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Stephen King
- Thread starter Holger
- Start date
I'm reading my first SK book,The Stand, after recommendations through this forum. I must admit though that I'm a little disappointed. Granted I'm only 250 pages into it, but I would have hoped to have been gripped by now if ever I was going to be.
Can anyone reassure me it gets better or is SK just not my thang??
Also, is it necessary to make it that long?
Can anyone reassure me it gets better or is SK just not my thang??
Also, is it necessary to make it that long?
Halo
New Member
Folly said:Also, is it necessary to make it that long?
LOL! Probably not, but that's Stephen King for you!
Persevere a while longer; it does get better. It is viewed as one of the best Kings by most people. However, it depends really on what sort of books you like, because contrary to what the critics say, King writes in quite a few genres, not just horror. If you like fantasy, try the Dark Tower series, The Talisman or Eyes of the Dragon. Horror? Try It or 'Salem's Lot. Psi powers? Carrie or Firestarter. What I'm trying to say is that even if you don't end up getting into The Stand, there are other types of King novels that you could try instead. And no, he is not paying me for this advert!
Peronel
New Member
Hey fellow King fans!
I've just started the Dark Tower series (halfway through The Gunslinger). Finding it quite different, as King is my "comfort" author, kind of like a security blanket. Am liking it though.
"It" is also one of my faves. My cousins and I used to watch the film when we were young (Tim Curry STILL freaks me out), but when I decided to read the book I was so impressed. Not sure exactly what it is, maybe I can identify with the Loser's Club from when I was little.
I also loved The Shining, Tommyknockers (great for sci-fi fans by the way), The Stand, Bag of Bones. I would like to read 'Salems Lot as I am a fan of Rice's vampire chronicles. Did anyone enjoy it??
Amy
I've just started the Dark Tower series (halfway through The Gunslinger). Finding it quite different, as King is my "comfort" author, kind of like a security blanket. Am liking it though.
"It" is also one of my faves. My cousins and I used to watch the film when we were young (Tim Curry STILL freaks me out), but when I decided to read the book I was so impressed. Not sure exactly what it is, maybe I can identify with the Loser's Club from when I was little.
I also loved The Shining, Tommyknockers (great for sci-fi fans by the way), The Stand, Bag of Bones. I would like to read 'Salems Lot as I am a fan of Rice's vampire chronicles. Did anyone enjoy it??
Amy
pookiesdilemma
New Member
King's work
How I wish I had never found Stephen King and had all of his novels to look forward to. Ever read the poem "eating poetry"? I feel that way about his work. The Dark Tower Series is extremely good. In fact, "Wizard and Glass" contains a story in a story that is his best ever, in my opinion. However, the most charming element of the series is his insertion of characters from many of his past novels. Recognizing those characters added immeasurably to the overall effort! When I first read "Insomnia" I wasn't too enthused, but, like all of his books, I read it very quickly. When I read it again later, I found characters every bit as endearing as any I've found. The final book of the series ended.... appropriately, even though many fans were outraged at his use of "deus ex machina" during the storyline in the last two selections. I can't say enough positive things about SK. One of my college English courses included a short story by him. Some think he's just too popular to be "good." He is good. Although Larry McMurtry is my favorite male author, King is the most enduring. I found "Salem's Lot" first, wayyyy back, and have been hooked ever since. Anne Tyler is at the top of my list for female authors. Please gimme some references! I'm tapped out and need some fresh names when I hit the library.
Anyone? Thanks!
How I wish I had never found Stephen King and had all of his novels to look forward to. Ever read the poem "eating poetry"? I feel that way about his work. The Dark Tower Series is extremely good. In fact, "Wizard and Glass" contains a story in a story that is his best ever, in my opinion. However, the most charming element of the series is his insertion of characters from many of his past novels. Recognizing those characters added immeasurably to the overall effort! When I first read "Insomnia" I wasn't too enthused, but, like all of his books, I read it very quickly. When I read it again later, I found characters every bit as endearing as any I've found. The final book of the series ended.... appropriately, even though many fans were outraged at his use of "deus ex machina" during the storyline in the last two selections. I can't say enough positive things about SK. One of my college English courses included a short story by him. Some think he's just too popular to be "good." He is good. Although Larry McMurtry is my favorite male author, King is the most enduring. I found "Salem's Lot" first, wayyyy back, and have been hooked ever since. Anne Tyler is at the top of my list for female authors. Please gimme some references! I'm tapped out and need some fresh names when I hit the library.
