The Tommyknockers

Title: The Tommyknockers

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 1987

Date read: 2nd February 2020

Score: 5/5

Genre: Science fiction, Fantasy, Horror

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"The Tommyknockers" by Stephen King, published in 1987, is a sprawling science fiction horror novel that combines an alien invasion with a terrifying examination of transformation, obsession, and the insidious nature of technology. It's one of King's longest and most ambitious works, depicting the slow, horrifying descent of an entire town into madness.

The story begins in the small, isolated town of Haven, Maine. The inciting incident occurs when Bobbi Anderson, a struggling Western writer, trips over a strange, metallic object partially buried in the woods behind her property. As she begins to dig, she unearths what appears to be a massive, ancient, alien spaceship.

The spaceship, and whatever remains of its long-dead alien inhabitants ("Tommyknockers"), begins to emit an invisible, insidious energy. This energy slowly affects the residents of Haven, altering their minds and bodies. It enhances their intelligence, allowing them to invent incredibly advanced (and often bizarre) devices, seemingly by intuition. However, this increased intellect comes at a terrible price: it simultaneously erodes their humanity, their empathy, and their physical well-being. Their teeth fall out, their hair turns brittle, and they become obsessed with the ship and its alien purpose.

James "Gard" Gardener, a poet and Bobbi's on-again, off-again boyfriend, is an alcoholic and, by chance, one of the few people who remain partially immune to the ship's influence due to a metal plate in his head from a past injury. He arrives in Haven and quickly realizes that something profoundly wrong is happening. The townspeople are becoming gaunt, unnervingly intelligent, emotionless, and increasingly hostile towards outsiders or anyone who resists the ship's control.

As Gard struggles with his own personal demons and the overwhelming influence of the ship, he becomes the only hope for humanity against this unseen alien force. He witnesses horrifying transformations, acts of casual cruelty, and the complete moral decay of Haven's once ordinary inhabitants, including Bobbi, who becomes fanatically devoted to the ship and its secrets.

The novel explores themes of technological addiction, the loss of individuality, the seductive power of knowledge without wisdom, and the horrifying consequences of an alien intelligence slowly consuming a community.

The climax involves Gard making a desperate, suicidal attempt to stop the alien entity from fully "waking up" and extending its influence beyond Haven. He must confront the monstrous creations of the townspeople's new intelligence and the core of the alien presence within the ship itself, in a desperate bid to save what little is left of humanity. "The Tommyknockers" is a chilling and expansive tale of a small town possessed by an ancient, otherworldly evil.

Comments:
As always, immaculately planned. Fantastic story that had me hooked throughout. It turned in directions I did not expect so was anything but predictable. Fantastic links to other Derry events!!

“Late last night and the night before,
Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door.
I want to go out, don’t know if I can,
‘Cause I’m so afraid of the Tommyknocker man.”

Books that we've read by Stephen King (68):
Carrie (1974), 'Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (The Shining, #1) (1977), The Stand (1978), Night Shift (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) (1982), Different Seasons (1982), Christine (1983), Cycle of the Werewolf (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) (1984), Skeleton Crew (1985), It (1986), The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) (1987), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), The Tommyknockers (1987), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Four Past Midnight (1990), The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) (1991), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1992), Gerald's Game (1992), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Green Mile (1996), Desperation (1996), Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) (1997), Bag of Bones (1998), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Black House (The Talisman, #2) (2001), Dreamcatcher (2001), Everything's Eventual (2002), From a Buick 8 (2002), Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) (2003), Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) (2004), The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7) (2004), The Colorado Kid (2005), Cell (2006), Lisey's Story (2006), Duma Key (2008), Just After Sunset (2008), Under the Dome (2009), 11/22/63 (2011), Full Dark, No Stars (2011), The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, #4.5) (2012), Dr. Sleep (The Shining, #2) (2013), Joyland (2013), Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) (2014), Revival (2014), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) (2015), End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) (2016), Elevation (2018), The Outsider (2018), The Institute (2019), If It Bleeds (2020), Billy Summers (2021), Later (2021), Fairy Tale (2022), Holly (2023), You Like It Darker (2024)