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RoeCocoa posted:Does it get significantly better in the second half? It's taken me about six months to get through the first third of Insomnia; I'll read about ten pages, find some other book that I want to read more, read that all the way through, come back to Insomnia, rinse and repeat. It's not really terrible, and there was actual stuff happening in the chapter I just finished, but I don't know if I should bother finishing the book. (I read and mostly enjoyed the first three Dark Tower books, if that makes a difference.) I stopped reading at page 628 in 1995 (I used a page from a phone bill to mark the place). It's still sitting on the shelf.
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Mar 15, 2013 01:31
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RoeCocoa posted:Does it get significantly better in the second half? It's taken me about six months to get through the first third of Insomnia; I'll read about ten pages, find some other book that I want to read more, read that all the way through, come back to Insomnia, rinse and repeat. It's not really terrible, and there was actual stuff happening in the chapter I just finished, but I don't know if I should bother finishing the book. (I read and mostly enjoyed the first three Dark Tower books, if that makes a difference.) It's totally worth reading, in my opinion. It really gets going after the first third. If you haven't gotten to where he starts seeing colors yet, you're in for a treat. After that happens it's pretty much non-stop action. Mister Kingdom posted:I stopped reading at page 628 in 1995 That seems like an odd place to stop, looking at my copy. Weren't you interested in what was down there? Pheeets fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Mar 15, 2013 |
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Mar 15, 2013 02:03
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Pheeets posted:If you haven't gotten to where he starts seeing colors yet, you're in for a treat. After that happens it's pretty much non-stop action. He started seeing auras about 120 pages ago. The action has been very stop-and-go since then, but I'm going to stick with it for now.
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Mar 15, 2013 05:33
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RoeCocoa posted:He started seeing auras about 120 pages ago. The action has been very stop-and-go since then, but I'm going to stick with it for now. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it, but your results may vary of course.
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Mar 15, 2013 06:28
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RoeCocoa posted:He started seeing auras about 120 pages ago. The action has been very stop-and-go since then, but I'm going to stick with it for now. Be on the lookout for Gage's shoe from Pet Sematary. Aatrek fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Mar 15, 2013 |
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Mar 15, 2013 14:10
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Aatrek posted:Be on the lookout for Gage's shoe from Pet Sematary.  I didn't associate the shoe with that book!
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Mar 15, 2013 15:27
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I enjoyed Insomina, but that was in my 'read everything even tangentially related to DT' phase and Insomina was a proper DT side-story. Or so it seemed at the time.LOL MINDTRAP LOL
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Mar 15, 2013 15:50
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The ending to ''The Mist'' was terrible. It's not a gently caress you to the audience, it's a ''these people are retarded.'' You run out of gas and so everyone kills themselves? Why? Why not try and and siphon some gas or take one of the hundreds of cars you passed on the way there and go on driving? If you can't do that, still, how big is the difference between shooting yourself and getting killed by a monster? Then literally a minute later the army rolls up and is loving the monsters up and also the mist is clearing. Oh look, there's that mom that needed help getting home. She survived, no matter than anyone else that stepped out of the store got eaten within seconds. How ironic! Way to go special forces mom.
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Mar 15, 2013 21:01
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Pheeets posted:That seems like an odd place to stop, looking at my copy. Weren't you interested in what was down there? No. It had gotten to the point where every page was a chore to read.
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Mar 15, 2013 22:29
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ravenkult posted:The ending to ''The Mist'' was terrible. It's not a gently caress you to the audience, it's a ''these people are retarded.'' You run out of gas and so everyone kills themselves? Why? Why not try and and siphon some gas or take one of the hundreds of cars you passed on the way there and go on driving? If you can't do that, still, how big is the difference between shooting yourself and getting killed by a monster? You're like the dude who wonders why Burgess Meredith couldn't just find a similar prescription in a blown out eyeglass store. The whole of The Mist is characters operating on extremely limited knowledge and under extreme duress; you cannot presume to offer advice to them.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:00
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scary ghost dog posted:You're like the dude who wonders why Burgess Meredith couldn't just find a similar prescription in a blown out eyeglass store. The whole of The Mist is characters operating on extremely limited knowledge and under extreme duress; you cannot presume to offer advice to them. Within the context of the story, my ''advice'' makes perfect sense. They were already doing it, they just decided to stop. The novella ending was better, is all I'm saying.
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Mar 16, 2013 13:25
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ravenkult posted:If you can't do that, still, how big is the difference between shooting yourself and getting killed by a monster? I'm not exactly defending their decisions, but as I recall, "killed by a monster" sometimes involved skull-spiders breeding inside your body and consuming you while you were still alive, so maybe pretty big. I think how quickly and neatly it wrapped up afterward was stupid though. Too idealized and unrealistically positive an outcome.
