Stephen King and his brother, Nosmo.

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InfiniteDreamer

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Honestly, I haven't noticed a difference in his writing before or after his addiction. I find that he's got strong areas either way. I do agree that his short stories seem more powerful in a ways his novels don't, possibly due to the fact that there is less amount of space he has to work with.

Secret Window, Secret Garden is an excellent example as to what King can do in a short story.(And the movie was awesome as well. Definitely like that ending more.) But my favourite novel has to be Misery. I found that it had a raw edge to it that appealed to the darker side of me ;)

The ones that I could have done without reading were Under the Dome and Thinner. I found both quite boring. And the characters fell flat to me :Shrug:
 
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I started reading 11.22.63 last night and it really sucked me in. It has an air of creepy suspense to it, I think. I'm around 80 pages into it already, and that was with having other things to take care of yesterday, so even though it's a doorstopper, it looks like it'll be a quick read for me.
 

shaldna

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I started reading 11.22.63 last night and it really sucked me in. It has an air of creepy suspense to it, I think. I'm around 80 pages into it already, and that was with having other things to take care of yesterday, so even though it's a doorstopper, it looks like it'll be a quick read for me.

I've heard mixed things about it which sort of put me off, especially since i'm not a huge SK fan. Let me know if it's woth reading
 

seun

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I've heard mixed things about it which sort of put me off, especially since i'm not a huge SK fan. Let me know if it's woth reading

I'm not SP (as you may have noticed) but I will jump in here and say I thought it was one of the best things he's written in years.
 
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I'm not SP (as you may have noticed) but I will jump in here and say I thought it was one of the best things he's written in years.
I have longer hair, for a start.

seun looks prettier in a dress, though.
 
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I hope there are more differences between us than hair length and me wearing lady clothes.

Wow. We have officially turned this into the strangest thread ever.
I like to think Stephen King would be proud.
 

Jamesaritchie

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And then..... Bag of Bones. I hated that so much I've never bought another one.

Matter of taste. I believe Bag of Bones is one of King's best books. It's also the one credited with his resurgence, and won the Bram Stoker Award, and the British Fantasy Award.
 

Marumae

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'Bag of Bones' was a complex one for me, one I had a hard time getting through and ended up not finishing. On one hand the general, feel of the books plot and storyline reminded me of 'Classic' King but the execution, felt more in line with this newer style. It might have been one of those books I simply couldn't get into but I have a friend who swears it's one of the best books she's ever read so *shrugs*.

I'm curious what are peoples thoughts about Stephen's descents into sci-fi? With Tommyknockers and...um...spoilers just to be safe *START* (Under the Dome?)**END*, and compared stories directly sort of connected to The Dark Tower universe. Is there a difference in tone or general feel of the story there? Do people prefer one over the other? I know a family friend whose a hardcore stephen king fan hates it when he brings science fiction "alien"-y plots into his books and while I disliked Tommyknockers, the others I'm not so sure about. I've noticed this with a couple other fans. Thoughts?
 

quicklime

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Matter of taste. I believe Bag of Bones is one of King's best books. It's also the one credited with his resurgence, and won the Bram Stoker Award, and the British Fantasy Award.


I also liked Bag of Bones. Immensely.

So much it made me read Rebecca, one of the few old books I truly enjoy. Also so much it made me start writing.
 

firedrake

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'Bag of Bones' was a complex one for me, one I had a hard time getting through and ended up not finishing. On one hand the general, feel of the books plot and storyline reminded me of 'Classic' King but the execution, felt more in line with this newer style. It might have been one of those books I simply couldn't get into but I have a friend who swears it's one of the best books she's ever read so *shrugs*.

I'm curious what are peoples thoughts about Stephen's descents into sci-fi? With Tommyknockers and...um...spoilers just to be safe *START* (Under the Dome?)**END*, and compared stories directly sort of connected to The Dark Tower universe. Is there a difference in tone or general feel of the story there? Do people prefer one over the other? I know a family friend whose a hardcore stephen king fan hates it when he brings science fiction "alien"-y plots into his books and while I disliked Tommyknockers, the others I'm not so sure about. I've noticed this with a couple other fans. Thoughts?

