by Stephen King
611 pages, Scribner

It is possible, after more than 50 books and 200 short stories, that there is not an adjective left in the English language that hasn’t been used to describe Stephen King at one time or another. (Liquified, perhaps. Or maybe orange.) In the world of books, King is Elvis-sized, inarguably the biggest star literature has today. He is a whole sub-category of pop culture. But the reason for all the attention—the fact that he is the subject of countless articles and reviews and Web sites—can still be summed up by the simplest adjective: He’s good.

Sure, King has had his share of disappointing works. When you’re as prolific as he is, it’s hard to knock them out of the park every single time. But with his latest, “Duma Key,” the 60-year-old author has come back around to his top form.
 
Edgar Freemantle is a middle-aged millionaire, owner of one of the nation’s largest construction companies. But an accident on one of his sites leaves him with horrific injuries. His right arm is lost to the wreck and his skull is fractured, causing shifts in Edgar’s temperament, most noticeably a vast quantity of rage. Though he seeks treatment for his outbursts, his wife still leaves him, and Edgar’s therapist recommends he get away for a while. So Edgar rents a house in Duma Key, a quiet little place on the coast of Florida where he can watch the waves and the pretty sunsets while he tries to heal. Very soon after his arrival, Edgar discovers he can draw. Not just scribblings, but really detailed, well-composed illustrations. That’s when things start to get weird.

Edgar becomes increasingly aware that something is manipulating his brain, causing him to draw and paint things that reveal true happenings of both past and future. (One such drawing early on in the book tells him of his youngest daughter’s recent engagement the evening before she arrives to share her good news.) His missing arm starts to itch terribly and Edgar discovers to his horror that he can actually hold things and “see” with his phantom limb. Somehow, it’s all connected to Duma Key and the mysterious octogenarian heiress, Elizabeth Eastlake, who owns the house he rents. And, of course, his gift is connected to evil. With the help of Elizabeth’s caretaker, Wireman, himself a recipient of some of the Key’s spooky sensations, Edgar sets out to find the source of his psychic abilities and stop it before it’s too late.

Part of what makes “Duma Key” so great is King’s descriptions of Edgar dealing with his injuries and his suffering. The author himself was horribly injured in 1999 when he was struck by a car while walking. Every few pages, Edgar has some twinge or stab or hindrance caused by his accident. King has always done a good job of getting inside the head of a distraught teenage girl covered in pig’s blood at the prom or describing a homicidal car, but it is most riveting to hear Edgar describing his pain and recovery when you know King is writing from first-hand experience.
 
And, while labeled a horror writer, King is actually one of today’s best mystery writers. After all, why are his books so scary? Because you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a mystery.
 
The book is chock full of King’s usual writing traits. He injects his personal touches, such as hiding a clue to the plot in a heart-shaped box, a possible nod to a novel by one of his sons. There are the pop culture references, mostly carried out in a playful exchange of quotes between Edgar and Wireman throughout the book. And King always comes up with the most colorful expressions, like ‘Jesus Krispies!,’ a favorite of one of the characters. (There is a theory, called the infinite monkey theorem, which states that if a monkey were to hit keys at random on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time, he eventually would get around to typing out a specific work, such as something by Shakespeare, or any other author. Money says it hits on ‘To be or not to be’ long before ‘Jesus Krispies!’)
 
Even being a formidable 600 pages, “Duma Key” is the perfect length. There’s no quick wrap-up at the end, as is wont to happen in King books. The story is so evenly paced, it’s possible he may have written it while balancing a level