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Vogler posted:What about retards? Honestly, in my experience, Dean Koontz takes Magical Retard to levels Stephen King hasn't dreamed of yet.
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Jun 27, 2012 20:14
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Lolitas Alright! posted:Honestly, in my experience, Dean Koontz takes Magical Retard to levels Stephen King hasn't dreamed of yet.
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Jun 27, 2012 20:29
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Vogler posted:I've only read one half of a Stephen King book. It was called 'Dreamcatchers', and I hated it. I'd like to give him one more chance, for some reason, but I don't want to leaf through something which spine holds more than 700 pages. Preferably not more than 400. And the book has to be scary. Thank you. iostream.h posted:Hell, in most Dean Koontz books (and I'll admit to being addicted to them) being retarded is magical. quote:Dappled with morning light and tree shadows, the water glimmered in shades of blue from sapphire to turquoise, as might a trove of jewels left by long-dead pirates who had sailed a sea since vanished. jackpot fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Jun 27, 2012 |
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Jun 27, 2012 22:14
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when worlds collide posted:Yup! But most of all, that man wants to smoke so badly. Boy, does he ever.  I would love to see the movie version of "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe".
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Jun 27, 2012 23:13
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when worlds collide posted:Yup! But most of all, that man wants to smoke so badly. He craves unfiltered Lucky Strikes so badly that he has to clench his fists until crescent-shaped marks are dug into his palms. Ayuh.
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Jun 27, 2012 23:21
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Mister Kingdom posted:Boy, does he ever.
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Jun 28, 2012 00:50
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iostream.h posted:Christ almighty I once went to sleep listening to that, woke up in the middle of 1408 and thought I was going insane. Scared the holy poo poo out of me. Ha ha, jesus. 1408 scared the hell out of me, I can't even imagine. Yeah I quit reading Koontz when it got to the point that I couldn't remember what books of his I'd read and which I hadn't. You could put one in my hands at random and I'd probably be a chapter or two in before I knew. All his books just seem so loving similar. Also magical genius dogs are Koontz's version of magical retards.
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Jun 28, 2012 01:32
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Darko posted:It wasn't conceived as a Dark Tower tie in, but has a lot of similar ideas in it. I would say it's where the dark tower stuff started creeping into the other books, but it'a also when it was at its' best... I also really had an amazing time with the characters of Black House, so shut the gently caress up. That book was oddly amazing. I blame Henry...
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Jun 28, 2012 06:57
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I'm working on The Talisman right now but having a tough time with it. I just can't seem to get into it for some reason.
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Jun 28, 2012 15:34
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I ended up reading the first couple of chapters like three times due to loosing interest then coming back to start over later. It really picks up once Jack finally hits the road but getting there can be a bit of a slog.
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Jun 28, 2012 16:44
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Ugly In The Morning posted:I would say it's where the dark tower stuff started creeping into the other books, but it'a also when it was at its' best... Henry and the bikers were some of the best parts of Black House.
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Jun 28, 2012 17:22
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There are people that don't like Black House?  I mean, outside of the first chapter. gently caress that thing.
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Jun 28, 2012 17:27
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Ornamented Death posted:There are people that don't like Black House? Haha that first chapter is so incredibly...Wheel of Time-ish. It reads like a horrible 100-page Robert Jordan prologue.
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Jun 28, 2012 17:47
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Jealous Cow posted:I'm working on The Talisman right now but having a tough time with it. I just can't seem to get into it for some reason. The Talisman takes forever to get moving. I couldn't enjoy it till about a 4th of the way in, when you meet a new character. After that I felt the book became one of my favorites. Wolf!
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Jun 28, 2012 18:15
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Right here and now! is where the story really starts to pop!
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Jun 28, 2012 18:45
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spixxor posted:Also magical genius dogs are Koontz's version of magical retards.
