As a long term fan of Stephen King, I look forward to each new publication.   I have read all of his recent books going back to 2012 and I have been filling in (and enjoying) some of the missing earlier ones, including Misery, Pet Semetary, and Under the Dome.   My favorite Stephe King book is It.    This is a seminal book that I admire a great deal and I plan to read it again at some point.

I listened to Later as an audiobook (6 hours and 30 minutes).    It is a good production and it is a simple story, easy to follow while working on other projects concurrently.

My first reaction was that it closely resembled a series of books that I had read by Dean Koontz.    The Odd Thomas books (8 of them) are about a young man who sees and can communicate with the dead.   From this premise follow a number of crime-thriller-supernatural stories.    I read the first 4 and then the story started to become “more of the same” so I did not continue the series.

The premise of Later is that the protagonist, a young boy, can see the recently dead and can speak to them.   This is uncomfortable, but not dangerous, but that all changes.   He tells the story in the first person, looking back at earlier events of his life.

Although I enjoyed the book, it did not feel fresh or insightful.   Stephen King Lite.

My rating – 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0

An audiobook excerpt: