The Works of Stephen King

[susannahdean]

Yes, it seems so and Jae Lee will be illustrating it. There's information about it at darktower.net, with some pics of the illustrations. It's already looking pretty good.

[Deleted]

What gets worse is that he keeps rewriting that book over and over again to make it 'more current.'

Really? I thought there were just two versions of The Stand: the original and then the uncut version. There are updates of the updates?

Speaking of The Stand, I really liked the first half, where everyone is dying gorily of the plague. There was a real sense of panic fear, and I could just imagine that happening for real. Radio announcers forced at gunpoint to read bulletins saying everything is fine, the president reassuring the citizens while breaking out in a coughing fit every few moments, executions on national TV . . . it was all perfect for my overly paranoid mind and it scared me silly.

Then it ended, and I looked at the mound of unread pages in my right hand and thought, "Now what?"

By the time I finished the book, the glory days of the first half seemed so far away.

[glitterbug]

I was the complete opposite: I didn't really enjoy the beginning of The Stand, but once it got going, and the journeys all began, I really got into it. I was a bit disappointed by the end (why certain people died etc) but generally I thought it was a really absorbing read, particularly considering how long it is.

[raqs]

I think everything he wrote before The Dark Half was excellent and creepy. Once I read The Dark Half, though, I could feel a noticeable change. I've always wondered if he quit drinking and drugging right around then, and can't seem to put a story together w/o the outside influences. If that's true, that's pretty sad, since he'll probably enver write anything as good as Carrie or The Stand again, if he stays sober.

This is spot on, and I agree with the feeling that he has become a mere shadow of his former self - PERIOD! - since his accident. In fact my conspiracy theorist hubby is convinced that the *real* Stephen King died in the accident and the person we see now is a half-assed Dark Half alter ego.

Sad though his personal life is, I have long enjoyed his style of writing, particularly the earlier works. He had the ability to totally draw the reader into the story, with detailed descriptions and fleshed out scenarios. I miss that.

[ernestine]

I am a big fan of Stephen King, but I haven't read anyting new he's written in a long time. He has written the scariest book I've ever read (Pet Semetary) which I read every year, and freak myself out with every year. When he is in the cemetary it is the scariest prose ever. I know how this ends and it STILL gets to me. I also adore Misery. The last novel I read of his was The Girl who Love Tom Gordon. That book was pretty good. Good, but not great. The last book I read of his that I really loved was Gerald's Game. I spent the whole book assuming she was hallucinating, only to be floored towards the end when she wasn't.

I LOVED On Writing. I loved all the autobiographical parts and I thoght he gave great tips on writing in it. My favorite part of the book were the parts he wrote about his wife. He really loves her. That shone brightly through the book, and made me like him more. He gushes about her beauty and her personality, and yet I looked her up and she's not beautiful (to be fair, she might have been when she was younger, and he's no looker either) and from the way he's describled her personality, she sounds rather vinegary. I enjoyed the differences between the way he thinks of her, verses the way he describes her. It was too cute.

I loathed IT. Huge waste of time. Parts of it were good and scary, but it was way too long, and the end sucked. I also only liked the first half of The Stand. It seemed very aimless. Like he wandered around and finally just decided to end it. Not like he shot towards the end like a bullet.

I also loved his short story The Bogeyman. Scared me to death. I still close closet doors behind me WITHOUT FAIL because of this silly story. I also liked the one called Quitter's Incorporated. My favorite short story by him though, was called something like Swan dive. It was about a girl who kills herself and her brothers regret about their life. It's not scary, it's VERY well-written, and just a lovely tale. Probably my favorite short story ever.

Danse Macabre is great and I read it pretty much every year. Well, I skip around in it and just reread my favorite parts, of which there are many.

I think he's a very talented writer who has a tendency to bloat his stories up, and could benefit from a great editor. I haven't noticed a decline in his work, but I haven't read any really recent stuff by him either. (I have a hard time finding time to read these days, and when I do, I make sure it's something that sounds compelling. None of his recent stuff has made it past the back of the book synopsis point, but I'm sure if I picked one up, I'd enjoy it.) I almost always do.

When he's on, he's smokin' hot.

[emersende]

Okay, you guys got me. I celebrated Halloween by getting Danse Macabre from the library, and then I bought a copy because I liked it so much. And today I got some books from the library- two story collections, so I read some stories, and now I'm ready to start in on The Shining. And I have other work to do! Important reading and stuff!

So I don't think he'll be one of my favorite authors, but I look forward to reading The Shining, and I think I'll enjoy it.

[Deleted]

raqs said:

Sad though his personal life is, I have long enjoyed his style of writing, particularly the earlier works. He had the ability to totally draw the reader into the story, with detailed descriptions and fleshed out scenarios. I miss that.

It wasn't even that he used a ton of adjectives and comparisons, either. My favorite aspect of his writing is the fact that he can write a sentence or two about his characters and you can practically picture them in your head. He nailed the New England accents and ideas people here have about life. I can still picture Judd Crandall in my head and hear his voice, and I haven't read that book in years (He looks nothing like Fred Whatshisname who played him in the movie - not so tall; w/ white, thinner hair that he tried to comb over but always blew in the wind; large, calloused, red hands w/ thick nails; a red and black flannel shirt w/ worn out elbows...).

ernestine said:

I also loved his short story The Bogeyman. Scared me to death. I still close closet doors behind me WITHOUT FAIL because of this silly story.

Absolutely my favorite story. Every time I read it, I picture him as looking different, like his description in the book changes itself everytime I start it *shudders*. Just thinking about that baby crying, "Craws! Craws, Daddy!" Poor, scared, helpess little thing, stuck in her crib and watching this monster come into her room and get a little bit closer every night.

Any opinions on The Talisman? I loved this book the first time I read it. I was probably the same age as Jack the first time I ever picked it up. I was totally enthralled. Unfortunately, I tried to re-experience that feeling as an asult and I just couldn't suspend my disbelief. Not that I couldn't get into the story - I just couldn't get over Jack's mother being so irresponsible w/ his safety. She knew she was sick, so she took off w/ her kid and hid in a hotel, and did nothing to plan for what would happen to him if/when she died. Then Jack gets into so much trouble while he's crossing the country and practically gets killed a ton of times. No one knew where he was or how to find him, or would even know if he was lost or dead somewhere. I know I've over analyzed it, but this thought in the back of my mind keeps me from enjoying myself.

I just found Fangoria on my bookshelf and I'm thinking about rereading it. I can't really remember much about it. Has anyone else read it? It's interviews w/ him and Clive Barker.

I remember reading something that seemed like the idea for another story that SK never followed up on. In the short story, The Mist, the little boy is walking up his driveway to talk to his father, and he gets an idea in his head about trees that come to life and attack people. Kinda like those tree people from the LOTR movies/books (pardon my lack of LOTR knowledge). I've always thought that he could have made that into a creepy, surreal type of short story, comporable to to The Mangler. Oh, well.

[hamhock]

I was enjoying "the Plant", the one he put on the Internet and then asked people to pay a dollar for each installment. I wish he'd finish it.

[Deleted]

he gets an idea in his head about trees that come to life and attack people.

Sounds like the shrubs in The Shining.

[Deleted]

poorfrances said:

he gets an idea in his head about trees that come to life and attack people.

Sounds like the shrubs in The Shining.

I always thought the shrubs in The Shining were hallucinations of a sort. I can't remember the exact wording (does anyone have a copy of Skeleton Crew?), but IIRC, it was something to do w/ the bark on the big trees looking like gnashing teeth, and arm branches that swung around...

Who knows. Maybe I made it all up in my head. Wouldn't be the first time.