You can read it by itself, but if you're planning to read the Hodges trilogy at some point, I would recommend reading them first or you're going to get spoilers.
I would agree. Especially during the last half/third of the book, Holly recounts several important twists in both Finders Keepers and End of Watch to support her theories.
I would agree. Especially during the last half/third of the book, Holly recounts several important twists in both Finders Keepers and End of Watch to support her theories.
Quoting myself, because after thinking about it more, I need to include Mr. Mercedes, as several other characters mention the ending in specifics. So, basically, yes, you can read The Outsiders without having read The Hodges trilogy, but if you plan to read the trilogy later you will already know the ending/key points in each of them.
I just finished it yesterday and thought it was a fun read. I read part of it alone late one night in our living room (I was the only one up) and actually got pretty creeped out at one point— it’s been a while since I experienced that reading a book!
It was also fun to read an SK book that took place in familiar territory. We live in San Antonio but our in-laws have a small ranch house (about a century old) that’s out in the middle of nowhere, west of Waco.
We frequently travel up and down highway 281 which runs north/south just west of the I-35/Dallas-Austin-San Antonio corridor and would likely have been a road these Texas characters would’ve frequently used. (He played with the geography and town/road names a bit bit that’s to be expected. Plus, universe without end, right?) Many of the towns you pass through on this drive could be dropped right into the story or may have even been inspiration for the fictional towns mentioned, I suppose. (We’ve even driven into Lampasas to pick up chicken to bring back for family get togethers. And, yes, it was quite cold by the time we got back.) There are also several small towns with cave attractions too.
Actually, there’s a small park just a few blocks from our house that has some scenic jogging paths and a couple of caves on the property. One has a steel cage around the opening but you can see down into it. Another has a rock ledge covering the entrance but, if you ignore the sign, you can make your way down to look into it as well. (I’d even joked recently with my son about how freaky it would be to be down there after dark.— I’ve read to many SK books for that, LOL.) When I get home, I’ll post some pics...
Almost finished. This is so wonderful. Not one boring part to the story. A pleasant surprise happened halfway in the book....wow. This story is perfect.
Hi Everyone. I just finished listening to the OUTSIDER, and will say that the narrator is EXCELLENT......the story itself is written well and draws you in, but as the story unfolds, it starts to become a little MEH....I don't know about any of you,
but I HATED the ending...things were just tied up a little too easily for my liking...like all that big "hurrah" during most of the book and then BOOM...
all of a sudden, the Outsider was killed so easily?
Nope. Not buying it.
I wanted the Outsider to be a bit harder to kill and a little more menacing. Also, the book wasn't scary at all. I'll just say I enjoyed reading it all the way up until the last 30 pages then I was just mad.
I finished The Outsider a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I reckon Steve one-upped himself on the previous Bill Hodges trilogy. Having Holly join the cast of this novel was a master stroke. Great stuff.
Just finished the book and there's just one little thing I feel like sharing that hasn't been mentioned yet.
Howie insisted - no bulletproof vest! We all know how that turned out. So my question is quite simple - why didn't they have him wear the vest under the clothes? Small detail, but it serves as a major plot device.
Just finished the book and there's just one little thing I feel like sharing that hasn't been mentioned yet.
Howie insisted - no bulletproof vest! We all know how that turned out. So my question is quite simple - why didn't they have him wear the vest under the clothes? Small detail, but it serves as a major plot device.
....welcome.....tactical vests like that are anything but subtle....they are about as easy to hide under clothing as a lump of coal in cottage cheese.....the sheer bulk of even the thinnest are obvious....
....welcome.....tactical vests like that are anything but subtle....they are about as easy to hide under clothing as a lump of coal in cottage cheese.....the sheer bulk of even the thinnest are obvious....
....the weary postman dropped it off at the GNT Den today.....will pick it up and begin chewing through it as soon as I finish Koontz's latest Jane Hawk novel....
When I started reading The Outsider I thought we were gonna have a conspiracy involved but even though it wasn't that I must admit to being a little disappointed with the ending "Not another shapeshifter!" But that didn't stop me from devouring this book, not literally of course, in record time (record time for me) but I still enjoyed it and agree it was great to see Holly making a return.
I finished this novel a few months ago, but I came back to it recently to reread the ending. This time I got much more out of it. I love how Ralph and Holly are bound together by this situation that they found themselves in and that they check in on each other. For something so traumatic, that’s a great part to add. I also like the shift from Ralph being this mess of a cop to redeeming himself as well as Terry. He really changes into this admirable character who risks his life to be a better person. However, my favorite part of the ending that I realized this time is the idea that the universe is infinite, and we have no business trying to explain it. I’ve believed this for a long time, and King got the explanation for it just right. Overall a great story, and one that I’d recommend, even if it is dark. It brings up many good ideas and I really got a lot out of it. I loved reading this.
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