On a brisk autumn day, a thirteen-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America–and into another realm.One of the most influential and heralded works of fantasy ever written, The Talisman is an extraordinary novel of loyalty, awakening, terror, and mystery. Jack Sawyer, on a desperate quest to save his mother’s life, must search for a prize across an epic landscape of innocents and monsters, of incredible dangers and even more incredible truths. The prize is essential, but the journey means even more. Let the quest begin. . . .About the AuthorStephen King is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of many novels, including Carrie, The Shining, The Stand, Bag of Bones, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Hearts in Atlantis, as well as the nonfiction book, On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft, also a New York Times bestseller. He lives in Maine with his wife, Tabitha.Peter Straub is the author of fourteen novels, including Ghost Story, The Hellfire Club, Mr. X, and the recent story collection, Magic Terror. His books have been translated into more than twenty foreign languages. He is the winner of the British Fantasy Award, three Bram Stoker awards, and two World Fantasy awards. He lives in New York City with his wife, Susan.