Stephen King

livinginkorea

I remember "IT" very well eventhough I read it more than 10 years ago. A brillant read. Also read The Shinning, The Stand, Tommyknockers, Desperation, The Green Mile, Gerald's Game and Dreamcatcher.

Ann22

I think he's a great writer, really gifted. I loved most of his books I've read...Salem's Lot (no book has scared me as much as this one -just brilliant!:eek:), The Stand, The Shining, Misery, Gerald's Game, Rose Madder, Insomnia,Eyes of the Dragon, The Dark Tower series, The Green Mile. Many of his short stories. The Just After Sunset collection were great.

I liked The Tommyknockers, Christine, Desperation, Bag o'bones.

I wasn't so keen on Cell, Under the Dome, Duma Key or From a Buick 8.

I probably left some out.

Dohnny Jepp

King is my favourite author. I've just finished Under the Dome and it really is up there with his best. This book is of "The Stand" quality. For those who are thinking - ah I like his old stuff wouldnt bother with his new stuff. - well he started this one 30 years ago and being typical of himself he forgot about it till recently!

pavb2

Just got The Stand based on readers recommendations,didn't realise it was 1000 pages till I took off shelf. Have to read it before holidays otherwise will exceed baggage allowance!!!!!!!!!!!

crotalus667

pavb2 wrote: »

Just got The Stand based on readers recommendations,didn't realise it was 1000 pages till I took off shelf. Have to read it before holidays otherwise will exceed baggage allowance!!!!!!!!!!!

yep thats the uncut one the first print they made him cut it down then the fans called for it to be rerealesed in it's full form iirc

Culann

I've read a great many of his books...I'm surprised no one has mentioned 'Thinner', it's really good. Also, 'Rage' and 'Roadwork' published as part of the Bachman book collection deserve attention. 'Hearts in Atlantis' was good as I recall. He's written so many good books that the bad ones really stand out...

questioner

ive read everything except duma key , favourite author for a long time. love the recurring themes, the tower etc. I think i heard a rumour about the dark tower being made into a film, i think del toro would be the man for the job personally. jacksons had his day in the sun. Incidentally del toros latest is well worth a read "the strain"

Outkast_IRE

questioner wrote: »

ive read everything except duma key , favourite author for a long time. love the recurring themes, the tower etc. I think i heard a rumour about the dark tower being made into a film, i think del toro would be the man for the job personally. jacksons had his day in the sun. Incidentally del toros latest is well worth a read "the strain"

I think peter jacksons best asest is his abilty as a producer/screenwriter, his work on the hobbit will confirm this ..............
I dunno how true it is but i heard . JJ Abrams is a huge fan of the series and is currently seeing if it could be done ..

questioner

abrams work on star strek was not my cup of tea at all, i think the dark tower could do with someone like del toro to give it the right flavour

Klingon Hamlet

His short stories pack a lot more punch for me

Canis_Lupus

Christine has to be one of my favourites. I love the 70's Americana vibe.

The Shining is another fantastic one. As much as I love Jack Nicholson it beats the film any day.

Giselle

The first King book I read was The Stand, that was about 18 months ago. I loved it, and watched the mini-series recently (bit twee I thought). I'd like to see it remade with a big budget and some star power.

I've read Dolorous Claibourne, Different Seasons, The Shining - I love the Jack Nicholson movie - and my favourite, thus far, is Misery. The movie does the book justice too imo.

I've enjoyed his short stories, especially Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body, on which the movie Stand By Me was based.