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Jun 28, 2012 19:14
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I stopped reading Koontz in my teens. I never liked him as much as King. A few months ago I grabbed a free copy of one of his books, thinking I'd try it out and see if it got better with age, like fine wine and all that. Nope, vinegar. I don't remember the name of it, barely remember the plot, in fact I remember I didn't even finish it. It had a magical dog in it though. And something was wrong with the world and people got possessed or some poo poo like that. That's really all I remember. Besides a marina and a boat. I expect I've just described 3/4 of his catalogue.
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Jun 28, 2012 20:41
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I like Koontz's Odd Thomas books because they are the very definition of beach reading. I was also a fan of his Moonlight Bay books (I think that's what they were called), but it's been like fifteen years and the third entry hasn't shown up.
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Jun 28, 2012 21:11
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Ornamented Death posted:There are people that don't like Black House? I loving hate how it's written. Absolutely hate it. The scenes where he describes the 'travels' of the camera or whatever the gently caress made me put down the book every time. It is one of the few books I just found so completely intolerable to read.
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Jun 28, 2012 21:32
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jackpot posted:You're coming dangerously close to dissing the only Really Good Book that man ever wrote. Watch yourself. Hey now, Watchers was good. And incidentally the first Koontz book I read. That and Phantoms are the only two books I can tell you for a fact I have read. And I only remember reading Phantoms because of that drat Jay and Silent Bob quote. Too bad it was all (repetitively) downhill after that.
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Jun 29, 2012 00:09
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spixxor posted:Hey now, Watchers was good. And incidentally the first Koontz book I read. That and Phantoms are the only two books I can tell you for a fact I have read. And I only remember reading Phantoms because of that drat Jay and Silent Bob quote. One thing that bothered me about what few Koontz books I've read is that he just can not write crazy people convincingly. Stuff like eating bugs or giving a mannequin vagina dentata is supposed to be shocking and insane but it's just eye-rolling. King can write the hell out of crazy people even if his actual understanding of psychology isn't great (not knowing the difference between schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, for instance). VVVVVV Stephen King has said the same thing about The Stand, but he seems to have a sense of humor about most of his fans agreeing he peaked that early in his career. Farbtoner fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 00:37
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spixxor posted:Hey now, Watchers was good. And incidentally the first Koontz book I read. I once picked up an anniversary copy (15th or something) of Watchers and read the forward, written by Koontz. And there's a bit in there where he says he goes to however many book signings a year, dozens of them, and absolutely without fail there'll be some friendly, little old lady who comes up with her book to be signed. And they always introduce themselves by saying "You know, you've still never written anything better than Watchers." If I were an author that would simultaneously be the funniest and saddest drat thing in the world. At least he's got enough of a sense of humor to admit he peaked early.
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Jun 29, 2012 00:40
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I found a copy of 11/22/63 today, I'm really happy because now I'm not as far behind as I usually am with books. I don't even think it's come out in paperback yet. I'm a straight to dvd kinda gal. So, even though I read the spoilers I don't remember anything any of you said, so when I read it it'll be fresh. I also found a perfect hardcover of Blaze, for 2 bucks. I don't recall anyone saying much about it in this thread, although I have a memory like a sieve. Does it suck or is it worth reading quickly before 11/22? It doesn't have many pages so I could probably read it in a day or two. If it sucks I'll just wait because I got some other good books too.
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Jun 29, 2012 01:06
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when worlds collide posted:So, even though I read the spoilers I don't remember anything any of you said, so when I read it it'll be fresh. I also found a perfect hardcover of Blaze, for 2 bucks. I don't recall anyone saying much about it in this thread, although I have a memory like a sieve. Does it suck or is it worth reading quickly before 11/22? It doesn't have many pages so I could probably read it in a day or two. If it sucks I'll just wait because I got some other good books too. Read 11/22 first. I haven't read 11/22 yet, but trust me, that's the one you need to read first. Even King warns you about Blaze.
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Jun 29, 2012 02:40
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ImpAtom posted:I loving hate how it's written. Absolutely hate it. The scenes where he describes the 'travels' of the camera or whatever the gently caress made me put down the book every time. It is one of the few books I just found so completely intolerable to read. Most of that kind of thing is in the first chapter. There's very little of it elsewhere.
