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So I have never actually seen The Shining. I know it has Jack Nicholson and an axe and that's about it. I also know Mr. King didn't like the movie version. I figured I'd do him the honor of reading his original version first. It was the first book of his I've ever read and I liked it a lot. I can understand his dislike for the film. From what I understand, in the movie, it's kind of a foregone conclusion Jack is a crazy killer. In the book though I felt really bad for him. He was a genuinely good person who just happened to move to the worst place ever considering his vulnerable psyche. He was exploited by the Overlook Hotel and just as much a victim as anyone else. But now I've moved onto "It." It and The Stand seem to be widely agreed upon as his best books. I did start The Stand and made it through a good deal of it. Right up until Herold died. But it's so long and a lot of it drags and I just got distracted and wandered off. It though is pretty great. It's long too but I'm about 17 hours into it (I listen to audiobooks) and I have enjoyed every minute thus far. I'm on Beverly's second chapter with her returning to Derry and just having the memory of the voices in the drain. Any suggestions on what I should look into after this? rypakal posted:I think in general King's career can be broken into the three chunks: High, Sober, Post accident. I think the Sober phase gets the least respect. Out of curiosity, what are the timeframes for these three "phases"?
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Feb 6, 2015 21:25
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Well I only do audiobooks because I can't see very well. Luckily, King is a very famous author and pretty much everything he's done, even his nonfiction, has been put into audiobook form. Thanks for the recommendations.
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Feb 7, 2015 00:07
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quote:] She looked back again and now her dead father was not wearing the witch's black dress but the clown suit with the big orange buttons. There was a 1958-style coonskin cap, the kind popularized by Fess Parker in the Disney movie about Davy Crockett, perched on its head. In one hand it held a bunch of balloons. In the other it held the leg of a child like a chicken drumstick. Written on each balloon was the legend IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. Some people I have warned me that "It" has a bad second half and terrible ending but I think I'm about halfway through it and this has been one of the most amazing parts yet.
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Feb 7, 2015 18:48
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So I'm rapidly closing in on the ending and it kinda sucks I already know more or less about the Turtle. Been foreshadowed all book but I read years ago, in an article highlighting the novel's strengths and why the TV series sucked, about how it's some big cosmic entity just like It. Even read some King nerds who speculate what "It" and the Turtle are relates to his Dark Tower cosmology. But anyway I just got passed the part where Adult Bev and Bill gently caress in the hotel while poor Mike is dying. I would lay into Bill for cheating - which is something I personally detest as much a "worse" crimes - but I guess he has the excuse of God making him do all this. But if Bev recalled right, if the 11-year-old Losers all took turns loving her...I'm wondering why King isn't laid into for SEXISM SEXISM MISOGYNY as GRRM is. Or any writer really who dares has a female defined by her sexuality because clearly this means the writer hates women. Me, I'm no prude and I think the hysteria around sex in fiction is laughable. King having Bev gently caress the entire population of Derry wouldn't mean King supports little girl sex any more than him having all these people killed means he supports murder. But readers have a peculiar obsession with sex and how sex must "tell you something about the writer" while violence apparently says nothing and is just fine and dandy. NikkolasKing fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Feb 8, 2015 |
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Feb 8, 2015 20:53
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It's almost 200 pages and undoubtedly full of spoilers so no I have not.
