Thoughts on Stephen King?

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The Gunslinger was the best Dark Tower book. Fight me.
Of course, the fucker rewrote it somewhere along the line to be more in tune with the later books, which weren't as good.

Gunslinger is great, but Wastelands is by far my favorite of the series.

Sucks that it was all downhill from there though and it never quite reached those same highs again, I know a lot of people really like Wizard and Glass, but I found that one to be kinda tedious wheel spinning, it's certainly not bad, just didn't quite have the effect on me that it seems to have on most.
My top three in the series are The Gunslinger, The Waste Lands, and you know what, the last one, up until the end. To be fair, he literally warns you "don't bother reading the ending it's not that good"

I thought Wizard and Glass was tedious shit. They go into a world where Captain Trips happened and . . . they don't really do anything with that world. (The Dark Tower wiki says it's the same world, but since Randall Flagg shows up like long after he was supposed to be dead . . . I just presumed it was another level of the Tower where it happened.) Then a lot of dumb shit happens I actually didn't care about. It seems like it went on too long describing average life in a Barony that wasn't Gilead, and then ends with them somehow meeting Randall Flagg in the Wizard of Oz's palace, which they never, ever talk about again, and you could probably make a whole book out of Eddie talking about his big brother. Blah.
 
Of course, the fucker rewrote it somewhere along the line to be more in tune with the later books, which weren't as good.


My top three in the series are The Gunslinger, The Waste Lands, and you know what, the last one, up until the end. To be fair, he literally warns you "don't bother reading the ending it's not that good"

I thought Wizard and Glass was tedious shit. They go into a world where Captain Trips happened and . . . they don't really do anything with that world. (The Dark Tower wiki says it's the same world, but since Randall Flagg shows up like long after he was supposed to be dead . . . I just presumed it was another level of the Tower where it happened.) Then a lot of dumb shit happens I actually didn't care about. It seems like it went on too long describing average life in a Barony that wasn't Gilead, and then ends with them somehow meeting Randall Flagg in the Wizard of Oz's palace, which they never, ever talk about again, and you could probably make a whole book out of Eddie talking about his big brother. Blah.

See, that was exactly what bothered me about Wizard and Glass, the wraparound story was a really interesting setup that King does almost nothing with and instead focuses on a prequel that just goes on and on and doesn't really have a major impact of the actual story (I mean it adds some flavor to the world and character of Roland, but it goes on for too long)
 
See, that was exactly what bothered me about Wizard and Glass, the wraparound story was a really interesting setup that King does almost nothing with and instead focuses on a prequel that just goes on and on and doesn't really have a major impact of the actual story (I mean it adds some flavor to the world and character of Roland, but it goes on for too long)

To be fair, it was definitely the best-justified prequel I've ever read.

Problem is the non-prequel story of that book fucking sucks hard and has a shitty ending. Though I did like the crossover with The Stand.
 
To be fair, it was definitely the best-justified prequel I've ever read.

Problem is the non-prequel story of that book fucking sucks hard and has a shitty ending. Though I did like the crossover with The Stand.

The crossover with The Stand was cool as hell and King does basically nothing with it, what a waste.

I actually don't remember too much about what the prequel's story was (to be fair, it's been a decade since I read the books) other than a part where an old witch sticks her fingers up a young woman's pussy (and maybe even her butthole?)
 
The crossover with The Stand was cool as hell and King does basically nothing with it, what a waste.

I actually don't remember too much about what the prequel's story was (to be fair, it's been a decade since I read the books) other than a part where an old witch sticks her fingers up a young woman's pussy (and maybe even her butthole?)
Yes. She teaches her how to masturbate. The older molesting the younger seems to be a theme in his work.
 
Yes. She teaches her how to masturbate. The older molesting the younger seems to be a theme in his work.

I thought she was checking to see if she was a virgin? Teaching her to masturbate might have been a different part.

I guess the idea was it was both? Which as fucked up as it was makes some sense I guess, molested people usually develop their sexuality based on the earliest experiences.

Granted, that's like pounding a nail into a wall with a fucking rock instead of a proper hammer in terms of explaining shit but its King we're talking about so...
 
I don't actually think much of Stephen King's novels, there are dozens of them and they mostly bore me. That said, the opening line of The Gunslinger is one of the greatest opening lines ever.

