Roberto Scarlato's Blog, page 13

Desperation

Desperation came right after my reading of Insomnia. A worthy read. It was 560 pages, roughly around the same amount as Insomnia but with a much slower, different story.
King was inspired to write this on a cross-country drive in 1991. He was nearing the town of Ruth, Nevada. He found the town ghostly and somewhat void of human life. He had a thought that all the townsfolk might be dead. Then he thought of how they would've died. The Sheriff killed them was the thought that popped in.
So here we have this story, of people finding their way to the town of Desperation, Nevada. A couple, a family, the town vet, a traveling author with his agent who picks up a hitchhiker are all tossed into the web of this ghost town. And they all meet the town's Sheriff Collie Entragian, who seems to be a tall, eccentric, rude man of authority. But then that eccentricity turns to real fear as it becomes clear that the sheriff has been tidying up the roads by taking people back to the town in order to kill them. Later, we find that not only is the sheriff crazy, but he seems to speak a different ancient language mixed in with his regular speech and looks to being led by supernatural forces.
But the real gem character, out of the many who are well balanced and trying to survive the horror in this story, is David Carver, a small boy who is being led to help the survivors escape the town.
I devoured this book. I even watched the movie which starred Ron Perlman and Steven Weber, two great character actors. But, for those who have not read it yet, go to the book first, folks. You know by now that it's always better than the movie.

Insomnia

[image error] After taking a dip into my first Stephen King book, Different Seasons, I started to get comfortable. Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and The Body were great novellas. I was a bit weirded out by The Breathing Method though. It's one I'm sure is the most overlooked from all of King's works.
The next book I came across was a tome called Insomnia. No, it has nothing to do with the Chris Nolan directed movie of the same name. But I'd like to bring up two points: 1) I originally envisioned the main character of this tale, Ralph Roberts, as the talented comedian Robin Williams. 2) I can't for the life of me figure out why this King book has not become a movie yet.
I discovered this book a midst a box of random props from my days in doing plays at my high school. It was dusty and yellow but that bothered me none. I took it out, started thumbing through it whenever we had rehearsals. I connected with it. Like the main character, I was plagued with insomnia. Sometimes by choice, sometimes an unwilling participant.
But this didn't help any. The book prolonged my personal insomnia even more.
The novel follows Ralph Roberts, a recently widowed middle-aged man. He's retired but is somehow unable to fall asleep at night. His symptoms get worse as he has sensitivity to light and colors, thinking things are invisible or intangible, common stuff when you have this problem. But then it grows more severe and he starts to see bald doctors with giant scissors, going door to door in the middle of the night, snipping the life force away from people.
The novel gradually, slowly, works its suspense and mystery. When the characters are firmly established, that's when the real horror begins. I guess you can say I liked this one from the beginning. I read the last hundred pages on a nice summer morning, keeping tabs on a yard sale for my mom, diligently taping some torn pages as I continued to be enthralled by the magic that was King.

Carrie

Surprisingly, out of the 21 books I've read of King, I like this one the least. I dunno. Maybe it was the fact that it was hyped up so much. Maybe becuase I spent most of my childhood fearing horror movies, expecially Carrie, because people talked about it all the damn time.
But what strikes me as odd was when my unlce bestowed upon me a pretty hefty collection of Stephen King books. Carrie, as you may know, is one of his slimmest books. 192 pages as a hardcover. I think the longest book I read of his was Duma Key, which was pretty decent, but the ending left me on a hook. That one was a gargantuan 1,104 pages. I haven't made it to his other tomes such as The Stand, The Dark Tower Series, or Under The Dome but I'm sure I will one day. And what with his newest book 11/22/63 coming out next month, I thought it only fair to make mention of this book.
We all know the story by now; teenage girl, going through a change, not popular, finds out she has wicked telekentic powers and, in a fit of rage after being dumped with pigs blood at her senior prom, wreaks havoc on the kids, the bullies and even her own abusive mother. The story was unique for its time and tripped a bunch of people out. It's what got King started.
But the book is clunky. It's a compilation of fake articles, interviews, sometimes recorded, magazine articles and a series of letters. I felt that there never could be a connection to Carrie as a sympathetic character. It felt like I was receiving all my information secondhand.
In any case, the premise is still scary, Stephen King is still writing, I'm still reading and it is still one of the most banned books in schools today. It definitively made an impact.

