|
Gerald's Game is the one book of his that I've never had any desire to even pick up, thank y'all for confirming my instinctive revulsion. As far as his portrayal of women, he is pretty ham-handed, oddly enough even more so when he's trying to make a "strong" female character. Not having had sisters growing up may have something to do with that, he's admitted as much before. But I would argue that he's even worse with father figures - they're all either murderous psychos or borderline incest creeps who kiss their own daughters "on the corner of her mouth". It always makes me think about how he grew up without a father himself and how that must influence his writing (or de-influence it, if that's a thing). I just re-read The Shining and drat I couldn't read it at night; you'd think knowing what happens would have made it less scary for me, but it still weirds me the hell out.
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2013 19:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 02:17 |
|
|
Wasn't Gerald's Game his first non-supernatural book? For some reason I seem to remember being disappointed in it for that reason back when it first came out, but I could be wrong.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2013 19:46
|
|
|
I have a couple of friends who were and still are outraged by the incest/molestation scene in Gerald's Game and how King treated it sort of nonchalantly. Somewhere towards the end, there's a line where the main character is giving herself a pep talk and is thinking, "Yeah, but he didn't gently caress you, it was just some come on your fanny, so get over it already."
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2013 20:01
|
|
|
Aatrek posted:The degloving sequence in Gerald's Game is so goddamned gross. That was the only part of the book that really grabbed me. The rest of it was just bad, and not even in a compelling way. iostream.h posted:Wasn't Gerald's Game his first non-supernatural book? After Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, 3/4 of Different Seasons, and Misery, yes, it was his first non-supernatural book.  (I finally finished Insomnia. It does get a lot better after the first third; I'll probably re-read it at some point.)
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2013 22:35
|
|
|
RoeCocoa posted:After Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, 3/4 of Different Seasons, and Misery, yes, it was his first non-supernatural book. Although, I'm now interested in why it has such a markedly different tone to me. At the time it came out I'd read all of those so, I'm not sure what's wrong with my head. I really enjoyed Insomnia, it's a good slow burn that pays off nicely.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2013 22:42
|
|
|
Wasn't there some weird theory going around back then that Gerald's Game, Delores Clairborne and Rose Madder were all written by Tabitha?
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2013 16:26
|
|
|
Brocktoon posted:Wasn't there some weird theory going around back then that Gerald's Game, Delores Clairborne and Rose Madder were all written by Tabitha? Yes, because they had female main characters and that was unusual for King. However, they were all abused and/or raped female character with only a modicum of agency, so they weren't much different of King's other females.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2013 16:40
|
|
|
Brocktoon posted:Wasn't there some weird theory going around back then that Gerald's Game, Delores Clairborne and Rose Madder were all written by Tabitha? Maybe cuz they all sucked.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2013 16:55
|
|
|
RoeCocoa posted:After Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, 3/4 of Different Seasons, and Misery, yes, it was his first non-supernatural book.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 01:53
|
|
|
janklow posted:you could probably add Cujo to that list. It's been about fifteen years since I read it, but I thought I remembered Joe Camber's kid being psychic and the thing in Tad's closet possibly being real, so I thought I'd play it safe.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 05:44
|
|
|
RoeCocoa posted:It's been about fifteen years since I read it, but I thought I remembered Joe Camber's kid being psychic and the thing in Tad's closet possibly being real, so I thought I'd play it safe. The rabid dog is pretty supernatural in that book. King was so loving high. That the book exists at all is a miracle.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 08:21
|
|
|
janklow posted:you could probably add Cujo to that list. The argument could be made that King didn't actually write Cujo. It just created itself in a burst of inspiration. And cocaine. Mostly cocaine.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 09:16
|
|
|
Man, I just did my yearly re-read of The Long Walk yesterday afternoon. It's so good, and it really highlights everything I hate about The Hunger Games. I like how naturally you learn about the characters and how the world of the book is given in a slow, steady drip, and there's enough left out you end up filling in the missing details with things from reality. Plus, you know, the fact it's actually written competently. Alas, I can't get any of my friends who gush all over that...other book... to read it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 16:17
