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Zimadori Zinger posted:It wasn't so much that the middle was necessarily bad, but for fucks sake it was after the cliffhanger with Blaine. They get off, settle down, and Roland tells a story that takes up pretty much 7/8ths of the book with little to no progression towards the Tower until the end? Ugh. This. I just started reading the series and I'm stuck right here. I'm only a single section into this horridly dry flash back that I've set the book down and read the entire Hannibal series in it's wake. I dread the day I pick Wizard and Glass again.
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Sep 28, 2009 17:55
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As much as it goes against how I read books (I read even the boring parts), you really could skip the entire flashback and not miss anything. In fact, if it's what's stopping you from continuing through the series, I would highly recommend it. Or you can read the following. Roland finds out that this sorcerer dude Marten is doing his mom (while she's married), so he challenges his teacher Cort and becomes the youngest official gunslinger. He leaves his hometown (Gilead) for Mejis and falls in love with the Mayor's wife-to-be or consort-to-be or something - I don't remember what the gently caress gilly means for sure. Roland and his dos amigos get accused of killing the mayor (falsely) and get thrown in jail, only to escape with the help of Susan (the aforementioned gilly). They discover some plot by some evil guy, they fight a bunch, they win. They find the pink stone from the Wizard's Rainbow, and it shows him the future, where his love Susan is burned at the stake for helping Roland escape from prison, and he can't save her. And that's the end of that. It picks up in a Wizard of Oz parallel, so just look for that and you'll be set. I'm sure I missed some things, but that's the basics of it as I remember it. e: Oh, right, he kills his mom because the pink stone tricks him. I think that's in this book...I don't remember. But it seems important. amaranthine fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Sep 28, 2009 |
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Sep 28, 2009 18:40
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Maker Of Shoes posted:This. I just started reading the series and I'm stuck right here. I'm only a single section into this horridly dry flash back that I've set the book down and read the entire Hannibal series in it's wake. I dread the day I pick Wizard and Glass again. I thought this the first time I read the Dark Tower series. Now it's one of my favorite. The first time through you're like jesus christ just let me see where they go next. After you know the ending, though, it's really nice to see things and events from Roland's life pre-Cycle, at least that's how I saw it. Personally? I think the unabridged author's cut of the Stand is some of the worst King. Crazy as it sounds, King is one of my favorite authors, I even loved From a Buick 8 (I am selective in my King reading though... I haven't even read half his stuff). But considering I got something like 200 pages in to the Stand and it was still just pure characterization of suburbanites and junk, I got sooo bored. amaranthine posted:Roland finds out that this sorcerer dude Marten is doing his mom (while she's married), so he challenges his teacher Cort and becomes the youngest official gunslinger. He leaves his hometown (Gilead) for Mejis and falls in love with the Mayor's wife-to-be or consort-to-be or something - I don't remember what the gently caress gilly means for sure. I am pretty sure the term means Second Wife, to actually bear his children since his older wife is barren, which makes her a huge threat to the first wife because she is succeeding where she failed. I could be wrong about that though. Also isn't Wizard and Glass where it's implied that in order to break the Cycle, Roland needs to find the horn he dropped in the battle? Myrddin Emrys fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Sep 28, 2009 |
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Sep 28, 2009 21:07
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Myrddin Emrys posted:Also isn't Wizard and Glass where it's implied that in order to break the Cycle, Roland needs to find the horn he dropped in the battle? I think so, hence why the ending of the whole series can be interpreted as this will be the last cycle he goes through.
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Sep 28, 2009 22:23
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Myrddin Emrys posted:I thought this the first time I read the Dark Tower series. Now it's one of my favorite. I guess I'll have to take your word for it and give it another shot as this sub forum and easy access to a used book store hasn't been very kind to my bank account.  I picked up the entire Dark Tower series in a somewhat large paper back form for 
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Sep 28, 2009 22:31
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...and I read this thread just as I come back from a used bookstore with a copy of The Tommyknockers. Oh, and Cell.  Luckily, I picked up Nightmares & Dreamscapes, which seems to get a little less derision. I've read the first 3 Dark Tower books, It, The Talisman, and liked them all a great deal. This thread has got me wanting to buy a few more (Salem's Lot, Skeleton Crew, The Shining), and wishing I hadn't bought those two that I had bought. And The Tommyknockers is frickin' huge, so it's basically going to take up space.
