Stephen King

[ccowden 0]

If you really liked Needful Things, I would recommend one of these to try next:

The Dark Half
Desperation
Bag of Bones

All very good and have the same style of writing. You can try The Dark Tower, but it is a different style of King. It is a great series though.

[airdvr 200]

Dark Tower is not horror or even suspense, but these are my favorite books by King
You're saying lobstrocities, the thinny, and all those mid-world freaks are not horror? Only thing that p[issed me off was how long it took for him to finish the series. I was really PO'd at the first DT book when they were on Blain, riddling to save their lives...and then ....nothing for like 10 years!

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[arlo 0]

i'll preface this by saying that i don't read much becasue it's hard to keep my attention (shiiiiiiiny!). but SK is one author that would hold my attention long enough to get thru a book. i read The Stand in record time.

mmmmmmm, the dark half. you're bringing back memories here, chris. i used to own pretty much the entire SK library. what's the dude's name that drives the big black car (it was a grand something-or-other)?

Needful Things.....loved it.
The Stand.....CLASSIC.
Thinner........haven't been to a carnival since.
what did you guys think about rose madder? that was a little, uh, different.

need to read bag of bones. but i have to buy it again. i hucked all my books after getting soooooo much shit for having a library of books i never read after moving to deland. lol

[GTAVercetti 0]

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Dark Tower is not horror or even suspense, but these are my favorite books by King
You're saying lobstrocities, the thinny, and all those mid-world freaks are not horror? Only thing that p[issed me off was how long it took for him to finish the series. I was really PO'd at the first DT book when they were on Blain, riddling to save their lives...and then ....nothing for like 10 years!

Luckily, i started reading them not long before he actually finished..probably about 4 or 5 years before Wizard and Glass

Yeah, there ARE elements of suspense and horror, but i think the series on the whole is more of just a grand epic with bits of that. Some creepy parts, some horrifying (more in a good vs evil sense than outright scary to me), but in total, just some good books.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[GTAVercetti 0]

I liked Rose Madder myself. Different, but good for me.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[tigra 0]

Bag of Bones has to be one of my favorites- part ghost story, part mystery, and mostly, a love story. I think I need to dig that one up and read it again!

Rose Madder is one I did not read- I think that came out after I moved and before the book club found me again!

[livendive 8]

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Needful Things.....loved it.
The Stand.....CLASSIC.
Thinner........haven't been to a carnival since.
what did you guys think about rose madder? that was a little, uh, different.

I throw Rose Madder, Gerald's Game, and Misery into the same lot. Not my cup of tea.

The Stand, IT, Needful Things, the Dark Half, Pet Semetary, The Dark Tower (contains references to all things King, including those books written as Bachman), The Dead Zone, and all the shorter stories too, those are my thing. I also like the Peter Straub collaborations...Black House, The Talisman.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[j0nes 0]

wtf is wrong with you people that no one has mention the best King novel.

The Eyes of the Dragon

come on... it's a kid's bedtime story gone HORRIBLY wrong.

re: The Dark Tower....

I really liked the series up UNTIL the point(s) where

1) he wrote himself into the friggin storyline
2) the black woman gets knocked up
3) he tried bringing all his other storylines into the Dark Tower series.

I remember back in high school reading the first line of the Gunslinger "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed" and I thought.... this is going to be awesome. who is the man in black and why is the gunslinger chasing him?

Books in the series that rock:
The Gunslinger
Drawing of Three
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of the Calla

unfortunately you have to sift through the other crap and several chapters of King's own introspection before finding out what happens when Roland reaches the Tower....

[ccowden 0]

George Stark drove the "High Toned Son Of A Bitch." The actual make of the car is slipping my memory at the moment. George Stark, who is the fictitious writer Thad used to write several books, comes to "life" as the cool killer in his books, Alexis Machine. Awesome character!

[ccowden 0]

The Eyes of the Dragon WAS a great book! It is a rarely read one of King's though. It is a shame too, cuz I could hardly put it down!

[arlo 0]

was it a grand torino? for some reason that sticks in my mind....

yeahhhhh, george stark.

and yeah jones, eyes of the dragon was a good one as well...at least what i remember of it.

dave, ditch that awful avatar....for the love of god, already. lol

[GTAVercetti 0]

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The Eyes of the Dragon

agreed. The Eyes of the Dragon is pretty cool.

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re: The Dark Tower....

I really liked the series up UNTIL the point(s) where

1) he wrote himself into the friggin storyline
2) the black woman gets knocked up
3) he tried bringing all his other storylines into the Dark Tower series.


Books in the series that rock:
The Gunslinger
Drawing of Three
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of the Calla

See I thought Wizard and Glass was boring as shit and the Wolves of the Calla was very close to the same.

