of the developments might be hard for readers to swallow. You may even curse King’s name for doing this to you. But, as a reader, I am searching for shocking and memorable roller coaster rides and that is exactly what I got with this book. Do not start this book expecting to ride in the slow lane or that you might be in for just a little scare. The reality is, this book may give you nightmares and make it hard to sleep at night. You may never look at your pets the same way again. Each time you drive by or visit a graveyard, you may get a chill you have never felt before. This book will get into you and will not let go.
I often get asked where a reader should start if they want to try out King. Pet Sematary is a pretty good place to start, ayuh, but it might be a little too much for some to handle!
First read (mid-1990s) – 5 Stars
Re-read (June 2020) – 5 Stars
Two things about this book:
1. It is one of two Stephen King books I finished in one sitting (the other being The Dead Zone)
2. When I was a kid, I had to make sure the cover of this book was not facing out or I could not sleep. I didn't even like to look at it when I was awake!
In the introduction to Pet Sematary, King says he almost didn’t submit it for publication, and that would have been very sad. Of course, I have listened to other book intros of his and it seems to be a common theme that he almost didn’t finish or submit a book. Maybe that is just his usual explanation to increase the drama going into the book. One of the intros (it was to his written as Richard Bachman novel Blaze) said he didn’t submit the book for publication originally because it is not that great. Blaze is one of my favorites of his, so, I guess King is his toughest critic! Makes me wonder what other great ideas he has scrapped that we may have missed out on.
This is King in his prime! Pet Sematary is the perfect blend of character building, suspense, supernatural, gore, horror, and gut-wrenching shocks. Like his other novel, Cujo, some of the developments might be hard for readers to swallow. You may even curse King’s name for doing this to you. But, as a reader, I am searching for shocking and memorable roller coaster rides and that is exactly what I got with this book. Do not start this book expecting to ride in the slow lane or that you might be in for just a little scare. The reality is, this book may give you nightmares and make it hard to sleep at night. You may never look at your pets the same way again. Each time you drive by or visit a graveyard, you may get a chill you have never felt before. This book will get into you and will not let go.
I often get asked where a reader should start if they want to try out King. Pet Sematary is a pretty good place to start, ayuh, but it might be a little too much for some to handle!
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
January 8, 2013
– Shelved
March 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
zombies
March 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
horror
March 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
stephen-king
March 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
own
March 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
supernatural
June 7, 2020
–
Started Reading
June 7, 2020
– Shelved as:
2020
June 7, 2020
– Shelved as:
audio
June 7, 2020
– Shelved as:
read-more-than-once
"
June 13, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 82 (82 new)
message 1:
by
Trish
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
May 12, 2016 12:24PM
Oh, the cover is wonderful! This edition was unfortuantely not available when I bought my copy not long ago but mine at least has a black cat that also hisses.
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It scared the crap out of me! I was 6 or 7 at the time, so understandable, I guess.
Of course! Just count yourself "lucky" you were able and allowed to read something like that back then!
Oh . . . I didn't read it until high school - it just tormented me on the shelf for years!
*lol* My mother wouldn't have allowed such a book ANYWHERE in the house (also, I'm the only reader in the entire family).
Interesting side note - I still have this same copy of Pet Sematary on my shelf today. My kids don't like my copy of the original Creepshow comic book! Several times my wife has brought it to me saying the kids couldn't sleep knowing it was in the room.
Well, then they can sleep in the friggin garden!Yes, I'm evil. ;P
Really cool that you still have the book!
Ow, you too?I learned the lesson when I left "Shining" in the magazines basket with the wrong side up.
Whoah! The whole thing! Well, I think I was close with this one and I did do it with Misery. Impressive.
Shaina wrote: "Whoah! The whole thing! Well, I think I was close with this one and I did do it with Misery. Impressive."Thanks! It was just so riveting - or, I read it at just the right time that I had nothing better to do!😉
Oh the one with the cat? Is that it? I never thought about it. I’m trying to think of a book that scared me. I love the thought of putting them in the garden. I knew one person that put them in the microwave at night. lol!
Only SK book that really, truly scared me.
Shaina wrote: "Oh the one with the cat? Is that it? I never thought about it. I’m trying to think of a book that scared me. I love the thought of putting them in the garden. I knew one person that put them in the..."Yup, the one with the cat!😃
Remember I rented this on VHS (yeah I’m that old) when I was in my early 20. But had to quit close to the end because it was so creepy, never actually saw the ending, King’s just the master of creating a scary atmosphere, maybe I should give the book a go.
So, Matthew I thought of a dvd cover. Lol. It’s The Conjuring 2 with a nun in the background. David has to keep the cover in Canada and tape a cross over her face. Yeeesh. Scary nun.
Lars wrote: "Remember I rented this on VHS (yeah I’m that old) when I was in my early 20. But had to quit close to the end because it was so creepy, never actually saw the ending, King’s just the master of crea..."I definitely think this was one of the better movie adaptations of a King book.
Shaina wrote: "So, Matthew I thought of a dvd cover. Lol. It’s The Conjuring 2 with a nun in the background. David has to keep the cover in Canada and tape a cross over her face. Yeeesh. Scary nun."There are definitely a few movie covers/posters scary enough you don't really need to see the movie!
I'm married to an Alpha male, pretty much nothing scares him, except retirement without enough money or something bad happening to me or our daughter, however, he's told me on occasion that this book left him very very unsettled, and he's a huge King reader. For whatever reason, it gives him the "icks".
Lisa wrote: "I'm married to an Alpha male, pretty much nothing scares him, except retirement without enough money or something bad happening to me or our daughter, however, he's told me on occasion that this bo..."If that isn't an endorsement for this book, I don't know what is!? 🤣🤣😃
I had this one way back in high school. It got lost somewhere though. I recently bought a new copy for a re-read, but I like the cover for this one better.
