The Stephen King Master Thread

[Dr. Seymour Love]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Rest In Peace

He wrote one of my favorite novels of all time (without an once of exaggeration)



Not my favorite, but still a good read:

Yes! Shadowland and Floating Dragon are my faves of his. I think I've read all of his except for his first novel, Marriages. I have the Stephen King Library edition of Ghost Story with a great intro by King.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Coming in September 2023.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Been distracted reading lots of other things, but I've also gotten back to my King readthrough at last! Sad to say that I didn't totally love this one, though...

It (1986)
Beep beep, King.

One of his best novels? Nah, not for me. I do wonder if the status of It as a classic is more down to the 1990 TV miniseries, as that's where it's story managed to grab so many of us when we were young (myself included).

Frankly, It is a mess. Often a fun mess, but it's length and its storytelling methods are so bloated, so overindulgent, that I found it difficult to ever truly engage with. I didn't connect with the characters despite spending the past 5 months with them, because they never felt real to me. King's writing is so detached from anything true at this point in his career, no doubt thanks to the horrible addictions he had at the time. The dialogue, especially for the children, is bizarre.

But the book has quite a lot of good stuff too. Just the central story about a group of people having to face a monstrous entity, first as kids and then as adults, is compelling. His love for a 1950s childhood comes through. The town of Derry is fleshed out well and King makes it feel much more real than any of the characters. He creates an entire history for it which is spread throughout the novel and it works beautifully.

My favourite parts ended up being the larger mythology which is hinted at. The origins behind IT and the depictions of other forces out there are the kind of thing which tick boxes for me and set my imagination going. In that regard, much of the book's ending came out as my favourite sections and allowed me to finish the story on a high. With the notable exception of the infamous

[Show spoiler]child gangbang

which is so utterly deranged, out of place and inappropriate and should never have gotten past the editing stage.

Another strong point is the sections dealing with the bullies. While these are over the top, they are startling in how horrific they can be. King is able to depict more mundane daily horrors such as bigotry and abuse remarkably well, and it often has the desired effect of leaving me disturbed and uneasy. The writing here becomes wonderfully powerful and this seems to be King's real strength.

If I had to come down to one solid reason as to why I ultimately struggled, then it's the book's length. The Stand is long - and I criticised that - but manages to justify its size for the most part, where as It could be less than half the length and be just as effective. It WASTES time consistently. Scenes are unending and take forever to reach their point. There are entire subplots which are totally unnecessary, with so much time spent on them that I was fooled into thinking they were relevant.

I'm a little sad that I didn't find It to be the classic many people see it as. But I also feel strangely glad to have read it and explored its depths. It's a story about the loss of innocence and how important our childhoods and our imaginations are. There IS a powerful book hidden in here, and I wish we had been given that version of the story. In that respect, I'll stick with the various film adaptations to enjoy it again in the future.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by LeftHandedGuitarist

Been distracted reading lots of other things, but I've also gotten back to my King readthrough at last! Sad to say that I didn't totally love this one, though...

It (1986)
Beep beep, King.

One of his best novels? Nah, not for me. I do wonder if the status of It as a classic is more down to the 1990 TV miniseries, as that's where it's story managed to grab so many of us when we were young (myself included).

Frankly, It is a mess. Often a fun mess, but it's length and its storytelling methods are so bloated, so overindulgent, that I found it difficult to ever truly engage with. I didn't connect with the characters despite spending the past 5 months with them, because they never felt real to me. King's writing is so detached from anything true at this point in his career, no doubt thanks to the horrible addictions he had at the time. The dialogue, especially for the children, is bizarre.

But the book has quite a lot of good stuff too. Just the central story about a group of people having to face a monstrous entity, first as kids and then as adults, is compelling. His love for a 1950s childhood comes through. The town of Derry is fleshed out well and King makes it feel much more real than any of the characters. He creates an entire history for it which is spread throughout the novel and it works beautifully.

My favourite parts ended up being the larger mythology which is hinted at. The origins behind IT and the depictions of other forces out there are the kind of thing which tick boxes for me and set my imagination going. In that regard, much of the book's ending came out as my favourite sections and allowed me to finish the story on a high. With the notable exception of the infamous

[Show spoiler]child gangbang

which is so utterly deranged, out of place and inappropriate and should never have gotten past the editing stage.

Another strong point is the sections dealing with the bullies. While these are over the top, they are startling in how horrific they can be. King is able to depict more mundane daily horrors such as bigotry and abuse remarkably well, and it often has the desired effect of leaving me disturbed and uneasy. The writing here becomes wonderfully powerful and this seems to be King's real strength.

