― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Monday, 23 February 2004 04:20 (twenty years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 February 2004 04:31 (twenty years ago) link
"I read the Mist today, and boy was it scary!"
If you can find it, there's a audio dramatization of the Mist available on cassete. The cool thing about it is that it's in three-dimensional sound, which gives the story an extremely spooky effect.
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 23 February 2004 04:32 (twenty years ago) link
― Emilymv (Emilymv), Monday, 23 February 2004 05:20 (twenty years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 February 2004 05:21 (twenty years ago) link
This is so true. His were the first "adult" books I got into reading, as a kid. (I remember learning about most aspects of sex -- except the nuts and bolts, of course, which my mom taught me -- from Stephen King books.) And I think he made for a pretty good segue into the more usual fiction, when I became a preteen... (Because, y'know, he writes about couples and relationships and people musing about their lives and all that shit... just with monsters.)
And I remember "It," which I read in sixth grade, as being one heck of a great book.
― morris pavilion (samjeff), Monday, 23 February 2004 06:07 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 23 February 2004 06:11 (twenty years ago) link
― morris pavilion (samjeff), Monday, 23 February 2004 06:24 (twenty years ago) link
― sunjammerr, Monday, 23 February 2004 06:49 (twenty years ago) link
I think his stuff in the last decade or so is unbearable nostalgic crap, I still think his first 15 years had a few genuinely great novels (The Dead Zone and Pet Sematary seem to stand up the best) and a boatload of really scary scenes (the Lincoln Tunnel sequence in The Stand, Ben's Hubie Marston nightmare in 'Salem's Lot).
At this point, though, I'd wager that most of his stuff made for better movies, at least when real directors (as opposed to Frank Darabont) were at the helm. Carrie, The Shining, and Christine are all way beyond the source material. And Cujo, The Dead Zone and 'Salem's Lot are all great movies in their own right.
― Eric H. (Eric H.), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:34 (twenty years ago) link
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:37 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:38 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:39 (twenty years ago) link
― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:47 (twenty years ago) link
― luna (luna.c), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:54 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 07:56 (twenty years ago) link
Dude, did you see my post upthread?
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 23 February 2004 08:06 (twenty years ago) link
― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 23 February 2004 08:10 (twenty years ago) link
I stopped caring before the first chapter of Delores Claiborne ended (tho that movie was good).
― weather1ngda1eson (Brian), Monday, 23 February 2004 08:58 (twenty years ago) link
― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 23 February 2004 10:07 (twenty years ago) link
― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 23 February 2004 10:08 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:14 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:17 (twenty years ago) link
Short stories: great. Dark Tower also good in principle (the first one was only good enough to get me vaguely interested in the seond one, which was great), but if it turns out that I'd have to read all his other books to understand the next volume, I'll be pissed off.
You have to reckon he's jumped the shark when he starts making TV miniseries of all his longer stories, including The Shining. Apparently the film was fine, but not what he was looking for.
And Christine to thread!
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:37 (twenty years ago) link
1. The Shining2. The Strand was good as I recall though the middle 500 pages dragged a bit3. He wrote some book about dragons. I forget what it was called but dragons are so awesome.4. His short stories I think are generally excellent, and much different from his fiction. They're published in the New Yorker and other such magazines quite often. He had an excellent one about highway restroom graffiti.5. Also he got hit by a truck, which is so crazy. Then he wrote lots of memoirs about being hit by a truck. The one celebrity we have in the whole state of Maine gets mauled by a drunk driver. I thought we should have put his giant creepy head on our state quarter, but apparently that wasn't taken into consideration.
― j c (j c), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:45 (twenty years ago) link
― j c (j c), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:46 (twenty years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:46 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:49 (twenty years ago) link
>Anyway, 4mph isn't very fast
True. This is the beauty of the contest. The 100 starters can go on for quite a while before the 1st person is shot, which is obviously a sobering event for the remaining 99. Only after about 48 hours things start to go a bit crazy. People start to freak out, as one would expect. Dunno why that story stuck with me for so long - it's a disturbing concept.
― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:51 (twenty years ago) link
-- anthony kyle monday
then why "stephen king's kingdom hospital"?
-- s1ocki
Stephen King signing on to the Kingdom remake is the only thing that got it made; it's been in and out of production for years, so I assume they're tagging it with his name because they aren't confident in it except as a King vehicle (whereas a Johnny Depp movie is a Johnny Depp movie, and you really don't need the Inspector 13 tag.
I haven't seen Dreamcatcher and don't know if I will, but coming so soon after the extended discussion of "trunk novels" in Bag of Bones (which, love it or hate it, is considerably different in scope, tone, and approach), and King's subsequent accident and public difficulties with returning to writing, I half-assumed it was a trunk novel itself. It certainly reads like one.
― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:54 (twenty years ago) link
― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:56 (twenty years ago) link
(xpost)
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:57 (twenty years ago) link
― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:58 (twenty years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:59 (twenty years ago) link
No, we have Dean Koontz for that.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 23 February 2004 15:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Sarah (starry), Monday, 23 February 2004 15:58 (twenty years ago) link
― Stuart (Stuart), Monday, 23 February 2004 16:16 (twenty years ago) link
― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 23 February 2004 16:31 (twenty years ago) link
i mean the thing with stephen king is he's really good at writing really readable stuff, and he has some neat ideas, but man oh man does he repeat himself. which is kind of interesting in a way, i guess. it's like he applies whatever good idea he has to the basic mold of "writer in maine" and lets it rip.
(obviously that applies more to the novels)
― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:02 (twenty years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:09 (twenty years ago) link
― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:10 (twenty years ago) link
― kephm, Monday, 23 February 2004 17:20 (twenty years ago) link
Me?
I like him. I haven't read the new Dark Tower book yet, though. I've neglected literary pursuits quite badly of late. The revised version of the first volume is a big improvement, BTW.
(There goes my resolution not to post. Ego can be terrible.)
― ChrissieH (chrissie1068), Monday, 23 February 2004 21:31 (twenty years ago) link
Except Rose Madder and Gerald's Game.
― luna (luna.c), Monday, 23 February 2004 21:33 (twenty years ago) link
― Kingfish Cowboy (Kingfish), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:33 (twenty years ago) link
― pete s, Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:37 (twenty years ago) link
― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:39 (twenty years ago) link
― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:39 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:42 (twenty years ago) link
My wife says the holly gibney related books are all good (esp the outsider) and co-signs on The Institute
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 16:51 (two years ago) link
The Outsider is pretty good but it definitely doesn't stick the landing
― Number None, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:52 (two years ago) link
^^ otm. Oddly enough, I thought the HBO adaptation actually managed to slightly make the landing less terrible.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 18:56 (two years ago) link
Gibney is such a fucking horribly written character it’s a real handicap to every story she’s in (as I recall the outsider is ticking along fine until exactly that point) Now to take a big sip of coffee and see what he’s working on next
― gop on ya gingrich (wins), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 19:16 (two years ago) link
Yeah, The Outsider (TV version) ended slightly better than the book, but the book was better in just about every other respect.
Revival is really good.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 19:37 (two years ago) link
The last several books I read (Sleeping Beauties, Institute, Outsider) were satisfying in their way but very much felt like extruded King product
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 19:43 (two years ago) link
Revival is my favourite King book since 11/22/63
I consider it one of his best endings, not alone in that but opinion is somewhat polarised
It’s not too long so it’s worth finding out for yourself!
