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ZoDiAC_ posted:Can we start a new thread for just general SK discussion as people take the title far too literally and just come in to post Cujo or that scene from IT repeatedly Just ask a mod to change the thread title to "Meh-est Stephen King Novel"
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Nov 23, 2011 18:37
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| # ? May 15, 2024 14:09 |
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"Stephen King awesome novel discussion / post-accident terrible novel discussion!"
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Nov 23, 2011 20:41
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"Creepiest {Intentional) Stephen King Novel."
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Nov 24, 2011 00:04
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"11/22/63 is holyshitwow/Cujo was written in a blackout discussion".
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Nov 24, 2011 04:08
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The Dome, first book for a long time I didn't even bother to finish. The problem I find with S.K now is there's too much padding and frankly half the time I don't even care about the characters.
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Nov 24, 2011 13:59
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Siggers posted:The Dome, first book for a long time I didn't even bother to finish. thats a shame. I really enjoyed Under the Dome. I rather enjoy his books where he tackles some experience from the perspective of the whole town (Tommyknockers, 'Salem's Lot, Needful Things). That being said, I finished 11/22/63 last night. Holy poo poo. Hands down the best ending that man has written in years, if ever. I'm not the sort to cry at books, but that ending got me pretty close Easily his best novel since the accident.
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Nov 25, 2011 15:28
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Ugly In The Morning posted:He didn't want to risk popping somebody he didn't absolutely know was responsible. He even felt guilty shooting the janitor's dad the second time, compared to the first. There's a big difference between getting someone in the act and gunning them down in cold blood, which was fully demonstrated in the first third of the book. I mean, really, would you be able to kill someone like that? Plus, the residue. Who knows what repurcussions actions in the past like that have. Except it wasn't the fact that Kennedy was alive that really ruined everything, but the fact that it was a result of time being meddled with. I rather enjoyed how instead of "Oh no, The future is ruined because Kennedy turned out to be Hitler 2!", but that the worst repercussions were due to the actual tampering of the time stream.
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Nov 25, 2011 15:34
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Roydrowsy posted:Except it wasn't the fact that Kennedy was alive that really ruined everything, but the fact that it was a result of time being meddled with. I rather enjoyed how instead of "Oh no, The future is ruined because Kennedy turned out to be Hitler 2!", but that the worst repercussions were due to the actual tampering of the time stream. Most of that was directed at the whole "why not just shoot Oswald right away" thing, the repercussions was an afterthought. Plus, according to the new card guy, there is some sort of lasting damage from using the time travel.
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Nov 25, 2011 16:09
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Ugly In The Morning posted:Most of that was directed at the whole "why not just shoot Oswald right away" thing, the repercussions was an afterthought. Plus, according to the new card guy, there is some sort of lasting damage from using the time travel. i know.. i realized i quoted the wrong person and was too lazy to go back and fix it.
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Nov 26, 2011 01:13
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11/22/63 Great, great book. Actually made me tear up a couple of times, mostly stuff involving Bobbi Jill's facial scar and then Sadie's.
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Nov 26, 2011 09:56
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I Don't Even Remember Writing The Tommyknockers This Onion article is great
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Nov 26, 2011 17:31
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ZoDiAC_ posted:I Don't Even Remember Writing The Tommyknockers I love the onion. Great stuff daily.
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Nov 26, 2011 19:05
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This might be something that's been going on for a while, and perhaps I've only just started noticing it, but in the last couple of books I've got a little bit of enjoyment out of him mentioning characters from other authors' works. In Under The Dome somebody gets a recommendation from an MP named Jack Reacher (from Lee Child's books) and in 11/22/63, near the end, there's a mention of a rogue FBI agent named Dwight Holly (a character from James Ellroy's Underworld USA trilogy) assassinating George Wallace in Chicago. Captain Rehab fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Nov 27, 2011 |
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Nov 27, 2011 02:42
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Captain Rehab posted:This might be something that's been going on for a while, and perhaps I've only just started noticing it, but in the last couple of books I've got a little bit of enjoyment out of him mentioning characters from other authors' works.