Anyone? Thanks!
froggerz40
New Member
I've read a lot of them, too- My favorites of his fiction works were the epics, such as "The Talisman", and "It". But my all time favorite of his books was "DANSE MACABRE", which sort of gave a brief history of the stories, books, and films, which directly influenced the man. Delicious writing style as he told stories of his childhood, watching the old black & white horror films, and the old "Weird Science Comics", and the like. Also a really nice tribute to H.P Lovecraft! All in all, my favorite reference book on that genre! There's also a list of his favorite books and films at the back. Keep in mind it's outdated by todays standards .
I read "Dreamcatcher", and "From a Buick Eight", but they just didn't seem to be as inspired as his older stuff...
.I read "Dreamcatcher", and "From a Buick Eight", but they just didn't seem to be as inspired as his older stuff...
sirmyk
New Member
The Long Walk to understanding King
If you're just getting started with Stephen King, I would recommend his first published novel, The Long Walk, which was actually written using his pen name of Richard Bachman. It is still one of my favorite reads by Stevey. It can be found in a collection called The Bachman Books, otherwise it is difficult to find. Rage is also a good read, and is also one of the Bachman Books. Those two would introduce you well to King.
Also, if you like King, Poe, that kind of writing... I would recommend Palindrome Hannah, by Michael Bailey. It's a little literary / a little horror, blended nicely.
If you're just getting started with Stephen King, I would recommend his first published novel, The Long Walk, which was actually written using his pen name of Richard Bachman. It is still one of my favorite reads by Stevey. It can be found in a collection called The Bachman Books, otherwise it is difficult to find. Rage is also a good read, and is also one of the Bachman Books. Those two would introduce you well to King.Also, if you like King, Poe, that kind of writing... I would recommend Palindrome Hannah, by Michael Bailey. It's a little literary / a little horror, blended nicely.
lorrekarloff
New Member
Hey Amy-Welcome! I'm up to book 4 'Wizard and Glass' in the Dark Tower series. I've enjoyed them all so far, but the second one, 'The Drawing of the Three' was my favorite so far.Amy_1984 said:Hey fellow King fans!
I've just started the Dark Tower series (halfway through The Gunslinger). Finding it quite different, as King is my "comfort" author, kind of like a security blanket. Am liking it though.
I also loved The Shining, Tommyknockers (great for sci-fi fans by the way), The Stand, Bag of Bones. I would like to read 'Salems Lot as I am a fan of Rice's vampire chronicles. Did anyone enjoy it??
I read Salems Lota few years ago and liked it a lot. Actually, I've never been disappointed with one of his books, but it did take me forever to read 'Insomniac'.
Heres the others I've read:
Carrie
The Shining
Firestarter
Christine
Pet Sematary
The Talisman
Misery
The Tommyknockers
Needful Things (one of my favorites)
Dolores Claiborne
The Regulators
Dreamcatcher
Bag of Bones
Night Shift
Skeleton Crew
It
I also have several of his on my to-be-read list.
Halo
New Member
I really enjoyed Rose Madder too, but it seems to be quite widely disliked amongst King fans. I liked the whole tie into Greek mythology. I also think it worked quite well as a revenge story and as a study into one woman's transformation from a downtrodden, abused wife to a strong, independent woman. I think King managed to write very well from a female viewpoint. Also, I don't know why, but I just love the device of pictures that move - fascinating and creepy!
Shade
New Member
Some BookForum-ers may remember that last month I agreed to try a Stephen King as recommended by direstraits, who advised me to get Different Seasons. I've just finished the first story, so here are my thoughts so far...
