Worst of Stephen King - Worst books or stories

[Squirrel Nutkin]

Sorry I can't quote your post @Mayor Cody Travers. I just noticed the repeated references to elder health issues, the disgusted descriptions of older bodies, and King's gleeful approach to dementia. Struck me as weird and unintentionally self revealing.

 

[Major Filth]

I don't really understand why people get so hung up on shit like this. It's disgusting and horrific or whatever but if it's important to the story or whatever I don't find anything wrong with it. It's not something I want to read but people get diddled and it informs the rest of their life. you can't always just slot in some other abuse for any other one without fundamentally changing the point. I read the book once as a teenager and I don't remember it too well but from my recollection I'd agree with your point that it's literally the hinge of the story having it be something else would make it a different book at best and not work at all narrative or thematically at worst.

Fuck's sake - I'm going to defend the pre-teen sex scene in "IT". FML

So the point of The Losers venturing into the sewers to confront Pennywise is that Pennywise already knew their deepest fears and they'd have to overcome those to prevail, right? During the fight, Pennywise throws Stuttering Bill's dead little brother in his face, and Bill overcomes that. And so does every other Loser when confronted by their greatest fear.

So they beat the spider and try to make their way back to the surface, but become hopelessly lost, and that's when Bev realizes she is the only one who hasn't faced down her greatest fear and overcome it.

And yes, , her greatest fear is sex. Daddy isn't the only adult who has (at least verbally) noticed her developing body and she's taken refuge against that amongst a bunch of boys who pretend to not think of her that way. So her offering sex to all of them in a dark sewer is her overcoming that last hurdle to getting them out onto the surface again. Frankly, I didn't find the scene overly graphic since it was written from her perspective. She's making a last, desperate sacrifice to get everyone out to safety. Gan understood that and provided guidance.

Is it still a bunch of pre-teens fuckin' in a sewer? Absolutely it is. Did it fuck up Bev in her later life? Absolutely it did. But did it get them back into clean air and sunshine so they could live to fight another day? It did.

King could have made her greatest fear be something else entirely, and that scene would not need to exist. Maybe she got scared and mentally-scarred by the monkeys at the zoo, for instance. Then all she has to do is bash in a fake monkey's head with a rock or whatever.

In other words: the pre-teen sewer fuckin' was a direct response to choices King made about Bev's character hundreds of pages prior. In the story, it's an appropriate response to those choices, but there's no reason that had to be Bev's Greatest Fear.

 

[el bandito loco]

@Major Filth I wasn't talking about it the comment was in reference to geralds game a book entirely about female abuse. It could very well have been basically the same story, geralds game could not have. not that I really give a shit, I don't like Gerald's game at all. It I like quite a bit compared to his other work but I agree with you wholeheartedly on that. I was more commenting on what @Mola Ram was saying about his period of mediocre to shitty feminist writing of the period.

 

[McMitch]

In other words: the pre-teen sewer fuckin' was a direct response to choices King made about Bev's character hundreds of pages prior. In the story, it's an appropriate response to those choices, but there's no reason that had to be Bev's Greatest Fear.

King plots as he writes, and uses character archetypes in the early stages of writing (as do all authors), but never got to the step where he refines his characters away from their archetypes.
Is Bev’s whole character arc hacky? Yeah, but still less so than Stan or even Mike who have no character during the child sections. People like to treat It as an original sin for King because it’s any easy thing to point to, entirely out of context, and decry King some kind of horrible person. His belief that the hippies were the good guys during ‘Nam is worse than the sewer scene ever was.

 

[Mola Ram]

King plots as he writes, and uses character archetypes in the early stages of writing (as do all authors), but never got to the step where he refines his characters away from their archetypes.
Is Bev’s whole character arc hacky? Yeah, but still less so than Stan or even Mike who have no character during the child sections. People like to treat It as an original sin for King because it’s any easy thing to point to, entirely out of context, and decry King some kind of horrible person. His belief that the hippies were the good guys during ‘Nam is worse than the sewer scene ever was.

Meanwhile his single dumbest (and maybe funniest) belief is that we were denied one of America's greatest Presidents when scandal and shame took out ... Gary Hart.

 

[P. Barnes’ THOT 2.0]

Duhma Key was the last King book i started, one of the few books i've put down after reading about half. I considered giving his JFK time travel book a try but with so much other shit to read i may never get to it.

I know im a little late here, but when i saw the thread title this one immediately came to mind. This is the one with the one-armed artist or something? In Florida? It was absolutely terrible.

I’m pretty forgiving of King-I use his books as easy reading when I’ve got nothing else to read, but everything after a certain period ( post drugs/accident) he became unbearable.

 

[Mola Ram]

I know im a little late here, but when i saw the thread title this one immediately came to mind. This is the one with the one-armed artist or something? In Florida? It was absolutely terrible.

I’m pretty forgiving of King-I use his books as easy reading when I’ve got nothing else to read, but everything after a certain period ( post drugs/accident) he became unbearable.

Duma Key. My King expertise dropped sharply after Dark Tower VII, so this is one I haven't read. However, I do know that "Duma Key" is a pun, because at some point in the narrative it's echoed as "doom aqui," as in an English/Spanish mangling to say "doom is here."

Doom!

Is here!

DOOOOOOM!

The greatest living American writer, folks.

 

[TVB]

Duma Key. My King expertise dropped sharply after Dark Tower VII, so this is one I haven't read. However, I do know that "Duma Key" is a pun, because at some point in the narrative it's echoed as "doom aqui," as in an English/Spanish mangling to say "doom is here."