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Nov 27, 2011 02:57
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I did much the same thing, but also kind of assumed that he was fictional due to being a perspective character in Blood's A Rover. Interested to know if King's been doing this in his other works - it wouldn't surprise me that he has and they've just gone over my head as, try as I might, I have yet to read every book in existence.
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Nov 27, 2011 08:29
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Any "It" fans should check out "Summer of Night" by Dan Simmons. Pretty similia set up. Bunch of. Small town kids in the late 50's fight an old evil, with much less tween gang sex and universe turtles.
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Nov 28, 2011 11:27
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Is there anywhere I can read a synopsis or cliff's note summary of 11/22/63? The wikipedia write up stops right as he gets busted for having a fake diploma.
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Nov 30, 2011 22:56
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Poundcake, poundcake , poundcake. Stop it Stephen. I finally got around to finishing 11/22/63. LOVED it. I actually got a little misty eyed in a Stephen King book. Easily the best thing he has done in 20 years, really looking forward to Dr Sleep now. E.G.G.S. fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Dec 1, 2011 |
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Dec 1, 2011 01:04
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Yeah, 11/22/63 was actually pretty drat good. It was really long, and maybe could have been shortened, but I think the overall pacing worked out in the end, as it helped convey the main character's experience. However, considering the title of this thread, I feel the need to point out that his son (Joe Hill) gave him the ending this time. 
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Dec 1, 2011 01:32
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Locus posted:Joe Hill I have a Kindle book of short stories called 20th Century Ghosts by this young man and it's like reading King in his prime. So many good stories. I got it on sale for $0.99 a long time ago, but it's well worth the $10 Amazon is asking for it now. The stories are widely varied, though many of them feature young teens in a central role. My favorites are about a kid who wakes up to find he's now a giant insect and another about a kid whose mentally challenged brother builds forts that lead to another dimension. Well, I say those are my favorites, and they're good, but when it comes to "Pop Art", I could probably write more words in praise than the author wrote for the story itself. "Pop Art" is absolutely wonderful. It's touching, it's sweet, it's weird, and above all, it's very, very good. It is easily the best short story I've read in a years.
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Dec 1, 2011 02:19
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If you guys like Joe Hill, be sure to check out the Locke & Key comic series he does.
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Dec 1, 2011 04:23
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Yes, read Locke & Key, and read 20th Century Ghosts. The former is extremely fun modern Gothic fantasy, and maybe the best thing Hill has written, and 20CG has a lot of echoes of classic King, as has been remarked. A warning about his novels though: they're better plotted/paced than King's, but they also are completely ridiculous and make no sense. The critic ST Joshi rails on King for his supernatural elements being inconsistent and illogical but I think if he ever read a novel by Hill he'd have an aneurysm. I was teaching Heart-Shaped Box to first-year undergrads last fall and even they were calling the book out on its bullshit. But this is not an inaugural post for the thread "Worst Joe Hill Novel" thread so I'll reiterate: read Locke & Key and 20th Century Ghosts. Also an observation: the amount of mean and/or dead fathers in Hill's work starts to look sort of funny, in context, you know.
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Dec 1, 2011 05:38
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Yeah, I read that Heart Shaped Box book and I thought it was pretty awful. I guess I'll give some of his other stuff a try though.
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Dec 1, 2011 07:37
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I'll tell you what's awesome about listening to the newer steven king audiobooks. You can work, you can read the paper, you can write your own novel and just pause occasionally to listen for an update. Why? This idiot rambles so much more than he ever did. I swear to God - the man needs a team of editors. I don't know WHY I picked up 11/22/63, after suffering through the last short story from his previous type-o-rrhea. Here's what I like about the book: he's re-examining IT. Here's what I hate about the book: he's re-examining IT. And motherfucker runs on and on. And on. At least I get to listen while I work.
