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I think I'd like the extended Stand better if it had stayed set in the 70s. It feels like he didn't do enough to actually make moving the timeline years up actually mean anything, and it feels strangely anachronistic.
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Feb 11, 2011 21:12
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Finishing Insomnia and Bag of Bones was a battle. Hearts of Atlantis was something else entirely. I hated every word more than the last. Getting through that exercise in meandering tedium was brutal. The movie broke me though, didn't get to the end of it
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Feb 13, 2011 02:51
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Ridonkulous posted:In The Stand Randall Flagg also controls a pack of Wolves he sends to eat The Kid after The Kid sodomizes Trash Can Man with a pistol in the extended version. Ya feel me Happy crappy?
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Feb 13, 2011 07:25
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I was hoping to buy On Writing (ended up passing because the publisher decided the Kindle edition should cost twice as much as the paperback. What the gently caress?), and noticed what I can only assume to be the worst thing King has ever written. It's called UR, and it's about a magical pink Amazon Kindle which downloads books from other universes. The schoolteacher who owns this strange device must partner up with a plucky student to prevent certain disaster. I can't be the first to mention it, but seriously...what the gently caress?
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Feb 13, 2011 10:25
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Yeah it was a Kindle advertisement. I like to joke and say he left the letters S U C and K out of the front of the title but I am not sure I am joking. It is a really bad short story.
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Feb 13, 2011 12:35
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cheerfullydrab posted:Come on, movie industry, when are we getting an Eyes of the Dragon movie? That book was godawful, so hopefully never.
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Feb 13, 2011 16:52
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RevBabyKiller posted:Finishing Insomnia and Bag of Bones was a battle. Hearts of Atlantis was something else entirely. I hated every word more than the last. Getting through that exercise in meandering tedium was brutal. The movie broke me though, didn't get to the end of it I honestly believe both Insomnia and Bag of Bones are those kinds of books that are much better when you re-read them because I really disliked both on first reading and went back a few years later and enjoyed them greatly. But maybe thats just me.
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Feb 13, 2011 17:37
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I also just finished reading The Stand, and I gotta ask...what was the point of having the "gang of four" (Larry, Stu, etc.) go to Las Vegas at the end? There was literally no point in having them there. I mean, for their whole journey, it's being built up as a game-changing event based on a prophecy that nobody believes can fail. But yet Trashcan would've sauntered in with his pet nuke whether they were there or not. It really just seemed like they had no effect on the events that occurred at all (except maybe for Glen making Randall lose some confidence). I mean, they could've just sat at home eating Pringles for all the difference that it made.
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Feb 13, 2011 18:28
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Seventh Arrow posted:I also just finished reading The Stand, and I gotta ask...what was the point of having the "gang of four" (Larry, Stu, etc.) go to Las Vegas at the end? There was literally no point in having them there. I mean, for their whole journey, it's being built up as a game-changing event based on a prophecy that nobody believes can fail. But yet Trashcan would've sauntered in with his pet nuke whether they were there or not. It really just seemed like they had no effect on the events that occurred at all (except maybe for Glen making Randall lose some confidence). I mean, they could've just sat at home eating Pringles for all the difference that it made. The point of them going to Vegas was so that they could be captured and publicly executed. That way everyone in Vegas is in one place when Trash shows up with the nuke. Otherwise he wouldn't have done as much damage.
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Feb 13, 2011 18:37
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Mr. Belding posted:That book was godawful, so hopefully never. I hated this book. Instead of a movie it should be made into sheets of absorbent paper designed for young dogs to crap on.
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Feb 13, 2011 21:30
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I'm going to have to go with the crowd and agree - Cell. I picked it and From a Buick 8 up, thinking that they couldn't be a lot worse than Bag of Bones, but I was mistaken. Cell intrigued me for the first few pages until I realized that it was basically just another zombie novel. The idea seemed to be poorly executed, and it seems like most of his work as of late follows the same very tired formula.
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Feb 14, 2011 01:20
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Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Stephen King. That being said, here are my picks for his worst novel. In no particular order: Bag of Bones Gerald's Game (this is the only one that I didn't finish) Hearts in Atlantis Eyes of the Dragon Lisey's Story I haven't read any of his online stuff, and after Duma Key (which was just okay), the only one I have read is Under the Dome (which I loved). I have read everything else.
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Feb 14, 2011 03:49
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Seventh Arrow posted:I also just finished reading The Stand, and I gotta ask...what was the point of having the "gang of four" (Larry, Stu, etc.) go to Las Vegas at the end? There was literally no point in having them there. I mean, for their whole journey, it's being built up as a game-changing event based on a prophecy that nobody believes can fail. But yet Trashcan would've sauntered in with his pet nuke whether they were there or not. It really just seemed like they had no effect on the events that occurred at all (except maybe for Glen making Randall lose some confidence). I mean, they could've just sat at home eating Pringles for all the difference that it made. The "point" is that the story is basically an old testament allegory slowed down with a lot of detail. Basically, God (through the old woman--her name escapes me) guarantees to the good guys that if they express their faith in him, he will defeat the bad guys for them. So, the "gang of four" agree to walk to certain death as a test of faith. They keep the faith, don't give up, etc. so God keeps his end of the bargain and brings in the nuke.