If I had to come down to one solid reason as to why I ultimately struggled, then it's the book's length. The Stand is long - and I criticised that - but manages to justify its size for the most part, where as It could be less than half the length and be just as effective. It WASTES time consistently. Scenes are unending and take forever to reach their point. There are entire subplots which are totally unnecessary, with so much time spent on them that I was fooled into thinking they were relevant.

I'm a little sad that I didn't find It to be the classic many people see it as. But I also feel strangely glad to have read it and explored its depths. It's a story about the loss of innocence and how important our childhoods and our imaginations are. There IS a powerful book hidden in here, and I wish we had been given that version of the story. In that respect, I'll stick with the various film adaptations to enjoy it again in the future.

I am glad you did not approach this book with reverence, like many that read this book first among King’s books because of the film and hold it dear to their heart.

There are definitely some flaws that you pointed out. Interesting that you enjoyed the ending; a lot of readers felt it was inconsistent and odd. I personally, as yourself, enjoyed it. The

[Show spoiler]spider and turtle motifs are ancient creation myths. The turtle holding up the universe and the spider a spinner of tales, Anansi trickster

. The Derry interludes are a nice touch, one of my favorite parts of the book.

Great review!

[ceeece]

https://geektyrant.com/news/stephen-...4QwrHrPJ5ctcuA

Cujo 4K

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
(Re-read)
The level of quality between this and The Gunslinger is just a huge step up. King's writing is more confident, more skilful and more focused. In the previous book Roland of Gilead felt like an abstract creation, here he's extremely well defined while still being an interesting enigma. Even more successful are the new characters of Eddie and Odetta/Detta who absolutely leap off the page.

The narrative is also much improved here. Just the opening chapter of the book is ten times more engaging than the entirety of The Gunslinger as Roland is beset upon by the lobstrosities (damn, they are creepy) and severely maimed. This will have a major impact on him going forward as we see immediately.

This book embraces the multiversal nature of the story as we spend time travelling between worlds and times. Eddie and Odetta appear to come from our world, a place where the movie adaptation of King's The Shining exists. We get to visit the '80s, the '70s and the '60s in New York and each of these narrative threads is overflowing with personality that draws you in.

One section was also a clear influence on the Lost TV show which recreated a scene on the plane far too closely to be a coincidence. (I remember watching the show around the time I first read this book and laughing at how they had lifted it right from here.)

It's remarkable that the story is actually so self-contained. It's essentially a long stroll up a beach filled with conversations and confrontations and I can only praise the writing for keeping that so interesting. There is certainly some downtime here and sections which I felt impatient to get through, but that's only because I was so eager to get to what I knew was coming. This book is where The Dark Tower saga really begins.

[finishominis]

Did-a-chik

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Originally Posted by finishominis

Did-a-chik

Dad-a-chum?

[tcripe]

Just finished DT3 The Wastelands somewhat recently. Taking a little bit of a break before i hope into Wizard and Glass but im excited to do so!

[dtower182]

Probably gonna give this a read next

[Dr. Seymour Love]

^^^^I love that one. Especially the ending.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

The Dark Half (1989)
While all novels are undoubtedly personal to the author, this must rank as one of the stories most drawn from King's own life. King had been writing books secretly under the pseudonym Richard Bachman before being found out and identified for who he really was (although unlike in this novel, King fully embraced the public outing).

The books written under the name Bachman were notably darker and more violent than King's more psychological horror output. It struck me as interesting here at how much The Dark Half reminded me of the Bachman novels in its writing style; it begins to feel like a true blending of authors, which contributes greatly to the story itself.

The book starts off strong, introducing us to both Thad Beaumont and George Stark and raising the mystery of whether or not they are the same person. Having already seen the film adaptation

[Show spoiler]I knew the answer, but it plays with the reader well

. We also go back to Castle Rock and meet Sheriff Alan Pangborn, a character that I warmed to almost immediately. His investigation becomes compelling thanks to his no-nonsense approach, and how conflicted he becomes in what may be real or not as things progress. I'm really

[Show spoiler]looking forward to spending more time with him in future stories.

The story stays strong as the George Stark murders begin, in all their grisly detail. These sequences are strong in both their writing and their casually horrific nature. It's unfortunate that alongside this, Thad Beaumont just isn't all that interesting. By the middle section the book is bogged down by Thad's neuroses and his thoroughly lacklustre married life - something which he seems to pay attention to only when he's in the mood. To be fair, he has some seriously insane things which are distracting him, but I found it difficult to care much about his part in it all. Possibly King himself felt the same, because he shows us a lot of Thad through Sheriff Pangborn's eyes, and the sheriff is very torn on him.