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Feb 8, 2015 21:47
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Taeke posted:This thread is really good about actually spoilering spoilers, there's still many of King's works I have to read and not one of them has been spoiled for me so far. Hm, I'll give it a browse then. Kinda doubt I'll read the whole thing or even half of it but I do enjoy lurking and reading others' views on fiction I'm new to. 3Romeo posted:King's been laid into for it before. (Hell, take a look at some of the earlier replies in the thread, where a couple of posters were 'literally shaking' because of all the rape, not to mention the cyclic chat about the gangbang). He's also been banned in schools, shat on by academics, and blamed for acts of violence (he mentions a couple in Danse Macabre). Point is, he's taken his lumps, but he's endured long enough to become a cornerstone of horror and modern fiction. That all does make a lot of sense. I just know Stephen King as...well, as a cornerstone of modern fiction like you said. I never imagined he might be hated for being "controversial" or whatever. It's just not something I expected when starting on my King kick. The Shining was pretty straightforward although The Stand had some very bizarre elements. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
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Feb 8, 2015 21:58
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General Battuta posted:Like 3Romeo said, GRRM doesn't get poo poo for misogyny for any of these reasons: My problem is when people assume anything about a person based on such a flawed basis. It be like me trying to say I can make a valid and real judgment about you based just on your SA posts. Maybe a writer writes about sex because sex sells and all the sex in their literature is nothing more than "I want to sell more books and get more money!" It's not just about sex for me, I see this kind of rash, judgmental BS with other writers. I can't count the number of times I've read "Michael Crichton is a Luddite!" or "Michael Crichton hates technology." To me, it's not a question of their writing ability or lack thereof. You can hate King or Crichton or Martin or whoever you like, it's people thinking they know more than they do that makes me angry.. FYI, Michael Crichton didn't live on a farm with 18th Century agricultural equipment or freak out every time his picture was taken. He in fact wrote an entire book about his airplanes are an amazing invention and the safest form of travel and how the "dangers of this technology" have been overstated by a sensationalist media. I guess I jumped the gun so sorry. I just didn't feel like finding another author I like who gets a bunch of know-nothing know-it-alls who think they have some great insight into a writer's psyche because they read a dumb piece of fiction.
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Feb 9, 2015 01:58
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BiggerBoat posted:Sorry. I just meant the "it" in It comes up quite a lot and always leads to a 2 page discussion about precisely the issue you brought up. I wasn't trying to be a dick. Nah it's cool. I should read more of the thread. 3Romeo posted:But that isn't to say that some writers put too much of themselves into their fiction. The Fountainhead is a flawed justification of a lovely ideal, and Dominique Francon is the author's insert. Yunior is Junot Diaz. Crichton gave a name of one of his critics to a pedophile with a small dick. In each of those instances, the writer gets in the way of the story, and when that happens, the story suffers. Good fiction maintains that separation. Of course that last line gets into the realm of the Author Filibuster, a dubious technique that I'm not sure people like for the most part. To bring things back to Crichton, he sure loved those ad I liked reading them because a lot of them were interesting. Like Malcolm's tale of how ancient and enduring the Earth is and humans are beyond idiotic every time they say they can destroy it. And someone who could give even Crichton lessons on the subject is another writer I like a lot, Victor Hugo. I love Les Mis I loved the way he described the various characters' plights; their vices and their virtues. But in between all that he'd write entire chapters on what he thought of various political leaders, religion, and god knows what else. And while people will undoubtedly challenge Crichton's fame and success, Hugo wrote a couple beloved classics. This is why, even though I'm a layman, I don't even believe in "literary criticism." Because gently caress if anyone can decide what is good or not, what you can do and what you can't do. Apparently the best writers can break all the loving rules. But who are "the best writers?" Nobody loving knows that either. On a related note, do any of you who know more about King's life than I do know if his account of Bill in college is from personal experience? You know, how his college prof was a pretentious rear end who insisted every piece of writing had to be DEEP and writing wasn't just something you do for fun?
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Feb 9, 2015 20:38
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I appreciate all the great responses guys. I enjoyed reading them a lot. It's certainly true that literary criticism doesn't have to be just about slamming books or their authors and I was probably too hasty in throwing that term around. I do love discussing fiction with people and that's the reason I'm here really. I want to share my growing love and appreciation for King's work with you all. But I just finished IT. I think my favorite characters, apart from IT itself, were Richie and Beverly. I wish we had seen more from the Turtle. The part in 1985 where Bill confronts IT in the guise of Georgie was both scary and heartbreaking. If anybody has ever heard the audiobook, it's loving fantastic. Maybe the guy who reads is no Tim Curry but I still loved him. GONNA KILL YOU ALLLLLLLLLL!!!! Overall a really good book and I think the second half was better than the first. I was contemplating very hard what I wanted to read next. I found this article which intrigued me. See, I know the DT series later on had a very...unsavory reputation (the first ten pages of this thread is mostly complaining about it) but I am curious about "the King Canon" or the King Universe as the article says. I loved how IT took something so fantastically powerful and brought it down into a smaller conflict. It reminded me of The Stand in that way. I never did finish that but I liked what I did read. But anyway I was reading that article to see if there's anything else like that in King's bibliography because I mentioned earlier I had read others speculating on what exactly IT was and how it might be explained in other King works that expanded his cosmology. One thing I kept hearing a lot about was "the Purpose and the Random" A guy told me the Purpose was the Turtle and IT was the Random. Looking at that article, that idea stems from Insomnia. Would you guys recommend that or not? The other one I was considering was Eyes of the Dragon. I hear it's King's most strict fantasy novel and I'd be interested in seeing that. Especially since I hear it has Flagg in it and he was one of the best parts of The Stand. Although, he might be characterized completely differently here.
