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Semprini posted:I am Tom Gordon. No, I'm Tom Gordon.
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May 13, 2011 21:46
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Things I Wouldn't Need In That Predicament
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May 14, 2011 00:03
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 CNN posted:Stephen King's horror classic "Carrie" is getting a remake, courtesy of someone who knows a thing or two about teen angst. There is so loving much wrong with this.
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May 20, 2011 18:58
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Ensign_Ricky posted:
 I await the body count.
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May 20, 2011 20:26
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Knight of the
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Carrie the Musical, with such classics as "They're All Going to Laugh at You!", "Dirtypillows", and "Plug It Up!"
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May 21, 2011 03:13
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Leovinus posted:Under The Dome was a book I felt didn't need an amazing final act. Yeah, I'd have liked to see a more satisfying end for Big Jim, and it does have a bit of an out-of-nowhere resolution for the nature of the Dome itself, but I was more interested in the journey than the destination. I liked watching the town turn to poo poo so much I didn't really care that it didn't have a particularly astonishing ending. I haven't read Under the Dome, but this is how I feel about all Stephen King's stories. He's terrible at writing a good ending, but it doesn't really matter because the journey leading up to it is amazing.
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May 22, 2011 08:15
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Come to think of it, how many King books have a good ending? I can think of: The Shining IT (Excluding the scene. You know which one.) All of the Bachman books Pet Sematary
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May 22, 2011 14:29
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I'd add Misery to that list, and I always liked the ending of The Tommyknockers. It's not really a "book" quite, but I also like the ending of The Mist, although probably some people don't.
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May 22, 2011 17:30
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'Salem's Lot had a decent ending.
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May 22, 2011 17:39
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Not exactly a book either, but I really dug the ending of Low Men in Yellow Coats, particularly after finishing up DT, as well as the actual ending of Hearts in Atlantis.
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May 22, 2011 19:11
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Creflo Chronicle posted:I also like the ending of The Mist, although probably some people don't. So what did you think of the movie? 
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May 22, 2011 19:26
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taser rates posted:Not exactly a book either, but I really dug the ending of Low Men in Yellow Coats, particularly after finishing up DT, as well as the actual ending of Hearts in Atlantis. It was such a great teaser/segue to DT that I wish he'd never have bothered writing the rest. I didn't get past that part about the college kid playing hearts when he should have been studying. Real boring stuff that, but I heard from a more constant reader that he ended up going to 'Nam or something. I agree with the above posters that King's books are best read as a journey and don't anticipate a humdinger ending, although it's a nice bonus. I've finished and enjoyed Insomnia, Duma Key and really almost everything in long or short form he's written since the 80s (with the exception that I'm still in the middle of Under the Dome and Full Dark No Stars) but Hearts in Atlantis blew. I think the movie was even better somehow.
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May 22, 2011 21:10
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VideoTapir posted:So what did you think of the movie? I thought it was a good alternate ending.
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May 22, 2011 21:20
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Oneironaut posted:Carrie the Musical, with such classics as "They're All Going to Laugh at You!", "Dirtypillows", and "Plug It Up!" This actually existed and was apparently terrible.
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May 22, 2011 22:27
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Plucky Brit posted:Come to think of it, how many King books have a good ending? I can think of: I didn't like the ending of The Shining, but it's not the worst one he's written. Except for the ending, I absolutely love the book. I liked the ending of Christine. Misery's good, Pet Sematary, Rage, The Long Walk. I'm iffy on Needful Things.
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May 22, 2011 23:52
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I'll probably get crucified for this, but I think The Dark Tower had a good ending. And by that I mean the few pages after King's idiotic warning. A lot of what happened once Roland reached the Tower was really loving stupid, but the actual ending itself was good.
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May 23, 2011 01:09
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Dark Tower's ending is King subconsciously yelling at himself for what he did in the last 3 books. King rushed through the last 3 books to "get to the end" just like Roland rushes through the Tower to get to the top. whoa meta as gently caress right?
