Stephen King

Eoin

DonOcelot wrote: »

I know fans are gonna say yeah, but is there any King fans who just couldnt get into this series either?

I got the first few (maybe two or three), and I was able to finish them - but I didn't really feel the urge to get the others after that.

Posy

I read two Stephen King books years ago- 'Carrie' (thought it was great) and 'The Shining' (which I found good, but a bit long-winded.) I just recently read 'Needful Things' after a friend recommended it and thought it was great. I must start reading more of his books.

DonOcelot

Thanks ncmc & eoin regarding The Dark Tower.

Ive put it down now and stared some Dean Koontz, i will return to it when i have nothing to read and see can i get through it because i actually find the concept very interesting likewise with Roland as a character, but it just drags so much at times.
Im gonna read 'The Stand' soon (its massive!!) and obviously thats such a highly acclaimed book, so if i dont like that then i know its most likely Kings writing which i dont like.

Rabble Rabble

Don, try misery or pet cemetery. I think he is best at the psychological stuff.

ncmc

DonOcelot wrote: »

Thanks ncmc & eoin regarding The Dark Tower.

Ive put it down now and stared some Dean Koontz, i will return to it when i have nothing to read and see can i get through it because i actually find the concept very interesting likewise with Roland as a character, but it just drags so much at times.
Im gonna read 'The Stand' soon (its massive!!) and obviously thats such a highly acclaimed book, so if i dont like that then i know its most likely Kings writing which i dont like.

I think you will like The Stand, although some complain that it's a bit drawn out too, though I never thought that to be the case. I would say that it's his masterpiece. The great thing about The Dark Tower series is that he makes some reference to it in a lot of his books, if you've read DT then you feel like you're in on the joke!

To add to the recommendation above, I would second Pet Cemetary being one of his best, it's a good old fashioned horror story and not at all drawn out. I also like Needful Things, It and The Shining. These are the ones I would recommend to non SK readers. Enjoy!

DonOcelot

ncmc wrote: »

I think you will like The Stand, although some complain that it's a bit drawn out too, though I never thought that to be the case. I would say that it's his masterpiece. The great thing about The Dark Tower series is that he makes some reference to it in a lot of his books, if you've read DT then you feel like you're in on the joke!

To add to the recommendation above, I would second Pet Cemetary being one of his best, it's a good old fashioned horror story and not at all drawn out. I also like Needful Things, It and The Shining. These are the ones I would recommend to non SK readers. Enjoy!

I might actually read a few of them as a warm up for "The Stand". As an avid movie watcher ive seen every King movie, most of them are bad, but of course i understand this is mostly the case with movie versions of books. Although Shawshank, Green Mile, The Mist and Shining are definitely exceptions.
"IT" movie is pretty bad but i remember seeing it as a kid and it gave me nightmares for months. So i might start with that.
Thanks again ncmc.

Eoin

The Dark Half and The Dead Zone aren't mentioned all that often, but I really liked both.

adox

eoin wrote: »

The Dark Half and The Dead Zone aren't mentioned all that often, but I really liked both.

The Dead Zone is one of my favourites and indeed, the 80s film version with Martin Sheen and Christopher Walken stand sup very well to the novel(which is a rarity).

I have most, if not all of his books, but havent read about the last half dozen that he has published.

I think I`ll start reading Under The Dome in the next couple of days.

Oh and his new novella collection has me quite excited. Hes a brilliant short story writer, and novella seems the perfect format for him. Different Seasons was a great collection with 3 out of 4 great stories.

Malice

adox wrote: »

Different Seasons was a great collection with 3 out of 4 great stories.

Which one didn't you like? I thought all four were great.

adox

Malice_ wrote: »

Which one didn't you like? I thought all four were great.

I liked them all but The Breathing Method was my least favourite, if that makes sense. The first three were so strong that I didnt feel it was as good, although an enjoyable read.

It is probably over 20 years since I read it though.

Malice

adox wrote: »

I liked them all but The Breathing Method was my least favourite, if that makes sense. The first three were so strong that I didnt feel it was as good, although an enjoyable read.