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Oct 1, 2009 23:26
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IceNiner posted:In regards to Danse Macabre(also one of my faves) there is no update coming out as far as I know, but I've found out that Stephen has written a big rear end article for Fangoria magazine that will feature his favorite literary and movie horror (post-Danse Macabre) along with his views on modern horror movie fads. I think its the next issue coming out. That's awesome. I'll be eagerly checking my mailbox as it gets closer to October 15th.
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Oct 2, 2009 01:33
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Chinook posted:...and I read this thread just as I come back from a used bookstore with a copy of The Tommyknockers. Oh, and Cell. Bring those back to the store and find Salems' Lot and Pet Sematary. You will thank me. Mr.48 fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Oct 2, 2009 |
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Oct 2, 2009 01:45
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UncleMonkey posted:Holy poo poo, really? There isn't a peep about it in the "Things to Come" section of the current issue. Slide down the page. The blurb is on the left hand side: http://www.stephenking.com/index.html edit: d'oh! your other left.
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Oct 2, 2009 06:28
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IceNiner posted:Slide down the page. The blurb is on the left hand side: Says it'll be in two parts over the December/January issues. Nice.
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Oct 2, 2009 18:39
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Maker Of Shoes posted:I guess I'll have to take your word for it and give it another shot as this sub forum and easy access to a used book store hasn't been very kind to my bank account. Keep me informed. Seriously, shoot me a PM or something if you want to chat about it, I love talking about the Dark Tower. Zimadori Zinger posted:I think so, hence why the ending of the whole series can be interpreted as this will be the last cycle he goes through. Right, because that's how the Browning poem goes, right? I assume it's pretty common knowledge to people who finished the series that the Browning poem is sort of unofficially supposed to be the last "cycle"?
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Oct 4, 2009 03:48
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I read I-IV of the Dark Tower series as my first Stephen King books. Then I read 'Salem's Lot and The Stand. I just finished Wolves of Calla, which was much better than I had expected based on opinions in this thread, but I'm glad I decided on a whim to buy and read Salem's Lot first. I know that this isn't supposed to be the Stephen King recommendation thread, but tell me, before I finish up the Dark Tower series, are there there any other King novels that will help me get the most out of the series?
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Oct 4, 2009 05:43
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Malaleb posted:I know that this isn't supposed to be the Stephen King recommendation thread, but tell me, before I finish up the Dark Tower series, are there there any other King novels that will help me get the most out of the series? Do you mean other works of his that tie into the Dark Tower series? The Stand and Salem's Lot are the big ones, but besides those I would say The Eyes of the Dragon, Hearts in Atlantis, Insomnia, and the short story "Everything's Eventual". The Eyes of the Dragon mainly for the setting and some stuff with Flagg's backstory, and the other stuff because characters from them show up and have somewhat prominent roles in DT VII. Chairman Capone fucked around with this message at 06:57 on Oct 4, 2009 |
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Oct 4, 2009 06:52
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Yep, that is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!
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Oct 4, 2009 07:16
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Myrddin Emrys posted:Keep me informed. Seriously, shoot me a PM or something if you want to chat about it, I love talking about the Dark Tower. Mmhmm, Roland just blows the horn in the poem I think. I think for Roland the cycle will end when he blows the horn, and the door to the Tower doesn't open. And he just leaves and lives out the rest of his miserable existence 
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Oct 4, 2009 07:35
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Malaleb posted:Yep, that is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! Also, you need both The Talisman and Black House.
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Oct 4, 2009 10:16
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King is easily the most under-rated popular writer of the last century. Probably because he's so easy to underrate. On Writing convinced me though he does more or less know what's what. To paraphrase, "some people say I could sell my laundry list as a novel. Other people claim I already have." or something like that.
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Oct 4, 2009 11:53
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User posted:King is easily the most under-rated popular writer of the last century. Probably because he's so easy to underrate. On Writing convinced me though he does more or less know what's what. To paraphrase, "some people say I could sell my laundry list as a novel. Other people claim I already have." or something like that. From On Writing, he's also completely aware that he's the "Big Mac and fries" of writers.
