The Carver family, the Jacksons and Johnny Marinville are each captured and imprisoned by a creature called
Tak masquerading as a small town police officer while travelling through the Nevada desert. The survivors manage to escape and hole up in the local cinema, while trying to decide what to do. In exchanging their stories, it doesn't take long for hem to realize they're dealing with more than a madman. That there are
supernatural forces at work in
Desperation. Tak has murdered the town's inhabitants in the guise of town cop Collier Entragian, but he is also able to command desert animals such as coyotes, buzzards, scorpions, snakes, spiders and others to do his bidding. Stranger still is that he murdered the town residents and yet kept them alive. 11-year old David Carver who has proven to the others to be more than he seems when he freed them from their jail cells, convinces them that they must close the entrance to a hole which the copper miners recently blasted open. It is from there that Tak escaped. They succeed of course but only 4 of their initial group make it out alive.
I would say that Desperation is an interesting read, but for those looking for happy endings this book is probably not for them. David Carver survives but is left orphaned. Both his parents and younger sister dead. Worst still is that near the end, he knew and suspected the impending death of his surviving parent but was helpless to do anything except to lead his father to his death. As for Johnny Marinville's death, well I didn't much care for his character in the first place. Yet, he is offered a chance at redemption and takes it. And I liked his character better for his sacrifice.