Doom!

Is here!

DOOOOOOM!

The greatest living American writer, folks.

It's pretty much the same writing used in something like Invader Zim

But at least Zim is excusable as its over-the-top stupidity is intentional (and also comedy gold). Stephen King's writing is just lazy, and you wonder why normiefags actually follow his crap?

 

[Constellationzero]

How is Bag of Bones? My wife brought me a hardcover copy from Goodwill. I read the jacket cover, and...not good...the protagonist is another writer.

I sincerely HATE when King writes about writers (exceptions: Night Flyer and 1408).

I stopped partway through chapter 2 of The Dark Half. Way too navel gazy.

 

[Mola Ram]

How is Bag of Bones? My wife brought me a hardcover copy from Goodwill. I read the jacket cover, and...not good...the protagonist is another writer.

I sincerely HATE when King writes about writers (exceptions: Night Flyer and 1408).

I stopped partway through chapter 2 of The Dark Half. Way too navel gazy.

I don't remember a whole lot, buuuuuut ...

Spoiler: Bag of Bones

The antagonist is another one of King's Magic Negroes, with the twist that this one is a g-g-g-g-ghost!

What I remember more vividly is that the writer protagonist, who as is usually the case was around King's age at the time of writing (so 50 or close to it) almost but not quite gets into a relationship with an uncomfortably younger single mother, no older than early 20s. King clearly became uncomfortable with where this was going and solved the dilemma by having her get pointlessly shot to death.

Real touching stuff.

 

[Constellationzero]

Thanks. Prolly won't be reading that. Magical Negro trope is cringe like Dedication.

Yesterday I picked up a hardcover copy of Fairtytale at my local Goodwill. This was written during the pandemic so probably is peak TDS/wear the mask/I NEVER wrote NIGGER, you bigot/suck gay and troon cock, BIGOT Stephen King.

I wish he'd just do drugs and/or retire...

 

[TVB]

Thanks. Prolly won't be reading that. Magical Negro trope is cringe like Dedication.

Yesterday I picked up a hardcover copy of Fairtytale at my local Goodwill. This was written during the pandemic so probably is peak TDS/wear the mask/I NEVER wrote NIGGER, you bigot/suck gay and troon cock, BIGOT Stephen King.

I wish he'd just do drugs and/or retire...

This shit really feels like a complete satire and even then it's shitty writing with post-2015 leftist political sperging sprinkled on top

 

[Mola Ram]

Thanks. Prolly won't be reading that. Magical Negro trope is cringe like Dedication.

Yesterday I picked up a hardcover copy of Fairtytale at my local Goodwill. This was written during the pandemic so probably is peak TDS/wear the mask/I NEVER wrote NIGGER, you bigot/suck gay and troon cock, BIGOT Stephen King.

I wish he'd just do drugs and/or retire...

I can't speak to Fairy Tale, but, except for the troon stuff (I think), you just described Holly to absolute perfection. Literally has scenes where characters make sure each other is vaxxed; Holly noticing all the raycisms she never noticed before; Holly's mother being an anti-vax Trumper who dies of the coof. It's practically unreadable.

 

[Constellationzero]

I can't speak to Fairy Tale, but, except for the troon stuff (I think), you just described Holly to absolute perfection. Literally has scenes where characters make sure each other is vaxxed; Holly noticing all the raycisms she never noticed before; Holly's mother being an anti-vax Trumper who dies of the coof. It's practically unreadable.

Thank you for that. Think I'll stick to high/drunk Stephen King. And Clive Barker, lol.

 

[Mola Ram]

Thank you for that. Think I'll stick to high/drunk Stephen King. And Clive Barker, lol.

If you need a laugh, or a reminder not to bother, here's a screenshot of actual excerpts from Holly:

 

[Constellationzero]

What the literal fuck is wrong with him, and how does Tabitha even put up with it?

 

[Internet War Criminal]

Yesterday I picked up a hardcover copy of Fairtytale at my local Goodwill. This was written during the pandemic so probably is peak TDS/wear the mask/I NEVER wrote NIGGER, you bigot/suck gay and troon cock, BIGOT Stephen King.

Fairy Tale is actually fantastic, the best thing that he's written in a long time, and was not at all TDS or anything like that due to the setting.

 

[Mola Ram]

Fairy Tale is actually fantastic, the best thing that he's written in a long time, and was not at all TDS or anything like that due to the setting.

I think the most recent King I read that I really liked and was mercifully free of his Current Year cringe was The Wind Through the Keyhole, although it was a bittersweet sort of enjoyment as it turned out better than at least two of the actual Dark Tower books.

 

[Internet War Criminal]

I think the most recent King I read that I really liked and was mercifully free of his Current Year cringe was The Wind Through the Keyhole, although it was a bittersweet sort of enjoyment as it turned out better than at least two of the actual Dark Tower books.

Then you should make sure to read Fairy Tale, it's entirely in line with Wind or The Talisman (though not as good as the latter, obviously, but still close enough). Imo, it's close to 10/10 Stephen King and might end up being seen as one of his classic works in the future.

 

[Constellationzero]

Welp, I finally finished From a Buick 8.

I liked it, but Goddamn, this could've been a LOT shorter. He takes eons to get to the point. Plus the last story about the Buick was anticlimactic and lazy. Kind of like he was bored of it by then. But I see that a lot in his writings.

Today I'll be starting Salem's Lot. Again... I realize it isn't going to be Jerusalem's Lot or One For the Road, but neither of those stories are anything like each other either. But I enjoyed them both very much.