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Duma Key

Duma Key

HorrorMystery
Pages
704
Published
2008
Language
English

Synopsis

After a devastating accident leaves him with a shattered arm and memory loss, Edgar Freemantle moves to Florida to recover and reconnect with his family. He begins to paint, discovering a hidden talent and a connection to a mysterious island called Duma Key. But as his art becomes more vivid and disturbing, Edgar realizes he's tapped into something ancient and terrifying.

Prose complexity
5/10

Vibe

DarkTenseMysteriousEmotionalAtmospheric
Fish Out of WaterReluctant HeroMystery BoxSacrifice

Genres

Horror Mystery Psychological Horror Paranormal Gothic

About the author

S
Stephen King

Stephen King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author whose work has defined popular horror fiction for more than half a century. Born in Portland, Maine, he grew up in poverty after his father abandoned the family, and credits his mother's resilience and a voracious reading habit as the foundations of his imagination. He began selling short stories to men's magazines while working as a high school English teacher, and published his first novel, Carrie, in 1974—his wife Tabitha retrieved...

Characters

Edgar FreemantleProtagonist
All characters in Duma Key

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the premise of Duma Key?

    Edgar Freemantle, a wealthy contractor, loses his right arm in a construction accident and nearly dies. During recovery he rents a house on Duma Key—an isolated island on Florida's Gulf Coast—and discovers he can paint with his remaining left hand. The paintings are supernaturally accurate, showing things that haven't happened yet, and something on the island is using Edgar's new ability.

  • What is the source of the supernatural on Duma Key?

    A child's tragedy and a presence connected to it—something that has existed on the island for generations, attached to the traumatic event that killed two young sisters. The island's history gradually surfaces through research and visionary paintings, and the entity uses artistic creation as its channel into the world.

  • How does Duma Key differ from King's typical horror setting?

    The novel is set in Florida rather than New England—unusual for King, who has said he found Duma Key's Gulf Coast isolation genuinely unnerving in a way the Maine landscape, however beloved, no longer surprised him. The flat light, the Spanish moss, and the heat give the book a different atmospheric register than his Maine novels.

  • What is Wireman's significance in the novel?

    Wireman—Jerome Wireman—is Edgar's neighbor on the key, a former attorney who suffered his own catastrophic injury and is now caring for an elderly woman named Elizabeth Eastlake. He becomes Edgar's closest friend and moral anchor. His backstory is as tragic as Edgar's and provides the novel with a second character study as compelling as its supernatural plot.

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