Richard Matheson

[image error] I used to think that nobody could write better than R. L. Stine. Then came Christopher Pike. Then Neil Gaimen. Then Stephen King. You see where I'm going with this, right?
I'm climbing up the ladder. And on each rung, I've learned lessons, took notes and have been amazed at some of the verbal gymnastics that writers accomplish in their stories. (Especially, Harlan Ellison. That guy is a history of words himself.)
But one writer I took a chance on.
A buddy of mine, Matt, introduced me to Matheson one day at a comic shop. There was a graphic novel by the name of I Am Legend, which said it was based on the novel. "It's crazy, man," he said. "It's about this guy whose holed up in his house, fending for himself as the last man alive against countless hordes of vampires." I was intrigued, but not enough to read the graphic novel. It sounded like an interesting concept but one which I thought would be very difficult to pull off and make believable.
Little did I know, when I walked into Borders and purchased my first Matheson book, I was carrying the words of a Master Storyteller.
Gradually I made my way through the book. Sometimes at night. Which wasn't a very wise thing to do. Nevertheless, I devoured page upon page. The book holds the novel plus 10 spine-tingling short stories. And brother, you won't know what hits you when you read those. It was almost like he walloped me with the novel, of it's premise, its fluidity, its science to explain why the vampires have survived for so long, but not only that, it had moxy. Matheson was not afraid to take such a big step and redefine the genre. Then his shorts were like quick jabs to the gut, taking you, the reader, by suprise, asking, "Hey! How'd he get away with that? I never saw that one coming?"
Don't know about Matheson? Sure you do. In some capacity.
He's written dozens of episodes of the Twilight Zone, adapted one of his short stories into a screenplay which later became Duel, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Almost each one of his novels have been adapted for the screen: What Dreams May Come, A Stir of Echoes, Somwhere in Time, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Hell House (WARNING: For those who think they know what true terror is and have not read this book, you are sorely mistaken and should test your mettle against this book. But don't read it in the dark, it only heightens the sensitivity of your fears.), Button, Button and many others.
I will say this, I've seen almost all of these movies and have read almost all of his books, except for one. The books are way better. Especially when you compare them for that sorry excuse for I Am Legend that stared Will Smith. I'm sorry, but any movie with the line: "I...like...Shrek." does not even deserve a mention next to Matheson.
However, he has dipped a little. His newest book, Other Kingdoms, left me wanting more and made me a little disappointed.
But, as with all authors, I don't flat out quit reading them if they have a dud. Stephen King and Dean Koontz have done that plenty of times and I still read them.
Heck, I was surprised to learn that a new movie coming out, Real Steel, was actually based on a Matheson story. Now that I know that, I might give this movie a watch. As for the horror titles, Matheson will always be at the top.

Edgar Allan Poe

[image error] Now on to the more adult books. I have to confess, I didn't open up a story of Edgar Allen Poe's until I was in college. It was an intro to fiction course with a workbook called The Story and It's Writer, which I now own. (Picked it up at a goodwill shop for 89 cents. It retails for about fifty bucks on Amazon.)
The first story I read of his was The Cask of Amontillado.
A creepy story in which one friend decides to dispose of his close mate by tricking him into going down his wine cellar, where there is supposedly a rare wine which one one has drunk.
From that one story, I needed more.
Then I started tearing through them one by one...
The Tell-tale heart, The Fall of The House of Usher, The Raven, each one taught me a new lesson in what it really is to write true horror.
Now, as it turns out, one of my favorite actors is playing the master storyteller in a murder mystery that is sure to make any fan drool with fandom.