Writers don't come much more popular than Stephen King. Why, he's had more books adapted for the stage and screen than William Shakespeare. I've never been tempted to try him before, mainly because of his reputation as a horror hack, but also from his occasional snippy public proclamations, like when he argued that more critical attention should be paid to popular writers ... just because they're popular. Go tell it to your accountant, Stephen. And he's oddly defensive in the midst of self-satisfaction when he writes about being warned by his agent early in his career that he would get 'typed' as a horror writer:
Chill, Stevie! So Heller is 'worse company' because he takes so long to write his books? Or bright academics aren't supposed to be catered for? These comments by him, it's worth noting, aren't in response to criticism from these writers, or others, but unsolicited salvos from King that show more how he feels about his own writing than how others feel about it.
Anyway. At the same time one shouldn't ignore a writer just because they're popular, of course, and so we get on to direstraits'n'me and my being told that a good place to start with King was his collection of stories (novellas, really, ranging from 70 to 200 pages) Different Seasons (1982). It's mostly non-horror, none of the stories is as long as one of his usual behemoth novels, and there is a high adaptation rate, with three of the stories becoming films, the first the frequently poll-top-tenning The Shawshank Redemption.
And I have just finished reading the story it's based on, entitled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. This is a good time to swipe at King's cloth ear for a title. You what? His book titles aren't much better, ranging from the merely pedestrian (Misery, The Shining, or the hilarious names-beginning-with-C series of Christine, Carrie and Cujo) to the downright abominable (Gerald's Game, The Tommyknockers, Everything's Eventual, From a Buick 8). This does not bode well for a reader who thinks a good title is not necessarily essential, but certainly heavily important to the overall satisfaction of a good book. And it reflects on the author's ear for words generally.
I suspect King's greatest fans would not claim he has a good way with prose. Indeed, King himself in more conciliatory mode accepts it:
This quote, and that above, by the way, are both from the Afterword to Different Seasons, which may well be the most interesting thing in the book. Certainly Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is not very interesting. I haven't seen the film, which I know a lot of people rate highly, so don't be offended: it's probably entirely different. The best I can say about the story though (and the publishers can have this for the back of the next edition if they like, crediting it to A Literary Fusspot), is that it wasn't painful, and I can think of worse ways to spend your time (like watching Big Brother).
Needless to say, the prose never rises above pedestrian. Although it's written in a first person narrative, there's little character to it, and no style at all. Occasionally King strains for effect - "time drew out like a blade" (no it didn't) - but mainly the problem with 'bad prose' like this isn't a lack of clever metaphors or poetic words, but just too much slush. King can't shut up. "Let me tell you a little about solitary confinement" he says - OK then, a little, not two solid pages. The story itself should be half the length it is, if you get rid of all the extraneous detail and water-treading blah. Under the prose, then, is there a good story trying to get out? Well, not really: the main spring of the story was completely obvious to me as soon as Red mentioned the large Rita Hayworth poster than Andy Dufresne wanted him to get for his cell wall. And sure enough, it happens, presented baldly in a separated-out paragraph as if we're meant to be surprised. But King, or Red, doesn't end there, and drags the thing beyond all consciousness, to a couple further ending-ettes, which clear away any possible ambiguity - I was willing him, when he went to look for the black stone, to find it undisturbed, to give us a little bleakness - and leave the story festering in sickly sentimental Hollywood optimism (no wonder it was optioned for the screen).
This doesn't take account of the other problems with the story: Red tries to persuade us on page 2 that he killed his wife because of all the hatred that had built up from his being under the thumb of her bullying father - but on page 1 he has already told us that he did it for the insurance policy he took out in her name. If a more careful writer did this, I would presume it was an indicator that our narrator was not to be trusted: but I don't think King meant it that way, so it's just carelessness, in which case we're meant to believe everything Red tells us, with nothing to put in for ourselves.
So that's the first hundred-pager. On another forum someone said this book was reputed to contain two of the finest American short stories of the 20th century - though I don't know if that was their own view or just passing on received wisdom. Was Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption one of the two, do you suppose? And - everyone now - should I bother reading on, to Apt Pupil, The Body (filmed as Stand By Me) and The Breathing Method? Are they, as John Self in Money said, my sort of thing?
