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Stephen King
The Best & Worst of Stephen King
message 151:
by
Glen
(new)
May 24, 2013 04:17PM
I read it when my oldest son was a baby. I'd squeeze in my reading time during his naps. So, yes, that impacted my impression of it.
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Ok,1st of all....Shame on those for knocking Stephen King' s work. He has been the inspiration for many new,upcoming authors. And secondly, I notice that some of the authors "knocking" Mr. King' s writing are NOT on a bestseller list. Seems like maybe the green-eyed monster is peeking through???!! Keep up the great work,Mr. King!!!
Hey Jon! That comment wasn't directed at you personally. Sorry for the mix up! I think this group is a direct attack from Kealen Burke(the author) to Stephen King.
I sincerely apologize Kealan!! Forgive me please??
Hi.No worries.
No, it's not.
Just King fans talking King, really.
I just hope Kealan Burke will forgive me..... :(
Misinterpreted indeed Kealan! Forgive me please?
Sue wrote: "Ok,1st of all....Shame on those for knocking Stephen King' s work. He has been the inspiration for many new,upcoming authors. And secondly, I notice that some of the authors "knocking" Mr. King' s ..."Most everyone who posted here posted HUGE lists of books they've read by King. If we didn't like him we wouldn't keep reading his work. A "bad" book by King is still pretty damned good by most standards. I know you've already backed down, but I had to say something.
Well, that was exciting for a moment.My list of favorite Kings is:
1. The Shining
2. The Stand (1978)
3. Cujo
4. It
5. Lisey's Story
6. The Drawing of the Three
7. Christine
8. Salem's Lot
9. Pet Semetary
10. From A Buick 8
My least favorite Kings are:
5. Hearts in Atlantis
4. Wizard and Glass
3. Rose Madder
2. Black House
1. The Stand (1990)
Misunderstandings happen.Particularly on the 'Net.
Hey, even I've had them.
And I'm generally infallible.
So now I have to ask when you worked with him, Kealan? There will be an interview with King in Sunday's Parade mag. if anyone is interested.
Squire, The Stand? Really? God, I loved that book. :)
Charlene wrote: "So now I have to ask when you worked with him, Kealan? There will be an interview with King in Sunday's Parade mag. if anyone is interested."
He is being rather tight lipped, isn't he?
Where does one find Parade magazine? I've never heard of it....
Charlene wrote: "Squire, The Stand? Really? God, I loved that book. :)"
Charlene, Squire has it on both lists....
Oh, I see. Sorry, but I liked the uncut version better. Especially the beginning portions- I thought the uncut verdion shed a lot more light on the genesis of the disease. :)What did you dislike most about it?
A collaboration would be so awesome that my heart flutters even thinking about it. :)
I feel kind of lightheaded, myself. ;)
I thought the uncut version of The Stand made the story less focused and more bloated without really adding anything to the story. I like the scened between Frannie and her father before she buried him, but that's pretty much it--and even that scene was expendible. The only scene necessary to give it the "epic" feel King was going for was the ending, but I didn't like it.Also, in Wizard & Glass, Roland's ka-tet travelled back to Captain Tripps-ravaged Topeka circa 1986 (not 1996). That also made me think that the uncut version was a bad idea to begin with.
The Uncut version of The Stand was a big waste of time for me.
Kealan... is it dry yet? Is it dry yet? Is it dry yet? Just kidding. Congrats on whatever it is!
Kealan, you can't drop hints like that and leave us dangling here!
Squire, I respect that. A lot of people agree with you on that pointI just love King though and I would probably read his grocery list and be happy to do it. :)
Charlene wrote: "Squire, I respect that. A lot of people agree with you on that pointI just love King though and I would probably read his grocery list and be happy to do it. :)"
HA! I would too! King's one of my my favorite authors.
Are you going to be picking up Joyland? I can hardly even wait for The Shining sequel
:)
I've pre-ordered the signed limited edition of Joyland and Cemetery Dance's gift edition of Doctor Sleep. Also CD's The Dark man. PS Publishing out of the UK is publishing 30th anniversary editions of Christine and Pet Sematary this year which I have also pre-ordered.Next year, PS will publish editions of Skeleton Crew and Thinner.
