Stephen King

[phantom8019]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 7:44pm

So, after a long absence I am getting back into Stephen King again, and I am pretty psyched about it.

My favorite King books have always been Carrie, Salem's Lot, Needful Things, Dolores Claiborne, and Bag of Bones. I never really got into The Dark Tower series, though a lot of my friends like it. I prefer his stand-alone stories, but I know even those are often related to his other work somehow.

I liked Dreamcatcher, but I stopped reading him for a while after Hearts in Atlantis and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. They were not bad, but they didn't really do anything for me. A couple years ago I picked up The Colorado Kid, and even though a lot of people hated that, it reminded me of how well he can tell a story.

So, I am currently reading Cell, which I like very much so far. It seems like a return to his old days. I picked up Lisey's Story today for my next read, and I was wondering what you guys think of Duma Key or any of his other new stuff.

Thanks!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 8:20pm

Cell was a fun page-turner reminiscent of his earlier action-packed short stories. I liked Lisey's Story and Duma Key. Though unrelated, the seem almost like companion pieces offering different perspectives on a shared theme. I admit, I preferred Duma Key, but I did enjoy both. His balance of drama and the supernatural are among his best since the 80s.

[clever name]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 8:26pm

I loved The Dark Tower series. Loved 'em..and can I just say, without spoiling anything..one of my favorite endings ever.

[Kasie]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 8:35pm

I've heard mixed things about The Dark Tower and I've never really planned on reading the series, but I might give it a go this summer when I have more free time.

As far as my favorite Stephen King books... nothing beats THE SHINING, in my opinion. Definitely one of my all time favorites. I also enjoyed THE STAND, (though some parts I found tedious), DUMA KEY, CHRISTINE, SALEM'S LOT and THE MIST, which I think is one of the best film adaptations yet, next to THE SHINING.
I really do love most of his books, with the exception of DESPERATION and GERALD'S GAME.
Updated On: 4/21/09 at 08:35 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 8:44pm

Duma and Lisey are more lyrical. I prefer the old-school horror, which is why I loved Cell--a real return to the scary stuff. His next book, Under the Dome, is supposed to be more in that mold.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:15pm

I have been a fan of King for a while, with IT being my personal favorite. The most recent book of his that I read was Cell (about a year ago) and I absolutely loved it. To me it is one of the most disturbing, complete stories he has written. And the moment that book gets going it KEEPS going pretty much until the end. Without spoiling anything, though a lot of people tend to dislike the book as a whole once they get to the end, I thought it elevated the book from a zombie thriller to a level not often achieved by King or other horror writers.

[phantom8019]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:20pm

I didn't care much for Desperation either--I felt like I was somehow left out.... like I was missing something. I did read The Regulators, which is the companion book, and I liked that much better. But don't quiz me, it was like... 12 years ago.
I felt the same way when I read Insomnia... like I was missing something.
Gerald's Game scared the crap out of me but also put me off reading him for a year or so. I've never had a book make me physically ill before. That's the one with the descriptive molestation scenes and the dog eating the body, right? Yeah... really disgusting. Grotesque is the word I would use.

[tazber]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:37pm

Insomnia pissed me off. To "get" the end you had to have read The Dark Tower, which at the time was in it's second book.

[bschneid76]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:40pm

I loved The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. But my favorites are Carrie, The Running Man and The Shining. I like the short story Graveyard Shift (but the film is atrocious!)

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:40pm

I own, but haven't yet read Duma Key or Cell. I enjoy King, but sometimes find him a little long winded.

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:43pm

I thought Cell was great. One of the best I've read in awhile. And Carrie actually got me into all of his books, so that is definitely one of my favorites. I'm actually reading Insomnia now- is it really not that good? I'm on pg. 206, and I think its pretty good so far. I hope it's not a waste of time.

People always tell he's such a junk writer, but he's always been a favorite of mine. Such a thrill to read.

[phantom8019]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:49pm

I was really hooked on Insomnia in the beginning, but the ending did nothing for me.

King's prose are decent enough, but his real skill, to me, is in how he tells his stories. He knows exactly where to start, what to tell us, what not to tell us, etc. He knows the questions we are asking as we read, and he knows exactly when to answer them. People often praise his character development as well, but that's not usually what stands out for me. I do get tired of all of his main characters always being writers.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 9:52pm

I'm a King fan but the thing that irritates me is that he spends two pages describing a chair (exaggerating) but you get what I mean.

