The dark half

Thad Beaumont is a writer. In the not-too-distant past the literary press was full of critical acclaim for his work. Then he hit a period of difficulty with his writing, and he invented George Stark. At first, Stark was a bit of fun, a pseudonym, complete with sinister author biography, under which Thad could create violent and commercial thrillers. But the thrillers became bestsellers and soon Stark was earning far more money than Beaumont, and Beaumont was creating nothing at all.

But now Thad is feeling better. The father of infant twins, he's beginning to write for himself again. He no longer needs George Stark, and somehow relieved that the game is over, he announces that Stark will write no more. He even "buries" him, with a specially made headstone, for a magazine photo feature.

Which is all very funny and a happy ending to a lucrative but strange period in the life of Thad and Liz Beaumont. Except for one thing. George Stark doesn't want to die. Impossibly, terrifyingly, in an orgy of violence, he appears to have returned - a killing machine intent on destroying anything and everything that stands between him and the man who created him... --front flap