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Jun 29, 2012 04:08
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Blaze was utterly unreadable, and as I've mentioned prior, I read and enjoy Dean Koontz.
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Jun 29, 2012 04:09
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RC and Moon Pie posted:Read 11/22 first. I haven't read 11/22 yet, but trust me, that's the one you need to read first. iostream.h posted:Blaze was utterly unreadable, and as I've mentioned prior, I read and enjoy Dean Koontz. Bugger. I really like the cover art! I know, I know... I'll shelve that one for the unforseeable future, then. I seriously really love that cover art. 
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Jun 29, 2012 05:53
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I liked Blaze well enough. For a not so good King book it wasn't that bad. edit: I actually like Koontz a lot, but I can go ahead and point out the major flaws that make his books not really good:
There are a few exceptions to this, though not many recently. Victorkm fucked around with this message at 12:30 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 12:13
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Locus fucked around with this message at 13:46 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 13:44
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You both summed it up exactly. What little memory is left of my reading anything of his confirms that totally (and is why I have no desire to read anything of his, ever). What is a Mary Sue/Marty Stu? I have a feeling I already know what that is but am having a brain bubble moment.
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Jun 29, 2012 13:58
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when worlds collide posted:You both summed it up exactly. What little memory is left of my reading anything of his confirms that totally (and is why I have no desire to read anything of his, ever). Mary Sue is the concept of the author imposing his ideal self on the character. I'm not sure if that's really the case with Koontz as much as him imposing his idea of the ideal person on all of his protagonists, not so much what he wants to be but the way he wants the world and people to be like. Victorkm fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 14:02
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when worlds collide posted:What is a Mary Sue/Marty Stu? I have a feeling I already know what that is but am having a brain bubble moment. "Wikipedia posted:A Mary Sue (sometimes just Sue), in literary criticism and particularly in fanfiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfilment fantasy for the author or reader. It is generally accepted as a character whose positive aspects overwhelm their other traits until they become one-dimensional. I think the term has expanded a bit beyond what it originally meant, which was basically a fan-fiction character suspiciously similar to the author and treated disproportionately well within the fiction.
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Jun 29, 2012 14:08
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Thank you both. Goddamnit, I really need to utilize Wikipedia BEFORE I go asking silly questions... but I liked your answers better, so.
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Jun 29, 2012 14:23
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Misery is next, about twenty pages in and, after reading Night Shift, I feel like it should be coming to an end in the next thirty pages or so, but it's not. So far, so good, though.
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Jun 30, 2012 02:24
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Can we please stop arguing about Dean Koontz and start talking about something we (hopefully) all have in common: a shared loathing of John Saul
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Jun 30, 2012 05:41
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ConfusedUs posted:Most of that kind of thing is in the first chapter. There's very little of it elsewhere. I remember it coming up frequently. I admit it's been a while since I read it but I read the entire thing and it felt like it was common enough to drive me nuts. I also despised the "stop reading here, it gets sad" message near the end.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:44
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ImpAtom posted:I remember it coming up frequently. I admit it's been a while since I read it but I read the entire thing and it felt like it was common enough to drive me nuts. King is always at his worst when he tries to break (or just edge near) the fourth wall. Self inserts, narrator-as-a-camera, whatever. He sucks at it.
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Jun 30, 2012 20:50
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Ornamented Death posted:There are people that don't like Black House?
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Jul 2, 2012 03:26
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:Can we please stop arguing about Dean Koontz and start talking about something we (hopefully) all have in common: a shared loathing of John Saul My parents used to buy John Saul books, and I'd grab an armful of them when I was bored or going to the beach or something. I have literally - and more than once - picked up a John Saul book and gotten as far as 50 pages before I realized I'd read the book before. That's how completely forgettable they are.
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Jul 2, 2012 22:21
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Forgive me if it's been mentioned, but James Smythe over at The Guardian is rereading and reviewing all of King's works in order of publication (this link is for Carrie).
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Jul 4, 2012 18:23
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