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
 
He's gone so far beyond woke he'll never find his way back to reality. I honestly think he's got a pain pill addiction.
 
Yes. She teaches her how to masturbate. The older molesting the younger seems to be a theme in his work.
Hm? I’m pretty sure the old woman was checking the girls virginity.
E: ooh you guys already talked about it. Like I said I’m pretty sure she was checking the virginity. Although that’s strange because iirc the gunslinger was already fucking her by that point
 
Pet Sematary was one of the best bits of horror writing of the 20th century. The darkness of the story negates hope to the point of nihilism. There can be no happy ending and no one will recover. It's one of the things that sets it apart from other King stories. I was deeply upset and affected by it- and utterly in its thrall. I think I remember reading that it's the least favorite of his works for those reasons.

I think he's the most consistent inconsistently great writer of the last 50 years. Anyone's oeuvre will have clunkers, but he nearly specializes in them. But his greats are preternatural in their composition, characterization, and downright gorgeous in their language. Masterful.

I stopped reading him in the 90s when the chaff became more abundant than the wheat. Sometime after Misery; sometime after Dolores Claiborne, which to me, is one of The Greats.

The first adult book I ever read was 'Salem's Lot. Eleven year old me was reading it in the dark by nightlight when I was supposed to be asleep. But how could I sleep when a human who is no longer human might knock on my window if I tried.

Even a hundred years later, I remember this beautiful transition chapter where he talked about time, innateness, familiarity, certitude and rot and how entranced I was by it as a little kid, alone and frightened in the dark.

A good storyteller is a rare bird, and when he was good, he was great.
 
Of course, the fucker rewrote it somewhere along the line to be more in tune with the later books, which weren't as good.


My top three in the series are The Gunslinger, The Waste Lands, and you know what, the last one, up until the end. To be fair, he literally warns you "don't bother reading the ending it's not that good"

I thought Wizard and Glass was tedious shit. They go into a world where Captain Trips happened and . . . they don't really do anything with that world. (The Dark Tower wiki says it's the same world, but since Randall Flagg shows up like long after he was supposed to be dead . . . I just presumed it was another level of the Tower where it happened.) Then a lot of dumb shit happens I actually didn't care about. It seems like it went on too long describing average life in a Barony that wasn't Gilead, and then ends with them somehow meeting Randall Flagg in the Wizard of Oz's palace, which they never, ever talk about again, and you could probably make a whole book out of Eddie talking about his big brother. Blah.
The rewrite was the first version I read back in the day. having eventually gotten a hold of and read the original version, I find the write itself is okay but some of the stuff he added annoys me knowing it wasn't there before. Especially with the egregious shoving of 19 into the plot when, if I recall correctly, it doesn't show up at all in Drawing. I guess ka took a nap for that book. I really do wish that the rest of the series maintained the mystique and tone of the original. The only other story that recaptures that feel for me is the Little Sisters of Eluria. But that goes to show you King works best when he writes shorter stories.

Wizard and Glass is the only novel from the original run that I haven't read all the way through. Still haven't gotten around to Wind through the keyhole yet. I really should give it a go.

Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't he gone woke?
It hasn't effected his writing too much I feel. There was the "wife beater trilogy" with Delores Clayborne, Rose Madder and i-forgot-the-third-one-maybe-gerald's-game? But aside from those and the fucking awful book he co-wrote with his kid last year the wokeness is at tolerable levels. Still, his overall quality has been in decline since he got his shit shoved in by a van bumper.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't he gone woke?

He has but it hasn't really affected things all that much in his books, at least from what I've read, I read The Outsider last year and there's a few jabs at Trump, but nothing that gets in the way of the story itself and it's still a good book.

He's always had topical cultural references in his books, so it's pretty forgivable to have a few references to Trump considering he is pretty important to modern culture.

Where it has had the most negative impact though is his Twitter, the dude literally Tweets about nothing else than bashing Trump, you'd think Stephen fucking King of all people would have an interesting Twitter, but nope.

The rewrite was the first version I read back in the day. having eventually gotten a hold of and read the original version, I find the write itself is okay but some of the stuff he added annoys me knowing it wasn't there before. Especially with the egregious shoving of 19 into the plot when, if I recall correctly, it doesn't show up at all in Drawing. I guess ka took a nap for that book. I really do wish that the rest of the series maintained the mystique and tone of the original. The only other story that recaptures that feel for me is the Little Sisters of Eluria. But that goes to show you King works best when he writes shorter stories.

