The talisman (novel)
The Talisman (original title: The Talisman ) is a fantasy novel by the American writers Stephen King and Peter Straub from 1984.
action
The twelve - year - old half - orphan Jack Sawyer is desperate: his mother, actress and B-movie - "Queen" of the 1960s, has cancer and is already dying. On the run from Morgan Sloat, the former business partner of his father who was killed in a hunting accident years ago, the two of them stayed in an old, run-down hotel on the US east coast.
A little later , in an amusement park not far away, Jack meets the mysterious Speedy Parker, who tells him about the much more mysterious territories, a mystical world beyond the known reality, in which magic is as natural as technology in our world. Jack has known the territories since early childhood: They are the land of his constant daydreams . Through Speedy's education and a bottle of mysterious potion ("magic juice") he develops the ability to move into the territories at will with the help of "flipping".
His "Twinner" who died long ago was, as he now learns, Jason DeLoessian, the son of the Queen of the Territories, Laura DeLoessian. She suffers - just like Jack's mother - from a deadly disease and the whole magical world is threatened by a vicious enemy who turns out to be none other than the doppelganger of Jack's evil "uncle" Morgan Sloat, who makes him and his mother normal World chases.
It is now Jack's task to travel to the west of the territories and look for the magical talisman with which he can heal his mother and the queen. He receives help from unexpected sources, so he is accompanied for a while by a friendly and loyal werewolf . But Sloat and his henchmen have long since noticed that someone is trying to thwart their sinister plans, and before Jack knows what is happening to him, he is drawn into an argument that began long before he was born and in which it was no less is about the fate of the two worlds in which he lives.
Figures of the "real world"
Jack Sawyer
He is the son of the aging actress and Lily Cavanaugh Sawyer, who is twelve years old, was declared the "Queen of B-Movies " by fans and although he is a half-orphan , he lives thanks to his strong and brave mother, who constantly preaches to him never to give up in a relatively sheltered ideal world. Until it turns out that his mother has cancer and doesn't have much longer to live. For their sake, the naturally fearful boy has to be brave and endure a long journey across the United States and its counterpart, the territories - and grows up to be the protector of two worlds.
Speedy Parker
A mysterious old man of color. He works as a janitor and girl for everything in an amusement park and explains to Jack how he can save his mother, the queen and both worlds. He gives Jack a bottle of "magic juice" to help him "flip", to switch between worlds, and a few other items and instructions with him on the way.
Morgan Sloat
Jack's "uncle" was his father's fellow student at Yale University. Together they founded a small artist agency after university and created a small corporate empire from it over the years, which made both millionaires. Sloat is an ugly overweight man who thinks of little else than profit and power. His greed ultimately made him a multiple murderer in collaboration with his "Twinner". He has a son, Richard, whom he probably loved very much at a young age, but whom he would without hesitation sacrifice to get the talisman. He chases Jack's mother across the United States because he wants to force a declaration of resignation from her about the inheritance of the joint company. Then the Sawyers' inheritance cannot pass to Jack after their death.
Lily Cavanaugh Sawyer
Jack's mother, wife of Phil Sawyer, who was killed in an accident. Woman with a "lion heart" who would do anything to protect her son. She is a tough figure in every way. The way they talk and also the way they deal with their illness, their fears and the people around them is harsh, if not heartless. At many points in the story Jack would be upset if his mother hadn't always admonished him not to give up and always to fight injustices. When Jack tells her that he has to go to save her life, she reacts amazingly by simply letting him go. She believes him when he insists that he could save her life, even though it goes against all medicine and logic.
Richard Sloat
Son of Morgan Sloat and best friend of Jack. They grew up together. In essence the exact opposite of his father, among other things because he only believes in technology and science. Doesn't even like to read the most engaging novels, except for school. His father hardly has any time for him and he attends the “Thayer School”, an expensive, exclusive private school. Later he wants to become a chemical researcher. Without his help, Jack would be lost.
Reverend "Sunlight" Gardener
A thoroughly evil, crazy, sadistic person. As it turns out, an employee of Morgan Sloat. Runs the Sunlight Gardener Bible Home for Stumbled Boys in Indiana and works as a television preacher on local television. Is Morgan Sloat's closest confidante and has one son, Reuel Gardener, who also attends the Thayer School. Furthermore, hates children.
Figures of the Territories
Jason De Loessian
- Was the "Twinner" of Jack Sawyer, died of unknown reasons when he was still a baby (sudden infant death syndrome). Son of Laura De Loessian and her late husband. From the book it can be concluded that one day he would have become a charismatic, friendly, clever, courageous, beautiful person whom his subjects would have adored.
Parkus
- Speedy Parker's Twinner. He is the territorial equivalent of a police chief and a chief judge and helps Jack wherever he can.
Morgan from Orris
- Named after his sphere of influence, the lands of Orris, which lie far to the west of the "Territories" and are rather insignificant for the kingdom, also because they border the "Broken Land", which is uninhabitable and contaminated. Cruel, power-hungry, greedy for profit. Had a son, Rushton, who, like Jason De Loessian, died when he was little. Twinner from Morgan Sloat. He wants to get Jack before he can get the talisman, and does everything in his power to become king after Queen Laura's death.