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Feb 10, 2015 05:36
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Yeah the version of IT I listened to was read by Weber as well. I had no idea he was in so much King stuff. I wonder if that's why he was hired to read the book. Whatever the reason, I wish he read more of them.
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Feb 10, 2015 06:18
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So there's something I want to comment on and then ask you all about. Having finished IT, I see some similarities between IT and Randal Flagg. Namely in the department of "they can be nice, they can be alluring, but you still know they're evil." They both represented Evil at its most basic, fundamental level. They were creatures and personifications of it. But the problem is, while this is fine and dandy for IT, Flagg bothered me. He was supposed to be a leader, someone a lot of people would flock to. And not just the evil or insane or te vindictive, but normal people too. Not everyone in his camp was actually supposed to be bad as far as I can recall. A lot of them were normal people. But why would any normal person choose to go to Flagg? The thing about Flagg is that, just like IT, people felt their evil when talking to them. No matter how much old Randy smiled and promised you the moon, anyone who ever talked to him comments on how he gives them a chill or something to that effect. No matter what he does he radiates malevolence and negativity. And so my question again why would anyone side with him apart from the most depraved? Yes I understand people were scared and desperate but this isn't a case of being fooled. I don't care how scared and desperate you are, if a guy fills you with mortal terror when you so much as dream about him, why would you go to him? I think evil should be more...subtle.
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Feb 10, 2015 21:06
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So if the Devil appeared before you - the one with the pointy horns and tail - and offered you a million dollars in one hand while his other hand clutched a pitchfork, you think a lot of people would take it? I don't have any problem with authoritarianism but we're not talking Hitler here. We're talking a guy who, when you look at him, makes you realize he'd love nothing more than to burn millions of people and laugh and laugh at their writhing agony.
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Feb 10, 2015 22:28
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Again you're missing the point. I have no problem with the idea people would work for even the most brutal of dictatorships if it meant improving their lives. The horrors in the Third World or even here in America can't and shouldn't be overlooked. If any of them jumped at the chance to work with [insert dictator here] I would never judge them or condemn them. Well I might but I'd give them a lot of leeway. But Flagg is not just some despot, he is the Devil's Imp. He is the embodiment of evil. It's not a matter of life and death, it's a matter of souls. I'm gonna guess there' a Heaven and Hell in this verse and quite frankly I'd shoot myself in the head before joining Flagg because a mortal death, mortal pain, is nothing compared to an eternity in Hell. So if my options are starve to death now or suffer for the rest of existence...my options are pretty clear. NikkolasKing fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Feb 10, 2015 |
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Feb 10, 2015 23:02
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I recall not one instance where anybody so much as looked at Flagg without shivering or feeling sick. I'm making a stab at finishing The Stand and I'm continuing where i left off, with Dayna's death.I cannot recall one single encounter with Flagg where the person didn't feel unsettled by his eyes or his grins or...anything really. Flagg can do nothing without making people feel like they're gonna die. And that's the difference between Randal Flagg and any despot you care to name. Flagg, in every action he takes, radiates malevolence. Because he is malevolence incarnate. The only thing people are grateful to him for is not killing them horribly. Evil should not wear a big sign and that's what Flagg does. He oozes evil and there is no way I buy anyone siding with him unless they themselves acknowledge they don't care and are willingly malicious.
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Feb 10, 2015 23:39
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Is The Stand miniseries any good? Is the guy who plays Flagg at least good? I'm really determined to finish the book this time but I'd like to watch the TV adaptation too if it's worth it.
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Feb 11, 2015 05:36
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Well I finally finished it. It took me like two years but I finished The Stand. Favorite characters were Nick, Glenn and Flagg Although, in a lot of ways, Larry is the star of the book. I hated him at first but he really comes into his own. His development is one of the high points of all three books. I think the first Book was the best to be honest. Captain Trips. The ending was...abrupt. A lot of it feels rushed. All that build up to Nadine being Flagg's "bride" and he just randomly kills her in a fit of rage? I get King was really trying to hammer home the ineffectiveness of evil and how it's self-destructive and all that but it still feels like a huge waste. Poor Trashcan Man though. But I really liked Flagg and I'd like to see more of him. I might start The Eyes of the Dragon. Or maybe I should take a break from all the cosmic stuff. I'm surprised so many people seem to recommend and like Pet Sematary. Then again, I shouldn't judge it by the movie.