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May 23, 2011 03:29
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Ornamented Death posted:I'll probably get crucified for this, but I think The Dark Tower had a good ending. And by that I mean the few pages after King's idiotic warning. A lot of what happened once Roland reached the Tower was really loving stupid, but the actual ending itself was good. What about the part where all his friends and the pet raccoon magically come back to life in another dimension and are happy together.
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May 23, 2011 03:31
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Locus posted:What about the part where all his friends and the pet raccoon magically come back to life in another dimension and are happy together. "Did they all live happily ever after? No, but they lived, and sometimes that's enough." (or something like that) The ending with his friends was fine and that was a great line to end their story on.
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May 23, 2011 05:24
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I was fine with the actual ending after the warning, with the timeloop and so on. Roland back on the quest for the tower, except now he's carrying the horn, was a nice way to end it as it cements the tragedy of Roland's destiny to always seek the tower, yet still allows some hope that he may one day succeed. I DID have a problem with the way both the Crimson King and Flagg both went out like complete chumps after all the buildup they had. I don't know why I was expecting a nice resolution and/or final conflict with either of them though, I've read enough of King's work to know better by now  .
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May 23, 2011 10:04
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Locus posted:What about the part where all his friends and the pet raccoon magically come back to life in another dimension and are happy together. I never liked that part and it felt like a really empty "happy" ending since no matter how much they look like them, they aren't Eddie and Jake, at least the ones we know.
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May 23, 2011 11:54
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Sunday Punch posted:I was fine with the actual ending after the warning, with the timeloop and so on. Roland back on the quest for the tower, except now he's carrying the horn, was a nice way to end it as it cements the tragedy of Roland's destiny to always seek the tower, yet still allows some hope that he may one day succeed. I DID have a problem with the way both the Crimson King and Flagg both went out like complete chumps after all the buildup they had. I don't know why I was expecting a nice resolution and/or final conflict with either of them though, I've read enough of King's work to know better by now See, I could buy Crimson King and Flagg turning out to be chumps, because a running theme of the Dark Tower books was "poo poo falls apart", and even your lunatic gods who want to smash all creation will fall apart, what loving sucked about the last few books was how loving lazy he got with moving the plot forward. It went from Roland being a grim motherfucker and heading for the Tower, using the knowledge he picked up as a kid and teaching his apprentices as he goes, to five psychic retards wandering aimlessly through different dimensions and being sure that whatever warphole, dimensional door or enchanted sphincter they toddle through will turn out okay. And why? LOL 19 99 JAKE HAS A HUNCH DO YE KEN HUNCH-THINK THANKEE SAI OH HEY SOME PRIEST WE JUST MET IS OUR KA-CHUM AND HE SENT US A PSYCHIC MESSAGE FROM 400 YEARS IN THE FUTURE OF AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. Compare something like when Roland chases Gasher in book 3, and you get to see Roland using his knowledge of traps and tracking to find Jake, and it really emphasises that he is a straight up badass of the kind that doesn't get made any more, to the later books, where he's just "Yeah whatevs my psychic raccoon will tell me what to do", and it's pretty clear King stopped thinking poo poo through and got obsessed with pumping it out before another minivan got him.
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May 23, 2011 11:56
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There was also that bizarre subplot where King decided to cripple Roland even further by giving him magic arthritis out of nowhere.
