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Pope Corky the IX posted:Some of King's best work are his short stories because they're only as long as they need to be. If I had to do a top 10 Stephen King books I've read I think 7 or 8 or them would be short stories.
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Nov 22, 2021 16:05
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Basebf555 posted:Flanagan is imitating that style but almost everything he writes sounds the same and it's not integrated into his shows in a natural way. So you end up sitting there for half the runtime of the show waiting for the monologues to end because you kinda know what they're gonna say, a Flanagan monologue always seems to hit the same notes every time. Every monologue is like "ok I'm gonna tell you this really long and drawn out anecdote about something from my past, it's gonna go on long enough that you'll wonder where I'm even going with this and then bam I hit you with this poignant one-liner at the end". Yeah, you’re right and that’s totally fair. I still need to check out… Bly Manor, I think it’s called? Is that more of the same type of thing with the monologuing? e: I agree with everyone that King’s greatest stuff is the short stories.
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Nov 22, 2021 16:09
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I also think that King is a creep. People defend all the weird pedo and sex stuff in his books "Oh he was on drugs" etc. Well I've been on drugs too and I never wrote a bunch of gross perv poo poo.
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Nov 22, 2021 16:12
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For those who missed it, Neil Blomkamp's Demonic is a fuckin' hoot if you're looking for some Altered States kind of quasi-horror absurd trash movie. In a perfect world, it'd become a franchise counting up to, like, Demonic 7.
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Nov 22, 2021 17:03
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SuperMechagodzilla posted:For those who missed it, Neil Blomkamp's Demonic is a fuckin' hoot if you're looking for some Altered States kind of quasi-horror absurd trash movie. In a perfect world, it'd become a franchise counting up to, like, Demonic 7. Or at least unrelated, retitled Italian movies that pad the numbers.
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Nov 22, 2021 17:09
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weekly font posted:Or at least unrelated, retitled Italian movies that pad the numbers. It totally has that sort of vibe already. I reckon the poor reception is because people were expecting something 'prestigious' From The Director Of Oscar-Nominated District Nine, and instead got basically Price Of Darkness minus the bicycle-stabbing.
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Nov 22, 2021 17:17
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Kvlt! posted:I also think that King is a creep. People defend all the weird pedo and sex stuff in his books "Oh he was on drugs" etc. My favorite one was in Wizard and Glass when he described some dude running to the window with his dick waggling around like a magic wand 
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Nov 22, 2021 17:24
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I can't even imagine what it was like for Dark Tower fans who had waited 6 years between books and then Wizard and Glass comes out and it's like 90% a flashback. And it was 1997 so a lot of people may not have known about the flashback at all until they started reading. Then another 6 years after that for the next one lol
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Nov 22, 2021 17:37
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Kvlt! posted:I also think that King is a creep. People defend all the weird pedo and sex stuff in his books "Oh he was on drugs" etc. At least there’s no real life allegations
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Nov 22, 2021 17:43
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Everything Stephen King writes has the same drat voice. You can even distinguish movies of his based on how people talk/interact
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Nov 22, 2021 18:27
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Basebf555 posted:I can't even imagine what it was like for Dark Tower fans who had waited 6 years between books and then Wizard and Glass comes out and it's like 90% a flashback. And it was 1997 so a lot of people may not have known about the flashback at all until they started reading. Then another 6 years after that for the next one lol I thought it was one of the highpoints of the series so I was happy with it and the response from most people I knew then was positive too
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Nov 22, 2021 18:30
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Yeah, I liked W&G a lot, but I never got around to reading the books after it.
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Nov 22, 2021 18:35
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A True Jar Jar Fan posted:I thought it was one of the highpoints of the series so I was happy with it and the response from most people I knew then was positive too That's interesting, and yea I agree but I read the series after they'd all been released so I didn't have to wait 6 years.
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Nov 22, 2021 18:36
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I knew back then that it was going to be mostly flashbacks going in but I don't remember how I found out, probably from reading BBS posts and I feel really old now
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Nov 22, 2021 18:45
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A True Jar Jar Fan posted:I thought it was one of the highpoints of the series so I was happy with it and the response from most people I knew then was positive too Agreed, actually. I think it's my favorite of the Dark Tower series despite - or perhaps because - it has gently caress all to do with the rest of the story. Like many of you, I mainlined King all through middle and high school and eventually got tired of him. He has a deep and impressive bag of tricks, bit even that will start to wear out when you write forty billion novels. I'm not a huge Flanagan fan- I think his stuff ranges from 'disappointing' to 'good'. But he keeps casting one of my best friends so I can't help but root for his career.