I wasn't crazy about Tommyknockers. I did enjoy Under the Dome because King redeemed himself for the awful "Cell", which always struck me as a "I'm bored, I think I'll just write something to keep busy." kind of book. I stayed away from The Dark Tower books for a long time. I didn't think I'd enjoy them then my ex boss loaned them to me and I was hooked. King has written so many books now that I think that there will be some that people will hate and others that they'll love and everyone's preferences are different as is evident by the posts in this thread.
 

crunchyblanket

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I loved the Dark Tower series, but Tommyknockers was utter shite and I was seriously underwhelmed by Under The Dome. I suppose The Stand counts as sci-fi, and to my mind it's one of the best examples of post-apocalyptic fiction out there. As for Dreamcatcher...the less said about that, the better.

And I loved Bag of Bones.
 

quicklime

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I loved the Dark Tower series, but Tommyknockers was utter shite and I was seriously underwhelmed by Under The Dome. I suppose The Stand counts as sci-fi, and to my mind it's one of the best examples of post-apocalyptic fiction out there. As for Dreamcatcher...the less said about that, the better.

And I loved Bag of Bones.


the only high point in that book, besides finishing it, was teasing my kids about "shit weasels".

the dome was interesting but felt a bit heavy-handed--he wanted an anti-obama devil in there and even though i agree with King's politics, the bad guy felt a bit less subtle than he could have been, especially if you left him as a creepy, power-mad fuck with right-leaning tendencies without going for the O-card...it just felt too "easy" or simple. Tommyknockers wasn't that great, he's said as much, but then The Stand, while I liked it, wasn't a favorite of mine either.

so, for the folks who read the Tower books, where (if ever) did you think they went off the rails? Because much as I love King, I was feeling considerably less than charitable by the end of that series.......
 

crunchyblanket

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the only high point in that book, besides finishing it, was teasing my kids about "shit weasels".


so, for the folks who read the Tower books, where (if ever) did you think they went off the rails? Because much as I love King, I was feeling considerably less than charitable by the end of that series.......

Although I love it, it's a very inconsistent series. The Gunslinger and Drawing Of The Three were superb. I enjoyed The Wasteland, although it sagged in the middle. Wizard and Glass had good moments but it was essentially an over-long flashback. I thought Wolves Of The Calla, for the most part, was excellent, and Song Of Susannah was really disappointing on the heels of that - too much nonsense. As for the last book...moments of great genius interspersed with complete WTFery (spoilers): (killing Eddie off? The big bad Mordred killed by bad horsemeat? That weird epilogue in New York?)

The ending itself, though, I really liked, although others thought it was a huge copout.
 

quicklime

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the ending was sort of rough, i didn't like it, but it could have been better without the spoilers you mentioned--it was very "Planet of the Apes" bleak, and that sort of "WTF!?!" could have worked really well I think, except there were so many other less effective "WTF!!!" moments before that, like those you mentioned, and the eraser. I think basically those took a toll on the whole "suspension of disbelief" to the point where it was on a hair-trigger when I got to the end, and that made it a harder pill to swallow.
 

seun

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I had no problem with the DT books although I can see why some aspects of them pissed people off. Under The Dome didn't do a great deal for me. It was OK but not much more than that.
 

Amadan

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I'm curious what are peoples thoughts about Stephen's descents into sci-fi? With Tommyknockers and...um...spoilers just to be safe *START* (Under the Dome?)**END*, and compared stories directly sort of connected to The Dark Tower universe. Is there a difference in tone or general feel of the story there? Do people prefer one over the other? I know a family friend whose a hardcore stephen king fan hates it when he brings science fiction "alien"-y plots into his books and while I disliked Tommyknockers, the others I'm not so sure about. I've noticed this with a couple other fans. Thoughts?


I've only read The Gunslinger, and frankly, didn't like it much, so haven't gone on to read the rest of the DT series.

I think King does SF fine, though he writes a very fantastical Lovecraftian sort of sci-fi; his books always blur the line between sci-fi and fantasy (such as the psi-powers books, Carrie, The Dead Zone, and Firestarter).

Tommyknockers wasn't great, but not because of the SF elements but because he just had no discipline (or really coherent plot) while writing it.
 

swvaughn

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so, for the folks who read the Tower books, where (if ever) did you think they went off the rails? Because much as I love King, I was feeling considerably less than charitable by the end of that series.......

WIZARD AND GLASS GRRRRRR.

I stopped right there (after I did a wallbanger with the damned thing). And once I heard what went on in the rest of the series, I was glad I did.

But FWIW, I loved Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three and Wastelands.
 
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