Yeah I love the cat being on the cover. It certainly is appropriate for the story. Even if it is a bit creepy.
Renee wrote: "I had this one way back in high school. It got lost somewhere though. I recently bought a new copy for a re-read, but I like the cover for this one better."This is a great book to judge by its cover - with the right cover, that is!
Shaina wrote: "Yeah I love the cat being on the cover. It certainly is appropriate for the story. Even if it is a bit creepy."So appropriate - this cover artist hit a home run!
This book absolutely made my skin crawl! Those eerie midnight walks in the forest and the scenes with the wife's sister were some of the freakiest! I read this same edition (thanks to some hodunk flea market I found during a drive), and that cover art only added to the experience haha. After closing the book (following a creeptastic scene), I made sure to cover it up with another book or three so my already-haunted night thoughts wouldn't worsen if I saw Church hissing back lol.When I was a kid, I made the mistake of looking through the pop-up book version of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I couldn't sleep that night and the next few. I learned my lesson that day lol.
Mac wrote: "This book absolutely made my skin crawl! Those eerie midnight walks in the forest and the scenes with the wife's sister were some of the freakiest! I read this same edition (thanks to some hodunk f..."It is great to hear stories from people who had the exact same experience with this cover that I did!🤣🤣🤣
Tessy wrote: "Glad you enjoyed it"Thanks, Tessy! 😁
Great review! I had a similar problem with 'Salem's Lot. I was a teenager and had about 30-40 pages left in the book. The sun was setting and I had to finish it before the sun set.
Sandy wrote: "Great review! I had a similar problem with 'Salem's Lot. I was a teenager and had about 30-40 pages left in the book. The sun was setting and I had to finish it before the sun set."Oh, I can imagine! No Salem's Lot after sunset!😉
LLAMALOVER23 wrote: "This seems like a good book"One of his best!
It’s funny that you said that. With the newest PS movie coming out, my mom and I were talking about how I used to love this book but couldn’t look at the cover when I was reading it. I taped a post it over the cats face when I read it so I didn’t have to see. This made me chuckle :)
Yes, I find this to be the scariest Stephen King novel I've ever read. Many of my friends agree. I read this when it first came out in the eighties. I leant it to my Mom to read, and it gave her nightmares!
Kate wrote: "It’s funny that you said that. With the newest PS movie coming out, my mom and I were talking about how I used to love this book but couldn’t look at the cover when I was reading it. I taped a post..."Ha! OMG that is PERFECT! Again, kudos to the artist and the person who worked for the publisher that chose this cover. Traumatized people everywhere can't be wrong!
I just reread it a month ago. It was one of my first King books, when I was about 12ish. It scared me so much that I had to leave the light on. The reread about 25 years later was still unsettling, now reading it as a parent..
I am really looking forward watching the new movie adaptation.
*TUDOR^QUEEN* wrote: "Yes, I find this to be the scariest Stephen King novel I've ever read. Many of my friends agree. I read this when it first came out in the eighties. I leant it to my Mom to read, and it gave her ni..."It has been many years since my first read. I am planning an audio reread soon (so I don't have to look at the cover every day)!
I hope the new movie is better than the first. The Book is better than the first movie. It is a great early King book read.
Katharina wrote: "I just reread it a month ago. It was one of my first King books, when I was about 12ish. It scared me so much that I had to leave the light on. The reread about 25 years later was still unsettling..."
Indeed! When people talk about truly terrifying Stephen King - this is where it's at!
ha ha, I read this when I was a young adult and remember thinking hmm, if I could, would I bring my favourite beloved cat back? Twisted eh? And i don't do horror, might have to reevaluate that!
Pat wrote: "ha ha, I read this when I was a young adult and remember thinking hmm, if I could, would I bring my favourite beloved cat back? Twisted eh? And i don't do horror, might have to reevaluate that!"Yes . . . But would you risk your favorite cat being infused with pure evil?😉
Matthew wrote: "Pat wrote: "ha ha, I read this when I was a young adult and remember thinking hmm, if I could, would I bring my favourite beloved cat back? Twisted eh? And i don't do horror, might have to reevalua..."Well, he was a cunning little dude as it was. Seriously - no, but I can understand the desire.
Pat wrote: "Well, he was a cunning little dude as it was. Seriously - no, but I can understand the desire. "Ha! I have known many a cat where I wondered if they came from the Pet Sematary! 😉
Matthew wrote: "Pat wrote: "Well, he was a cunning little dude as it was. Seriously - no, but I can understand the desire. "Ha! I have known many a cat where I wondered if they came from the Pet Sematary! 😉"
Indeed, they can be quite contrary and those claws!
As an adult i still wouldn't want the book facing out lol. Reading a Stephen King book in one sitting is definitely an achievement!
Alana wrote: "As an adult i still wouldn't want the book facing out lol. Reading a Stephen King book in one sitting is definitely an achievement!"
Life too crazy now to have the time to do that sort of thing again. Maybe when I retire?
This book is in transit and I cannot wait to read it.
Going to read this one soon, looking forward to it! I had the same problem with IT when I was a kid (regarding the book cover). I was scared witless.
Ankita wrote: "This book is in transit and I cannot wait to read it."Hope you get it soon and enjoy! :)
This is back when King was talented. His books these days, i.e. Mr. Mercedes series are garbage.
Sebastien wrote: "Going to read this one soon, looking forward to it! I had the same problem with IT when I was a kid (regarding the book cover). I was scared witless."
Which cover of It was it? The one with the clawed hand coming out of the sewer? The copy I have has Tim Curry as Pennywise on it.
When it comes to Pet Sematary, dead is always better!! lol Great review Matthew
