Gotta add Duma Key in here. It's as good as anything he's written.Cail wrote:The Stand-I first read it when I was way too young for such things.
Wizard and Glass-Absolutely hated it the first time I read it. I was sobbing like a baby the second time. For my money, one of the most beautiful pieces of fiction I've ever read.
It-Read it in a single sitting the day before classes started my freshman year of college. Scared the bejeezus out of me.
The Shining-An absolute paranoid/claustrophobic masterpiece. Made into a crappy movie.
The Dead Zone-Johnny is such a great tragic character. Made into a very underrated movie.
Firestarter-Great premise, well-told story. Can't really say why I like it so much, I just do.
What do you think his best book(s) are?
Moderator: lucimay
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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The Stand
IT
Needful Things
Dark Tower (save last two books)
Dolores Clairborne
Dolores Clairborne I really enjoyed, big departure from his usual style. The last two DT books disappointed me. My mind has changed about the ending, though, I first saw it as a huge cop out, but upon reflection thought it was fitting.
IT
Needful Things
Dark Tower (save last two books)
Dolores Clairborne
Dolores Clairborne I really enjoyed, big departure from his usual style. The last two DT books disappointed me. My mind has changed about the ending, though, I first saw it as a huge cop out, but upon reflection thought it was fitting.
^"Amusing, worth talking to, completely insane...pick your favourite." - Avatar
https://variousglimpses.wordpress.com
https://variousglimpses.wordpress.com
did you ever find Duma Key Av? if not, i'll send it to ya.Avatar wrote:Must find a copy of that. Still haven't managed to read it.
--A
i haven't sent a box to south africa in quite a while now, eh?
(and i'm concurring with cail, good book)
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
- Cornaquious
- Servant of the Land
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:35 pm
The Stand
It's Stephen King's magnum opus. I re-read this every couple of years. I'm always finding something new and yet I can't wait to get to any of many of my favorite parts.
Different Season's is my favorite short story collection. My heart bursts with jubilation at the discovery of the escape in Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. IMHO, King tops that with different kind of "ghost of Christmas past" story in A Winter's Tale: The Breathing Method, this may be SK's most under-rated story he's written.
It's Stephen King's magnum opus. I re-read this every couple of years. I'm always finding something new and yet I can't wait to get to any of many of my favorite parts.
Different Season's is my favorite short story collection. My heart bursts with jubilation at the discovery of the escape in Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. IMHO, King tops that with different kind of "ghost of Christmas past" story in A Winter's Tale: The Breathing Method, this may be SK's most under-rated story he's written.
Something there is in beauty
- Horrim Carabal
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 612
- Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:13 am
- Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
yeah I loved Lisey's Story and Duma Key. and Blaze for that matter.
it's much easier for me to say which King books I DIDN'T like than to pick favorites but the ones I read over and over are
The Stand
It
Insomnia
The Shining
Different Seasons (yes I agree that The Breathing Method was underrated!)
Dolores Claiborne
Rose Madder
Desperation
Bag of Bones
Hearts in Atlantis
and i'm adding
11/22/63
and
Joyland to the must be read over and over pile.
and i'm eagerly awaiting the release of Dr. Sleep! woot!
it's much easier for me to say which King books I DIDN'T like than to pick favorites but the ones I read over and over are
The Stand
It
Insomnia
The Shining
Different Seasons (yes I agree that The Breathing Method was underrated!)
Dolores Claiborne
Rose Madder
Desperation
Bag of Bones
Hearts in Atlantis
and i'm adding
11/22/63
and
Joyland to the must be read over and over pile.
and i'm eagerly awaiting the release of Dr. Sleep! woot!
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
I like Rose Madder for the whole terrifying beginning and...it's a woman thing probably...I appreciate the depiction of what that whole situation is like. the domestic violence thing. he did a good job on that.
bag of bones...there was some very classically king creepy stuff in there.
the letter magnets, the drive up to the lake house...some good creep out stuff. heh. first time I read it I was all like omg! king gets his creepy on again! oh and did you see the movie? it was a 2 night thing on A&E tv, it was pretty good (for a tv king adaptation)!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y57K6IoAj7Y
bag of bones...there was some very classically king creepy stuff in there.
the letter magnets, the drive up to the lake house...some good creep out stuff. heh. first time I read it I was all like omg! king gets his creepy on again! oh and did you see the movie? it was a 2 night thing on A&E tv, it was pretty good (for a tv king adaptation)!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y57K6IoAj7Y
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
- Avatar
- Immanentizing The Eschaton
- Posts: 61746
- Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:17 am
- Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Has thanked: 15 times
- Been thanked: 21 times
Nah, after Bag of Bones, I didn't buy another King book (apart from the DT) until...well, probably Duma Key very recently. Which I only got because of recs here, and the fact that I'd enjoyed Cell, which sorta made me think he might be recovering from his slump.
It really put me off his new style, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon did nothing to reassure me...
--A
It really put me off his new style, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon did nothing to reassure me...