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Mar 16, 2013 13:48
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Locus posted:I'm not exactly defending their decisions, but as I recall, "killed by a monster" sometimes involved skull-spiders breeding inside your body and consuming you while you were still alive, so maybe pretty big. I think how quickly and neatly it wrapped up afterward was stupid though. Too idealized and unrealistically positive an outcome. Yeah I definitely get not wanting your son to be eaten alive. But still, he could have sacrificed himself and try and get another car.
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Mar 16, 2013 18:50
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Did anybody mention how Stephen King's sons are both releasing novels soon. End of march, Owen King's Double Feature and late April for Joe Hill's NOS4A2ravenkult posted:The ending to ''The Mist'' was terrible. It's not a gently caress you to the audience, it's a ''these people are retarded.'' You run out of gas and so everyone kills themselves? Why? Why not try and and siphon some gas or take one of the hundreds of cars you passed on the way there and go on driving? If you can't do that, still, how big is the difference between shooting yourself and getting killed by a monster? That isn't ironic, it's the entire point of the story. There's two extreme groups. The people in the store that believe in Mrs. Carmody, who's spewing religious FUD about the end times, and our group of heroes, who are more pragmatic, that end up escaping. Imagine being in the mist, driving until you ran out of gas and seeing the creatures they did. They had no resources and no idea if the mist ever ended. With only a few bullets left, do you risk trying to go outside into the unknown where you and everybody you love will (most likely) die a horrific death or do you let them go in as much peace as you can give them? They took the realistic way out. And the story spits in their face for doing it. The ending specifically condemns anybody that surrenders to fear and gives up hope. That's the point of showing the mom from the beginning. She should be dead but it doesn't matter how she pulled it off because she never had a second thought about what she had to do (save her daughter) and she never gave up hope. I agree that there should have been more time between the suicide and the mist clearing (they should have had it go on throughout the credits before having the coda play) but the ending fits well enough with novella. hope
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Mar 16, 2013 20:51
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You may have a point (that I disagree with) but part of the effectiveness of the novella was simply not knowing either way. Actually, I really do disagree, the whole pony of the novella was perseverance against all odds especially without knowing what lies ahead, the ending perfectly exemplifies this whereas the movies ending was a cheap shock thrill for audiences that are unable to accept an ambiguous ending and need everything neatly spelled out and shrinkwrapped for them. Maybe I'm being a little spergy, but the novella has been one of my favorites since I was very young and I utter despised the ending of the movie.
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Mar 16, 2013 21:10
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iostream.h posted:You may have a point (that I disagree with) but part of the effectiveness of the novella was simply not knowing either way. quote:I looked out the window to make sure it was gone and then opened the door. “What are you doing?” Amanda screamed, but I knew what I was doing. I like to think Ollie would have done exactly the same thing. I half-stepped, half-leaned out, and got the gun. Something came rapidly toward me, but I never saw it. I pulled back in and slammed the door shut. Amanda began to sob. Mrs. Reppler put an arm around her and comforted her briskly. Billy said, “Are we going home, Daddy?” “Big Bill, we're gonna try.” “Okay,” he said quietly. I checked the gun and then put it into the glove compartment. Ollie had reloaded it after the expedition to the drugstore. The rest of the shells had disappeared with him, but that was all right. He had fired at Mrs. Carmody, he had fired once at the clawed thing, and the gun had discharged once when it hit the ground. There were four of us in the Scout, but if push came right down to shove, I'd find some other way out for myself. If you think the ending of the movie goes against the text as it's written, you're ignoring the whole point of this quote. He risks exposure to the beasts in the mist to get the gun specifically so it can be used to do what he does in the movie.
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Mar 16, 2013 22:00
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Here's another block of spoiler quote from the end of the book. quote:The Scout has enough gas to take us maybe another ninety miles. The alternative is to try to gas up here; there is an Exxon out on the service island, and although the power is off, I believe I could siphon some up from the tank. But
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Mar 16, 2013 22:13
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cheerfullydrab posted:You're being a lot spergy. Check out this quote from the last bit of the novella. I hate giant spoiler blocks, but it's all very necessary. Eh I've also been medicated and bedridden for a week post-surgery so forgive me, I'm bored and kind of stoned (and I cut back on my pain meds today which probably has me a little argumentative), no offense intended. That's a good point about what you've quoted, however I will in turn refer you to my previously quoted line about 'the national guard does not show up at the end of this story' phrase from earlier in the story, which is more what I had in mind. Honestly for me, I think it's more that I tend to prefer open endings in general and that was part of the allure of the novella in the first place for me. I do still disagree with you, but that disagreement is specifically based on what I enjoyed and perceived the novella to be about in the first place. Friends?
