Horror Aficionados discussion
Group Reads
>
October 2016 Group Read #1 The Mist by Stephen King
message 51:
by
Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*
(new)
Oct 04, 2016 11:42AM
I disliked the movie but want to read the story. will join in
reply
|
flag
I have tried to read this 2 times already in the past. I have no idea why. I have just finished it and I loved it. Even though there are some slow parts, I seem to still want to know what is coming next. I am glad I finally read this. Now I just need to watch the movie!
Hope everyone else enjoyed it.
I've just started reading this book last night, and the (view spoiler).It's been years since I've read anything by Stephen King, but his voice is so distinctive, it's like I've always been reading him.
I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "I've just started reading this book last night, and the [spoilers removed]."I'm right there. You know what I'm shocked by? The idea, in 2016, of giving a five-year-old permission to go to check out the neighbor's alone.
Hi K.T - that crossed my mind too.Different time and different place.
When I grew it was normal to trust your neighbours.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Hi K.T - that crossed my mind too.Different time and different place.
When I grew it was normal to trust your neighbours."
Yup. And while the number of abductions hasn't changed, the perception sure has. That's one way that Stranger Things felt so different from modern media; we've gotten rid of all the "kids go off on their own" adventures, like The Goonies, Monster Squad, and others. Now it's "kids have adventures at home," like Jumanji, or "kids have adventures on a family trip," like Land of the Lost.
Mod
Different time and different place.
When I grew it was normal to trust your neighbours."
Yup. And while the number of abductions hasn'..."
Great point....
I started this tonight. I haven't read it since Skeleton Crew came out. I remember when I was a kid we played outside all day and no one came looking for you. As long as I came in when the street lights came on everything was ok.
Well I thought the book ended with a whimper, not a bang, and the movie ended with a bang - pun maybe intended.The Mist still remains one of my favourite short stories though. 11.22.63 is still my favourite S K novel though.
Paul wrote: "Well I thought the book ended with a whimper, not a bang, and the movie ended with a bang - pun maybe intended."So this is not a bad place to go off on a somewhat tangent. With spoilers in place, how many people accept the common claim that Stephen King has an issue writing endings?
Great question!Personally, I've read a weird assortment -- all of The Dark Tower books, Carrie, Under the Dome, and now The Mist -- so I can't judge based on his other well-known books. Plus I'm probably one of the few people who loved the ending to TDT, likely because I didn't have to wait 25 years for it.
I think it's still obvious that he prefers the rising tension and action along the way, rather than endings -- he's a storyteller, so I feel like he's interested in the story itself, less so the denouement & bow you tie around it? I don't think he's as bad at them as people say, though.
K.T. wrote: "So this is not a bad place to go off on a somewhat tangent. With spoilers in place, how many people accept the common claim that Stephen King has an issue writing endings? "I can't comment on the ending of this one yet since I'm not done, but in general I'm one of the few who claim this in certain reviews. Some of his endings are spot on, but it seems to be the weakest portion of a lot of his books for me.
John wrote: "In general, I think his books end in a life goes on sort of way. I also think that King likes to leave you off balance by not giving you what you want, or expect, at the end.Such is life..."
I don't mind that philosophy. I just don't like when his book is great and suddenly the ending seems silly or cheesy out of the blue, such as The Shining.
I can't remember the ending of The Shining either. I didn't hate the book ending to The Mist, either, though (view spoiler). Now, if The Mist had been 400 pages or more like some of his books, I might have been less happy.Chalk me up as one who loved the ending to Revival; among the people I know who've read it, I seem to be in the minority.
I do not remember ever having and issue with a Stephen King ending.They seem just fine to me.
Well King, (or the narrator) does say, "But you mustn't expect some neat conclusion," and "It is, I suppose, what my father always frowningly called, 'an Alfred Hitchcock ending', by which he meant an ending in ambiguity". So I knew it wasn't going to be as cut and dried as the movie was, but I still liked the ending regardless. What I WOULD like to know is what everyone's conclusions were, i.e. how you all think it ended. I won't say anything yet until everyone is finished though.
Interestingly, King likes the movie ending better.
K.T. wrote: "Interestingly, King likes the movie ending better."Aww, I didn't know that! That sort of humble reaction charms me even more about him. I imagine he sorta went "Darnit, I wish I'd thought of that."
Paul wrote: "What I WOULD like to know is what everyone's conclusions were, i.e. how you all think it ended."
I dunno; (view spoiler)
I finished. I haven't read that since Skeleton Crew came out. I forgot what happened. I have never seen the movie. I liked the ending. I liked not knowing if the entire world was covered in mist with strange creatures in it. It leaves the reader the option of deciding if everything is going to be alright (gives a sense of hope) or if the world is doomed.
The movie is on Amazon Prime. I have never seen it so I added to my watch list.
Well I'm right into the Mist now.I find it interesting how Stephen King draws the townsfolk and their various reactions to what is happening.