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May 23, 2011 12:06
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muscles like this? posted:There was also that bizarre subplot where King decided to cripple Roland even further by giving him magic arthritis out of nowhere. Yeah man, the Hell was that? Like, there's this colossal Chekhov's Gun of oh no he's got the 'thritis just as poo poo is getting real, except it doesn't do ANYTHING. He can shoot, fight, gently caress, dance, run, jump, climb and ride in cars with no problems whatsoever, then FAPPO King gets hit by a car and it's dropped, consequence free, except maybe a couple of ominous paragraphs where Roland absent-mindedly rubs his hip and grimaces, as if a 1000 year old cowboy who's spent his entire life getting beaten up, shot at and eaten by lobster monsters isn't going to have a few aches and pains. poo poo is wack, yo. ALSO INSOMNIA ISN'T REAL BUT THERE IS A SECRET SOCIETY OF FOLKS WANNA HELP YOU HERE HAVE A MAGIC WATCH. That being said, by far the worst Stephen King book is Lisey's Story. About 20 pages worth of plot, spread over 50000 pages via retelling the same poo poo over and over and only adding infinitesimal amounts of plot each time. Shed loads of cringe-worthy baby talk (BOOL! BABY-LOVE! DADA SAY BLOOD BOOL MAKE IT BETTER!), a series of bullshit Deus Ex Machinas leading to absolutely jack poo poo and the laziest characterisation EVER. We're supposed to believe her husband (Scott, I think?) is some kinda supergenius because one time he spun a shovel while giving a speech, apparently. Oh, and the monster thingy was a total swing-and-a-miss. The whole "pick on one random aspect of the nameless horror's appearance and then repeat it as if it's weirdly horrifying" thing can work in small doses, but when 25% of your book consists of going "OH MY GOD IT HAS A PIEBALD SIDE" then I am going to stop suspending my disbelief and ask what is so terrifying about a big snake with a weird face.
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May 23, 2011 14:02
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25th Anniversary Limited Edition Of IT. This is far far far too expensive for anyone but hardcore book collectors.. but good god is it ever pretty. If this were a 40-dollar hardcover I would snag it without a second thought, but 125 bucks PLUS shipping for the bare minimum? Ridiculous. I hope the afterword gets published in a reprint, at least; the excerpt is really good and I want to read that without going bankrupt.
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May 23, 2011 17:13
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I like the color pictures in the sample images, not too crazy about the black & white pictures though. A picture book of IT would be pretty fun, just as long as they don't included a certain scene 
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May 23, 2011 20:56
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FreezingInferno posted:25th Anniversary Limited Edition Of IT. gently caress it, I've yet to own a King collectable and it will bookend my bookcase nicely with the one I have of Imajica. Just bought the traycased version, everyone else will have to chip in as it's now my belated birthday gift. I'll post the afterward for you when it arrives  Edit: And the 25th Anniversary edition? The cycle begins anew! Local Group Bus fucked around with this message at 00:31 on May 24, 2011 |
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May 24, 2011 00:28
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FreezingInferno posted:25th Anniversary Limited Edition Of IT. These price are really not that bad, even for the signed/traycased edition. I don't know if you're ever seen a Cemetery Dance lettered edition up close, but it's not so much a book as a work of art. I mean, it could be this, which is the sort of thing hardcore book collectors actually buy (I would absolutely buy it if I had the money).
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May 24, 2011 02:17
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JammyLammy posted:A picture book of IT would be pretty fun But when the pictures start to move, I'd ask for your money back
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May 29, 2011 21:41
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After reading through this thread, I've come to a couple of conclusions. The first is that I really need to delve back into more Clive Barker (The Damnation Game was good, Books of Blood were great, The Hellbound Heart is a classic) and the second is a belief that a collaborative novel between Stephen King and Piers Anthony would be surprisingly good. Or at least, it might be. I'd hope that they would draw on each other's relative strengths (King's creativity and strong baseline ideas, Anthony's ability to focus on what he's talking about and reach a fairly logical conclusion) but it could also go to absolute poo poo with each of them indulging their worst tendencies. Even that might be hosed-up enough to be entertaining, though; I would be genuinely interested in seeing what King's work is like when it's riddled with puns and his sexual silliness gets pulled to the top, or what the weakness of Anthony's forays into horror (Firefly, Spider Legs) turns into when he has King to work with. Honestly, aside from a few characteristic indulgences, Ghost really read like a Stephen King novel set in space. And while I'm fantasizing, I'd also dig a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book or two written by King. It would keep him from sinking into a trudging pace, and he'd have to keep re-thinking directions to take the plot, sort of like Desperation-Regulators multiplied and condensed. If nothing else, it would be a good writing exercise (and it could be argued that a lot of his work already reads like published writing exercises, so...).
