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Ornamented Death posted:I don't care what anyone says, I love The Langoliers. The miniseries FREAKED me out when I was a kid. I still enjoy it for nostalgic reasons. It's really goofy, but Stockwell is great.
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Feb 2, 2012 08:48
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| # ? May 15, 2024 10:56 |
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Canuckistan posted:King sure loves him some foreshadowing. "It was the last time that XXX saw YYY alive" shows up at least once a novel. I just read one in Needful Things this morning. I'm working my way through Needful Things now as well, and I'm pretty sure I read exactly what you are referencing to, and it was verbatim. It actually gave me a pretty good chuckle.
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Feb 2, 2012 20:53
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The only time I've had a problem with that was in Duma Key. King seems to forget that he foreshadowed and then spent a chapter on suspense about the fate of this person. Had he left the foreshadowing out there's a voicemail message that would have been like a kick to the guts at the end of that chapter. But nooo .. he had to go and put his own spoiler in there. Also: The losers are still losers but Stans finally ahead.
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Feb 2, 2012 21:15
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Local Group Bus posted:The only time I've had a problem with that was in Duma Key. King seems to forget that he foreshadowed and then spent a chapter on suspense about the fate of this person. Had he left the foreshadowing out there's a voicemail message that would have been like a kick to the guts at the end of that chapter. But nooo .. he had to go and put his own spoiler in there. Oh poo poo, I remember that. I liked Duma Key, but that choice made no sense.
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Feb 2, 2012 21:18
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There's a book, I forget both the authors name and the books name but it was a pretty terrible novel, where the author started the prologue with, "Jenny woke up with eighteen minutes to live," and then every line after a paragraph about Jenny going through her normal morning routine would be a countdown of the minutes left until eventually she took a bullet from a stalker. I'll have to look through the stacks for it because it makes King look like a master at keeping secrets from the reader. That entire novel was filled with either really badly timed foreshadowing or chapter endings that tailed off like, "John opened the door to find ..." For all the poo poo we give King in this thread I think we need to wade into the really bad pulp stuff that's in the horror genre because King might misstep a fair bit but there are a lot worse. Have we a horrible horror novel thread?
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Feb 2, 2012 21:38
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Local Group Bus posted:There's a book, I forget both the authors name and the books name but it was a pretty terrible novel, where the author started the prologue with, "Jenny woke up with eighteen minutes to live," and then every line after a paragraph about Jenny going through her normal morning routine would be a countdown of the minutes left until eventually she took a bullet from a stalker. I'll have to look through the stacks for it because it makes King look like a master at keeping secrets from the reader. That entire novel was filled with either really badly timed foreshadowing or chapter endings that tailed off like, "John opened the door to find ..." I love seeing people take H.P. Lovecraft to task. He really grabbed me with that eldritch poo poo when I was a teenager but he was a sad weird old racist gently caress with a couple dozen words that just did not need to be recycled out of some ancient dictionary. Neil Gaiman did some Lovecraftian short stories that were just beautiful. Squamous this and gibbous that and some bits about blokes being batrachian.
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Feb 3, 2012 00:05
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Nothing is more funny than reading Lovecraft aloud. It's both confusing and delightful to whomever you read it to. Those words he uses... my god. I'm not sure how cyclopean is supposed to describe pillars, as all I ever imagine are massive statues with the eyeball that shoots lasers at you from Legend of Zelda.
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Feb 3, 2012 01:56
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:Nothing is more funny than reading Lovecraft aloud. It's both confusing and delightful to whomever you read it to. Those words he uses... my god. I'm not sure how cyclopean is supposed to describe pillars, as all I ever imagine are massive statues with the eyeball that shoots lasers at you from Legend of Zelda. I don't mean to spoil your mental image, but it is a real applicable word... adjective 1. of or characteristic of the Cyclops. 2. (sometimes lowercase) gigantic; vast. 3. (usually lowercase) Architecture, Building Trades. formed with or containing large, undressed stones fitted closely together without the use of mortar: a cyclopean wall.
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Feb 3, 2012 02:01
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Local Group Bus posted:There's a book, I forget both the authors name and the books name but it was a pretty terrible novel, where the author started the prologue with, "Jenny woke up with eighteen minutes to live," and then every line after a paragraph about Jenny going through her normal morning routine would be a countdown of the minutes left until eventually she took a bullet from a stalker. I'll have to look through the stacks for it because it makes King look like a master at keeping secrets from the reader. That entire novel was filled with either really badly timed foreshadowing or chapter endings that tailed off like, "John opened the door to find ..." Reminds me of the MST3K episode "The Dead Talk Back".
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Feb 3, 2012 03:22
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Locus posted:cyclopean Well, yeah, I figured it out from the context eventually. It was just the most readily to-mind word people hardly use anymore. I think he wrote pretty archaically even for the time, didn't he? The Mountains of Madness needed a Dodongo fight, this is what I'm getting at.