― Duane Barry, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 22:02 (two years ago) link
i have it, so will def give it a go on that recommendation:D
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 22:14 (two years ago) link
The first in the trio of Hodges Det Ret books (Mr. Mercedes) is very good. The next book is pretty solid! The last book I cannot recommend,
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 25 May 2022 22:16 (two years ago) link
I mean... I will cuz you you told me to, but I have no idea who that is so I'm just picturing a fish on a roller-coaster.— Shawn Nutting (@ZackGavin2) September 8, 2022
the best fans
― You can't spell Fearless without Earle (President Keyes), Thursday, 8 September 2022 15:25 (two years ago) link
i picked up the new one, “Fairy Tale”, from the library this weekend … it’s got me hooked early, loving it so far.
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 5 December 2022 04:19 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zuiVwFNEqc
― papal hotwife (milo z), Monday, 30 January 2023 22:17 (one year ago) link
update: I read Revival and didn’t love it. The dedication to Mary Shelley let me know what the upshot would be from the start, and i got annoyed waiting and waiting for the other shoe to drop like honestly waiting til the last three chapters drove me NUTS i liked the childhood stuff early on though, and the pastor’s “fuck u god” sermon was a+
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 June 2023 02:04 (one year ago) link
I'm not quite sure what to make of Fairy Tale. I thought the pacing and plot progression were all over the place. But it had some great sequences - the first walk through the abandoned city was fantastic, and the waiting room build-up to the "Fair One" was the most intense, horrifying thing he's written in a long time.
― Duane Barry, Thursday, 15 June 2023 14:19 (one year ago) link
perlstein on stephen king as the writer of the great death of democracy novel: https://prospect.org/culture/2024-02-14-cultural-artifact-meets-the-moment/
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Wednesday, 14 February 2024 16:05 (seven months ago) link
Finally read The Gunslinger and… maybe hated it? I know the subsequent volumes are supposed to be much better, but *how* much better exactly? Roland is a a sticking point – he’s kind of a bore
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 18 May 2024 11:09 (four months ago) link
It remains patchy as hell throughout imo but you might get on better with book 2 if you like 80s king, it’s a lot of fun & king starts to send up Roland a bit, both in the narrative voice & through the expanded cast of characters. Get ready for some peak sk problematic/tone deaf characterisation tho
― subpost master (wins), Saturday, 18 May 2024 13:09 (four months ago) link
Sounds like something a honk mahfah would say...
― peace, man, Saturday, 18 May 2024 13:24 (four months ago) link
wins OTM
Book 2 feels like it was written with the vivid memory of addiction (or in the depths of it)
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 18 May 2024 13:41 (four months ago) link
lol peace man
wins otm
theres really not much recommending any of the first three dark tower books based on whether you liked the other two tbh
if you want something to read, fancy a shaggy gunslinger story and are ready for three genres and era of stephen king then forge on imo youll find something in there for you i think
― close encounters of the third knid (darraghmac), Saturday, 18 May 2024 14:31 (four months ago) link
That Perlstein essay linked above is really good.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Saturday, 18 May 2024 14:44 (four months ago) link
There is some good action scenes in both Drawing of the Three and the whole Lud part of the Wastelands.
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Saturday, 18 May 2024 16:54 (four months ago) link
Just finished Holly, can't say I'd recommend it too highly. And apparently there's more of her on the way!
― Duane Barry, Sunday, 16 June 2024 22:14 (three months ago) link
Kirkus Reviews assessed the novel as catering mostly to loyal fans of King, but also criticized the novel's pacing, King's language and his "creaky" cultural references.
C'mon now, asking King to give up boomer cultural references is like asking him to give up air.
― papal hotwife (milo z), Sunday, 16 June 2024 22:36 (three months ago) link
yeah that seems kinda rude
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 16 June 2024 22:43 (three months ago) link
The cultural references didn't bother me, and some of the Holly character stuff is handled pretty well, if not to justify King's ongoing fascination with her. But the never-ending Covid/lockdown/MAGA stuff was so tedious, and comes across quite clearly as King venting his spleen over the covidiots and anti-vaxxers he comes across on social media (and maybe IRL too). I mean, did people really bring up the specific vaccine they got as a conversation starter like that?