It is probably over 20 years since I read it though.

Ah yeah, that makes sense and it's exactly how I feel about that book. The first three stories are excellent and the fourth feels very much tacked on. I think it's a lot shorter than the others too. On it's own it's pretty good but probably only rates 6/10 whereas the others are at least 8/10.

Like yourself, it's years since I've read the book though .

nyarlothothep

One of my favourite aspects of the DT is how it melds science with magic, where magic is understandable and harnessable through science but can also be used intuitively as a natural force by characters like Flagg and the Crimson King, I like that dual perspective on the supernatural and the way it ties back to all his other books.

questioner

just finished the full dark no stars , great read.

Grievous

Glad to see Dolores Clairborne getting some love as it's probably my favourite Stephen King novel ever.

He showed the critics once again that he could write other non-Horror novels and he wrote an exceptionally strong female protagonist. What do you expect? He had a strong mother and other strong women in his life--His Wife and friends.

giddybootz

eoin wrote: »

The Dark Half and The Dead Zone aren't mentioned all that often, but I really liked both.

The Dark Half is one of my all time favourites! Doesn't get nearly enough credit though.


I'm reading Insomnia at the moment....undecided on it so far.

Revolution9

giddybootz wrote: »

I'm reading Insomnia at the moment....undecided on it so far.

Sleep on it, then let us know your thoughts.

I'll get me coat

Outkast_IRE

Just completed the dark tower series epic is the word to describe it , and i found the ending rather fitting for roland , found it odd that he found the need to write if you want the normal happy ending stop reading here.

Did anybody pick up either of his latest books , the dome one or the no stars one any good ??

calex71

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Just completed the dark tower series epic is the word to describe it , and i found the ending rather fitting for roland , found it odd that he found the need to write if you want the normal happy ending stop reading here.

Did anybody pick up either of his latest books , the dome one or the no stars one any good ??

I read under the dome and loved it, though the ending wasn't considered great by many, I didn't mind it as I could only see one other alternative. A bit like the Dark Tower it's about the lead up to it really, the characters are excellent, I have never hated someone in print more than Big Jim Remy in this book he is a loathsome bastard putting it politely:D

thenakedanddead

I tried to read the Stand - very banal. Mind you, I thought "On the Road" was quite banal in places so my op hardly counts for much.

I read the Shining in full. Didn't enjoy it, in general. But I loved On Writing as, I think, has just about anyone who read it. Dolores Claiborne was good too.

ncmc

calex71 wrote: »

I read under the dome and loved it, though the ending wasn't considered great by many, I didn't mind it as I could only see one other alternative. A bit like the Dark Tower it's about the lead up to it really, the characters are excellent, I have never hated someone in print more than Big Jim Remy in this book he is a loathsome bastard putting it politely:D

+1; I loved Under The Dome, thought it was a real return to form for King. People complain about the ending, and while I can see where they are coming from, I actually thought the concept of the ending was very clever. My issue with the end was that it was a bit rushed. You have this mammoth tome of a book and then the main part of the ending is over in a couple of pages!

But overall, I thought it was excellent. I agree about Jim Remy being probably the most loathsome character King has ever created (human character anyway ) In some ways though, he was nearly too evil. He became a bit of a charicature at times.

It's not a perfect book, but it is a good rollicking read. 4 stars from me .

muireann50

For any Dark Tower fans, its been announced that Javier Bardem has been offered the role of Roland, I assume if they have announced it that means its pretty certain that he is going to accept. While I hadn't pictured him as Roland, he is a good actor and with some blue contacts I think he could be good!

Corkfeen

muireann50 wrote: »

For any Dark Tower fans, its been announced that Javier Bardem has been offered the role of Roland, I assume if they have announced it that means its pretty certain that he is going to accept. While I hadn't pictured him as Roland, he is a good actor and with some blue contacts I think he could be good!

But he always struck me as something along the lines of this.....

Mellor

Corkfeen wrote: »

But he always struck me as something along the lines of this.....

Well he was based on that character, looks and personality.
Even look at his picture from the cover of "The Dark Tower"
Pretty obvious resemblence

ncmc

Corkfeen wrote: »

But he always struck me as something along the lines of this.....