He's not a 'great' writer, he doesn't come close to the likes of Richard Harris in lots of ways, but he is a great read. He doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he is, just a storyteller of really popular fiction that entertains and engages you for a few hours. Its all I ask of most authors.

indough

ah now, the stand mini-series had plenty of 'star power', there were numerous easily recognizable faces in it and i dont think that was the problem (i did, however, find their choice of actor for randall flagg to be a terrible one)

it was a bit twee alright but i cant see it being remade for a while as its got to be a difficult prospect to film, i loved the book but the story sort of falls apart when it is presented by a visual medium

the

'hand of god'

part at the end and the monologues of mother abigail, for example, were cringe inducingly bad and i dont see how they could be made to seem much better

Busi_Girl08

I remember reading Misery, and I found it scarier than the film :eek:

It was the ending that got me

I liked the Shining aswell, but to be honest I thought it dragged a little at some points.
Also, I didn't really like how he made it seem more like

Jack was possessed, rather that slowly driven insane. I wasn't too crazy about that bit at the end when he very briefly regained control over himself to tell Danny to run away, etc.

I love Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption aswell. Couldn't help but read it all in Morgan Freeman's voice though

I really want to read It now. Any time I hear it mentioned, I hear the words "unforgettable", "terrifying" and "nightmares"

I'm starting The Green Mile tonight, so I assume I might be crying?

Outkast_IRE

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I remember reading Misery, and I found it scarier than the film :eek:

It was the ending that got me

I liked the Shining aswell, but to be honest I thought it dragged a little at some points.
Also, I didn't really like how he made it seem more like

Jack was possessed, rather that slowly driven insane. I wasn't too crazy about that bit at the end when he very briefly regained control over himself to tell Danny to run away, etc.

I love Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption aswell. Couldn't help but read it all in Morgan Freeman's voice though

I really want to read It now. Any time I hear it mentioned, I hear the words "unforgettable", "terrifying" and "nightmares"

I'm starting The Green Mile tonight, so I assume I might be crying?

Dunno about crying but its a great short story...........
you should try The Stand if you have the time its a long but brilliant book,
Im in the middle of The Dark tower series at the moment and in the long run i think they will be seen as some of his best writing and they have the potential to be made into a few epic films.

Klingon Hamlet

He has a talent for creating horrifying dreamscapes. I've read many of his short stories and most of them start as quaint, mostly childlike tales, but they all go off on a tangent where things turn dark and haunting. Mysterious men/creatures go from intriguing to downright heartstoppingly scary. I remember one story where a kid lost his baby brother in a wood, and he went out there, and met a man with bright eyes...only when he looked closely he had no pupils, or eyes, but rather sockets filled with hellfire...scary:(

sxt

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Dunno about crying but its a great short story...........
you should try The Stand if you have the time its a long but brilliant book,
Im in the middle of The Dark tower series at the moment and in the long run i think they will be seen as some of his best writing and they have the potential to be made into a few epic films.

Looks like the "dark tower" will be made into 3 films ,directed by Ron howard, and a tv series.

http://www.deadline.com/2010/04/stephen-kings-dark-tower-set-for-film-trilogy-tv-series-by-beautiful-mind-trio/

live.life

I love Stephen King and I've read most of his books - my favourites are Salem's Lot, Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Shining, The Stand, It, and I absolutely love the Different Seasons stories. I think his older books are better than some of his newest ones. I've never really liked the Dark Tower series.

Giselle

I was passed a copy of Duma Key today, and thought of this thread.

I get the impression its a bit of a departure? Any opinions?

I have about 40 unread books waiting for attention, and I'm terrible at prioritising!:)

moonflower

Giselle wrote: »

I was passed a copy of Duma Key today, and thought of this thread.

I get the impression its a bit of a departure? Any opinions?

I have about 40 unread books waiting for attention, and I'm terrible at prioritising!:)

Don't read it at night if you're easily freaked out! I haven't read many of his books and Duma Key was not what I was expecting at all, at the start I found it a little boring, then confusing, then by the end I was really enjoying it.

tian shi

To be honest,the duma key was not my most favourite King novel.

I always enjoy reading the dark tower series, as well as the novels/novella's published under his two pseudonym's

thebullkf

IT....(we all float down here..)


The Stand.....{..trashcan man....}


Pet Semetary....[good oul Jud}

Dark Tower (except number 6:rolleyes::rolleyes:)....say thankya




Salem's Lot(re-printed "original Cut" edition)...('pere Callaghan scene)




fook it....


gonna name stuff i didn't like....


