An amazingly gripping novella; I was glued to it for days. It accurately portrays an inquisitive and emotional teenage mind with a normal curiosity that stems out of control.

As I do on most of the titles to his stories, I wonder as to what they are going to be about. I could never have guessed this one. I was pleasantly surprised and was intrigued about the things that were happening during the holocaust. Not that I supported it by any means, I just thought he did a remarkable job at taking a dark and evil time and twisting it with the first hand experience of someone guilty of doing the horrible experimenting. All I can say is that I wished it were longer.

Oh, my God! Is this my favourite piece of King writing? Hands down, yes! I know the author has said that he (or perhaps others argued) that it was overblown, but to me it's a perfect novella. Even more so than Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and The Body. It may be far-fetched by anybody's standards, but once you get over the fact that a boy has discovered that a Nazi war criminal is living in the same neighbourhood, then it intrigues and pulls you in. Like all of King's greatest work, it sets a pace that seduces. The way that the old man, and boy try to outdo each other is genius. Dussander is a man who wants to live his remaining days in peace, but Todd won't allow that, and then it swings and Dussander won't give Todd the peace of mind he requires. Just as violence begets violence, suddenly murder begets murder and the whole story takes on a sickening, dark edge. But it's beautifully executed. I love it so much that I can sit on the bus, and read over certain parts; knowing the outcome, but enjoying the writing just the same. It is also a great movie. Ian McKellan plays Dussander exquisitely, and now I can't read the book without seeing old Gandalf in his Nazi uniform! If you don't own Different Seasons then you're missing out on arguably King's best work.