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Feb 11, 2015 21:42
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So I listened to the first couple hours of On Writing and all of Pet Sematary. 1. King's brother sounds like he's loving awesome. 2. I like that King himself is the narrator since the book feels very autobiographical, in spite of what he claims. 3. I totally forgot King was in a band with another favorite writer of mine, Dave Barry. I'll finish the rest of it later. Since it's not a story as such I feel okay with taking breaks from it. As for PS: 1. Very slow beginning but it wasn't all too tedious. I liked Jud. 2. I was very annoyed with Louis for constantly abusing the revived Church. "YOu did this! Don't take it out on the poor cat that hasn't even done anything!" 3 . Of course it would do something later on... Poor Jud. 4. I realize they tried to make Rachel's parents seem more sympathetic later but Louis is totally right, leaving 8-yuar-old Rachel alone with her dying, insane sister? How loving dumb can you be? 5. What a bummer ending. You know none of the King books I've read yet have had such a sad, hopeless finish. Mostly I'm taking away from King's works, from King's Universe and its inner-workings, that people have no real agency or free will of their own. Or if they do, things are leaning on them and compelling them so heavily that they might as well not have it. It all started when I said IT wasn't evil in that it made a conscious choice to be evil, it was made that way. It had no choice but to kill any more than the Losers did when they fought IT. And of course The Stand is rife with this. Both Mother Abagail and Randall Flagg are just pawns in all of this and neither of them really has a clue what they're doing. And now in Pet Sematary, that burial ground and whatever force lies within it manipulated everything just so. It was made clear that the evil presence or whatever it was had done something to the driver of the truck that killed Gage. Just as it had manipulated Jud into showing Louis to the burial ground. Seems to me that people in King's cosmos are puppets being yanked around by forces they don't really understand, let alone can resist.
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Feb 16, 2015 06:31
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And that's Insomnia and The Eyes of the Dragon down. I'm noticing something though and that is I really like King's sense of humor. He's pretty damned funny and yet he always weaves the comedy into his works i such a masterful way that it doesn't derail from the serious or scary atmosphere. Eyes of the Dragon was probably the most tongue-in-cheek work of his I've read as of yet and that was a big reason i liked it. Of course another reason I liked it was Flagg. I'm not sure if I prefer this portrayal or The Stand's but both were great in their own way. So let's see.... The Shining IT The Stand Pet Sematary Insomnia The Eyes of the Dragon I think I'm doing pretty good so far.
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Feb 22, 2015 09:26
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I will miss his Two-Headed Evil Parrot. There was a whole chapter recounting his history in Delain where she shows up every few decades or so and just ruins everything because gently caress you. I thought this was an excellent summation of his character: [Flagg] wanted what evil men always want: to have power and use that power to make mischief. Being a King did not interest him because the heads of Kings all too often found their way to spikes on castle walls when things went wrong. But the advisors to Kings... the spinners in the shadows... such people usually melted away like evening shadows at dawning as soon as the headsman's axe started to fall. Flagg was a sickness, a fever looking for a cool brow to heat up. He hooded his as just as he hooded his face. And when the great trouble came-as it always did after a span of years-Flagg always disappeared like shadows at dawn. Later, when the age was over and the fever had passed, when the rebuilding was complete and there was again something worth destroying, Flagg would appear once more. But yes, having him in a more primitive time really did his character wonders for me. He could be as vile as he wanted to be and it was more believable.
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Feb 22, 2015 10:18
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This is kinda of a weird thing only tangentially related to King. I know the "culture of smoking" is completely different in my lifetime (was born in '88) than how it used to be but I was still shocked at the fact Bev and the other "good kids" smoked. They were twelve and while they didn't do it in public, Henry and his friends did. Right in front of the school, 12/13-year-olds smoking cigarettes. I mean, I'm no fool, I knew kids growing up who smoked and hosed and did hard drugs at ages 11 or 12 but that was obviously a very....private and secret thing. It was the flagrancy and casualness of them smoking that stuns me. Was it really like that in the 50s? It makes me wonder if King himself smoked when he was really young.