As for him writing himself in, to me it makes sense. The Tower encompasses everything, including King himself and the books he is writing about the Tower. Its all a circle. I would make obvious correlation to a certain point in the story, but could be a spoiler.

And as for bringing in other stories, same idea. And he has been doing that almost since its inception. It is a two way street as well. Other books reference it. You have to look at the Tower as the central pillar of HIS world and the universe. Everything revolves around it. The idea is quite bold. Were some parts not executed as well as others? Sure, but on the whole, I liked the grandness of it.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[livendive 8]

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The Eyes of the Dragon WAS a great book! It is a rarely read one of King's though. It is a shame too, cuz I could hardly put it down!

I loved The Eye of the Dragon. It and the Talisman were offshoots of the Dark Tower story brewing in King's mind, weren't they?

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[ccowden 0]

You could be right. With it's black windows, black paint, loud engine and the words "High Toned Son Of A Bitch" across the back of the trunk, that car ranks right up there with Christine. Alexis Machine was such a cool killer!

[tigra 0]

Yes, a grand torino.

And, Jones, I also agree about Eyes of the Dragon and to some extent, your take on the Dark Tower series, but I loved the last book, savored it really, up until the very end when he reached the tower.

[livendive 8]

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See I thought Wizard and Glass was boring as shit and the Wolves of the Calla was very close to the same.

As for him writing himself in, to me it makes sense. The Tower encompasses everything, including King himself and the books he is writing about the Tower. Its all a circle. I would make obvious correlation to a certain point in the story, but could be a spoiler.

And as for bringing in other stories, same idea. And he has been doing that almost since its inception. It is a two way street as well. Other books reference it. You have to look at the Tower as the central pillar of HIS world and the universe. Everything revolves around it. The idea is quite bold. Were some parts not executed as well as others? Sure, but on the whole, I liked the grandness of it.

I liked Wolves of the Calla, but it seemed like "filler". I really liked it when he starting incorporating more and more references to his other works...it was like a reward for those of us who've read everything. I think the circular reference you're talking about is the very end, right? I liked the way it suggested that we haven't read the last of King. I'm hoping he takes a year or two off to develop some interesting new stuff (we've had enough haunted cars) and then sits back down and writes something to scare the hell out of us. He's had his time to play, with online publication, the Green Mile, and Kingdom Hospital...now it's time for another page-turning horror story.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[tigra 0]

I loved Misery, hated Gerald's Game. And I do realize they were fundamentally the same- both "heroes" trapped in bed, dealing with their inner demons and having to find a way to save themselves. Misery worked for me, Gerald's Game didn't. I guess I should pick up a copy of Rose Madder and decide for myself about that one!

Loved Black House and The Talisman as well!

[Rebecca 0]

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The Eyes of the Dragon WAS a great book! It is a rarely read one of King's though. It is a shame too, cuz I could hardly put it down!

I LOVED that book!!

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[Casie 0]

I luv SK! He RAWKS! Just got The Secret Window on dvd not the book!

~Porn Kitty
WARNING: Goldschlager causes extreme emotional outbursts!

[peregrinerose 0]

I've enjoyed most of his books.

Useless Stephen King fact is that he has a form of macular degeneration that affects younger people (not the age related macular degeneration so common among those over 65).

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[AlexCrowley 0]

I forgot the Dark Tower books. I only read the first few and they were great. Im glad I didnt go any further with them.

I enjoyed his short stories too, but like I said, Stand and It were probably his best stuff with the first books being the standouts for creativity in the horror genre.

Even the crappy books have had their moments, I just think that King is a shitty writer and when he's on he's a great storyteller. I just wish he could realize that and cut down on the huge amount of extraneous shite that he fills some of his decent stories with.

TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

[hobbes4star 0]

Thinner is my all time favorite. I love how in the end he eats the pie anyways.

if fun were easy it wouldn't be worth having, right?

[shaggio 0]

When he lived in Bangor Me. He used to open up his house for halloween! Not sure if he still does...but damn...going to see THE MAN on the darkest day of the year...try sleeping after that!

[tigra 0]

The Stephen King Library is like the Book of the Month Club. They send special edition hardcovers of his books, new ones as they come out plus the classics. (They must have a way of keeping track of what they've already sent you.) If you don't want them, you send them back, otherwise you pay for them- I think with shipping they are around $18.00 each? You are probably better off with your first editions- especially the early ones. These days, when the first realease is over a million copies, it just doesn't mean as much!

[j0nes 0]

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The Tower encompasses everything, including King himself and the books he is writing about the Tower. Its all a circle.

that's the part I didn't like. The series didn't start off that way..... this isn't a friggin Tarantino movie.... just tell me the story and stop trying to plug your other (lesser) books.

I'm of the firm belief that King realyl started producing crap after the release of the Bachman books.

I DO like how he forces himself to write the occasional short story.

"It is not the tale, it is he who tells it" - anyone name what sotry that's from?