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Nov 22, 2021 19:05
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SuperMechagodzilla posted:For those who missed it, Neil Blomkamp's Demonic is a fuckin' hoot if you're looking for some Altered States kind of quasi-horror absurd trash movie. In a perfect world, it'd become a franchise counting up to, like, Demonic 7. I want you to know that I initially misread this as Neil Breen's Demonic.
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Nov 22, 2021 19:12
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I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Stephen King Rules.
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Nov 22, 2021 19:54
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Uncle Boogeyman posted:I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Stephen King Rules. https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/24241ba3-63b7-46f6-9358-a94f245fbf7a
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Nov 22, 2021 20:19
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That new Nic Cage Escape from New York rip off is up on Shudder and it fell really flat for me. The whole thing was so overly stylized that it felt more like a music video than an action movie. I generally like Cage, Westerns and Samurais but this movie was just trying so hard that it was impossible to submerge yourself. There was no effective comedy to fuse the characters to the ridiculousness of what was going on either. There was a couple of cool effects, but for the most part I was just super bored.
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Nov 22, 2021 21:22
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tonedef131 posted:That new Nic Cage Escape from New York rip off is up on Shudder and it fell really flat for me. The whole thing was so overly stylized that it felt more like a music video than an action movie. I generally like Cage, Westerns and Samurais but this movie was just trying so hard that it was impossible to submerge yourself. There was no effective comedy to fuse the characters to the ridiculousness of what was going on either. There was a couple of cool effects, but for the most part I was just super bored. I enjoyed it but I can definitely see how it wouldn’t work for some people. It’s a low budget samurai/western/mad max movie that’s half in Japanese and half in english and every character is completely insane.
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Nov 22, 2021 21:30
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It also riffs hard on some Japanese action movie touchstones, which I'm not really familiar with but my buddy thoroughly enjoyed and tried to explain to me in real time.
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Nov 22, 2021 21:52
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Kvlt! posted:I was a big fan of Stephen King's books as a kid until I read the Dark Tower series and the ending was so bad it turned me off all his work forever. I read through all 7 of those books just for that bullshit. Hate you Stephen. I grew up reading King and he's written plenty of great and not so great. Happy to make some recommendations (both horror and otherwise) if you wanted. If nothing else, just the early short story anthology Night Shift has great horror and horror adjacent stuff in it. And they're short stories so the commitment isn't huge. Also I do think Danse Macabre is a really good reference work and discussion of horror culture. Not sure if he's updated it or added anything since it was originally written since there's been a lot of horror culture that's come out since the 80s.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:15
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Stephen King rules.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:21
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King’s work took a noticeable downturn after getting hit by a van.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:26
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Every minute spent reading a Stephen King short story could be far better spent reading a Thomas Ligotti short story instead
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Nov 22, 2021 23:28
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I enjoy our occasional literary derails and there have been some excellent recommendations here in the past, so throw them out there!