Yes, he is described as being a Clint Eastwood type character, in fact Eddie mentions how much they look alike a couple of times.

In a way, I'm glad they have chosen a less obvious actor. It could have been very easy to end up with a bad Clint Eastwood impression and that would have ruined the whole series. I think Bardem is a good enough actor that he will do the character justice without it becoming a bad spagetti western homage.

I really hope he is cast, he is an amazing actor and it fills me with hope that this film series will be a big budget, high quality affair, not the dodgy B Movie that a lot of King books become.

Corkfeen

Apparently The Stand is going feature length now but really not sure if the thousand page book is suitable for a film....

One of Stephen King’s most beloved novels is The Stand. It has everything you’d want in a horror story including death, chemical warfare, and notable characters such as the Trashcan Man and Mother Abigail. The book was originally published in 1978 and became a cult hit, especially after it was reprinted in 1990 when King revised some of the story.


In the 1980s, Warner Bros and George Romero attempted to make their own adaptations of the novel but to no avail. The closest thing we got to a feature, was the 1994 made for television miniseries that starred Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, and Ruby Dee. According to THR, Warner Bros. and CBS Films have plans to adapt the story for the big screen. They’ll be meeting with writers and directors in the coming weeks to find the right take on the property.

“The Stand is a story of good vs. evil after a virus wipes out most of the American population. While it features dozens of characters and overlapping story lines running over many years, the struggle boils down to a group of survivors fighting the Antichrist-like Randall Flagg.”

http://screencrave.com/2011-02-01/stephen-kings-the-stand-heads-to-the-big-screen/

calex71

Christian Bale also rumored to be involved. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1648190/

Not sure how I feel about him in this, his work has been hit or miss for me, and I really don't see him as Eddie, Walter perhaps ?

Anyway in other SK related things, I'm about half way through Duma Key at the minute. It's a right chore to get through. Not Kings finest hour, and characters sub par and unlikeable for the most part, I'm at a tipping point with it as I want to find out what happens but at the same time find it hard to care and could easially walk away from it as it seems to be building to a whole pile of nothing much

Mellor

calex71 wrote: »

Not sure how I feel about him in this, his work has been hit or miss for me,

Really, like what?

He's my no means infallible, but;

The Fighter
Public Enemies
Terminator Salvation
The Dark Knight
3:10 to Yuma
The Prestige
Batman Begins
The Machinist
Equilibrium
Reign of Fire
American Psycho

He was pretty solid in all of these imo. Some of them weren't great, but that was a problem with the script/film rather than his acting.

ncmc

calex71 wrote: »

Christian Bale also rumored to be involved. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1648190/

Not sure how I feel about him in this, his work has been hit or miss for me, and I really don't see him as Eddie, Walter perhaps ?

Anyway in other SK related things, I'm about half way through Duma Key at the minute. It's a right chore to get through. Not Kings finest hour, and characters sub par and unlikeable for the most part, I'm at a tipping point with it as I want to find out what happens but at the same time find it hard to care and could easially walk away from it as it seems to be building to a whole pile of nothing much

Definitely would be bad casting for Eddie, he is too old for one thing, Eddie is described in the book as early to mid 20's. Actually Bale could be a pretty decent Roland and I could see him as Walter also.

I enjoyed Duma Key, but to be honest, if you are struggling through it, I probably wouldn't bother. I enjoyed it from the beginning, but my husband couldn't get into it at all.

calex71

ncmc wrote: »

I enjoyed Duma Key, but to be honest, if you are struggling through it, I probably wouldn't bother. I enjoyed it from the beginning, but my husband couldn't get into it at all.

Ah I'll persevere, I hate not finishing a book

Just I expected more to have happened by now I'm at the part were his

exhibition is in a week or so and on his way home from his check up , irked me that he'd 'forgotten' about the red basket in the attic

as I'm sure thats going to be a pretty big deal.

nc6000

I couldn't finish Duma Key, got maybe two-thirds through and then gave up on it. I've no interest in finishing it either. Did I miss out?