Squire wrote: "I thought the uncut version of The Stand made the story less focused and more bloated without really adding anything to the story. I like the scened between Frannie and her father before she buried..."The uncut version of The Stand became a slog for me. I never read the original version.
That's too bad, because the original was a superb morality tale.
Squire wrote: "That's too bad, because the original was a superb morality tale."Yeah, I know, but I can't see going back and reading it now. There was much I did like about the uncut version. The parts detailing the world falling apart were especially fine.
Charlene wrote: "Kealan, you can't drop hints like that and leave us dangling here!"YEAH!
Dangling in the open is rude!
Can't remember if this has been pointed out here, but in case it hasn't...In The Four Seasons of Success (ebook: Writers in America), a book dealing with the darker side of literary success, Budd Schulberg (What Makes Sammy Run?, On the Waterfront, The Harder They Fall, and others) likens a writer's body of work to a mountain range, and he notes that in any mountain range not every peak will be an Everest.
That's going to be particularly true of a writer with as large a body of work as King's. I think one of the amazing things about King is the fact that so many of the peaks in that particular range are as high as they are.
Can you really call them peaks if his fans deny the valleys?Because then his body of work boils down to a waist high parking lot.....
I'm a fan and I don't deny the valleys. The problem may be that people can't agree on the peaks and valleys.
I can accept that.Just don't mention valleys in any of the Stephen King threads.
Those folks are mean!
You just stand your ground when people come after you. My views on 11/22/63 and the uncut version of The Stand aren't popular, but I stick it out.
Yeah,I don't understand people like that. I'm fine with someone having an opposing opinion. That's what makes talking about books interesting. :)Unless the book is Boy's Life in which case I will fight you to the death. ;)
I always stand my ground.And I'd help Charlene fight anyone to the death over Boy's Life!
JOYLAND should never have been published by HardCase.It's not noir.
It's filled with stereotypes.
And there are a lot of inaccuracies....like pay rates and smoke free amusement parks.
I don't like the synopsis for DR. SLEEP, so I'm taking a pass on that one.
The Colorado Kid didn't fit the bill, either.
Hmmph, I was looking forward to Joyland. Well, not like I don't have enough else to read...
Kealan wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "JOYLAND should never have been published by HardCase.It's not noir.
It's filled with stereotypes.
And there are a lot of inaccuracies....like pay rates and smoke free amusemen..."
The idea just doesn't work for me. Not my cup of coffee, y'know?
Hi I am new here, so first off hello and thanks for the invite!I haven't read Joyland yet, I haven't gotten over my temper tantrum that it is not available in digital format, but I have read The Colorado Kid. I wouldn't call it HCC, but I also wasn't thrilled with it as a book. I do however, like the series Haven on Syfy. I know I am dork, but I admit it freely.
On that line of thought I really liked Under the Dome, but I can't stand the series on CBS.
I have read an excerpt of Doctor Sleep and I must say it captured my attention. It has me intrigued and I look forward to reading it.
The Colorado Kid shouldn't have been published at all, really.
I liked HAVEN. It was interesting.I never watched UNDER THE DOME.
LONGMIRE was on at the same time.
Kealan wrote: "Hi Lee, and welcome!I haven't seen HAVEN, but I lasted three episodes into UNDER THE DOME before giving up on it. The writing was atrocious. "
Thanks! I made it past three hoping it would get better, but alas it didn't. Not one of Mr. King's better projects in my opinion. Then again, I preferred Kubrick's version of The Shining more than King's re-do that was truer to the book.
Joyland was blah. It seemed tired, very little tension, annoying characters. A coming of age story where a guy loses his virginity at 22? That's almost creepy in itself. The story reads like a copy of a copy of a copy of a King story.I'm really looking forward to Doctor Sleep. I've for the most part avoided reading much about it. I'm rereading The Stand, then I'll jump into rereading The Shining.
I'm still watching Under the Dome for some reason. For me, it's the best new comedy of the year. Seriously, I find myself laughing out loud every few minutes.