Writers don't come much more popular than Stephen King. Why, he's had more books adapted for the stage and screen than William Shakespeare. I've never been tempted to try him before, mainly because of his reputation as a horror hack, but also from his occasional snippy public proclamations, like when he argued that more critical attention should be paid to popular writers ... just because they're popular. Go tell it to your accountant, Stephen. And he's oddly defensive in the midst of self-satisfaction when he writes about being warned by his agent early in his career that he would get 'typed' as a horror writer:
Chill, Stevie! So Heller is 'worse company' because he takes so long to write his books? Or bright academics aren't supposed to be catered for? These comments by him, it's worth noting, aren't in response to criticism from these writers, or others, but unsolicited salvos from King that show more how he feels about his own writing than how others feel about it.
Anyway. At the same time one shouldn't ignore a writer just because they're popular, of course, and so we get on to direstraits'n'me and my being told that a good place to start with King was his collection of stories (novellas, really, ranging from 70 to 200 pages) Different Seasons (1982). It's mostly non-horror, none of the stories is as long as one of his usual behemoth novels, and there is a high adaptation rate, with three of the stories becoming films, the first the frequently poll-top-tenning The Shawshank Redemption.
And I have just finished reading the story it's based on, entitled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. This is a good time to swipe at King's cloth ear for a title. You what? His book titles aren't much better, ranging from the merely pedestrian (Misery, The Shining, or the hilarious names-beginning-with-C series of Christine, Carrie and Cujo) to the downright abominable (Gerald's Game, The Tommyknockers, Everything's Eventual, From a Buick 8). This does not bode well for a reader who thinks a good title is not necessarily essential, but certainly heavily important to the overall satisfaction of a good book. And it reflects on the author's ear for words generally.
I suspect King's greatest fans would not claim he has a good way with prose. Indeed, King himself in more conciliatory mode accepts it:
This quote, and that above, by the way, are both from the Afterword to Different Seasons, which may well be the most interesting thing in the book. Certainly Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is not very interesting. I haven't seen the film, which I know a lot of people rate highly, so don't be offended: it's probably entirely different. The best I can say about the story though (and the publishers can have this for the back of the next edition if they like, crediting it to A Literary Fusspot), is that it wasn't painful, and I can think of worse ways to spend your time (like watching Big Brother).
Needless to say, the prose never rises above pedestrian. Although it's written in a first person narrative, there's little character to it, and no style at all. Occasionally King strains for effect - "time drew out like a blade" (no it didn't) - but mainly the problem with 'bad prose' like this isn't a lack of clever metaphors or poetic words, but just too much slush. King can't shut up. "Let me tell you a little about solitary confinement" he says - OK then, a little, not two solid pages. The story itself should be half the length it is, if you get rid of all the extraneous detail and water-treading blah. Under the prose, then, is there a good story trying to get out? Well, not really: the main spring of the story was completely obvious to me as soon as Red mentioned the large Rita Hayworth poster than Andy Dufresne wanted him to get for his cell wall. And sure enough, it happens, presented baldly in a separated-out paragraph as if we're meant to be surprised. But King, or Red, doesn't end there, and drags the thing beyond all consciousness, to a couple further ending-ettes, which clear away any possible ambiguity - I was willing him, when he went to look for the black stone, to find it undisturbed, to give us a little bleakness - and leave the story festering in sickly sentimental Hollywood optimism (no wonder it was optioned for the screen).
This doesn't take account of the other problems with the story: Red tries to persuade us on page 2 that he killed his wife because of all the hatred that had built up from his being under the thumb of her bullying father - but on page 1 he has already told us that he did it for the insurance policy he took out in her name. If a more careful writer did this, I would presume it was an indicator that our narrator was not to be trusted: but I don't think King meant it that way, so it's just carelessness, in which case we're meant to believe everything Red tells us, with nothing to put in for ourselves.
So that's the first hundred-pager. On another forum someone said this book was reputed to contain two of the finest American short stories of the 20th century - though I don't know if that was their own view or just passing on received wisdom. Was Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption one of the two, do you suppose? And - everyone now - should I bother reading on, to Apt Pupil, The Body (filmed as Stand By Me) and The Breathing Method? Are they, as John Self in Money said, my sort of thing?
sirmyk
New Member
Obviously you shouldn't continue with Different Seasons, as Shawshank and The Body are the two considered his greatest of works (by some). You seem to have an ill feeling about King in general... best not to read his work then, because the entire time you are reading you will have that constipated look on your face as you look for that spark which may or may not exist to get you interested in Stephen's work. To each his/her own. What type of fiction are you interested in, if I may ask? If you say Dan Brown I will shoot myself.
