Adapted from the namesake novel written by the acclaimed author Stephen King, this book bears all the familiar and fascinating stamps of his brilliant penmanship. Like most of his novels, the story of this one is also based in and around a small town in USA having a finely crafted plot line weaved around few peculiar characters.

This is a story is of a famous writer and his wife. It focuses on her coping with grief on account of his sudden death.

Although the novel has few key concepts like artists’ inspiration, the creative process of a writer, how his past can affect his future and the role played by his wife in his path to glory but the adaptation fails to acknowledge all of these points. Instead of talking about the writer- Scott and his wife- Lisey, navigating the fame, fortune and fateful encounters which come along the fantastic writing career, the screen adaptation focuses more on Scott’s journey to Booya Moon.

After his untimely mysterious death, Lisey also follows him to the enchanted land as part of the treasure hunt which Scott has planned for her beforehand. This treasure hunt- Bool hunt, the connection of this with his dark past and how these unlikely stories interject each other spans across the eight episodes of this miniseries.

However, it’s not simple as solving children riddles as the clues become more and more scattered and the meaning behind them deepens. As the series progresses, we see more of Scott’s story than Lisey’s and that is given since their fates are now entwined forever.

Having said that, the riddles contains not any prize but the most tragic part of Scott’s traumatic childhood; we get to know about family history of psychological problems, abuses, neglect and poverty. It’s no surprise then that Scott and his elder brother- Paul has discovered their own world and found a safe harbour away from the worldly troubles. This recounting of past takes much of the screen time and the viewers left wondering why this is Lisey’s story and not Scott’s.

On the other hand, the transition of fantasy concepts like bool and booya moon to the screen has been clunky. The pacing of the story, the central storyline, keeping Scott’s actual demise for a later episode and Lisey’s belief in Scott’s imaginary land becomes a bit jaded for the viewers. It feels like the series drags on for the middle 4/5 episodes and picks up speed only from episode 6 onwards.

Then there is the loose cannon in the form of a psychopath who traumatises and almost kills Lisey. How his actions go unnoticed from the law enforcement and what is his purpose in harassing his most favourite writer’s wife also doesn’t become clear till the very end.

In the end, Lisey claims back the story as her own and slowly but surely gets a grip on the situation. Not a particularly happy ending but surely a satisfying one.

What this series lacks in screenplay, direction and other technical aspects, it surely keeps its promise in the acting department due to its stellar cast. Julianne Moore holds the fort with all her might and she is supported aptly by Clive Owen, Joan Allen and Jennifer Jason Leigh portraying Scott, Amanda and Darla respectively. This is a one time watch at the best.