Stephen King could write on
the shithouse wall and I would read it.
You might say that I am one of his constant readers. This, however, doesn't mean that I view
everything he writes as equal; or that I enjoy every book the same.
To be somewhat critical, I
believe his best books were written during the seventies and eighties. The rest are good reads, for the most part,
but the real thrillers – the one’s that reach out of the dark corner of the
room and grab you when you least expect it
- the classics - are his earliest books.
I dare you to read Salem’s Lot late, on a dark, windy night
alone and not get the shivers. Pet Cemetery
That said; his new book
Doctor Sleep is vintage King. In order
to make connections you must have read The Shining (or at least seen to movie.) But this ‘can’t put it down’ page turner will grab you from the very first
chapter.
On a side note about movies
made from King’s books: most sucked a root.
Salem
People seem to either love
King or don’t like him…It is probably more their take on the genre.
But if you are a King fan:
check out Doctor Sleep.
the Ol’Buzzard
If I could handle being scared, I would love Stephen King. However, I hate being scared. Guess I don't have good boundaries or something, but I'm that person in the theater who screams hysterically at a spider.
ReplyDeletedifferent strokes makes life interesting. If we all like the same there would be no variety.
DeleteO'B
I really did like dr sleep..but he has a way sometimes of drifting off at the end..I remember reading pet cemetery and getting to the part when the little boy got killed..I wanted to kick his ass..but it was some scary shit..The Shining and Salem's Lot are 2 of my favorites along with IT. did you read the one about the day of kennedy's death? 11/22/63? very good.
ReplyDelete11/22/63 was awesome!
DeleteWe once lived in Lisbon Falls, about a mile from the old mill with the door to the past.
DeleteO'B
I LOVED Doctor Sleep. You're absolutely right - vintage King. And I'm just as big a fan of his as you .. and yeah, most of his movies sucked. Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Carrie and Stand By Me were pretty good. The rest.. meh. Remember how bad Christine was???
ReplyDeleteI agree with your movie choices.
DeleteO'B
I'll agree most of the movies sucked, especially if one had read the book before hand. The TV version of "The Stand" being one of the better treatments.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I went through a King phase back in the 80s and 90s. Read some of his stuff since then and thought he was really just going through the motions most of the time. Several of his short stories grabbed me. But they were really outside what I would call his horror niche. "Dolores Claiborne" was the only novel from after his "classics" that I really liked.
Gerald's Game was interesting.
DeleteO'B
I loved the early King but think I stopped reading his work after Pet Sematary. For some reason, the logical flaws and the overall creepiness factor in Pet Sematary turned me off enough that I haven't read anything by him since then. He does have a remarkable ability to take the ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary, though. That scene in Salem's Lot where the kid repels the vampire by using a model he'd been working on that had a cross on it? Pure gold. And one of his short stories made me decide to avoid drinking beer out of a can if at all humanly possible. Sure, it was fiction, but he managed to make the notion that something disgusting in a can of cheap beer could turn a person into a giant slug totally plausible.
ReplyDeleteHave you read his nonfiction? Anyone who has any fantasies about being a writer or wonders at all about what inspires Stephen King should read his nonfiction. Both Danse Macabre and On Writing are really good.
I like both.
DeleteOB
My better half is a big King fan, belongs to his book club and just finished Doctor Sleep. When I told her of this post she said the only thing she doesn't have (Stephen, Tabitha or Bachman) is a book called 'Joyland'. Soooo ... I just ordered it for her ....
ReplyDeleteDid Anne Rice for a long time, then James Michner, James Clavell, and lately I am into Tom Clancy. Reading stimulates the mind regardless of the genre.
ReplyDeleteGood post!
Ron