The Talisman
On sale
16th July 2026
Price: £12.99
World Fantasy Award, 1985
Genre
The iconic, ‘extraordinary’ (Washington Post) collaboration between bestselling authors Stephen King and Peter Straub – an epic No. 1 bestselling fantasy thriller about a young boy’s quest to save his mother’s life.
Twelve-year-old Jack spends his days alone in a deserted coastal town, his father gone, his mother dying. Then he meets a stranger – and embarks on a terrifying journey. For Jack must find the Talisman, the only thing that can save his mother.
His quest takes him into the menacing Territories, a parallel world where violence, surprise and the titanic struggle between good and evil reach across a mythic landscape.
‘Extraordinary . . . makes your hair stand on end’ Washington Post
Twelve-year-old Jack spends his days alone in a deserted coastal town, his father gone, his mother dying. Then he meets a stranger – and embarks on a terrifying journey. For Jack must find the Talisman, the only thing that can save his mother.
His quest takes him into the menacing Territories, a parallel world where violence, surprise and the titanic struggle between good and evil reach across a mythic landscape.
‘Extraordinary . . . makes your hair stand on end’ Washington Post
Reviews
One of the most brilliant and chilling thrillers of modern times ... a thrill-a-minute ghost train ride of a novel, filled with astonishingly vivid characters. Reading it is like holding on to a live electric wire. You may want to put it down, but you find that you can't
Fabulous ... the ultimate in storytelling by two masters of the craft
Chilling horror story or fantastic journey through a strange world ... the book works like ... well, like magic