Edgar Allen Poe

[image error] Now on to the more adult books. I have to confess, I didn't open up a story of Edgar Allen Poe's until I was in college. It was an intro to fiction course with a workbook called The Story and It's Writer, which I now own. (Picked it up at a goodwill shop for 89 cents. It retails for about fifty bucks on Amazon.)
The first story I read of his was The Cask of Amontillado.
A creepy story in which one friend decides to dispose of his close mate by tricking him into going down his wine cellar, where there is supposedly a rare wine which one one has drunk.
From that one story, I needed more.
Then I started tearing through them one by one...
The Tell-tale heart, The Fall of The House of Usher, The Raven, each one taught me a new lesson in what it really is to write true horror.
Now, as it turns out, one of my favorite actors is playing the master storyteller in a murder mystery that is sure to make any fan drool with fandom.

The Graveyard book

[image error] The Graveyard Book is one of those books that pops up, totally unexpected, and completely takes your breath away. Neil Gaimen, the man who brought you such goodies as The Sandman Series, American Gods, Neverwhere and Coraline, offers another children's book with errie twist.
Neil Gaimen was always fascinated with The Jungle Book, the idea of being raised by animals and living among them. This sparked his imagination into a question, "What would happen if a little boy were raised by ghosts?"
This book, which has eight chapters, is read by Gaimen himself for free. You can find the videos of him reading it on a book tour at http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx
If you have an hour to kill, this Halloween, be sure to press play and listen to a truly fantastic, charming story.

Ghost Hotel Series

As a kid, I was always eager to get one thing from school. The Scholastic Book Order forms. It was the greatest thing. The teacher would hand them out, we'd pick which books we wanted, we'd give her the money to buy them and in exactly one week, ta-da, your very own book.
I remember one time I got a handful of books, about three, and was happy to go home and read them. But later that day I found out one of my classmates had a copy of Ghost Hotel. I was so obsessed with Ghost stories that I immediately offered a trade, "I'll give you these three if you let me have that."
This book came out around 1996. I still have the copy of that book. Although it's a slim book, about 170 pages, I've never been able to finish it. I've gotten about halfway. I guess I was always too afraid to finish it. Or maybe I enjoyed the lingering mystery of it all these years. But, in all likelihood, my reading list, as always, continues to grow. Just like Ghost Hotel, some books get pushed to the wayside.
Still, there may be one day in which I read it. Possibly this month.
I also have the other two books that came after it: Return to Ghost Hotel and Escape from Ghost Hotel. I may do a weekend trilogy reading. If you remember this book, be sure to let me know what you thought of it. Here's the back cover summary:
Anna, as an adopted child has always wondered who her real parents were. When Anna and her family check into the strange hotel, Anna meets the ghostly Colonel and Mrs. Terwillinger.

Unable to resist the lure of the past, Anna is drawn back in time to the danger-filled days of the Underground Railroad, which helped runaway slaves to freedom. Here Anna discovers the mystery of her childhood - a mystery that must be solved if Anna is ever to find her way home again.