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Dec 1, 2011 18:25
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So I haven't read 11/22/63 yet. For all you guys who like it, can you tell me what your favorite and least favorite SK novels are? I just want some comparison, to see if your taste is the same as mine. Because I've been wary of 11/22/63 because the premise just doesn't sound interesting at all to me. It seems like Baby Boomers are really obsessed with the JFK assassination and it's just not something I care about at all. I've read every single published SK book besides Black House and that factual book about baseball, so whatever book you want to give me for comparison, I'll know what you're talking about. Also, someone convince me to re-read IT. It's been over 10 years since I read IT, and I usually re-read SK novels that I like. A part of me really wants to re-read IT...but the ending just KILLS it for me. It makes me feel like every single thing that happened in the book was just so totally pointless and worthless, especially after what we find out about Pennywise in Dreamcatcher. I want to re-read it, but KNOWING that ending is coming the whole time will bother me so much.
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Dec 2, 2011 16:02
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DeseretRain posted:So I haven't read 11/22/63 yet. For all you guys who like it, can you tell me what your favorite and least favorite SK novels are? I just want some comparison, to see if your taste is the same as mine. Because I've been wary of 11/22/63 because the premise just doesn't sound interesting at all to me. It seems like Baby Boomers are really obsessed with the JFK assassination and it's just not something I care about at all. I've read every single published SK book besides Black House and that factual book about baseball, so whatever book you want to give me for comparison, I'll know what you're talking about. Well, I'm half-way through and so far at least, it's not so much about the JFK per say as it is about stopping a bad thing from happening, and that's the event King has gone for. Even the protagonist doesn't really know that much about it. It's a very enjoyable read. Classic King, but at the same time completely fresh. Hard to compare it to anything else really. If there's Good-King and Bad-King, this is definitely Good-King.
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Dec 2, 2011 17:23
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Hell yes, just found the limited-trade 1st edition hardcover of Wizard & Glass at my local used-book shop, they obviously had no idea what it's worth because I picked it up for $15.  Only 40,000 were printed, I wonder how many are still in mint condition, or even in circulation/existence.
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Dec 2, 2011 19:18
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DeseretRain posted:So I haven't read 11/22/63 yet. For all you guys who like it, can you tell me what your favorite and least favorite SK novels are? I just want some comparison, to see if your taste is the same as mine. Because I've been wary of 11/22/63 because the premise just doesn't sound interesting at all to me. It seems like Baby Boomers are really obsessed with the JFK assassination and it's just not something I care about at all. I've read every single published SK book besides Black House and that factual book about baseball, so whatever book you want to give me for comparison, I'll know what you're talking about. I like IT/Long Walk/The Stand/the second story from Hearts in Atlantis/The Mist/Talisman and his more random short stories like the falling frogs/Dark Tower 3 and 4 I hate Lisey's Story/Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon/Rose Madder/Story about the woman chained to the bed I also hate Kennedy related stuff because I generally don't care.
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Dec 2, 2011 20:04
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mdemone posted:Hell yes, just found the limited-trade 1st edition hardcover of Wizard & Glass at my local used-book shop, they obviously had no idea what it's worth because I picked it up for $15. Plenty, by the looks of eBay. And it's not even that valuable within the realm of first editions. I mean, great find and all, but you won't be retiring off of a future sale  .
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Dec 2, 2011 20:11
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Darko posted:I like IT/Long Walk/The Stand/the second story from Hearts in Atlantis/The Mist/Talisman and his more random short stories like the falling frogs/Dark Tower 3 and 4 So, you liked the book even though you don't care about the Kennedy stuff? So it's still pretty good even for someone who doesn't really care about the JFK assassination? Not sure what to make of the rest of your taste since it's a total mix for me...The Long Walk is my favorite book ever, not just of King's, but EVER. But The Stand is my least favorite King book and I hate it. I do love The Mist a lot, and I liked Rainy Season alright (that's the title of the one with the frogs if I remember the title right) and I did like DT 3 and 4. And yeah, I also hated Lisey's Story. But I kinda liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Rose Madder, and Gerald's Game (that's the one with the woman handcuffed to the bed). Didn't LOVE any of those, but liked them all, enough that I've read each of them twice.