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Mar 16, 2013 22:17
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iostream.h posted:Eh I've also been medicated and bedridden for a week post-surgery so forgive me, I'm bored and kind of stoned (and I cut back on my pain meds today which probably has me a little argumentative), no offense intended. And may we meet again, in the clearing, at the end of the path. AKA Howard Johnson's.
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Mar 16, 2013 22:21
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I finished reading Full Dark, No Stars just last night. I haven't enjoyed reading a book so much in years. King lost me with Under the Dome, I hated that book because of the lovely lazy bullshit Alien device. But Full Dark, No Stars - those four short stories nailed it for me. So I just picked up my old worn paper back copy of The Dark Tower Volume (whatever lets just get this over with). I seem to read that 'sucker in 7 parts', part by part. So I've picked it up again starting at part 3 and this seems to be where the van hits. I don't know how long I can keep reading this. Maybe I'll get to Part 4 and put it down for another 6 months. dirtgolem fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Mar 18, 2013 |
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Mar 18, 2013 06:17
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iostream.h posted:Eh I've also been medicated and bedridden for a week post-surgery so forgive me, I'm bored and kind of stoned (and I cut back on my pain meds today which probably has me a little argumentative), no offense intended.
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Mar 18, 2013 15:29
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I just got back from the Goodwill store. For the princely sum of one dollar, I bought a good condition copy of the Bachman Books, featuring "Rage". 
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Mar 18, 2013 20:02
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h210679 posted:I finished reading Full Dark, No Stars just last night. I haven't enjoyed reading a book so much in years. King lost me with Under the Dome, I hated that book because of the lovely lazy bullshit Alien device. But Full Dark, No Stars - those four short stories nailed it for me. Call Under The Dome whatever you like, but lazy it ain't.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:09
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Patchwork Shaman posted:I just got back from the Goodwill store. For the princely sum of one dollar, I bought a good condition copy of the Bachman Books, featuring "Rage". I have six of them, in various states and conditions. Just in case. I'd like to one day find the fabled standalone version.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:10
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scary ghost dog posted:Call Under The Dome whatever you like, but lazy it ain't. I agree. I understand what King was going for, I just didn't enjoy it as an explanation.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:59
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scary ghost dog posted:Call Under The Dome whatever you like, but lazy it ain't. Don't get me wrong, I got right in to about three quarters of the book and for the most part, enjoyed the individual characters running around loving with each other while the town was in lock down. Then... alien device. That's the lazy part.. I may just be pissed off for allowing myself to enjoy most of it only to be disappointed by the easy ending but, it is what it is. -_- dirtgolem fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Mar 19, 2013 |
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Mar 19, 2013 08:53
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h210679 posted:Don't get me wrong, I got right in to about three quarters of the book and for the most part, enjoyed the individual characters running around loving with each other while the town was in lock down. Then... alien device. That's the lazy part.. I sometimes wish SK would be lazier, and not try to explain the cause. Just have the dome wink out. Or not. He understands what a paltry thing endings are (he writes brilliantly about this near the end of the Dark Tower) but he keeps trying to come up with concrete explanations for things. The alien device is utterly inconsequential to the story being told. For "lazy" in that story I go with the cartoonishly evil bad guy.
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Mar 19, 2013 14:19
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rypakal posted:I sometimes wish SK would be lazier, and not try to explain the cause. Just have the dome wink out. Or not. "From A Buick 8" is basically about that, except it's better than the Dark Tower essay because it doesn't punish readers for wanting to keep reading the kind of series The Dark Tower started out as. Honestly I see where King was coming from, but I think he was just too tired of the series to really see things from a new reader's perspective. And yeah to me "Under The Dome" had lazier one-dimensional characters than any of his other books. I thought the dome's source was fine, and it could have been anything, since it wasn't the focus of the story.
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Mar 19, 2013 15:21
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rypakal posted:I have six of them, in various states and conditions. Just in case. I'd like to one day find the fabled standalone version.
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Mar 20, 2013 04:34
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I got surprised with a copy of Imajica, so The Dark Tower is going to be on hold for now. I brought up Stephen King during my coffee break today and was pretty taken aback by a couple of people's responses to 11/22/63. I live in Texas and all but I didn't think King was all that hard on Dallas. In the afterword King says pretty much the same thing, that he thought all things considered he went easy on 1960s Dallas. Nobody seems to have read Under the Dome but I imagine that wouldn't go over very well either.
