Desperation by Stephen King (1996, Hardcover)

I picked this up almost as an afterthought at a discount store simply because the price was too good to pass up. I normally read a book first before purchasing (I have to set some limits on the buying otherwise the books would take over), but I lucked out with this gem.
Stephen King knows how to tell a great story. He gets to the heart of the reader by describing elements in a story than anyone can relate to. His magic is in the interpersonal relationships of everyone in each story, and an almost exhaustive attention to detail that is never boring but engaging. Trying to explain what this book is about would make it sound rather silly, (a group of people in a mining town are kidnapped by an alien being that "uses" their bodies to destroy the town and everyone in it). King knows people and writes about people. The story shows how this setting transforms the people involved, and how they work together to try to defeat this evil being. This is another great King read, long and rambling but utterly engaging and compulsive, and worthy of a spot in any King library.