Things pick up for a fast paced and fantastically silly finale that is a lot of fun to read, fully embracing supernatural elements. It's not afraid to leave some questions hanging and wraps things up quicker than you may expect, but I found it to be one of the more satisfying finishes for King's stories at this point in his writing. The Dark Half is rarely spoken of as a classic Stephen King book but I wonder if it has flown under the radar for a lot of people, because I really enjoyed it.

[dallywhitty]

Hodder & Slaughton have announced a Constant Reader Edition of Carrie here in the UK. It's available for about a month and then it will essentially go out of print. I feel compelled to buy it but... it's quite ugly.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands (1991)
(Re-read)
The third volume in The Dark Tower epic is a mixed bag that ultimately comes out as worthwhile. Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger of a world that time has moved on from, has gathered together a group of people from our own world and together they are travelling towards the Dark Tower. Here they must deal with Roland's ever increasing psychosis, immense guardians of the beam, a dead city and an insane train who loves riddles.

This book is where much of the larger story of the series finally comes into focus. We get more definitive answers about how this world works and what drives Roland. The characters here are some of King's most vivid and enchanting. There's a welcome return for Jake Chambers who adds some childish innocence and wonder to the group which works well against Eddie's sarcasm and the general grim nature of the rest of the gang. And of course, the group are joined by the best member of all: Oy the billy-bumbler.

Where I felt a bit of a struggle here was with the flow and pacing of the book. It has a strong start and builds to a wonderfully thrilling ending, but much of the middle parts are lacking. There's a lot of scene setting and moving pieces into the right places. Largely, King is good at this kind of stuff but I have to admit that I was putting the book aside more often than not during this time. There are divergences here which feel unnecessary at the end - but I really enjoy piecing together the story of Mid-World's past.

Much of the annoyances are forgotten by the final quarter of the book. It becomes a thrill ride and ends on a brilliant cliffhanger.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

King has revealed some new upcoming books of his during a Talking Scared podcast:

You Like It Darker - a short story collection planned to publish in 2024, and might include a sequel story to Cujo
We Think Not - a Holly Gibney novel

And he's also considering writing a third book in The Talisman/Black House series to complete it as a trilogy.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Four Past Midnight (1990)
This is simply fantastic. Four novellas each themed around the idea of another world slipping through in some fashion. King is on fire here. The stories are gripping, thrilling and downright fun to read. While some are better than others, I can't say I disliked any of them and this easily the best King collection that I've read.

The Langoliers (*****): My favourite tale here and a contender for one of the best stories King has written. It's a wonderful little sci-fi tale about a group of plane passengers who wake up mid-flight to find that everyone else, including the pilots, have disappeared. The mystery of what's happened grows and is explored creatively, and the characters are a fun (if silly) bunch. Once the unique sci-fi concepts begin to hit I couldn't help but fall in love with it. I genuinely didn't want to put it down.

Secret Window, Secret Garden (****): This might be the one story that doesn't entirely fit the theme of the rest of the book, at least not in an obvious way. An isolated writer finds himself accused of plagiarism, leading to a battle of wits and secrets. This feels more like standard Stephen King but its told very well and as more mysterious things begin to happen it really draws you in. King is usually in his element when he's writing about a writer, and Mort makes for a very compelling, fully rounded character. It's not as creative as the other stories - and in fact ends up quite lazy in its finale

[Show spoiler](multiple personality disorder, mislabelled as schizophrenia - sigh)

- but is well told.

The Library Policeman (*****): King goes right for the jugular on this one. A small town businessman loses his library books and finds the late fees to be extreme. Yeah, that sounds silly but the story has got to be one of the most disturbing things King has written and contains a plot thread that is horrifically difficult to read and probably goes too far.. The notion of making a library a scary place seemed like a tall order for me, who finds comfort in them, but holy **** this is dark and powerful. Loved it in a very twisted way.

The Sun Dog (***1/2): Maybe the weakest story in the book for me, but still a good one. This one takes us back to the town of Castle Rock, where a teenager's new Polaroid camera is taking photos of a vicious dog who is getting closer with each picture. I felt the concept here wasn't played out to its fullest, giving too much attention to the surprisingly uninteresting character of Pop Merrill and I kind of felt like good storytelling time was being wasted. But its pulls itself together and manages some edge-of-your-seat excitement. I couldn't help but notice that the ending

[Show spoiler]fully rips off the famous Jaws finale ("smile, you son of a *****!").