It's almost like watching the progression of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression & acceptance with everyone on their own journey, but also being influenced for better or worse by those around them.
Finished last night. Good story. I like the end of the book much better than the end of the movie, which I hated.
Well that's interesting, I just finished it.My response was the opposite, I preferred the movie ending.
Oh wow I did see the movie but I don't remember it. Still waiting on the book from the library.
K.T. wrote: "Interestingly, King likes the movie ending better."Wow, strange. I'm surprised so many like the movie ending. Most people I know offline didn't. Then again I don't always synch well with King and his movie tastes. Don't like a director he kept using for his movies, nor his thoughts on The Shining movie. This may be another one of those things.
I will say with the novellas ending there's still plenty left that could have been done with it if the aim were a full length novel. What a creepy way for the world to go. Apocalyptic style, it's one of the creepiest. I'd prefer zombies even over that.
Yes - at least with zombies, the actual world is not completely taken over and colonised by "something else", and you can see zombies coming.
Erin ☕ *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "K.T. wrote: "Interestingly, King likes the movie ending better."Wow, strange. I'm surprised so many like the movie ending. Most people I know offline didn't. Then again I don't always synch well ..."
I think what King liked was (view spoiler)
Well the movie ending was exactly that - an ending. It was definitive, it was emotionally raw, it was frustrating (for some), but it did give a conclusion. The book ending: (view spoiler)
Hi K.T and Paul,I agree with both your points - that was my experience as well.
I finished reading The Mist and I followed up watching the movie. I really enjoyed both the book and the movie. It's refreshing when the movie producers do the book justice. There were lots of interviews in the DVD of The Mist. I enjoyed the interview with Mr. King and the director of the movie. I concur with this group that the movie ending was done much better than the book ending. Mr. King has a issue with saying goodbye in his books. But I can deal with that issue.
19% in, and King's doing the terrible foreshadowing again. Not terrible as in hackneyed, but as in "Oz, The Great and." You know, something like, "If he knew he wouldn't be alive the next day, he wouldn't have spent so much time on the lawnmower."
I just think it's a writing technique he likes and uses as part of his style. On one hand it can ruin the emotion of surprise, but in another way it hooks people in longer with teasers.
Oh, I love it when he does it, make no mistake. Your heart drops as you realize something awful is coming but you still chomp at the bit to know what. Masterful.
Same, it's one of my favourite techniques of his. The dramatic foreshadowing really amps up the dread and tension, because it reminds you that something awful is coming around the corner -- esp with the contrast with whatever innocent/normal thing is happening at the time.
The thing is, you know that something dreadful is going to happen, but you don't know what it will be or how people will react to it.
I know I must have read the shorter version, since I do have Skeleton Crew, but I don't remember reading it. A good thing, I suppose, since that made reading the expanded book version all the fresher.Haven't yet seen the film adaptation (though I do have Amazon Prime).
Ramdom thought: couldn't help but see certain parallels - particulary with the ending - to the movie 10 Cloverfield Lane.
As far as King's endings are concerned, I do on occasion have problems with them, but here's the thing: The longer the book, and the better the storytelling, the harder I think it is for the author to come up with a satisfying conclusion. The Mist worked for me ending-wise for this reason; being a shorter work, the reader has less invested in the story, emotionally as well as in time. It's like a creature flick: at some point, you're going to have to show the monster, but the more intense the viewing experience has been prior to that point, the less likely it is that the reveal - when it does come - will be satisfying. I like the way Cloverfield was done for this reason; every time you saw the creature, you learned a little more about it, which avoided some of the 'reveal' issues, because it was a continuous process.
Hmm. Now that you mention it, there were a LOT of similarities to both Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane. Good pickup.
Mod
Mod
WRT "Skeleton Crew," I stopped after the Mist, I have a big reading list for the rest of this month...
Skeleton Crew has my favorite King story; Mrs Todd's Shortcut. A back roads rambler myself, I think about this story sometimes........especially when I find a new road I've never taken before.
Thanks Holly.(writes note to self, read "Mrs Todd's Shortcut.")
I've got to get started. Finished the series I was reading. Looks like a good discussion is getting started. I stopped reading the thread for fear of spoilers.Never read the book but have seen the movie a couple of times.
As you know, we are in the month of October (Halloween season) and I just read "11/22/63" (which by the way is one of the fewest non-horror genre of the author), so it would be for the first time to read a horror genre os this famous author: Stephen King. I just saw the movie "The Shining" and "Carrie" so I have a good idea what kind of type of genre the author offers and how chilling can be.I wonder honestly, what is the "perfect" book that made you hooked from beginning to the end. Thank you
Hi Rita. I got started on Stephen King with Salems Lot.
Hi Pamellia.Welcome to the discussion.
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Skeleton Crew (other topics)Skeleton Crew (other topics)
The Mist (other topics)
Under the Dome (other topics)
Usher's Passing (other topics)
More...