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Dec 2, 2011 21:21
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Ornamented Death posted:Plenty, by the looks of eBay. And it's not even that valuable within the realm of first editions. I mean, great find and all, but you won't be retiring off of a future sale Heh, I know. I've made it a goal of mine to get the first editions of all seven DT books, but never really thought I'd find any of the first four (without paying hundreds on eBay/Abebooks). I practically squeaked when I saw it on the shelf. It's the principle of the thing -- like finding a rookie card worth ten bucks in the nickel box.
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Dec 2, 2011 21:23
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Nah I know the feeling. I found first editions of Skeleton Crew and The Eyes of the Dragon at a library sale (not ex-library copies, mind you).
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Dec 2, 2011 22:25
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Ornamented Death posted:Plenty, by the looks of eBay. And it's not even that valuable within the realm of first editions. I mean, great find and all, but you won't be retiring off of a future sale Unless it has his name misprinted and then you may need to wait 50 years. Darko posted:I like IT/Long Walk/The Stand/the second story from Hearts in Atlantis/The Mist/Talisman and his more random short stories like the falling frogs/Dark Tower 3 and 4 You are a bad man.
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Dec 2, 2011 22:28
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DeseretRain posted:So I haven't read 11/22/63 yet. For all you guys who like it, can you tell me what your favorite and least favorite SK novels are? I just want some comparison, to see if your taste is the same as mine. My problem with saying which books of his I liked, is that all of the other books of his I liked involved more horror, scifi, or supernatural elements (and honestly for me, this is like a top-20 King book, not a top-10). I thought this one was more straightforward and better-paced than Under the Dome (overall disliked), and all the characters were far less cartoony. While more relateable and emotional than a lot of other work, it was also less "fun" and adventurous, than say, The Stand, any Dark Tower book, etc.
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Dec 2, 2011 23:25
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DeseretRain posted:So, you liked the book even though you don't care about the Kennedy stuff? So it's still pretty good even for someone who doesn't really care about the JFK assassination?
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Dec 3, 2011 02:07
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DeseretRain posted:So, you liked the book even though you don't care about the Kennedy stuff? So it's still pretty good even for someone who doesn't really care about the JFK assassination? While the JFK stuff is the reason why the main character went back in time he spends the majority of the book doing other things. He goes back to 1958 and has to spend the five years living until the Oswald stuff becomes relevant.
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Dec 3, 2011 02:38
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Creflo Chronicle posted:You don't have to read the book if you don't want to. That's kind of what I was thinking. DeseretRain, if you've read all of King's other books you know you'll probably read this one too, at some point, regardless of what anyone says. Quit trying to convince yourself to read it and just come back to it when you run out of books on your to-read list. To answer your concerns, the book's not all JFK JFK JFK, that's just the hook to the story, if you get what I mean. It's most certainly not a JFK book by Stephen King, it's just a Stephen King book with JFK in it.
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Dec 3, 2011 03:58
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"Time" is a bigger character than JFK, or perhaps a mysterious element or force within time, IMO.
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Dec 3, 2011 04:52
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DeseretRain posted:*stuff about what books he liked and didn't like, compared to what another poster did and didn't like* Maybe you should realize that taste is subjective and what one person likes doesn't necessarily mean another person would also like it 
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Dec 3, 2011 13:16
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Yeah, I just finished it a couple of days ago and was kind of surprised how incidental JFK was to the plot. Whoever said earlier that the book is basically just about someone trying to stop A Bad Thing from happening hit it right on the money, you could substitute just about any tragedy for the JFK assassination and the main thrust of the story would be the same. I really liked it, by the way - it has many of the old Stephen King weaknesses, but after thirty years of the guy turning out books it's a little futile to complain about his books being 300 pages longer than they need to be or characters overusing folksy slang.
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Dec 3, 2011 15:28
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