Resident Evil Series

[image error] We've come across a lot of authors who put a lot of initials in front of their names: J.M. Barrie, T.C. Boyle, R.L. Stine, etc.
But one author who might've escaped you is one S.D. Perry. I didn't catch wind of her until 2003...when she completely novelized the first Resident Evil video game.
As far as the movies go, I'll make this as short as I can: The first one was great, different. Apocalypse? A joke. Extinction? It was extinct enough. Afterlife? Why am I still watching this? Why are these so popular? I hear they are making yet another grimy installment, sure to confuse and baffle theater goers as to why this series is just chugging right along. It's called Retribution. Yeah...I doubt it.
But looking back, you can see how the RE series has come a long way. It spanned video games, movies, comics, graphic novels and now books. I was hesitant about reading this series but gave it a shot and, boy, was I surprised.
RE Book #1: The Umbrella Conspiracy - This classically depicts the events of the first game. It has all the mystery and suspense without any of the tedious tasks of finding keys and running from one corner of the mansion to another. Even though I played the game, it still gave me a really good chill. I'd say for the person who isn't into video games at all, they should pick this book up. It may turn them on to the story, without any of the carpal tunnel syndrome you get from playing the game hours on end.
RE Book #2: Caliban Cove - This book is a take on Rebbecca Chambers. She was the only underage member of the STARS search and rescue team. It was pretty good.
RE Book #3: City Of the Dead - Okay. Here is where it gets tricky. This is the third book but really it's based on the second video game which is called Resident Evil 2. So really, it may be the third book but it's really the second story in the series. Get it? Got it? Good. The Cove book was an added subplot that was a completely original work from the author herself. This time around, instead of a mansion, the zombies are roaming the streets of Raccoon City. Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop, and Claire Redfield, the sister of one of the STARS members, have come to the city to try to make sense of the madness of this disease.
RE Book #4: Underworld - This book, another original story from the author, finds the surviving STARS members, along with Leon Kennedy, in a secret facility known only as The Planet. It was lacking something. I just don't know what. Maybe it tried too hard.
RE Book #5: Nemesis - Well, where do I start? I played the game, originally called Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and really liked it. As for the book, I've only read three chapters. I left the book in the cafeteria when I was working the overnight shift at Target and never saw it again. Some rotten bastard stole it right from under me.
RE Book #6: Code Veronica - I loved this story! The game might have had six different titles but the book was a completely well done story that perfectly matched, possibly, better than the game itself.
RE Book #7: Zero Hour - This is basically a prequel of a prequel. This story happens before the events of Umbrella Conspiracy. This happens to be one book, out of many, which I haven't read on my book shelf. Believe it or not, I took it with me on three moves. Twice from two different houses and finally to my new apartment. I just haven't been able to bring myself to read it. Maybe I don't want the series to end.
If you ask me, they should base the movies on these books. Not some hap-hazard-half-baked-half-cocked-half-limping screwed up train of disappointment fecal matter pie that they have become. Maybe I'm being to harsh. Or maybe I'm just bitter. One of the two.

Danger.com

This book I hardly remember buying, but the impact of its message haunts me to this day. We've all done it. Gone on chat rooms, poked around, made a mockery of the mystery of who is on the other end.
Jordan Clay's Series Danger.com exploits that fear and what happens when a hapless dude hooks up, via chat room, with a very strange, needy chick. Think Fatal Attraction for the Internet.
In the story we meet, Jonah. Them we meet his online squeeze. Her screen name is Gemini 7 but her real life name is Nicole Gemini. Bit of a stretch, don't you think?
Anyway, the barriers start to come done and Jonah gets to meet the blonde haired beauty. Unfortuneatly, Jonah already has a girlfriend. Jen is his main squeeze but, he's grown tired, always sick of hearing them refered to as Jonah-and-jen or some such stupid thing. This was way before the whole Brangelina phase. So, in effort to stretch out, live dangerously, he meets Nicole...who isn't so sweet once you get to know her.
Slowly, things begin to happen. Jonah's dad gets into a mysterious car accident. Jonah's girl, Jen, is found with pills in her purse which lands her in a drug rehabilitation clinic. Yep, I see a pattern here. Crazy girl in town. Jealous, nasty, possibly crazy. It's all coming together. It's been referred to as a Cyberthriller that turns Teen Gothic and it shows.
In the final chapters we get a taste of the madness as a battle ensues and Jen is killed. I'm not quite sure how she died but in the last scene we get, big surprise, a girl coming after Jonah who looks just like Nicole. Yep, Nicole had a twin that we never knew of who was causing all that trouble. It was a high fly ball out of nowhere that kinda turned me off to the series all together.
The series only lasted 7 books, which is no big surprise. And the book was only 99 cents, but still, it left a lasting impression. However , chat room thrillers have now gone, I hope, to a bygone era.