Cujo

Well, that was a surprise, I wasn't expecting anything close to even half as good as this!

It's the way of the world: no expectations = occasional banzai!

You are bound by logic, whips and lashes, to eventually read everything written by Stephen King if you're a fan of horror, but it's still amazing how great Cujo is instead of just another paint by numbers thriller.

So, who or what is Cujo?

Cujo is not a Spanish clown, circus act or a weird witch doctor, but a humongous Saint Bernard dog that becomes a pivotal threat to the well-being of a small community of people that you grow to love and, in some cases, despise.

Although Cujo occasionally takes on a first person doggy perspective, the story isn't about canine heroics or pet-to-human bonding - it's no Thor by Wayne Smith - but more about the people who come into direct or indirect contact with him.

It's also a gritty and very real work of fiction.

The lack of heartwarming doggy antics was a bit of a disappointment at first, but Stephen King creates an atmosphere of family and friends in an out-of-state region of Maine where cops and emergency services are inadequate and sparse that expands way beyond that, with its major soap opera mechanics that totally work, then becoming a work of sinister horror as the carpet is well and truly pulled from under your expectant feet.

We read about loves and lives, bitterness, disappointment and betrayal, while rarely giving a hoot about the impending elements of horror due to how carefully the day-to-day details of daily life are expressed.

Cujo seems throwaway and nondescript at first, especially as it has no structured chapters and sometimes rambles along with gaps in formatting and trains of thought, but somehow turns into an essential horror thriller from an incredible cannon of Stephen King works in the late 1970s.

I was expecting maybe a weak link, somewhere, a bit too much plodding along, perhaps a ropey or unsatisfying ending, but Stephen King does it yet again, it's quite unbelievably good.

The only minor complaint is how easily the husband accepts the transgressions of his wife, but it's a forgivable blip.

This was my ninth Stephen King book and I'm going to at least need double or treble that amount to have a proper opinion on this amazing author.

I was not expecting anything half as good as this!