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Nov 22, 2021 23:32
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Tarnop posted:I enjoy our occasional literary derails and there have been some excellent recommendations here in the past, so throw them out there! For straight up horror novels, you'll do fine with 'Salem's Lot and The Shining. For short stories, go with the Night Shift anthology, as it's the best of the ones I've read of his. Skeleton Crew is okay too. For non horror novella length fiction, Different Seasons is good. Actually it looks like Different Seasons has been split into its separate novellas for Kindle, so I'll recommend, The Body, Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, and Apt Pupil. Those have all been made into decent to good films (The Body became Stand By Me) For non horror paranormal stuff that's just really well written, Firestarter and The Dead Zone. I do think King was at the absolute peak of his abilities crafting thrilling novels at the time these two books came out. For nonfiction discussion of horror culture, Danse Macabre. I do strongly subscribe to the idea that for most creative people, their abilities peak in their younger adulthood and earlier in their careers and this is where their best work is often done, and I think Stephen King is no different in that regard. I think since King became a huge publishing and pop culture phenomenon before there were more examples of such phenomenae, his publishers really didn't know how to handle him and didn't really enforce much editing on his books after he became Really Huge, and I do think a lot of stuff after his early work sorely needs editing. King obviously has a ton of output. There are other books that I like okay but not as well as the ones I've recommended above, Carrie, It, Misery, The Stand, even Thinner etc., but the ones I've listed are tip top picks for someone who hasn't read him, stories and books I can recommend without hestitation and I'd be surprised if they were disappointed.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:47
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Kvlt! posted:Every minute spent reading a Stephen King short story could be far better spent reading a Thomas Ligotti short story instead Have you read his nonfiction book on pessimism? I thought it was really interesting even though I’m not really on board with the philosophy at all
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Nov 22, 2021 23:48
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Drunkboxer posted:Have you read his nonfiction book on pessimism? I thought it was really interesting even though I’m not really on board with the philosophy at all Conspiracy Against the Human Race? I actually just finished it last week. Wicked interesting book, tho I agree I don't actually buy into any of the philosophy. Scarier than any horror fiction I've read for sure.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:51
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Kvlt! posted:Conspiracy Against the Human Race? I actually just finished it last week. Wicked interesting book, tho I agree I don't actually buy into any of the philosophy. Scarier than any horror fiction I've read for sure. Yeah I read it a couple years ago and I still randomly think about it sometimes.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:52
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Tarnop posted:I enjoy our occasional literary derails and there have been some excellent recommendations here in the past, so throw them out there! once again i am here to stan Ramsey Campbell. his books meander a bit, but the novels Ancient Images and The Nameless are both extremely good British cosmic horror. Midnight Sun is well-regarded but I don't love it as much as some of his pulpier stuff. there's also Campbell collections of Lovecraftian short-stories from his youth, and an artist friend archived all his sketchbook doodles. http://jkpotter.com/the-art-of-ramsey-campbell/ there are a few adaptations of stuff he's written, but none of them are particularly great. i'd love to see Ben Wheatley do an adaption of anything Campbell wrote. also if you haven't read Clive Barker's Books of Blood get out there and do it, they're great. also seconding Ligotti if you've never read his stuff. i started with Songs From A Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe, and now i'm hooked on everything he's done. alf_pogs fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Nov 22, 2021 |
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Nov 22, 2021 23:55
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Thomas Ligotti is really good. Surprised to see Conspiracy against the Human race mentioned here. Well not that surprised but still thats a deep cut of a non fiction novel.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:58
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I recently read Cold Moon Over Babylon from a recommendation either here or the horror book thread and it whipped rear end. King is terrific though. He definitely went downhill a bit after the accident /getting sober, but his stuff over the last few years has been good again
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Nov 22, 2021 23:58
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alf_pogs posted:also if you haven't read Clive Barker's Books of Blood get out there and do it, they're great. nthing this. About as close to a must read for people following this thread as there is.
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Nov 22, 2021 23:58
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Hollismason posted:Thomas Ligotti is really good. Surprised to see Conspiracy against the Human race mentioned here. Well not that surprised but still thats a deep cut of a non fiction novel. i think it got a bit of a social bump when parts of it showed up wholesale in the first season of True Detective, there was a plagiarism controversy around it. a few of my friends know it from that haha
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Nov 23, 2021 00:01
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alf_pogs posted:i think it got a bit of a social bump when parts of it showed up wholesale in the first season of True Detective, there was a plagiarism controversy around it. a few of my friends know it from that haha Its a loving depressing piece of non fiction.
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Nov 23, 2021 00:06
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Yeah Rust Cohle is literally The Conspiracy Against the Human Race personified. I think the writer of True Detective even admitted he was a Ligotti fan.
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Nov 23, 2021 00:11
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Kvlt! posted:Yeah Rust Cohle is literally The Conspiracy Against the Human Race personified. I think the writer of True Detective even admitted he was a Ligotti fan. According to the wikipedia he did.
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Nov 23, 2021 00:17
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I've probably read 90% or all of King's stuff, and definitely think his short stories are his strongest. The short story The Jaunt is my favorite thing he's ever written
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Nov 23, 2021 00:24
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I think True Dicks 1 ruined shows for me. Something has to be incredible for me to give eight plus hours to it when I can watch four movies in that time.
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Nov 23, 2021 00:25
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