Kevin's Watch

For those of you who stopped reading Dark Tower with The Gunslinger, read book 2 "The Drawing of the Three" and I guarantee you'll be hooked. King is one of those writers that pretty much only figures out where the story is going a chapter or two before he gets there so while "Gunslinger" is kinda whatever, every book from then on is awesome. I promise.

What seppi said

Ahhh, the Shining wasn't bad either... it reminded me too much of my house though.

What does everyone think of dreamcatcher......I cant make up my mind on that 1....bit hit and miss for me.

Some bits are really cool, some parts are really slow. I hit one of the slow parts about 3/4 through and quit

Insomnia, and the ONE-TWO punch of The Talisman and BLACK HOUSE all three of which are very important to the Tower mythos.

The Stand is excellent as well, either as a "stand" alone work, OR as a tower interface. Larry Underwood was perhaps one of the best characters King has ever written. Am utter jackass that became, well, a Gunslinger.

Jack Sawyer is a gunslinger much in the same way that Agent Cooper of Twin Peaks fame was... remember Agent Cooper anyone? Bob was his Flagg.

My favourites from King are;

1. The Dark Tower series by far

2. The Stand

Favorites:

IT
The Stand
Dark Tower (II through V)
Misery
The Green Mile
The Langoliers
Dreamcatcher
The Mist
Apt Pupil
The Running Man
Low Men in Yellow Coats
Salem's Lot
Christine
The Talisman

The top three are among the finest novels I've ever read, if not THE finest. The others are all in my top hundred. And I've read a lot of books.

My top 10:

The Stand
DT4: Wizard & Glass
DT2: Drawing of the 3
Black House
DT3: Wastelands
DT5: Wolves
Insomnia
Desperation/Regulators
Dead Zone
Gunslinger

IT, then The Stand - couldn't put either one down. Actually read IT for 14 straight hours (I'm not kidding - 6pm to 8 am) - first time I ever read a book that made me jump when I turned a page!!!

Earthblood, IT is the best horror novel I've ever read. King's mastery of the two timelines just boggles the mind. And what a cast of characters!!!!

Have you ever glanced at a storm drain the same since? I sure haven't.

Now that you mention It, I agree about It being a great horror novel, I remember reading it and actually being afraid.

The trouble I have with It, is watching the movie afterwards, I found the movie not the least bit scary. I think the movie actually devalued the book in my memory. But I guess I could say the same of a lot of SK books, the books are always so much better than the movies.

PS. Just finished Song of Susannah, don't know if I want to celebrate that in 3 months (Sep.21) the last chapter of the saga will be finally be released, or if I want to cry that the journey will finally be over. These "friends" have been with me for 20 years now.

PPS. I guess we could always hope for another SRD experience and 25 years from now SK will revisit The Dark Tower.

Skydreams, if King revisits the Tower in twenty-five years, he will really be pushing the envelope. He would be 81 years old.

I, for one, don't believe he will retire as he says he will, but I do believe he'll retire before he's 81.

In fact, this allows me to segue into the following:

In my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, King admits that he's writing another novel. King does a monthly column for EW called The Pop of King, so I don't think this information from the EW editors is inaccurate. King says he feels under no pressure, because he had already announced his retirement.

But apparently he's still writing . . . so perhaps Dark Tower VII won't be his last fiction after all.

Roland, I noticed that myself.

I went back and re-read some key passages in both Wolves and Song, and I noticed that in Wolves when Susannah showed up in the dining hall in Doscordia (and the meal was mostly eaten, nad some rotten in the latter part of the book), that Susie noticed she was wearing dusty boots, and a denim coat and jeans. SOunds like Flagg, does it not?

"Sounds like Flagg, does it not?"

The walking dude, boots clocking down the road. I always liked that phrasing in The Stand.

I'm debating whether to reread Wolves before Dark Tower VII comes out . . . but there's so many books out there around that time-frame that I want to read, so I don't think I will.

I hope my memory for detail doesn't let me down.

Roland,
I'm not so sure 81 is "pushing the envelope", Arthur C. Clarke is 87 and still writing (beautifully too IMO).

Roland of Gilead wrote:..... if King revisits the Tower in twenty-five years, he will really be pushing the envelope. He would be 81 years old.

Of course only time, ka (and SK) will tell.

Skydreams, I sincerely hope you're correct . . . but Clarke is an exception. To the age rule and a whole lof ot other ones as well.

Pet Sematary had a big impact on me when I read it.... scared the stuffing out of me!!!
I also enjoyed The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone as well. The Long Walk was very impressive also.

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.