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May 30, 2011 18:34
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I read the Langoliers this weekend while I've been sick, it's pretty good although the needing to be asleep to go back plot twist kind of kills the pacing Think I'm going to go back to his short stories for a while though. Maybe another novella (not read any of Bachman's books in a while, nor The Body).
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May 30, 2011 20:08
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ZoDiAC_ posted:I read the Langoliers this weekend while I've been sick, it's pretty good although the needing to be asleep to go back plot twist kind of kills the pacing I have a soft spot for The Langoliers because it is the first story from King I have ever read, and the first time in my youth that I was outspokenly pissed off by a movie adaptation of anything. In general, I think I prefer King's novellas more than most of his novels. I will stick with Gerald's Game as his worst story, but the Langoliers is his worst film.
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May 30, 2011 22:54
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Whargoul posted:I will stick with Gerald's Game as his worst story, but the Langoliers is his worst film. Gerald's Game was a cocaine/alcohol/fever dream as far as I'm concerned. While I'm glad that my local library let me read whatever I liked I still wonder if the handcuffs on the bedpost sent up any red flags in the librarian's head when she checked it out to a ten year old.
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May 30, 2011 23:34
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JustFrakkingDoIt posted:Gerald's Game was a cocaine/alcohol/fever dream as far as I'm concerned. While I'm glad that my local library let me read whatever I liked I still wonder if the handcuffs on the bedpost sent up any red flags in the librarian's head when she checked it out to a ten year old. I was ten when I read it as well. My mom had some subscription to a Stephen King book club, and I would end up reading them before she did. After I finished it, and she read it, we had one of those talks that sucked so much as an adolescent.
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May 30, 2011 23:38
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I'm not sure if it was mentioned way back, but I just finished a reread of the Shining and saw on Wikipedia that apparently King was considering a sequel back in late 2009. Apparently he had readers vote on which of two stories they wanted to read, and one was a Dark Tower novel and one was "Dr. Sleep." Dr. Sleep won. quote:The story, King said, would follow a character from the original novel, Danny Torrance, now in his 40s, living in upstate New York, where he works as an orderly at a hospice and helps terminally ill patients pass away with the aid of some extraordinary powers This got me very excited, because I've always wanted a sequel to The Shining for some reason. Somehow, the way King writes it makes you feel like the Overlook Hotel experience is just the first of many complications that the shining is going to bring to Danny. He has O'Halloran as an example of how a lesser shine can affect you over a lifetime, the allusions to his being an old soul because he sees so much human nature inadvertently, and then he has a later version of himself (as Tony) trying to communicate with him. But for such a powerful character, he stays fairly passive through the story (appropriately, since he's so young) and it makes me want to see him coping with the shine at a later age.
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May 31, 2011 03:19
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Is Black House worth pursuing beyond the 50-odd pages I've already started? The writing comes across as self conscious - almost like someone trying to pitch an idea to a film producer ("okay see, the film opens with this swooping helicopter camera shot, where it flies in,and using fancy cgi, to medium close up of two people talking, and then flies off..") On a better note, I picked up a copy of Desperation which I quite like because I've no loving idea what's going to happen, Breezed through a third of the book so far tak! [edit: Holy poo poo they made a telemovie] SlightButSteady fucked around with this message at 12:18 on Jun 1, 2011 |
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Jun 1, 2011 12:13
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Black House eventually drops that weird second person-esque narration. Until it picks it back up at the end. Also, while the book is fairly good on its own it has a problem in retrospect where it has all these Dark Tower tie-in bits that ended up having absolutely no pay off. As none of the characters or events ever cross over into the actual Dark Tower books. Edit: For Desperation I kind of wished he had focused more on the bits about the town self-destructing.
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Jun 1, 2011 12:29
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The first hundred pages of Black House can be skipped completely.
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Jun 1, 2011 13:54
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Ornamented Death posted:The first hundred pages of Black House can be skipped completely. But overall it is worth reading. PS I loved every page of Black House.
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Jun 1, 2011 18:39
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I feel like I'm the only person who enjoyed Regulators more than Desperation.
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Jun 1, 2011 19:03
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