--A
oh Av! lol!!! he's Stephen King. even his CRAP gets published!
king crap list:
thegirlwhoblahblahblah'd out in the woods
under the gnarly mysterious dome
hey cell phones are creepy
big slobbering dog goes crazy
alien byrus infects earth
is leland gaunt's real name randall flagg
and the only thing I liked about The Tommyknockers was the rhyme
...I wanna go to sleep but I don't know if I can
cause i'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man! eeeeeeeee!!!!!! scury!!
and I gotta tell ya, I wasn't all that knocked out by
Pet Sematary or Misery when I read them the first time.
fred qwynn made me like pet sematary
and kathy bates and james caan made me like misery.
still...i'll read whatever he writes. even his crap doesn't put me off him! heh.
king crap list:
thegirlwhoblahblahblah'd out in the woods
under the gnarly mysterious dome
hey cell phones are creepy
big slobbering dog goes crazy
alien byrus infects earth
is leland gaunt's real name randall flagg
and the only thing I liked about The Tommyknockers was the rhyme
...I wanna go to sleep but I don't know if I can
cause i'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man! eeeeeeeee!!!!!! scury!!
and I gotta tell ya, I wasn't all that knocked out by
Pet Sematary or Misery when I read them the first time.
fred qwynn made me like pet sematary
and kathy bates and james caan made me like misery.
still...i'll read whatever he writes. even his crap doesn't put me off him! heh.
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
- Horrim Carabal
- <i>Haruchai</i>
- Posts: 612
- Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:13 am
- Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
I think those two are made better by watching the movies. I find Pet Sematary to be King's most disturbing book, because of the implications and also the characters' actions.lucimay wrote: and I gotta tell ya, I wasn't all that knocked out by
Pet Sematary or Misery when I read them the first time.
fred qwynn made me like pet sematary
I mean, after all that happens with the cat, and the kid, he takes his wife up there. By that point the man is totally insane.
I agree totally. PS is one of the most disturbing.Horrim Carabal wrote:I think those two are made better by watching the movies. I find Pet Sematary to be King's most disturbing book, because of the implications and also the characters' actions.lucimay wrote: and I gotta tell ya, I wasn't all that knocked out by
Pet Sematary or Misery when I read them the first time.
fred qwynn made me like pet sematary
I mean, after all that happens with the cat, and the kid, he takes his wife up there. By that point the man is totally insane.
there are several "what if" situations he sets up that I find
disturbing. what happened to jack torrence in the shining
was disturbing to me personally. the things rose suffered
in rose madder were disturbing. Dolores Claiborne as well.
even
while I know why his books are considered "horror", many
times, in many of the books, it's not the weird supernatural
stuff that MAKES them horror.
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
- Avatar
- Immanentizing The Eschaton
- Posts: 61746
- Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:17 am
- Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Has thanked: 15 times
- Been thanked: 21 times
I liked Cell. And I like Needful Things. I still reread it every now and then.
And c'mon, Cujo was pretty good.
(Alien Virus?)
I hated the Pet Semetary and Misery movies. Misery the book was pretty creepy...more so for the lack of supernatural stuff. Pet Semetary...meh...not his worst, not his best either.
(And weren't the fist two lines "Late last night and the night before / Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at my door...?)
--A
And c'mon, Cujo was pretty good.
(Alien Virus?)
I hated the Pet Semetary and Misery movies. Misery the book was pretty creepy...more so for the lack of supernatural stuff. Pet Semetary...meh...not his worst, not his best either.
(And weren't the fist two lines "Late last night and the night before / Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at my door...?)
--A
Duma Key was a really well written book. I haven't been a fan of his stuff recently. Did not like Cell at all. I thought it was very formula. And couldn't stand Under the Dome. That ending was terrible. But Duma Key was an introspective, well thought out book. I had the feeling it was greatly influenced by his own accident where he was so badly injured. Loved the story. And his writing of the shells under the house is brilliant. It isn't a book for someone who is looking for scary looking ghosts and boo in the night stuff.
- TheFallen
- Master of Innominate Surquedry
- Posts: 3155
- Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:16 pm
- Location: Guildford, UK
- Has thanked: 1 time
Not read the entire King canon of oeuvres, but personal faves include:-
The Stand (though now it reads very dated).
The Green Mile
11.22.63
Needful Things
Eyes of The Dragon
Firestarter
The Dead Zone
Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
The Body
The Langoliers
In terms of movies - whether cinema or made-for-TV - there've been a good few standouts and a good few turkeys:-
I liked the David Soul Salem's lot mini-series.
I liked the Drew Barrymore Firestarter adaptation.
I really liked the Chris Walken Dead Zone adaptation.
Loved both Shawshank, Green Mile and Stand By Me.
Disliked The Stand intensely - Chockablock with 80s bratpack members.
Disliked Christine
Disliked It
Hated Cujo
Worst two of 'em all?
Schwarzenegger's Running Man and
Maximum Overdrive
Never read The Dark Tower septology....
The Stand (though now it reads very dated).
The Green Mile
11.22.63
Needful Things
Eyes of The Dragon
Firestarter
The Dead Zone
Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
The Body
The Langoliers
In terms of movies - whether cinema or made-for-TV - there've been a good few standouts and a good few turkeys:-
I liked the David Soul Salem's lot mini-series.
I liked the Drew Barrymore Firestarter adaptation.
I really liked the Chris Walken Dead Zone adaptation.
Loved both Shawshank, Green Mile and Stand By Me.
Disliked The Stand intensely - Chockablock with 80s bratpack members.
Disliked Christine
Disliked It
Hated Cujo
Worst two of 'em all?
Schwarzenegger's Running Man and
Maximum Overdrive
Never read The Dark Tower septology....
Newsflash: the word "irony" doesn't mean "a bit like iron"
Shockingly, some people have claimed that I'm egocentric... but hey, enough about them
"If you strike me down, I shall become far stronger than you can possibly imagine."
_______________________________________________
I occasionally post things here because I am invariably correct on all matters, a thing which is educational for others less fortunate.
Shockingly, some people have claimed that I'm egocentric... but hey, enough about them
"If you strike me down, I shall become far stronger than you can possibly imagine."
_______________________________________________
I occasionally post things here because I am invariably correct on all matters, a thing which is educational for others less fortunate.