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Post by boots on Feb 27, 2015 15:18:32 GMT -5
I know crazy right? Everyone else has been reading him for years- Never one for scary books (or movies) I just always take a pass. BUT- I started digging his politics and his story after hearing a few interviews and thought to myself "this guy's alright" so I eased in by reading one of his lesser know novels "Duma Key" - what should I read next?
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Post by Hazza on Feb 27, 2015 19:53:24 GMT -5
I loved "It", but it's super long. Did that sound right?
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Post by Darren on Feb 27, 2015 20:31:59 GMT -5
I dread reading King novels, but for a weird reason...I end up wanting to re-write the darn thing as it progresses because I think King comes up with absolutely great concepts, but rarely executes them to their fullest potential. Plus, his grammar is kinda awkward, for lack of a better term. The Dark Half has been my favorite, most memorable read of his but I admit that I haven't read any of his iconic titles like It or Christine or, I dunno.
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Post by boots on Feb 28, 2015 11:20:38 GMT -5
So I totally agree with you Darren- in Duma Key he really built the suspense, he created amazingly loveable/hateable characters - and then when the super natural shit hit the fan the whole story devolved quickly into a sort of bad sci-fi made for tv movie. I was disappointed- so I guess it sounds like that's a regular occurrence- I actually buy them as books on tape and listen on the way to my farm and back (9 hours in the car- gotta do something) so I might try "It" and see what happens.
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Post by LongPlayer on Feb 28, 2015 21:33:03 GMT -5
Having grown up in Maine, in the 70's, Stephen King was pretty much required reading. So, I read everything up to Christine, I think, and then I stopped cold. I tried to read Bag Of Bones, and barely made it to page 25. To (possibly?) paraphrase what Darren said, I think he's a great storyteller, but not a very good writer. On the other hand, given that I haven't read a book of his in...what...30+ years, I may not be the best person to ask. For the record, I thought "Salem's Lot" and "The Stand" were great stories. The Dead Zone is really underrated in my book, too. Nowadays, reading about vampires and the undead doesn't appeal to me in the way it did when I was 17. I have a job now.
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Post by DannyA on Mar 14, 2015 21:00:56 GMT -5
Two of his books are simply classics: "The Stand" (the original version, not the expanded version that was very self-indulgent) and "The Shining."
If you saw the movie "The Shining" you saw something very different from the book (and I adore the movie). The book is about alcoholism; the movie is just a great horror movie. "The Stand" (again, the original version, NOT the expanded version) is a fucking killer book about the end of the world. A few cliches in it irk me, but overall it is a page-turner unlike any other.
My son was never a big reader until I said "Fuck it" and gave him some Stephen King. It unlocked the world of books for him.
"The Dead Zone" is also a great book and a pretty good movie with Martin Sheen.
Much of his stuff -- Cujo, etc. -- is entertaining but predictable. "Misery" made a great movie.
Fun fact: A good friend of mine lived in Boulder at the same time King did when King was just starting out (which is why much of "The Stand" is set in Boulder, and why "The Shining" was written at the Stanley Hotel up in Estes Park). Anyway, my friend's wife took King's handwritten notes and typed his manuscripts up for him, including "Carrie," I believe. To this day, every Xmas, Guy and Denise get a first edition of whatever new book King puts out, inscribed to Denise and thanking her for that. Classy guy (and a great recent interview in Rolling Stone, for anyone interested).
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