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Feb 14, 2011 03:55
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Seldom Posts posted:The "point" is that the story is basically an old testament allegory slowed down with a lot of detail. Basically, God (through the old woman--her name escapes me) guarantees to the good guys that if they express their faith in him, he will defeat the bad guys for them. So, the "gang of four" agree to walk to certain death as a test of faith. They keep the faith, don't give up, etc. so God keeps his end of the bargain and brings in the nuke. If the old testament had nuclear weapons and personified evil like Flagg I think a lot more people would read it.
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Feb 14, 2011 04:40
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Ridonkulous posted:If the old testament had nuclear weapons and personified evil like Flagg I think a lot more people would read it. Obviously you've never read the Bible, because the old testament has plenty of horrible death and destruction.
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Feb 14, 2011 11:28
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blue squares posted:Obviously you've never read the Bible, because the old testament has plenty of horrible death and destruction. Indeed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bar3GOzDNzg
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Feb 14, 2011 17:38
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So someone from the Onion AV Club just reviewed The Stand. http://www.avclub.com/articles/stephen-kings-the-stand,51731/ I'm not sure how much I agree with his central point, but I definitely agree that the earlier parts of the book are the best. I can understand being such a big fan of Harold Lauder. What do you all think of the review?
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Feb 15, 2011 02:27
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cheerfullydrab posted:I'm not sure how much I agree with his central point, but I definitely agree that the earlier parts of the book are the best. I can understand being such a big fan of Harold Lauder. What do you all think of the review? The early chapters of all of Stephen King's books are the best part. It's always "here's a brilliant idea, and brilliant characters to populate it". Shortly followed by, "I have no idea where this is going... GHOSTS!"
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Feb 15, 2011 07:06
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So I'm re-reading Christine at the moment. I'm up to the part where Arnie gets arrested for trafficking cigarettes. It's a pretty good book so far. I first read it well over ten years ago when I was a teenager, and most of the tedious bits I wasn't looking forward to seem to actually have been drawn from the John Carpenter adaptation. I vaguely remember the ending and it's not awful as King's bad endings go. Surprised it's a much more solid book than I thought.
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Feb 16, 2011 12:39
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I love the fact that the general Stephen King discussion thread is titled "SK's worst novel".
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Feb 16, 2011 15:48
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King's website just announced his new book that's going to be released in November called 11/22/1963 about a dude who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination. It could be interesting, but it reminds me a lot of that book Replay. http://www.stephenking.com/promo/11-22-63/announcement/
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Mar 3, 2011 03:20
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So what is popular consensus on Under the Dome? Worth the slog, or another example of mostly good stuff stretched out way too long?
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Mar 3, 2011 04:39
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I liked it, but of his Big Three Books it's in third place. It probably could have been half the length to be honest, because there is just not that much story there. It's far more a portrait of a town and its inhabitants than it is a journey like The Stand or It were.
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Mar 3, 2011 04:55
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To me, it was about 80% slog, with some cool stuff in there. Also I hated every character in the book. A lot. They all felt ridiculously one-dimensional and lifeless. I listened to it on audiobook and didn't like the narrator's style, so that may have been a small factor. *edit* I'd put it at about the same level as Cell in a straight-up rating system, although the focus and scope is obviously different. *edit2* I also didn't really like IT either (aside from some of the scary childhood Pennywise encounters), so V  V
Locus fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Mar 3, 2011 |
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Mar 3, 2011 04:58
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mind the walrus posted:So what is popular consensus on Under the Dome? I loved the book to be honest with you. It is a long read, but I breezed through it in a couple of days. In my opinion, it is the best thing King has written in a long time.
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Mar 3, 2011 05:00
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mind the walrus posted:So what is popular consensus on Under the Dome? I liked it. The characters were well written, and you really wanted to kill the main antagonist, so I guess that's something.  Also, the ending rules.
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Mar 3, 2011 06:31
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Lee Harvey Oswald posted:King's website just announced his new book that's going to be released in November called 11/22/1963 about a dude who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination. It could be interesting, but it reminds me a lot of that book Replay. This is going to end with the protagonist being the shooter on the grassy knoll, isn't it 
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Mar 3, 2011 15:17
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Leovinus posted:This is going to end with the protagonist being the shooter on the grassy knoll, isn't it Almost certainly. He's going to discover that JFK has to die or the world ends or something and has to go back to fix blah blah blah we've seen this story before, Steve.