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Mar 20, 2013 07:19
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rypakal posted:I sometimes wish SK would be lazier, and not try to explain the cause. Just have the dome wink out. Or not. Yeah, I would have definitely preferred it if he had just left the source unexplained, because I was really enjoying the book until the end: IT WAS ALIENS  . I mean, like a previous poster said, it WAS kinda interesting that they weren't a malevolent alien race bent on destroying Earth; it was just some alien kid dicking around .So, Lisey's Story : was I the only one who kinda liked this one?  Excluding the gross can-opener bit and the "BAD-SMUCKY MANDABUNNY" talk, I actually kinda liked it. The ending must not have been too great since I can barely remember what happened, it's been four or five years since I've read it. But I do remember some of the parts that involved Lisey grieving over Scott genuinely made me  . I actually much prefer Lisey to Mike Noonan from Bag of Bones, some of his scenes involving Mattie were kinda scummy. What was the comment about being inside her would be like sticking his dick in mud? Really? Was this supposed to be sexy?  C'mon, Steve-o. Not to mention his weird wet dream involving her and his dead wife.. 
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Mar 21, 2013 07:41
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I didn't hate Lisey's Story, and even reread it recently. It's not a masterpiece by any means, and I still don't really like Lisey, but there were compelling parts of the story too, especially Scott's bits. The whole world of Booya Moon and especially the Long Boy fascinated me. Didn't King write a story about people seeing something out of the corner of their eyes in a mirror and later disappearing? I wonder if this is where they went.
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Mar 21, 2013 18:00
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The only thing I clearly remember about Lisey's Story was the phrase "big sissy manda-bunny" and I dont even loving know if thats actually correct. And yes King had that story called "The Reaper's Image" or something like that about about people seeing stuff in a mirror and dying.
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Mar 22, 2013 06:06
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I really hated Lisey's Story. That baby language poo poo got old fast.
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Mar 22, 2013 16:42
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ravenkult posted:I really hated Lisey's Story. That baby language poo poo got old fast. What the smuck are you talking about, babyluv?
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Mar 22, 2013 17:12
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oldpainless posted:The only thing I clearly remember about Lisey's Story was the phrase "big sissy manda-bunny" and I dont even loving know if thats actually correct. They don't die. They just...disappear. 
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Mar 22, 2013 17:54
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I liked that the aliens in Under the Dome were related to Pennywise in some form, seeing how the symbol on the door before Pennywise's lair and the symbol on the alien whatever it was was the same. I don't think that I would have quite liked it as much as I did if that little hint wasn't in there. It made them a lot more sinister, it's just too bad no one besides King nerds would probably pick up on it because it's kind of obscure.
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Mar 24, 2013 04:51
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Troposphere posted:I liked that the aliens in Under the Dome were related to Pennywise in some form, seeing how the symbol on the door before Pennywise's lair and the symbol on the alien whatever it was was the same. I don't think that I would have quite liked it as much as I did if that little hint wasn't in there. It made them a lot more sinister, it's just too bad no one besides King nerds would probably pick up on it because it's kind of obscure. I didn't know about this, the only thing I've read about the book so far to make me dislike the ending! I'm a big fan of the baby alien toy resolution, because the whole book is about people unknowingly affecting others with their actions, and who unknowingly affects others more than children? If the alien kid is from the same place as Pennywise then childish curiosity becomes pure malevolence and that changes everything for me!
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Mar 24, 2013 23:06
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scary ghost dog posted:I didn't know about this, the only thing I've read about the book so far to make me dislike the ending! I'm a big fan of the baby alien toy resolution, because the whole book is about people unknowingly affecting others with their actions, and who unknowingly affects others more than children? If the alien kid is from the same place as Pennywise then childish curiosity becomes pure malevolence and that changes everything for me! What if it was just Pennywise's stupid kid messing around? Also, King loves throwing in random tidbits from other books, it doesn't necessarily mean anything.
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Mar 24, 2013 23:47
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Tojai posted:I didn't hate Lisey's Story, and even reread it recently. It's not a masterpiece by any means, and I still don't really like Lisey, but there were compelling parts of the story too, especially Scott's bits. The whole world of Booya Moon and especially the Long Boy fascinated me. Didn't King write a story about people seeing something out of the corner of their eyes in a mirror and later disappearing? I wonder if this is where they went. The only parts of Lisey's Story I liked were the descriptions of Boo'ya Moon and the myth-pool/ampitheater with the people sitting around it, fascinated by its depths. Even the idea that there were dead people sitting on those stone benches, still fascinated, was compelling. I wished there had been more of it, and less smucking smuck. I also wanted to know more about Scott's family -- King hinted at the Landreaus having to leave France due to some sort of lycanthropy/"bad gunky," and that interested me, as well. He said something like, "They all had to leave that money and property behind..."
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Mar 25, 2013 01:21
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