Wizard and Glass is the only novel from the original run that I haven't read all the way through. Still haven't gotten around to Wind through the keyhole yet. I really should give it a go.


It hasn't effected his writing too much I feel. There was the "wife beater trilogy" with Delores Clayborne, Rose Madder and i-forgot-the-third-one-maybe-gerald's-game? But aside from those and the fucking awful book he co-wrote with his kid last year the wokeness is at tolerable levels. Still, his overall quality has been in decline since he got his shit shoved in by a van bumper.

Wind Through The Keyhole is really good, like Wizard and Glass it's a side story, but this time it's a side story within a side story, which was pretty clever and I overall just found it a lot more interesting.

I had hoped it would lead to him revisiting the Dark Tower more, but not yet at least.
 
I wrote him a like 8 page letter when I was about 12, after reading The Long Walk, and he sent me a 1st edition copy of the Bachman Books back, (that still had RAGE in it), signed: Your Friend, Richard Bachman, R.I.P, and a cool hand typed letter that he replied to a lot of my 12 year old dumb questions with. Don't like all his work, especially the more fantasy stuff, but for me, he's the only author I've managed to get through a large book in one sitting. (mainly because you can skip a lot of the fluff if you are familiar with his style).

My favourite of his was Dolores Claiborne, until Desperation came out. The first half of that book really fucked with my young head, and it's a shame the second half isn't as good, and The Regulators wasn't great either. It was nice that the 2 first editions match the artwork though.

115800.JPG


edit: The Langoliers was also his best film adaptation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_2LpM3gNj8

Even in 1995, those effects were shocking, but I can still sit through it with a few brews, and a pizza and a few mates round or on my own and have a thoroughly good time, Just like Maximum Overdrive.
Can't honestly say that about Green Mile, Shawshank etc. They are fantastic films but not really a fun night of films if you have seen them a few times. Misery is second, followed by The Stand, but that's only because the start got me with the Blue Oyster Cult intro. Couldn't take my eyes off JonBoy's MOLE though in IT (TV one), so ruined the emersion for me. Tim Curry didn't help it either, although he really did a good job, it was just to me Tim Curry in makeup, and that's not scary. Only time I thought he was scary was Home Alone 2... And that was because he was given such a shit part.

I plan on having on my grave 'go then, there are other worlds than these'

Mine is gonna be: "You have to put your thing in me." Maybe balloons too. Just to make it all happy.
 
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He's a great, if flawed writer. The last work I read was Under The Dome, which was great until the end where it became a mess. I hear the TV adaptation is complete shit but I've never watched it. Cujo is an old favourite too.

"It would perhaps not be amiss to point out that he had always tried to be a good dog." (:_(

He's also got one of the worst cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome ever documented, so don't bother following his social media.
 
He's a great, if flawed writer. The last work I read was Under The Dome, which was great until the end where it became a mess. I hear the TV adaptation is complete shit but I've never watched it. Cujo is an old favourite too.

"It would perhaps not be amiss to point out that he had always tried to be a good dog." (:_(

He's also got one of the worst cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome ever documented, so don't bother following his social media.

Under The Dome was great at the start when cars, people, animals etc were just getting cut in half, or smashing into the wall and everyone in the dome was absolutely freaked out, nobody knowing what was happening, and again, it was a really good concept... Built some decent characters too... End... Yup. Just was such a letdown. (Never seen the TV one).

Film wise, Cujo is one of my guilty pleasures, same as Christine... Love how the "dog" is so friendly in all his attacks... He just wanted a scruff, and ended up portraying a murderer. That's doggy acting. Also - From IMDB: "Cujo was played by four St. Bernards, several mechanical dogs, and a black Labrador-Great Dane mix in a St. Bernard costume. Why?)

In some shots, stuntman Gary Morgan played Cujo whilst wearing a large dog costume..

Cracks me up... The dogs were too nice... The fact they dressed up another dog as a Bern is funny in itself, but labs/danes are better at taking orders, (and are probably the only types that would put up with being in costume) but a man in a suit...

Funny as fuck.

Was never a fan of Carrie, but I'm not Yaniv. All that period blood. Although if he was in the showers with her, he could have offered a tampon and it wouldn't have escalated.
 
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