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Mar 3, 2011 15:34
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There was that episode of Red Dwarf where the shooter behind the grassy knoll turns out to be John F KennedyWikipedia posted:Their time-travel calculations are a little off and they find themselves in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. They appear at the Texas School Book Depository just as Lee Harvey Oswald is firing at U.S. President John F. Kennedy. They knock him out the window where he dies by hitting the ground, preventing Kennedy's assassination. Police arrive and attempt to arrest the crew for the murder of Oswald as well as the attempted murder of the president. However, the crew escapes by using the time travel device to travel three years forward to 1966. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Mar 3, 2011 |
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Mar 3, 2011 15:38
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mind the walrus posted:So what is popular consensus on Under the Dome? It goes so fast that I certainly wouldn't call it a slog. I liked it and would recommend that you read it.
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Mar 3, 2011 17:01
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So what your saying is I got screwed the other day when I traded my copies of the first 3 Dean Koontz Frankenstein books to the local used bookstore for a paperback copy of Under the Dome the other day? Also he needs to get off his rear end and finally give us that drat lamp monster book.
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Mar 3, 2011 19:05
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mind the walrus posted:So what is popular consensus on Under the Dome? I liked it quite a bit. I actually thought the beginning was a bit 'sloggy,' but it got better from there.
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Mar 3, 2011 19:15
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mind the walrus posted:So what is popular consensus on Under the Dome? My hate for the character Big Jim was so immense that I nearly stopped reading the novel every time there was a Big Jim chapter. I did make it through and enjoyed the overall experience. There is a great deal of setup but once poo poo starts rolling downhill is goes pretty quick. I'd put it into the decent King pile.
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Mar 3, 2011 21:14
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juliuspringle posted:So what your saying is I got screwed the other day when I traded my copies of the first 3 Dean Koontz Frankenstein books to the local used bookstore for a paperback copy of Under the Dome the other day? Also he needs to get off his rear end and finally give us that drat lamp monster book. Having read the Frankenstein books but not Under the Dome... Probably not.
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Mar 3, 2011 22:07
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Yeah, those Frankenstein books are kinda poo poo. Under the Dome was a helluva good read, in my eyes.
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Mar 3, 2011 22:28
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juliuspringle posted:So what your saying is I got screwed the other day when I traded my copies of the first 3 Dean Koontz Frankenstein books to the local used bookstore for a paperback copy of Under the Dome the other day? Also he needs to get off his rear end and finally give us that drat lamp monster book. No, no, you definitely got the opposite or screwed. King may have his highs and lows, but I don't think anything he's written has been as bad as the Dean Koontz Frankenstein novels.
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Mar 4, 2011 00:00
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Under The Dome was goddamn terrific, I'm surprised there are so many people saying they didn't like it. It's King doing what he does best - something purely situational with a big cast. It's an exploration of a town going down the tubes, rather than a railroad-tight plot. There's fluff in it, definitely - there was fluff in The Stand, as well - but the fluff is where the book shines. King's clearly not focusing on driving the plot forward (although he does, and very well). Under The Dome is about the situation, not the resolution. (You can see where it follows The Stand in going about that, too - there's a triggering event, then development for the first two-thirds of the book, then a big event that throws everything into chaos for the finale.) The villain is probably King's most hatable, which is great. There's a chapter mid-way through the book where everything goes his way and it's genuinely hard to read, because gently caress that guy. Also, the main character is just a Jack Reacher copy and King isn't even shy about it, even dropping Reacher's name in fairly early in homage. Whether that's a good or bad thing is pretty debatable.
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Mar 4, 2011 02:51
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Hedrigall posted:There was that episode of Red Dwarf where the shooter behind the grassy knoll turns out to be John F Kennedy That sounds goddamn amazing! I would be ok with that happening in the book, because I know King can do good things with it. Ok, I just watched the episode on YouTube and the writer obviously knows his conspiracy stuff. They dress JFK up like a police officer with a badge, and he's also holding a coke bottle. Just like on the famous "Badge Man"-picture. I'm all  now!
brylcreem fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Mar 4, 2011 |
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Mar 4, 2011 05:52
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Oh wow. So I looked over it again, and the summary of that new King book sounded awfully familiar to me. I realized quickly what I was thinking of, and then I checked it out. Sure enough, there's a little afterword from King in my hardcover graphic novel thingy of The Gunslinger Born, and in that he talks about an idea for a story where a guy finds a diner with time travel powers and wants to stop Kennedy from getting killed. I hope he changed the twist from his idea in the afterword because that would not be the best of twists.
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Mar 4, 2011 06:00
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Anyone remember when something like that would be a short story? It seems rather vague and not really enough meat on its bones to support a full novel. Not a decent sized one anyway. Unless he pulls a rabbit out of the hat and has some kind of weird twinning effect and ties it back into the Dark Tower I imagine this book is going to be nothing more than Hearts In Atlantis set in the 1950's. I hope I am wrong though. I'm am probably just disappointed that Dr Sleep wasn't the next book. I'd love to revisit with some of his older characters. They have grown up now and it would be a nice bookend to Firestarter or the Shining if we got to meet them now. Even bring Pennywise back. There's been a lot of hints about It still being in Derry and I'm sure there's a lot to say differently about childhood and adulthood than there was in '85.
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Mar 4, 2011 06:59
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