The villains were probably the most interesting thing in the story but I felt their potential was squandered. And I have NO idea what he was going for with those poetry/book deal subplots...
― Duane Barry, Monday, 17 June 2024 11:19 (three months ago) link
People really did bring up the particular vaccines they got like that.
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 17 June 2024 11:21 (three months ago) link
Fair enough, it just wasn't my experience! Holly's reactions did sometimes feel realistic, given her hypochondria, it just wasn't fun when it was happening every single paragraph
― Duane Barry, Monday, 17 June 2024 11:26 (three months ago) link
He can keep the boomer references but then maybe have the protagonists actually be boomers or make the stories period pieces instead of having middle-aged characters with the frame of reference of a septuagenarian There’s a funny review of the outsider that takes him to task for having the iirc mid-40s protagonist remember seeing on the news that John Lennon was shot; in the latest collection there’s a character younger than me who has never heard of apps or comments sections. It’s ridiculous. Stuff like this more than bloat/indulgence is what makes ppl conclude king became uneditable at some point I think. Holly is a great example, it’s obv fine to set fiction in the pandemic & objections to that are weird imo but king does it in the most hamfisted way imaginable. holly gibney is one of his worst characters (the depiction of neurodivergence is better than M-O-O-N but you can’t say much more) & I lost count of the number of times the narrative gives some variation on “holly has changed a lot since book one of this series”, it’s “character” “development” handled as clumsily as the covid stuff Having said that I had a pretty good time with you like it darker! Some real bangers, a few duds (Finn is a lesser in the death room with a different ethnic caricature)
― subpost master (wins), Sunday, 23 June 2024 19:07 (two months ago) link
Haven't gotten the new one, randomly decided to re-read Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I remembered it as a weak collection compared to the first two, but I've actually enjoyed the stories so far. It is the point where King gets a little overly descriptive for his own good though - a lot of his 90s novels are absolutely huge, aren't they?
― Duane Barry, Sunday, 23 June 2024 19:51 (two months ago) link
I remember back in the 90s a friend had an advertisement for the then-new Insomnia on her refrigerator. It said “INSOMNIA—-IT LOOMS.” Strangely hard to find an image online for it.
― A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Sunday, 23 June 2024 20:07 (two months ago) link
https://pictures.abebooks.com/inventory/31646747768.jpg
There’s this. But it’s not quite right.
― A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Sunday, 23 June 2024 20:11 (two months ago) link
He can keep the boomer references but then maybe have the protagonists actually be boomers or make the stories period pieces instead of having middle-aged characters with the frame of reference of a septuagenarian
Basically the last 20 years of The Simpsons in a nutshell
― Rich E. (Eric H.), Sunday, 23 June 2024 21:26 (two months ago) link
The novella length always seemed to be King’s sweet spot. His short stories are usually too silly, while the fuk novels (especially those that came after he left his original editor in 1986), are too self-indulgent and overlong
― beamish13, Monday, 24 June 2024 02:01 (two months ago) link
fuk novels, u say...
― Great-Tasting Burger Perceptions (Old Lunch), Monday, 24 June 2024 12:03 (two months ago) link
Fuk boi lit
― A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Monday, 24 June 2024 13:35 (two months ago) link
dud
https://i.imgur.com/6gLPW70.png
― budo jeru, Friday, 16 August 2024 18:52 (one month ago) link
I just listened to this podcast with King and Eli Roth from a few years ago. Fun conversation about horror movies.
― bratwurst autumn (Eazy), Friday, 16 August 2024 18:56 (one month ago) link
I’m Speaking:A Tale of Terror
― There’s a Monster in my Vance (President Keyes), Friday, 16 August 2024 23:27 (one month ago) link
"He's a normal ass democrat! how cringe"
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 16 August 2024 23:55 (one month ago) link