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Stephen King

I think Heart Shaped Box received mixed reviews if I recall correctly. Personally, I loved it. It seemed a bit more like Dean Koontz or Jack Ketchum to me than King - not that I would expect him to write like his Dad. He also wrote a collection of stories called 20th Century Ghosts. I think He has good chops.
 
Yes not very Stephen Kingish but I did like it. I took out the short story book but couldn't get into it. I really don't like short stories.

Speaking of Koontz :D Did you like the Odd Thomas books? I liked the first one then was very disappointed with the others.

I'm just finishing a horror book. I have about 20 pages left & will read it before I go to bed. It's called The Loveliest Dead by Ray Garton. I'm enjoying it. He is not on King or Koontz level but still very readable. :)
 
I enjoyed the first Odd Thomas but it seemed a real departure for Koontz. It really had none of the starkness (darkness) that I usually enjoy so much in his books. (Though I guess the mall scene is pretty stark, now that I think about it...). Ray Garton is good. I have read several books of his that I enjoy. Clive Barker's books (especially the early ones before he got into the latest series) are very good also. NYG, I used to think I did not like short stories either but I have really gotten into them lately. There is a real art to developing a storyline and interesting characters, plot... all of that in a short format. A really good short story can bring writing down to its elementals. Try reading "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor - then tell me what you think about short stories - Given your obvious "bent" toward a dark style of literature, you should enjoy it!
 
My problem with short stories is that if I'm enjoying it its just too damn short :rolleyes: But I will try the one you suggested. I thnk a trip to the library is in my near future.
 
NYGirl said:
Hmmmm who moved my thread/post ????? Just kidding :lol:
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I did. One thread per author, whether you can be bothered reading through it or not. Also, if you want to know if anyone has read Heart Shaped Box, why not start a thread on it, rather than polluting other threads? ;)
 
Stewart said:
I did. One thread per author, whether you can be bothered reading through it or not. Also, if you want to know if anyone has read Heart Shaped Box, why not start a thread on it, rather than polluting other threads? ;)
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Well excuse me for polluting the thread. Geez........
 
Stephen King is massively over-rated. He always starts with a really interesting premise, and then just has to spoil it all with good vs. evil pseudo-religious nonsense.

It's best to reader the first third and the last page and leave the rest.
 
NYGirl said:
Well excuse me for polluting the thread. Geez........
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You can also do a search and see about a specific subject in the forum.

Don't mind Stewart,he has a way with words.You will get used to him after a while.:D
 
Stevie boy's next novel is set to be Under The Dome, a 1120 pages long book he started back in the early 80s and only got around to finishing now. Out in November.

The plot:
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mills, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.
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Does anyone else think this sounds awfully familiar?
 
Sounds good. I might have to pick that one up. It'll be my first new read of his since the last volume of The Dark Tower.
 
williamsonyy said:
and yet King has 10 times more pages of comments than Kafka...
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That's very true (sigh). Unfortunately, there can be no denying that his works are popular.

I suppose it must be agreed that his books encourages people to read. But will we still be reading him a century from now, like we do Kafka?
 
Hello to all, i can't say i'm a fan cause the only book i've ever read was
On Writing, but i'm starting to force myself to start with him, bought a few weeks
Duma Key, currently reading Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box, really nice :)

But for Stephen king, only movies, i know i'ts dumb, specially when i like to write horror also, almost done with every Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe's works, and a few others also, but i have a long way to go. :p

I really enjoyed On Writing, remember a few parts, the way he tells how did he come up with the Shining ideia, looking at his first son, i think Joseph Hillstrom, and just said something about kicking his ass :lol:and The Shining was born.:D

Also about being in the girls bathroom at a school and that was an ideia for Carrie.

I was also fascinated by Stephen King's N adapted to flash comic. :cool:
And a short story published on a issue of Playboy.:lol:
 
N3kr0 said:
Hello to all, i can't say i'm a fan cause the only book i've ever read was
On Writing, but i'm starting to force myself to start with him, bought a few weeks
Duma Key, currently reading Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box, really nice :)

But for Stephen king, only movies, i know i'ts dumb, specially when i like to write horror also, almost done with every Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe's works, and a few others also, but i have a long way to go. :p

I really enjoyed On Writing, remember a few parts, the way he tells how did he come up with the Shining ideia, looking at his first son, i think Joseph Hillstrom, and just said something about kicking his ass :lol:and The Shining was born.:D

Also about being in the girls bathroom at a school and that was an ideia for Carrie.

I was also fascinated by Stephen King's N adapted to flash comic. :cool:
And a short story published on a issue of Playboy.:lol:
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If you are really into horror, you should try to read a few of his books. His short stories to me can be the most terrifying. Pick up one of his collections at the library. And also, you really cannot judge his work by watching the films based upon them. His narration and descriptions are really hard to translate on celluloid.
 
Justin91 said:
If you are really into horror, you should try to read a few of his books. His short stories to me can be the most terrifying. Pick up one of his collections at the library. And also, you really cannot judge his work by watching the films based upon them. His narration and descriptions are really hard to translate on celluloid.
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You should try reading those books which the movies were based on. They're much better than the films.
I recommend Different Seasons & It.
 
Libra6Poe said:
You should try reading those books which the movies were based on. They're much better than the films.
I recommend Different Seasons & It.
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Good picks Libra and I agree. "It" was actually the first King book I was recomended and read...almost 20 years ago lol! And except for a few I did not like (Tommyknockers for instance), King has entertained me on many a cold winters' night.
 
Justin91 said:
Good picks Libra and I agree. "It" was actually the first King book I was recomended and read...almost 20 years ago lol! And except for a few I did not like (Tommyknockers for instance), King has entertained me on many a cold winters' night.
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Thank you!
It was my fourth King read and it happens to be my all time favorite novel as well (not just my favorite King novel). I find it to be sweet & endearing. I love the friendships in that book. Just as sweet as those in Stand By Me/The Body.

However, I must take back what I said earlier. I actually like Shawshank Redemption better than Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption & I liked Stand By Me much more than The Body. But Apt Pupil (the novella) was amazing & brutal. I believe those are the only exceptions... otherwise, yes, the books are better than the movies (isn't that almost always the case?)

---

Yes, Stephen King is comfort food for me. :p
 
Libra6Poe said:
Thank you!
It was my fourth King read and it happens to be my all time favorite novel as well (not just my favorite King novel). I find it to be sweet & endearing. I love the friendships in that book. Just as sweet as those in Stand By Me/The Body.

However, I must take back what I said earlier. I actually like Shawshank Redemption better than Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption & I liked Stand By Me much more than The Body. But Apt Pupil (the novella) was amazing & brutal. I believe those are the only exceptions... otherwise, yes, the books are better than the movies (isn't that almost always the case?)

---

Yes, Stephen King is comfort food for me. :p
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Yes, these two films are just as good as the short stories they are based upon. And both are two of my favs! The reason I feel and I alluded to this earlier is that both stories are narrated, this gives you an inside look as to how the characters are feeling as well as a good technique to establish back story, character motives and such. Keep in mind when you read a narrated story you are looking at one person’s interpretation of how events played out, and that person’s personal convictions, beliefs and biases will sometimes be clear. I think this technique could be fun for a writer sometime.

This is just an opinion!
 
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