|
|
|
I am thrilled to see some Long Walk love in this thread. It was the 2nd King book I ever read and even though I've now pretty much read everything he's written (except anything past The Gunslinger in the DT series), it remains my favorite. To this day I find myself on a walk or on the treadmill and thinking about how long I would last at an endless 4.0 mph pace.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 16:23
|
|
|
Ugly In The Morning posted:Man, I just did my yearly re-read of The Long Walk yesterday afternoon. It's so good, and it really highlights everything I hate about The Hunger Games. I like how naturally you learn about the characters and how the world of the book is given in a slow, steady drip, and there's enough left out you end up filling in the missing details with things from reality. Plus, you know, the fact it's actually written competently. Alas, I can't get any of my friends who gush all over that...other book... to read it. I can still remember my first time reading it. I went in completely blind, though I had read several other King books and since The Long Walk is second in the Bachman Books, Rage. Oh this looks interesting. What's this about buying a ticket? (Several pages later) 
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2013 17:04
|
|
|
Stroth posted:The argument could be made that King didn't actually write Cujo. It just created itself in a burst of inspiration. And cocaine. Mostly cocaine.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 00:38
|
|
|
I think I'd add Tommyknockers to that list. Extra-terrestrial sure but not it's not supernatural. Plus extra points for totally being the product of a coke and booze binge.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 01:46
|
|
|
Stroth posted:The argument could be made that King didn't actually write Cujo. It just created itself in a burst of inspiration. And cocaine. Mostly cocaine. Was it Cujo or Pet Cemetery that King has absolutely no recollection of writing? Its pretty crazy that King can pull a fairly decent book out of his rear end completely stoned and have it be better than that most sober authors works.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 04:49
|
|
|
Your Gay Uncle posted:Was it Cujo or Pet Cemetery that King has absolutely no recollection of writing? Its pretty crazy that King can pull a fairly decent book out of his rear end completely stoned and have it be better than that most sober authors works. It was the one about the animal. Specifically Cujo.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 04:53
|
|
|
Canuckistan posted:I think I'd add Tommyknockers to that list. Extra-terrestrial sure but not it's not supernatural. Plus extra points for totally being the product of a coke and booze binge. I have a soft spot for Tommyknockers. It goes through a long rough patch shortly after Gard (hey motherfucker, hey!) appears, but overall, Tommyknockers is one of King's most imaginative works.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 05:00
|
|
|
RC and Moon Pie posted:I can still remember my first time reading it. I went in completely blind, though I had read several other King books and since The Long Walk is second in the Bachman Books, Rage. I went into it blind as well and was not expecting buying a ticket to mean what it did. Someone made a thread in A/T a while back basically asking about the premise of The Long Walk (realistically, how long could someone walk if they weren't allowed to stop?) but I can't find it now. I'm wondering if a day or so is about right.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 05:05
|
|
|
Tojai posted:I went into it blind as well and was not expecting buying a ticket to mean what it did. The kids all had time to train for it. I'd still only add like twelve hours to your guess.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 06:35
|
|
|
A friend of a friend did something called Hell Walk which involved walking for 24 hours straight. The next year he tried to go for 100 miles nonstop but had to stop at 52 after 18 hours due to a leg cramp.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 12:13
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:I have a soft spot for Tommyknockers. It goes through a long rough patch shortly after Gard (hey motherfucker, hey!) appears, but overall, Tommyknockers is one of King's most imaginative works. I liked Tommyknockers, as well. The last lines, as Gard lays dying on the spaceship floor always have stuck with me.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 12:18
|
|
|
BIG CITY LAWYER posted:A friend of a friend did something called Hell Walk which involved walking for 24 hours straight. The next year he tried to go for 100 miles nonstop but had to stop at 52 after 18 hours due to a leg cramp. The way I think about it, with how much of a national event it's made out to be, all these kids think they are prepared. I really wish though that with all the garbled nonsense references that are in his other works, at least one came back to the one this story is based in. Or am I forgetting one?
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 22:02
|
|
|
So I've just started reading 11/22/63 and I got to the part where Jake meets the kids from IT. I've never read the book, but I know the general plot. Am I missing things by not having read IT? Or is this just a reference for fans?