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Oct 4, 2009 13:47
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Malaleb posted:are there there any other King novels that will help me get the most out of the series? Rose Madder also touches on the DT universe. As does IT, in a very roundabout fashion. If you read IT, read it before Insomnia.
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Oct 4, 2009 19:43
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A second chunk of The Cannibals is up for download on King's site. Once I realized how the books were tied into each other I stopped reading them randomly and read them in the order they were published, I loved finding random connections between his books. The one in Dreamcatcher made me scream AWESOME out loud. The Eyes of The Dragon is probably my favorite book of his, I can't count how many times I have read it; the book has some serious damage from being read while taking a hot bath numerous times.
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Oct 4, 2009 22:01
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Local Group Bus posted:Also, you need both The Talisman and Black House. The relevant information in Black House is repeated elsewhere and it just sets you up for disappointment as Jack never shows up in The Dark Tower proper. Although The Talisman should still be read as its just a good book overall.
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Oct 4, 2009 23:46
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kosherpickle posted:The Eyes of The Dragon is probably my favorite book of his, I can't count how many times I have read it; the book has some serious damage from being read while taking a hot bath numerous times. I'm glad someone else finally has good feelings for this one - I absolutely love it but it seems to get a really bad rap around here. I think it's a great fairy tale and just a wonderful read every time.
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Oct 5, 2009 23:23
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kosherpickle posted:A second chunk of The Cannibals is up for download on King's site. Which connection was in Dreamcatcher?
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Oct 6, 2009 06:11
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the_american_dream posted:Which connection was in Dreamcatcher? I think he's talking about the part when one of the characters sees the graffiti that reads "PENNYWISE LIVES!" or something like that. I liked that part too. And I also liked The Eyes of The Dragon.
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Oct 6, 2009 06:35
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Everyone likes Eyes of The Dragon. You couldn't say you didn't unless you were trying to be clever and ironic I guess.
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Oct 6, 2009 08:08
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Speaking of connections to the Dark Tower series, I just found this article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King_works_related_to_The_Dark_Tower_series It's pretty drat skimpy but it at least lays them all (I think?) out.
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Oct 6, 2009 08:13
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Hadn't heard about Under the Dome until today. Really looking forward to it. I haven't touched King since I burned out on him reading as much 'DT related' stuff as I could before DT7 came out. Good thing I read all those mindtraps, eh?
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Oct 7, 2009 12:48
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They felt pretty tricksy to me!
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Oct 7, 2009 20:34
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User posted:King is easily the most under-rated popular writer of the last century. Probably because he's so easy to underrate. On Writing convinced me though he does more or less know what's what. To paraphrase, "some people say I could sell my laundry list as a novel. Other people claim I already have." or something like that. I dunno, maybe there are people out there who can do that, but judging from the majority of his endings, he's probably not one of them (while sober, anyway).
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Oct 8, 2009 21:56
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Evfedu posted:I thought On Writing demonstrated why he'll never be as good as people like Pratchett or Banks (they both have their off days obviously, but bare with me). That whole segment he wrote where he laid out this belief system that the story exists and he can just sit down and write 2000-3000 words in a day then after a year or two he'll have the story. Well King also says when he actually tries to plot things it turns out bad. His example is the novel Insomnia, and I got to agree with him there.
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Oct 8, 2009 22:00
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Evfedu posted:I thought On Writing demonstrated why he'll never be as good as people like Pratchett or Banks (they both have their off days obviously, but bare with me). That whole segment he wrote where he laid out this belief system that the story exists and he can just sit down and write 2000-3000 words in a day then after a year or two he'll have the story. Pratchett is better than King? News to me.
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Oct 8, 2009 22:26
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northerain posted:Pratchett is better than King? News to me. Pratchett is way better than King most of the time, I think. Though King has pretty much everyone beat when it comes to short stories. I just read "I Am the Doorway," and gently caress is that creepy.
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Oct 9, 2009 14:26
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egon_beeblebrox posted:Pratchett is way better than King most of the time, I think. Though King has pretty much everyone beat when it comes to short stories. I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I think there's a difference: King isn't writing the same book for the last 20 years.
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Oct 9, 2009 14:49
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I agree with Dreamcatcher. It seemed to be incoherent and much of the energy it had petered out.
