Stephen King

I've got most of his books. He lives about an hour North of me. Been by the house a few times--never seen him. It's kinda cool living in the area many of this stories take place.

I, too, regret his stance on gun ownership and his books often contain gun related gaffes which is always annoying. I can't, however, fault his favoring the Red Sox ;-)
 
In the Drawing of the Three, when Roland is passing in and out of conciousness in his world due to infection fever due to getting his had bitten off, he is popping in and out of "our" world. Where Eddie is on the airplane, getting ready to land with the Feds "onto" him. He's got a pound of dope taped to him and the gig is almost up. This scene, this whole unraveling storytelling scene, is part and parcel what I'm talking about. SK has written some duds. You write stories for forty years and you'll have duds too, but THIS scene is one that will captivate the reader no matter what's going on. Sink into it. The two young boys getting away from Pennywise in the basement of the house on Neibolt Street in It is another example of this sort of reader's getaway. You sit the book down after reading one of these scenes and just sort of give off a low whistle. How about Larry going through the tunnel in The Stand? Or Paul Sheldon hearing Annie coming back. Or Thad meeting up with George Stark. Man, there's a treasure trove of this stuff. Keep it comin Stevo!
 
MORIMOTOM said:
ive read many of his books, and always get sucked in to the story line and characters quickly.

i think he has quite a talent for build up, but sometimes the endings are anti-climatic. often everything just explodes, and sometimes it feels as if he has taken a story to a point and isnt sure about where to go next.

enjoyable and entertaining nonetheless.
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My thoughts also.
 
Nixelplix said:
Yeah, the ending of the Dark Tower series totally sucked.
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I waited damn near 20 years for the final book in the Dark Tower series
and it was a total cop-out and fraud. It was clear he was tired of the
whole concept and completely violated the reader/writer contract of
providing a suitable conclusion to a multi-decade journey. I have
not read a King novel since--the man obviously has no consideration
for his audience.
 
I tried reading his books back in high school. I remember them as being very slow moving and drawn out. I don't think I ever finished one of his books. Time to try again since I've been stuck in a rut finding good stuff to read lately.
 
I've flip-flopped on Stephen King. I was a huge fan, still am, of his older works, especially the short story collections (Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, etc.), Salem's Lot, and many others.

Then, I don't know quite how to explain, but his writing style changed. The short stories (Twelve Past Midnight) read as if he were describing a 30-minute television show, and the long novels lost focus (even more) and became tedious (Desolation, for example).

Currently I'm midway through a new-ish collection of short stories, Everything's Eventual, and it's fantastic.
 
I've read only a couple of King books, and that was a long time ago.

But I saw a documentary about him and was interested to find out that the guy was dirt poor for many years.

But he believed in his writing, that it was going to be his "ticket" out of poverty.
And he stuck with it and kept on writing stories and eventually hit the BIG time.

I admire his persistence and fortitude.
 
Harry Callahan said:
If you're reading that scene on the Metro in DC, you are no longer sitting in a dirty seat on an overcrowded subway car...
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I know what you mean! I like his books quite a bit, although I haven't read as many of them as some of you on this thread. However, I have to say that anyone whose writing can make you forget you're on the Metro is worth his weight in gold. :D

- Mark
 
Stephen King really is a genius. I've read many of his books since I was a kid and I'm currently workin on the Dark Tower series...incredible story telling. Don't know about any of you guys, but my copy of Drawing of the Three has a note by King talking about being nineteen and wanting to write an epic, legendary tale to top all others. Very cool insight from the man himself.

I hope there's much, much more to come! :)
 
I like how pretty much each novel, at least in some infinitesimal way, fits into the Dark Tower.
 
I'm a big fan, and I've read most everything of his up until about a decade ago. I always enjoy his books, but I don't purposefully go out to buy the newest ones. I tend to buy things at thrift stores, and garage sales. I haven't bought a "New" book in a long time. It's really fun when you find a First Edition in great shape. (Have about 15, so far)

Yes, there have been a few duds, but overall, I find his books severely compelling, and his ability to transport you is worthy of praise.

Most recent reads: The Girl who loved Tom Gordon, Bag of Bones, final 3 Gunslinger books, Cell. I know there are several that I've missed, but I'll find them eventually.

Favorites: Drawing of the Three, The Stand, Green Mile

Daniel
 
CARRERA50 said:
I waited damn near 20 years for the final book in the Dark Tower series
and it was a total cop-out and fraud. It was clear he was tired of the
whole concept and completely violated the reader/writer contract of
providing a suitable conclusion to a multi-decade journey. I have
not read a King novel since--the man obviously has no consideration
for his audience.
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I don't blame him for the ending. There was NO WAY he could have written an ending that would have been acceptable to his fans. 20-something years of build-up, fans picking through his other books for glimpses of the Dark Tower (Insomnia was the biggest tease). Plus everyone would have wanted a happy ending, and how could Steven King, of all people, give it a happy ending? So what did he do, he pulled it apart and showed you how he perceives himself as a fraud and copier. So when he deconstructed the Dark Tower, he deconstructed himself. Granted, the whole Santa Claus thing was stupid.

Anyone besides me think that Cormac McCarthy got inspiratation for The Road from the endgame part of the Tower, when they're trudging through the snow and there's nothing left? Very similar feel.
 
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