Stephen King

JWesker · Nov 20, 2009

Any fans? I know he's the "master of horror," but anyone who's read his stuff knows there's a lot more to it than ghosts and goblins.

Strix · Nov 24, 2009

I'm a massive Stephen King fan, I have everything he's written, even the dark tower comics. I reckon he's better than dickens, he seriously is. 100 years from now, we will be teaching Stephen King in schools.

Favourites are bag of bones, cell, the stand and the shining, along with IT.

I think most people are often suprised how deep and complex the themes in his books are. Compare Kubrik's "the shining" (which is very much a cabin fever style movie with alusions to psychic ability) to King's book (which really looks at Jack's struggle with alcoholism, Danny's steadily increasing sence of forboding and Dick Holloran's dark past [have a look at IT to see where else he appears].).

b.hopeful · Nov 24, 2009

I haven't read his stuff in a long time...but I've enjoyed his work. I'm not much of a horror fan...but I really liked The Stand and Misery...Gerald's Game. Oh, and The Green Mile. I did however read his book about writing...and it was pretty biographical and if you are a fan of his...you'll enjoy this book. I believe he said he doesn't remember writing Misery because he was so strung out on coke. Very interesting read.

JWesker · Nov 25, 2009

I heard him say one time that he gets kind of tired of the "horror" label, mainly because his books are about so much more than just scaring people. Desperation was a favorite of mine (along with pretty much everything you guys named) - I loved the Christian parallels, despite the graphic nature of the novel.

Anyone gone Under the Dome yet? I've got it but I'm not starting until I graduate college in three weeks - too much going on right now to tackle the 1,000 page sucker.

I also had the chance to go to a book signing two weeks ago and meet/talk to Mr. King himself! It was only like 15 seconds, but it was well worth the wait. Can't wait to dig in to the new material!

JCFantasy23 · Nov 25, 2009

I liked his older stuff. Cujo, Firestarter, Pet Semetary The Shining...there have been some I couldn't get into or didn't like, especially the newer stuff.

soblessed53 · Nov 25, 2009

He's a stinkin sexual pervert! Perverted sex scene in the Cujo book that has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the story,then Dolores Clairborne is about a father who molests his own daughter,and he said he wanted to write books he would be proud for his own son and DAUGHTER to read! How sick is that? Wanting your daughter to read a book you wrote about a father molesting his daughter!

Plus his garbage is filled with profanity.

Travis Thrasher's "Isolation" has King's "The Shining" beat hands down, and without the filth!

b.hopeful · Nov 25, 2009

I like a little filth in my books....imo, it adds to the realism most of the time. The world can be a dirty place. Not to mention, I'm a potty mouth myself...so I can't complain about my books being vulgar.

Speculative · Nov 25, 2009

Strix said:
I reckon he's better than dickens, he seriously is. 100 years from now, we will be teaching Stephen King in schools.

I actually agree with this. King is setting the modern standard for what good writing should be.

I've read many of the same ones as you guys, but it was The Green Mile that really blew me away. That was an unbelievably good work of art.

Strix · Nov 27, 2009

b.hopeful said:
I like a little filth in my books....imo, it adds to the realism most of the time. The world can be a dirty place. Not to mention, I'm a potty mouth myself...so I can't complain about my books being vulgar.

I agree. Stephen King actually says in his "on writing" book that an author should always be honest and realistic with their language, which isnt encouraging swearing for the sake of it, but its about characters looking and feeling real with their dialogue.

To the other poster, I would disagree with the point about Cujo. bare in mind King was dealing with a massive drug and drink problem at the time and could barely remember anything about writing the book and the scene does take on a new context. Also, taking a catch all quote which applies also equally to masterpeices like the Stand, Desperation, Carrie and IT and applying it to one book, is a bit like gassing a house full of chickens because one laid a bad egg.

soblessed53 · Nov 27, 2009

Originally Posted by b.hopeful

I like a little filth in my books....imo, it adds to the realism most of the time. The world can be a dirty place. Not to mention, I'm a potty mouth myself...so I can't complain about my books being vulgar.

Yeah,I guess that's the kind of people who would think King's material is praiseworthy! Thanks for your honesty.

b.hopeful · Nov 27, 2009

ZING!

No problem.....I have no problem being honest about my flawed yet normal human condition.

JWesker · Nov 27, 2009

I agree that the language thing can get a little annoying at times, but I went to a ghetto public school and therefore learned to block it out pretty well

In all seriousness, I haven't read any author who's better at character development than King. The Dark Tower series is the epitome of this in my opinion - by book seven, I felt such a connection to the ka-tet that I was pretty bummed when it ended (although I'm one of the few who actually loved the ending).

Thomas The Atheist · Nov 27, 2009

Yeah, I've read some of them... Can't really remember which ones though.

Duma Key, The Mist, and Insomnia? (the old man that can't sleep and start hallucinating). These i've read for sure, and some more but can't tell you which ones.

Strix · Nov 27, 2009

JWesker said:
In all seriousness, I haven't read any author who's better at character development than King. The Dark Tower series is the epitome of this in my opinion - by book seven, I felt such a connection to the ka-tet that I was pretty bummed when it ended (although I'm one of the few who actually loved the ending).

If I may make a small suggestion, try picking up the hard back comic anthologies of marvel's adaptation. Their amazingly well done and so true to the story.

to soblessed: Instead of making gross assumptions like that, why not read that bit in the Bible about Jesus and the Adulterous woman? Seriously, judging others by making such sweeping statements is a bit out of order.

To anyone else, was I the only one who didn't like Insomnia?

b.hopeful · Nov 27, 2009

Was the movie Insomnia based off of Stephen King's book? If so, I didn't care for the movie......although, I haven't read the book and I'm one of those people that feels like the books are nearly always better than the movie.

Now you have me wanting to pick up the Dark Tower series.

JWesker · Nov 28, 2009

b.hopeful said:
I'm one of those people that feels like the books are nearly always better than the movie.

That's one thing about King, though - I agree with you that his books are better than the movies, but he's had a lot of really good film adaptations, too, some of which almost give his written stuff a run for their money. Few authors have the kind of success both in Barnes and Noble and at the theater as King does.

Strix said:
If I may make a small suggestion, try picking up the hard back comic anthologies of marvel's adaptation. Their amazingly well done and so true to the story.

I read the first two hardcover collections and haven't seen where any of the others are out, though I know the comics have been released. Have you heard anything?

b.hopeful said:
Now you have me wanting to pick up the Dark Tower series.

Even though it will consume a good amount of your life (and a sizable amount of your pocketbook, when you add them all up...), it is an excellent series. Totally different than anything else he's written, yet it's still intertwined with so many of his other books. If you've read almost anything by King, you've probably stumbled onto the Dark Tower in some form or fashion.

bibletags · Dec 2, 2009

I used to read a lot of stephen king, but got bored with him. I've moved into the fantasy/history genre.

Strix · Dec 10, 2009

JWesker said:
I read the first two hardcover collections and haven't seen where any of the others are out, though I know the comics have been released. Have you heard anything?

The third Anthology, called "treachery" is out, its about £18 and its got rowland on the front with a reddish background. really, really good if you get the chance to have a look.

Ha777 · Dec 10, 2009

I like IT, Shining, Carrie and many others, I think I would have to say IT is my favorite though

bsd31 · Dec 10, 2009

Not a fan of his newer stuff. It lost a lot of the raw edge that made his earlier works good.

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