The Shining
{i was all 'King'd' out if you like....reading too much:p}

Talisman{-esp after reading DT}

The Colorado Kid.-though its extremely well weritten,it feels like it was written in the hope it would turn up on school curriculum sometime...like The Girl who loved Tom Gordon.{which i love btw ..infinitely better}



anyways...

vangoz

sxt wrote: »

Looks like the "dark tower" will be made into 3 films ,directed by Ron howard, and a tv series.

http://www.deadline.com/2010/04/stephen-kings-dark-tower-set-for-film-trilogy-tv-series-by-beautiful-mind-trio/

Great!!!! Last I checked the guys from lost backed out of the project. Thanks for the update. (on book 6 atm..... not the best of the series!!!)

Adr.

King is great, though he has written some stinkers in his time. Considering his prodigious output (50+ novels and short story collections) it's not suprising to find that he can be a bit hit and miss at times.

Of the ones I've read (and I've read quite a few) I can recommend

The Shining
'Salem's Lot
The Green Mile
Misery
Pet Semetary (probably his bleakest book)
The Stand (with reservations because I *hate* the deus ex machina ending)
Hearts in Atlantis
Different Seasons

Ones I didn't like are:

The Tommyknockers and, 'erm, that's about it really.

I still haven't read the Dark Tower sequence so I have no opinion on it either way. I also enjoyed IT but found it to be problematic (again, the ending)

youcancallmeal

I've mostly enjoyed the Stephen King books I've read but like others have said he seems to have problems with writing decent endings. What I can remember from reading some of his books:

The Stand (Up there with my top 10 books of all time, have read both cut and uncut version numerous times!)
Insomnia (Read it years ago and I just remember it being absolutely off the wall, couldnt understand what was going on for large parts of it?)
Needful Things (I really enjoyed this book, very good characters and an interesting plot)
Duma Key (Seems like King went on holiday to the Florida Keys and decided to write this book while he was there, not good at all)
Desperation (Don't remember a lot about this book except for the crazy possessed cop going around killing everyone?)
The Bachman Books (I really liked the Long walk and Roadwork but wasnt mad on Rage and Running Man)
Thinner (One of his first books I ever read. Freaked me out at the time, think I was only 12/13)
Under the Dome (Very good until about 20 pages to go. The ending just seems rushed and tacked on as if he only decided what it would be when he got there)

I'm pretty certain there are other but this is all that comes to mind right now. I hope to get around to reading the Dark Tower series but its very expensive, might ask for it as present next xmas

Outkast_IRE

you can get a dark tower box set with the first 4 books for good prices online.

Hey guys nearly finsihed book 4 of the dark tower , just wondering for those who have read it is it good to push on to book 5 or give it a break and come back to it.
I think book 4 is brilliant and dont want to be let down pushing on to the next one ??

sxt

Book 4 is beautiful, my favourite of the dark series-I actually never got to read book 5 because I could not find it anywhere at the time

Outkast_IRE

sxt wrote: »

Book 4 is beautiful, my favourite of the dark series-I actually never got to read book 5 because I could not find it anywhere at the time

well they dont make it easy now either, i got a box set of 1-4 nice covers and case for them , they dont seem to make any set of 5,6,7 :mad: , whats the point of a box set of half the series. Book 4 is class the best of the series so far

Spiritoftheseventies

I think he borrowed a lot from JD Salinger but some terrific books. Read him religiously in my youth.
His collaboration with Peter Straub The Talisman I enjoyed a lot and liked Different seasons from which stand by me and the shawshank redemption were both adapted for the big screen.

Eoin

I can't understand the fuss over Salems Lot. I re-read it last year and thought it was pretty average. And on the slip side, I thought the Tommyknockers was a great book.

The Dark Half is a good one that's not mentioned too often, and I really liked The Dead Zone too.