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Feb 3, 2012 03:24
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:Well, yeah, I figured it out from the context eventually. It was just the most readily to-mind word people hardly use anymore. I think he wrote pretty archaically even for the time, didn't he? He wrote archaically for the time aaaaand he wrote most of his stuff for Weird Tales.  Apparently he didn't even get top billing. 
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Feb 3, 2012 03:53
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Poe makes Lovecraft look like the Stephen King of his age. And that's an incredible shame. But oh well, we have Poe now. I guess time is just luckier or kinder to some writers.
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Feb 3, 2012 04:29
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I don't think I've ever met a Lovecraft fan who said something like "drat, that Lovecraft was a fantastic writer! Real genius of the medium" I figured almost anyone who read his stuff knows how bad his writing is. Its just that he had some really neat ideas, and was cool enough to encourage people to use his ideas/settings.
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Feb 3, 2012 04:47
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:I'm not sure how cyclopean is supposed to describe pillars, as all I ever imagine are massive statues with the eyeball that shoots lasers at you from Legend of Zelda. That's okay, I always thought exactly the same thing, and continue to think it to this day. I like the mental image enough to not bother revising it.
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Feb 3, 2012 05:01
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Locus posted:Oh poo poo, I remember that. I liked Duma Key, but that choice made no sense. I think it must be the way he writes. I'm not necessarily knocking it because it works to some extent, but I think what he's got in Misery is pretty much it: he sits down and writes and moves forward and that's it. I couldn't do that, ever, because I don't think like that when I write and I always want to go back and sync things. I imagine there are plenty of occasions where he's written some foreshadowing in, forgets that he's written it, and eventually it slips past an editor and something becomes hamfisted and he won't even realize it. Or maybe I'm totally off, who knows. Lovecraft's writing is horrible, the ideas are kind of scary I guess. He never worked for me the way Poe does, but clearly it's not a contest for you guys, either. Anyway, someday someone should start a tally on the number of times he talks about a man pissing for "what felt like hours." It kills me. edit ugh I think it's some sort of curse- anytime I talk about craft even remotely, the post is unreadable because of grammar errors
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Feb 3, 2012 05:02
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If we are going to be throwing Kingisms into the hat, as it were, to be countered can I include "As slow as cold molasses"? It's been in two mini-series and countless novels so whats that, we have: A) Felt like he pissed for hours B) As slow as cold molasses Can anyone think of any more? Ayuh can be excused, I'm thinking descriptive phrases here. Maybe "Blood ran cold"? I seem to recall that appearing a fair bit Edit: Oh, God, I could write for pages on how influential Poe is not just for horror but from hard-boiled detective fiction down to police procedurals and the entire mystery genre in general. But I shall refrain. Local Group Bus fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Feb 3, 2012 |
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Feb 3, 2012 06:33
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Don't people think to themselves they could never ever sleep again after going through whatever day/event they've experienced, but then THEY TOTALLY DO FALL ASLEEP IMMEDIATELY. Ok, not quite a phrase, and I may also be remembering some other author doing that in every one of their books. Locus fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Feb 3, 2012 |
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Feb 3, 2012 06:37
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He'll write "barked his shin" a lot. Someone will be walking around in the dark and they'll bark their shin on a coffee table or something. Then they'll ball up fists so tightly that half crescent moon marks will appear on their palms. I'm sure there's plenty more I'm forgetting but I've seen those pretty regularly. But let's face it, the man is so prolific, of course you'll find a rehashed phrase here or there. I'm surprised I haven't noticed more.
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Feb 3, 2012 06:41
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Locus posted:Don't people think to themselves they could never ever sleep again after going through whatever day/event they've experienced, but then THEY TOTALLY DO FALL ASLEEP IMMEDIATELY. No, King does that. Normally after a character has a nightmare, "That was it for the night, (character) knew there was no chance of going back to sleep after that and laid in bed turning the dream over and wondering if dreams could drive you insane. Ten minutes later (character) was asleep again."
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Feb 3, 2012 06:43
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Local Group Bus posted:Maybe "Blood ran cold"? Eh, that's annoying but it's typical horror book cliche. It's the king specific stuff... Though "bet your fur" sticks mainly to IT, at least. Anyway, since I'm rereading IT now you all get to hear about how sad the Beverly Marsh/Rogan stuff makes me. Jeezly crow or whatever.
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Feb 3, 2012 07:05
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Local Group Bus posted:If we are going to be throwing Kingisms into the hat, as it were, to be countered can I include "As slow as cold molasses"? It's been in two mini-series and countless novels so whats that, we have: Don't forget "poo poo-eating grin". And that reminds me that he uses "Don't poo poo where you eat" a lot, as well. Now I have to go read some more so that I come back to the thread with some Kingisms that don't involve bodily functions.
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Feb 3, 2012 07:37
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Characters also have a tendency to laugh so hard that tears squirt down their cheeks. I've seen that 4 or 5 times I think.