Laura De Loessian
- Queen of the Territories. She is loved by people for ruling gently and wisely before she got so sick. Is dying surrounded by Orris' people eagerly awaiting death. Was the mother of Jason and the wife of Phil Sawyer's Twinner, is herself the Twinner of Lily Sawyer.
Rushton From Orris
- Twinner by Richard Sloat. Died when he was little. In contrast to Jason, however, he died of negligence because his parents did not pay attention to him and he drowned unnoticed in a pond.
Osmond
- Twinner from Sunlight Gardener, just as insane, brutal and sadistic. He absolutely hates children and has no problem of conscience killing people when told to. He operates underground mines, in which the prisoners toil to death and is the right hand man of Morgan Von Orris. Always carries a metal-reinforced whip. His son is not named otherwise in the book than his Twinner, Reuel.
wolf
- Wolf doesn't own a Twinner in the "real world". He is a werewolf and is only called "wolf". Just like his siblings, who, as it turns out later, are also called "wolf". He has a thoroughly good nature. Originally, and for the most part, the protectors of the royal family's herds of cattle, werewolves in the Territories have been around for centuries, and they have adapted perfectly to the task. Wolf puts his life on the line for his herd without hesitation, whenever necessary. He's not a great thinker and very simple, but then practical and forward-thinking. Like all wolves, he perceives his environment best through his extremely fine nose. Whether someone is sad, sick, anxious or asleep, wolf can smell it. He has remarkable shining hazel eyes, if something upset him, if the wolf moon is imminent or if danger threatens, his eyes start to shine like “jack-o-lanterns”. From him Jack learns a lot about friendship, willingness to make sacrifices and responsibility for the weaker.
- On three, a maximum of four days a month in normal situations, a wolf transforms into a werewolf at "Wolf Moon". His flock must then be locked away from him to be safe, which he does all by himself, following his instincts, then "he runs with the moon". Hunts, eats and even looks after his flock on the side until the full moon is over.
The "Elroy thing"
- A creepy half-being, similar to a werewolf, only malevolent through and through. According to his description, reminds Jack of a kind of "Wer-Bock" with eyes that glow with poisonous yellow. Works for Morgan Von Orris / Morgan Sloat.
Locations
The territories
Parallel world to ours, the "real world". Organized like our Middle Ages, the territories are wild, confusing, untamed and strangely innocent despite everything. With one major exception, the "Broken Land", they are clean and untouched compared to our world today. The air is described as so clear that a freshly harvested turnip can be clearly smelled a mile and a half further. Distances are very difficult to estimate because the air is so clear.
The state religion seems to be roughly similar to ours, but instead of referring to the Bible it refers to the “Book of Good Economics”. What facts about this religious work can be found in the book must be inferred entirely from short quotations within the plot or from briefly mentioned equations. Wolf refers to an equation in the "Book of Good Economics" when it comes to how he should deal with the wolf moon in Jack's world and the completely strange circumstances. Colloquial exclamations like “God hammered” and wisdom like “God hammers his nails” or “everything and everyone will be fine” refer to this other “Bible”.
The Broken Land
The Broken Land appears to have been contaminated once, for all Jack can research. Locally it is about the place where in our reality America’s test areas for the first atomic bombs can be found. If you stay too long in this area, you will experience the same symptoms as those associated with our radiation sickness. The Broken Land is mostly deserted and barren, but there are still a few creatures living in it, mostly described as mutated and irradiated.
Explanation of terms
Twinner
The Twinner is a human counterpart. One is in one, the other at the same time as a correspondence in the other reality. He is not the same person who has simply switched between two worlds. And it's not a completely different person either. Twinners are connected to each other. If one of the two is doing quite well, then the other will also be lucky in his world in some inexplicable way, e.g. B. now a person discovers that he can change between the worlds (which theoretically everyone could do according to history) and if he has a Twinner, he will change into his body and share his shell with the other for this time. You can then talk in your mind and experience everything together.
But if someone like Jack, Richard and Wolf doesn't have a Twinner, then he switches to the counter-reality as himself. In the current world, his clothing transforms into appropriate clothing (a nylon backpack into a leather bag, sneakers into leather shoes, etc.) and everyday objects into unpredictable things, sometimes logical, sometimes not.
If a Twinner gets into a life-threatening situation, then its counterpart also gets into one. The outcome is open, however. One of them can be saved while the other dies. If a Twinner gets sick, his counterpart will also get symptoms of the disease. The fates are so closely interwoven.
The appearance of Twinners is similar, but is in no case exactly the same in the book.
In some places, dreams of / from the opposite world are told. Jack daydreams about the Territories when he was little, even though his Twinner was apparently dead by then. But his mother also describes shared dreams with the Queen of the Territories.
The flipping
Switching between realities is described as "flipping". As in Jack's case, it can be done freely, since a twinner is missing, or, as in the case of Morgan Sloat, the twinners take place between the two bodies.
background
The talisman was continued by King in 2001 with the novel The Black House , in which Jack, as an adult, has to solve a series of murders. Switching between the worlds and the term "Twinner" were already known from Stephen King's Dark Tower cycle . However, through this novel the reader gets a first hint that the cycle will not only revolve around two worlds - midworld and the earth - but that a multitude of different universes will play a role.
expenditure
English
- Stephen King, Peter Straub: The Talisman . Ballantine Books 2001. ISBN 0-345-44488-4
German
- Stephen King, Peter Straub: The Talisman . Heyne 2004. ISBN 3-453-87760-8