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Mar 2, 2015 05:26
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My DARE officer in 6th grade would be ashamed of you all.
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Mar 2, 2015 13:33
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I just want to say that I saw The Mist in theaters and had no idea it was even based on something King wrote. (I wouldn't read King until years later when I got The Shining audiobook. It was excellent) What I remember most about it are the villain and the ending. I can't remember hating a cinematic character more than I hated that vile woman. The ending too was extremely memorable. I can't remember anything else really. I'm not sure if that makes it a good movie or not.
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Jul 31, 2017 23:21
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So I've read some King books but I don't know much about King as a person. (although I did see an awesome quote from him on Trump while Googling) I know about the drugs and alcohol and the accident but beyond that, the most I know of the man is that he was/is in a band with Dave Barry and that's awesome 'cuz I love Barry. I knew that from reading Barry's books long before I ever read a king book, actually. However I was curious about something. Does Stephen King rub elbows with any other big time authors? You know how like how the big names in sci-fi back in the day were pretty close. Of course I don't even know who the big names in horror fiction are besides King. I know some people don't like her much but the only name I can think of is Anne Rice. But most I saw on that front is her responding to a tweet from King.
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Aug 31, 2017 08:24
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I don't think The Shining has anything weird or problematic in it. It was the first King story I ever listened to (I only use audiobooks) and the narrator was pretty good, too. IT is still the best book of his I've listened to, as much for the narrator as the writing itself. But of course it has the aforementioned awkward bits.
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Nov 8, 2017 04:28
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So I'm gonna be without Internet for a few months and I'm gathering up as much reading material (well, audiobooks actually) as I can get. King books I've read: The Shining The Stand Insomnia Pet Sematary The Eyes of the Dragon IT What would you all recommend to look into next? The Stand and IT were my favorites, although I did like them all. Something likePS is a bit too depressing for me right now though...would prefer something a tad more uplifting. I might reread The Stand actually but other suggestions are welcome.
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May 3, 2018 20:35
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How are the newer Carrie adaptations? I've seen a lot of people praise the original as possibly the best adaptation of a King novel ever but I don't know much about the newer stuff.
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Apr 7, 2019 00:44
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Before I started reading King years ago I looked up his best works to see whee to start. It seems The Stand is recognized by many as his best novel. However, while I definitely liked it, I think it "feels its length" more than IT. IT is also a long book but I never felt like it was taking forever or that it was a slog. I don't want to insult the Stand by using a word like slog but that's the only one I can think of. IT is just so much more engrossing and smooth so I barely noticed how long it was.
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Feb 6, 2020 00:43
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I only listen to audiobooks so I guess I have to factor in how IT has one of the best narrators of all time. That probably made me love the book even more. The Shining was the first King novel I listened to after years of hearing about how much King disliked Kubrick's film. I wanted to hear the original. I can see why King disliked the movie now. The Shining is supposed to a tragic tale of a good but flawed man being victimized. A bit like Pet Sematary. I've reread The Shining though but doubt I'll ever revisit PS. Way too depressing.
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Feb 7, 2020 02:48
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BiggerBoat posted:Isn't Johnny Depp basically becoming Jack Torrance? Depp is the victim of abuse which maybe led to his alcoholism so it's not exactly the same. Where is The Stand movie? This is like the perfect time for it. Also I thought Carrie was the best King film. The original one, I mean. Never saw the remake.
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Mar 27, 2020 01:24
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What's this about Luddism? Are we talking about The Stand? I haven't read the other books being discussed but I don't think The Stand was anti-technology so much as it was sort of...Spartan? Spartan In the sense of an austere conception of discipline and community. Such a thing being necessary after the complete collapse of civilization and government makes sense. Foregoing excess and forging close bonds would be vital in such a world. But this is different from thinking science is bad.
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Mar 30, 2020 03:18
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Krispy Wafer posted:I'm listening to The Stand again because why the heck not. Google Books seems to say it's Chapter 38.
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Apr 1, 2020 17:55
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Maximum Overdrive is supposed to be this way, right? It isn't supposed to be scary but rather hilarious and weird as gently caress?
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Apr 7, 2020 17:03
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Leavemywife posted:Cell got a movie? Who starred in that pile of poo poo? Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk in Netflix Daredevil, Edgar from Men in Black, Bobby Goren from L&O Criminal Intent, a lot of other stuff) and Jennifer Lopez I think.