My favorites are: THE SHINING, PET SEMETARY (Scared the HELL out of me when I first read it), and MISERY

[Kasie]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 10:09pm

Ah... MISERY. Loved the book and the movie. It scared the crap out of me.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/21/09 at 10:46pm

Cell is fun, but to me nothing beats The Stand

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 12:42am

I love his short story collections, I just finished Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I really loved Bag of Bones too.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 12:49am

They just made a movie out of "Dolan's Cadillac" from Nightmares and Dreamscapes with Christan Slater and Wes Bentley but it's coming out as a DVD not a feature film.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 7:55am

I'm a long time fan, but generally prefer the earlier works, THE CELL excepted. The best long-trip airplane book I've read in years, CELL. I re-read CARRIE every year or two -- still perfection to me. Even more extraordinary now, for its economy (and its influence is seen everywhere, as is THE SHINING's.) I recall the pleasure of the first read of SALEM'S LOT and THE STAND. Nothing was more exciting than starting one of his books. Who here ever had to sneak off and read one of the denouements? I once left my office to finish PET CEMETERY in the, er, men's lounge.

[jasonf]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 10:05am

I'm currently on the final book of the Dark Tower series. Having never read Salem's Lot, I feel I missed out on some of it, but am really enjoying the series nonetheless. Book Four of Dark Tower was one of the best books I've read in a long while. I just hope Seven can live up to the first four, because five was just good, and I really didn't like six very much at all (other than the beyond strange twist towards the end that I don't want to spoil but anyone who's read it knows what I'm talking about).

Other than that series, The Stand was easily my favorite of his books, with honorable mention going to Misery and Needful Things (I haven't read his whole canon, but easily read a dozen or more along the way).

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 11:53am

Big fan here and loved Cell as well.

I read the Dark Tower series and loved most of it. I really loved Wizard and Glass, which actually can stand alone storywise, though I'd suggest to anyone interested to start with the first book in the series and see if you like it. It's his strangest journey, and a long one.

I actually really liked Desperation, but hated Regulators.

My favorite is still The Stand.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 11:55am

I read the first three of the Dark Tower series years ago, but never picked them up again when book four was finally released. I don't recall much, so I'm reluctant to start all over again. Carrie is easily my all-time favorite novel, having read it more than any other (and just finished it again a few weeks ago). The Talisman is a close second, though. I know he wrote it with Straub, but the novel struck such an emotional chord with me the first time I read it. The sequel was a huge disappointment, however.

Gerald's Game is the only King novel I've never been able to finish. I'm not even sure I've made it past the first 100 pages. While I do think King's best works are in his earlier novels from Carrie to Christine, I have to give props to some of his underrated works of the 90s including, Needful Things, Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder and Bag of Bones. It and Misery were two amazing works in the late 80s, but the general consensus was that he had plateaued in his writing and The Tommyknockers was considered almost unforgivable. It was a long, hard climb for King to recover with critics after that (though his popularity with the public has never really waned). The Desperation/Regulators thing was especially intriguing, reconciling his popular name with his failed psuedonym, but I only liked Desperation, which to me was reminiscent of Salem's Lot or The Stand. The Regulators freaked me out. The random violence in the opening of that book really shook me up and I doubt I'll ever read it again. It would now remind me too much of the events of Columbine or Virginia Tech.

A lot of people get tired of King's experimental antics in publishing, such as his audio or internet-only releases, the Green Mile serial series (basically viewed as a marketing ploy to maximize profits out of one novel), but honestly, I think he just gets bored and is trying to determine the future in books and publishing. I haven't read his new collection of short stories, but I'm happy to see he has one. He's written so many stories that have been published only within the confines of particular media or publications (Kindle, graphic novels, comics, animated internet series, etc.), it becomes a scavenger hunt to try and track them down. But I think there is no question that whatever King does, he does it right. He has remained an American best-seller for over 30 years now and is possibly the greatest American story-teller of our time.

Has anyone read any works by King's wife or sons? I'm curious to read them as well. I'm really excited about Under the Dome, though it's going to be a daunting read...over 1,000 pages.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 12:03pm

I stopped reading him after his cloying sentimentality gave me hives. Definitely curious about CELL, tho.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 12:04pm

I was a big fan of King's for a long time in the 70s and 80s until the over-writing just got to be too much. I always preferred the shorter meaner stuff (THE SHINING, PET SEMATARY) to his bigger more sprawling stuff (SALEM'S LOT, THE STAND, IT). I think the last King novel I bought in hardcover was THE DARK HALF, which felt like an inflated short story: way too much padding, nothing was taking ten pages if it could take 25.

As for the DARK TOWER stuff, well, not my cup of tea. I've still got my Donald Grant first edition somewhere...

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 12:06pm

i put down king for a long time after trying to get through gerald's game. damn thing freaked me out so much i couldn't get through it.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/22/09 at 12:09pm

Never read Gerald's Game...now very curious!

Salem's Lot scared me the most...Danny Glick at the window kept me awake all night.