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Oct 10, 2009 03:18
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The only one of the newer King novels I've read has been Cell and while it wasn't great, it was at least entertaining. Of his older works, I think that Gerald's Game is among the worst and that Desperation was pretty big letdown after a very solid start to the novel. And while I enjoyed Black House, it wasn't nearly a match to The Talisman and it was pretty disappointing that Jack wasn't featured in the last couple of DT books after the ending of the book went out of its way to set up a crossover. I've just finished reading IT for the 3rd or 4th time, and I think that it is his best work, along with The Stand and The Shining. He's so damned good at characterization and it really shines in the parts of the novel focused on the children in the 1950's. I find it very easy to tap into my own childhood memories while reading that book, King is just excellent at detailing the motivations and mindset you have at that age. I've just read that they are developing a new film based on IT, due in 2011. Apparently they will bump up the setting from the 50's and 80's to the 80's and present day. Although the writer says he wants to stay true to the story, I don't see how that could possibly happen in a 2-hour movie. As cheesy as the end of the TV miniseries was, it was mostly pretty good and Tim Curry absolutely nailed Pennywise.
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Oct 10, 2009 06:33
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el oso posted:I've just read that they are developing a new film based on IT, due in 2011. Apparently they will bump up the setting from the 50's and 80's to the 80's and present day. Although the writer says he wants to stay true to the story, I don't see how that could possibly happen in a 2-hour movie. As cheesy as the end of the TV miniseries was, it was mostly pretty good and Tim Curry absolutely nailed Pennywise. I'm still interested in this. The casting was mostly pretty good, but a lot of the dialogue and pacing could have been a hell of a lot tighter, and hopefully the movie would improve on that. Still, I liked the mini quite a bit - it was good stuff for what they were able to do with the budget and the TV format. I do think it leaned a bit too heavily on Pennywise as It's form, but that's understandable given budgetary and special effects limitations. The mini did manage to be pretty darned scary at times, and had a lot of good suspense to it, no doubt. It still tears me up on a re-read that Mike starts forgetting at the end too. It's a good thing, but so very poignant.
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Oct 10, 2009 17:14
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Chairman Capone posted:I think he's talking about the part when one of the characters sees the graffiti that reads "PENNYWISE LIVES!" or something like that. I liked that part too. More specifically, the "Pennywise Lives!" graffiti on a statue put up by the Loser's Club.
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Oct 10, 2009 18:12
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Ortsacras posted:I'm still interested in this. The casting was mostly pretty good, but a lot of the dialogue and pacing could have been a hell of a lot tighter, and hopefully the movie would improve on that. Still, I liked the mini quite a bit - it was good stuff for what they were able to do with the budget and the TV format. I do think it leaned a bit too heavily on Pennywise as It's form, but that's understandable given budgetary and special effects limitations. The mini did manage to be pretty darned scary at times, and had a lot of good suspense to it, no doubt. The payoff to the book is how close of friends the children are and how sad it is that they completely forget about each other as they grow up, and then again when the story ends. I don't see how they can develop the relationships and tell the story properly in a 2-hour movie. The writer is also quoted a couple of years ago as saying that he wants the story to focus and be told through Bev's point of view, which really doesn't jibe with the plot; Bill is the driving force of the Loser's Club because of Georgie and because the Other primarily acts through him. But they are making it as a R-rated movie and want it to be gory and terrifying, so maybe they will create an interesting take on the basic story and go for all-out horror. And yeah, Mike's final diary entry is heartbreaking and the very last section of the book is my favorite piece of any of King's works. "Or so Bill Denbrough sometimes thinks on those early mornings after dreaming, when he almost remembers his childhood, and the friends with whom he shared it."
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Oct 10, 2009 20:09
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el oso posted:The only one of the newer King novels I've read has been Cell and while it wasn't great, it was at least entertaining. Of his older works, I think that Gerald's Game is among the worst and that Desperation was pretty big letdown after a very solid start to the novel. And while I enjoyed Black House, it wasn't nearly a match to The Talisman and it was pretty disappointing that Jack wasn't featured in the last couple of DT books after the ending of the book went out of its way to set up a crossover. I had always thought that Talisman/Black House were on a different "level" than Roland's.
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Oct 10, 2009 22:48
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Here's the Under the Dome cover.
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Oct 12, 2009 13:29
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