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 22:54
|
|
|
Drunk Tomato posted:So I've just started reading 11/22/63 and I got to the part where Jake meets the kids from IT. I've never read the book, but I know the general plot. Am I missing things by not having read IT? Or is this just a reference for fans? After you're done with this one, go read it anyway.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 23:05
|
|
|
Crunch Bucket posted:To this day I find myself on a walk or on the treadmill and thinking about how long I would last at an endless 4.0 mph pace. Oh, good, I'm not the only one. That book has a way of really sticking with you. I looked it up on Wikipedia and apparently it's the first book King ever wrote too. He wrote that as a freshman in college for poo poo's sake, when I was that age I was lucky to crank out a term paper that wasn't total poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2013 08:13
|
|
|
Mr.Drf posted:The way I think about it, with how much of a national event it's made out to be, all these kids think they are prepared. I really wish though that with all the garbled nonsense references that are in his other works, at least one came back to the one this story is based in. Or am I forgetting one? Yeah I think there are several kids who talk about how they spent time preparing/training for it, although IIRC there is one who said he just entered on a whim and didn't think he'd get picked (he put joke answers on the questionnaire etc). Then he never ended up backing out so he just walked with the rest of them.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2013 22:45
|
|
|
After a quick scan of the thread, I think I'm probably the only person who liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It was over-long and the possible supernatural twist was a little weird and unnecessary, but I think it captured the tension of being a lost little kid really well. Then again, I haven't read it since I was about thirteen. I might feel differently now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 05:44
|
|
|
Spring Mint posted:After a quick scan of the thread, I think I'm probably the only person who liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It was over-long and the possible supernatural twist was a little weird and unnecessary, but I think it captured the tension of being a lost little kid really well. I read it when I was 13 as well and I really hated it. Can't imagine I'd like it any better now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 05:48
|
|
|
For reasons unknown to me my mom got me the Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon pop-up book as a Christmas present or something. It's pretty fun and I think it has most of the text from the book. Also scary pop-up monsters.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 05:54
|
|
|
Spring Mint posted:After a quick scan of the thread, I think I'm probably the only person who liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It was over-long and the possible supernatural twist was a little weird and unnecessary, but I think it captured the tension of being a lost little kid really well. I enjoyed it as an audiobook a year or so ago. I thought it was a nice intermediate between a short story (which King usually does really well) and a full novel (which King can do really well but also screw up). I can dig a book that has a very simple premise, and just unfolds in an interesting and realistic way. However, I did spend a portion of my childhood living in a very rural area where there were hundreds of acres of empty forest, mountains, and caves to explore, so that might have made a difference. Locus fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Apr 12, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 14:16
|
|
|
Maybe it's only an effective story if you've grown up in the boonies, because I've experienced that sinking feeling of being lost out in the woods firsthand. King did pretty well with the human element, too, like the undercurrent of awkwardness and tension in all the family's interactions in the beginning.syscall girl posted:For reasons unknown to me my mom got me the Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon pop-up book as a Christmas present or something. It's pretty fun and I think it has most of the text from the book. Also scary pop-up monsters. This sounds pretty cool, I didn't even know it existed. Apparently I really need to get around to watching Dreamcatcher, it sounds hilarious. Exactly the adaptation the book deserves. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 18:33
|
|
|
Spring Mint posted:Maybe it's only an effective story if you've grown up in the boonies, because I've experienced that sinking feeling of being lost out in the woods firsthand. King did pretty well with the human element, too, like the undercurrent of awkwardness and tension in all the family's interactions in the beginning. My favorite part of the adaptation is when 400 pages of the book are covered in a single Morgan Freeman line, and you don't even notice. (It still doesn't save the movie)
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 18:37
|
|
|
I'm in the middle of the Wastelands Eddie just realized he met Jake in his past when he was a kid, I don't know why but that totally caught me by surprise, but just reading the little snippets on this page about the Long Walk, I'm about to go to the bookstore and blind buy it. A friend of mine was trying to convince me that the Hunger Games books are good but I refuse to read them after being exposed to that terrible loving movie. It says something how such a simple question raised by King's premise can capture the imagination so quickly.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 20:00
|
|
|
I'm tempted to say Long Walk is the best thing he's ever written, but a) in a long career with many really sterling moments, that's a hell of a statement, and b) if he really wrote that at the age of 19 and never topped it since, despite selling 80 trillion books, that's kind of depressing on several levels.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2013 22:08
|
|
|
Spring Mint posted:After a quick scan of the thread, I think I'm probably the only person who liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It was over-long and the possible supernatural twist was a little weird and unnecessary, but I think it captured the tension of being a lost little kid really well. You're not the only one.. I really liked it too.  Not one of his greatest stories, but I thought it was easy to read and fun, and hey, I was entertained. That's all I ask out of a book.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2013 21:06
|
|
|
mdemone posted:I'm tempted to say Long Walk is the best thing he's ever written, but a) in a long career with many really sterling moments, that's a hell of a statement, and b) if he really wrote that at the age of 19 and never topped it since, despite selling 80 trillion books, that's kind of depressing on several levels. I really liked the Long Walk, but I have to hand it to Cujo. Long Walk never really punched me in the guts the way Cujo did.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2013 10:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 02:17 |
|
|
Two Finger posted:I really liked the Long Walk, but I have to hand it to Cujo. Long Walk never really punched me in the guts the way Cujo did. Looking back I think Cujo and The Shining are King's finest novels. They are not my favorite (I think Salem's Lot would be), but quality wise these books are better. I really enjoyed the Long Walk too, but it doesn't approach those two books.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2013 12:52
|
|
