But I'm strong, strong enough to care with him.

He ain't heavy. He's my brother. Hello, Hello, And welcome to the Stephen King cast, one man's musings on the works of Stephen King.

Each week I review one entry in the

bibliography of Stephen King in the chronological order of publication. And this week brings me to

our final entry of the 1980s, thank God, 1989's Metatextual Thrill Ride, the Dark Half.

I don't know why, but for whatever reason, this is a novel

that I have been waiting to get back to. And I don't know, I mean, it's not like I've never

reread it. I mean, I've reread it again since the first time at least once, I want to say,

so it's not like I don't have distinct memories of it.

You know, maybe it's because I've just been so immersed in the world of Richard Bachman as of late.

So I guess the meta aspect of the story, to me, probably is that much fresher.

Now, the first few times around with the Dark Half didn't have that level of understanding of King's alter ego.

Yeah, I mean, I had read the Bachman books, but it's only until my reread for the podcast did I realize the sheer brutality of the quality of Richard Bachman's books, as

opposed to what Stephen King publishes under his own name.

So I guess having a better understanding of Richard Bachman means that I have a better

understanding of the conflict within the dark half, namely George Stark's sense of being.

Now, just a couple things about the dark half before I really get into it.

The first is that there are a few novels that King has to put out that tend to not get disregarded.

That's not the right word for it, but aren't lauded, that's it.

That aren't lauded the same way as, let's say, the shining.

Now, the dark half certainly falls into this category.

You know, having not really been, not really been,

...