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Feb 3, 2012 12:53
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Went sprawling Mouth agape Eyes beaming, glowing, burning, flaming, etc Also, when people trip and fall or go through some bushes they seem to experience injuries far too severe. Like we're all made of rice paper.
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Feb 3, 2012 13:25
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I have noticed King likes the phrase "not inconsiderable" for some reason. Its usually referencing someones stomach, like Brad's "not inconsiderable gut from too many cheesesteaks."
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Feb 3, 2012 14:12
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He also LOVES taking a noun or verb and making it into an adjective he wrote, typingly.
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Feb 3, 2012 18:57
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I made a post saying I need to read more King, and ten hours later I find a new paperback copy of "Full Dark, No Stars" in a bargain bin for $4. Excellent. Now I have to listen to some Hendrix test-presses. Hopefully I'm not confusing coincidence with cause and effect.
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Feb 3, 2012 19:05
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I think the ultimate Kingism has to becode:the indented italicized internal thoughts of the character that happen mid-sentence. I don't think I've seen it elsewhere.
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Feb 3, 2012 20:18
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friends and neighbors Patchwork Shaman, you will probably enjoy Full Dark. It has some pretty good moments, I think.
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Feb 4, 2012 00:47
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After reading 1 and half books by King so far this year, I have begun to realize that King's real talent isn't so much his imagination as it is his ability to write stories that just suck you up. I never binge through books like I have with these King novels. I dedicate an entire day to finishing 11/22/63, and I'm trying to avoid reading Needful Things during the day because I know I will lose an hour or two of the day if I do that.
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Feb 4, 2012 01:28
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King doesn't call 'em streetlamps, or security lights, or streetlights. They're always the arc-sodiums.
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Feb 4, 2012 02:16
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Aatrek posted:King doesn't call 'em streetlamps, or security lights, or streetlights. Also: slow-trans. Nice title.
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Feb 4, 2012 03:50
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He swallowed and heard an audible click in the back of his throat.
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Feb 4, 2012 11:39
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Ornamented Death posted:I don't care what anyone says, I love The Langoliers. Yeah, I love Kings' more SF stuff. Even though Langoliers was ripped off from DNA Cowboys and Jaunt was stolen from Tiger, Tiger. I'm sure that Tommyknockers (:heart:) has an origin from something else, but I'm damned if I can remember it. Also, I'm counting The Long Walk and Running Man as SF because it's dystopian future type stuff. Did anyone get an IT/ Tommyknockers vide from Brett Ellis' Lunar Park? I really do, although the only similarities I can work out are the disappearing boys/ Altair 4 references.
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Feb 4, 2012 12:34
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Red Dragon posted:I'm sure that Tommyknockers (:heart:) has an origin from something else, but I'm damned if I can remember it. I believe he intended it as an homage/update to Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space.
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Feb 4, 2012 17:18
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Constant reader,
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Feb 4, 2012 18:32
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Lurk Ethic posted:He swallowed and heard an audible click in the back of his throat. And he tasted pennies on the back of his tongue.
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Feb 4, 2012 19:59
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Oy looked at Eddie mistrustfully.
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Feb 4, 2012 21:05
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ZoDiAC_ posted:Oy looked at Eddie mistrustfully. Looking at Jake, with loving admiration. I just started Wolves of the Calla, and I swear to god it's mentioned Oy staring at Jake five times and the book has barely started.
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Feb 5, 2012 02:04
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I have tried to get through the Dark Tower series no less than 4 times. I have made it 3 books in on my best attempt. I feel like King had no clear goal in mind as he wrote these, except to stretch the series over an inordinate number of tomes. That said, he is one of my favorite authors--I really enjoy most of his work. I think perhaps he overstretched himself here though.
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Feb 5, 2012 03:28
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This post is about 11.22.63. So I finished 11.22.63 the other day. I enjoyed it, though I don't care much for Kennedy or the setting. My only real problem with the book is the seeming infallibility of George Amberson. I may be misremembering the early part of the book, but Jake Epping of 2011 is described to us as an obscure high school teacher in his mid-thirties. He has no girlfriend or any romantic prospects and nor he does he have any real friends, unless you want to count a guy who runs a diner that Jake occasionally visits and a mature-age student of his. So when we meet George Amberson of 1958 - his experiences in Derry aside - it's remarkable that he can't seem to put a foot wrong in his dealings with people. George becomes the most charistmatic, charming protagonist you'll ever meet. The book makes a real point of how Jake Epping was best suited to the task of travelling back in time because he had nothing tying him to 2011. Nobody who would notice if he had suddenly aged five years in two minutes or indeed, if he never came back at all. So my question is: If I travelled back to 1958 would I go from being the sad, miserable loner that I am now to the Most Charismatic Man Who Ever Lived? Octy fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Feb 6, 2012 |
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Feb 5, 2012 04:15
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