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Apr 18, 2020 02:02
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Ugly In The Morning posted:Vegas was crucifying people for weed. It was absolutely more “authoritarian hellhole” that attracted people who had been either institutionalized over the years like Lloyd and Trash, or were used to running poo poo. Its appeal was hierarchy, not debauchery. Also while it's been a while and I only read the book once, wasn't Vegas a staging ground for an empire or invasion of the rest of America? You can't rebuild the world with a bunch of stoners, let alone build an army and all its accompanying accoutrements. Flagg didn't want to just drat a few scared people, he wanted to make sure those who didn't come to him were crushed. I dunno, I've become very jaded with adaptations. I just mostly read books these days.
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Oct 18, 2020 01:36
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Or "I realize I'm a bad person and trying to improve" vs. "you're always poo poo, forever. Die."
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Jan 23, 2021 05:46
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joepinetree posted:I wonder if they were trying to make this more friendly to evangelicals or something like that. Not sure if I'm misunderstanding you but in the books Flagg is called the Devil's Imp by Mother Abigail, isn't he? The Stand is very religious in its own way. I haven't seen the awful adaptation but it sounds like it tried to be religious in a more conventional sense?
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Feb 12, 2021 02:29
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i remembered original movie Pet Sematary being a lot more...hokey. Was I mistaking it for the sequel? I just remember that when I read the actual original story and it was depressing as hell, I couldn't help but contrast it with the movie that I saw a long time ago which I did not remember being sad at all. But in both versions, Jud is the best. I forgot how great he was in the movie, too. Was the remake any good?
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Jun 16, 2021 05:20
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Been watching this Dead Meat channel on YT and just got to his Shining Kill Count/pithy mini review summary thing. I bring it up because he starts off by mentioning how King infamously dislikes this horror film classic but then adds how King's evaluation of it has softened in recent years and, this is the important part, finishes with "to be honest, I think [King] just likes everything these days." I remember reading similar sentiments in this thread after that awful Stand series. Is this an age thing or did King get less grumpy after his accident? I just remember I used to always cite his favorable reaction to The Mist's new ending. I fuckin' love that movie and ending and was happy to cite his approval when people say it's mean-spirited and dumb. But if he just likes everything nowadays....eh.
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Jun 17, 2021 18:44
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Darko posted:Dead Meat is fantastic because James actually knows film and does a TON of research. Yeah, this is why I read King's book Shining first. No matter how good Kubrick's film might be, it wasn't as...."real." Jack being an evil psycho all along misses the point, the tragedy of the story. But fair enough I see your overall point. kaworu posted:It's an interesting question. I was Stephen King's literal next-door neighbor from about 1996 through 2003 for two and a half months of summer every year, and he really changed in a fairly significant manner after the van accident. Before the accident we'd see him around all the time every summer - having lunch at the Wicked Good Store, shopping at the General Market (the only two commercial establishments in the entire town) or taking a long walk down the road just about every day, sometimes continuing past Palmer Lane (the private dirt road we all lived on) and onto the much busier and more dangerous Route 5, which is where the van struck him while walking in 1999. This is really cool to learn, thanks for sharing. King seems like a very nice and interesting man.
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Jun 18, 2021 00:56
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All this talk of PS and also watching James' Kill Count of the IT stuff is making me remember when I first got into King. This guy elsewhere was big into the King Multiverse Cosmology and talking about how the Crimson King was the strongest dude ever. I never read any Dark Tower novels though. The closest I personally read of King metaphysics is Insomnia where we're told of The Purpose and the Random. Gage getting killed was The Random, Pennywise, for all his phenomenal cosmic power, is also of The Random. In essence, King seemed to be saying Evil is a separate power unto itself in his stories. Pennywise is just like...I forget which one it was, maybe Atropos - a malevolent being who is ultimately just doing what he was made to do and the multiverse needs him. Lotta folks don't like that, the idea Evil is necessary. Of course The Random isn't supposed to be inherently evil but Gage's death certainly resulted in a lot of evil and that was explicitly mentioned to be of The Random in Insomnia. Also I really need to go through IT again. I know it and The Stand are of comparable lengths but IT is my favorite King book because, for all its length, it never dragged, at least in my one and only complete listen. Maybe it'll drag more this time around but The Stand was way harder for me to get through even in my first go.
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Jun 18, 2021 11:53
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