Shade
New Member
Well it's impossible to entirely remove one's prior feelings, judged or prejudged, about a writer, but I tried to be open about that above, and I also tried to judge Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption fairly, and tried to imagine if I would have felt differently about it if it had been written by someone else. (I wouldn't.) I may give The Body a go though.
What type of fiction am I interested in? See my reviews and comments throughout this board, but a loose confederation of my favourites would include Patrick McGrath, Kazuo Ishiguro, Evelyn Waugh, Richard Yates, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Amis, William Boyd, Jeanette Winterson, and others. My favourite books so far this year have been Small Island (Andrea Levy), The Essential Tales of Chekhov (ed. Richard Ford), Collected Stories of Richard Yates, Mobius Dick (Andrew Crumey), Arthur & George (Julian Barnes), Mutants (Armand Marie Leroi) and Port Mungo (Patrick McGrath).
As for my constipated look: sir, I'll have you know I enjoy regular movements!
What type of fiction am I interested in? See my reviews and comments throughout this board, but a loose confederation of my favourites would include Patrick McGrath, Kazuo Ishiguro, Evelyn Waugh, Richard Yates, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Amis, William Boyd, Jeanette Winterson, and others. My favourite books so far this year have been Small Island (Andrea Levy), The Essential Tales of Chekhov (ed. Richard Ford), Collected Stories of Richard Yates, Mobius Dick (Andrew Crumey), Arthur & George (Julian Barnes), Mutants (Armand Marie Leroi) and Port Mungo (Patrick McGrath).
As for my constipated look: sir, I'll have you know I enjoy regular movements!
Shade
New Member
Spoilers ahead.
I had a read of the first third (70 pages) of Apt Pupil, the second story in Different Seasons. Now just one cotton-pickin' minute here, Mr King - 200+ pages makes it a novel, hokay? It's actually a lot more interesting than Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, concerning a thirteen-year-old boy who discovers that a local codger is a Nazi war criminal and blackmails the old man into telling him all the gruesome details of the death camps. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen - the kid gets to be as evil in his own way as the old boy was - and indeed this transformation had already taken place by the time I gave up, and flicking ahead, I could see the rest of the book was just a ratcheting up of scale. Again, though, the writing is just all ho-hum and no wahay. To come to this off the back of John Banville:
is the very definition of bathos. Sorry, Stephen, I have better things to do with my time. Shame really, if the next story The Body really is, as you say Sirmyk, one of the ones said to be one of his finest half-hours. Or three-and-a-half hours.
I had a read of the first third (70 pages) of Apt Pupil, the second story in Different Seasons. Now just one cotton-pickin' minute here, Mr King - 200+ pages makes it a novel, hokay? It's actually a lot more interesting than Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, concerning a thirteen-year-old boy who discovers that a local codger is a Nazi war criminal and blackmails the old man into telling him all the gruesome details of the death camps. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen - the kid gets to be as evil in his own way as the old boy was - and indeed this transformation had already taken place by the time I gave up, and flicking ahead, I could see the rest of the book was just a ratcheting up of scale. Again, though, the writing is just all ho-hum and no wahay. To come to this off the back of John Banville:
is the very definition of bathos. Sorry, Stephen, I have better things to do with my time. Shame really, if the next story The Body really is, as you say Sirmyk, one of the ones said to be one of his finest half-hours. Or three-and-a-half hours.
StillILearn
New Member
Shade said:
Whew! Well, at least we came away from the hanging with a list of recommendations.
sirmyk
New Member
The Body, in my opinion, is the best of the four in Different Seasons. As long as you haven't watched the movie Stand By Me, you may enjoy the story. Ever read his old Bachman books, such as The Long Walk, and Rage? And, on the same "older book" line, what is your opinion of The Shining?Shade said: