| Ditto on Misery, although you could ditch King and go and read Barker's Imajica or Weaveworld or The Great and Secret Show. |
Stephen King • Page 2
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eviltwin 408 posts
Seen 9 years ago
Registered 16 years ago -
Kay 21,094 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 17 years agoI'm actually going through the Dark Tower series at the moment. I'm on the third book now, The Waste Lands, reading every day on the tube. I loved the first two books, and thoroughly enjoying this one so far.
Also, no-one has mentioned 'Everything's Eventual', a collection of short stories including one about Roland himself. I thought it was an excellent book, and it's what got me into Stephen King (and the Dark Tower series).
K -
matrim83 5,713 posts
Seen 18 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoThe dark tower is pretty good up until Wizard and glass but it goes downhill from Song of Sussanah. -
Ecanem 5,039 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 16 years agoI just started on the last book of the Dark Tower.. to be honest I'm a bit tired of it, but I want to know how it ends now, more than anything..
Best book in that series must have been the Wolves thingy..
I've read a lot of Stephen King books, and the best book of his is undoubtedly "On Writing".. =) -
Universal_Hamster 4,948 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 17 years agoMisery is the first King book I ever read, and I cant reccomend it enough. Its Awe-tastic.
Needful Things could be my favorite though. Its quite a big book, but the sheer volume of great characters, and the way they influence each others stories is genuis. Also Mr Gaunt is superbly evil.
The Dark Tower series is really beyond brilliance too. Its like The good, the bad & the ugly meets lord of the rings.
Great things about King:
Character, setting, constant page-turning compulsion, huge amounts of tension, hideous gore, can be very funny when needed.
Things that annoy me about King:
Sometimes not so great with the dialog, characters always going off into gales of laughter over things that arent that funny, and finally, in most cases, the complete inability to write a good ending. There are so many books of his that are superb, (Shining, the stand, IT, etc) but completely fizzle out at the end. -
TwistidChimp 8,825 posts
Seen 14 years ago
Registered 16 years agoKay wrote:
I'm actually going through the Dark Tower series at the moment. I'm on the third book now, The Waste Lands, reading every day on the tube. I loved the first two books, and thoroughly enjoying this one so far.
I am also currently reading the Waste Lands on the train to and from work..
/whistles twilight zone theme
I would also recommend Different Seasons, I also really enjoy his short stories, Nightmares & Dreamscapes is a great little collection.
The Dark Tower series is proving very good so far so. I'd recommend you pick up atleast the first couple of books in the series since the first book, The Gun Slinger, is pretty short. Book 2, the Drawing of the Three was absolutley aces though. -
prettyvacant 385 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 18 years agoI'm just picking up the dark tower books again after several years gap from reading the third one but I keep seeing mixed opinions about the latter few books , are they worth reading or should I skip to the last one just to get the ending ?
I see no ones mentioned the talisman , I think it was co-written with Peter Straub , but also one of his better books I think. -
I just finished Song of Susannah over the weekend - very good, but no Wolves of the Calla. Picked up the final Dark Tower in the supermarket last night, so... final stretch. Sniff. I'll be a bit sorry to see the back of them after all this time, tbh. Oy!
Edited by Blerk at 10:11:25 02-08-2006 -
Ecanem 5,039 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 16 years agoErk! -
repairmanjack 6,133 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 15 years agoIf you have any interest in King at all you really should read his early short story collection "Night Shift". I read it many years ago, and can recall many of the tales vividly. It's the author at the peak of his powers.
Also recommend It, Misery, The Shining, Salem's Lot. His later work has been a bit patchy, to be honest. Desperation onwards there's a real issue with quality control. "On Writing" is well worth a look for anyone who dabbles themselves. -
I've read The Dark Tower series 'cause a friend recommended them to me, and enjoyed them lots 'n lots.
/adds practically nothing to the discussion -
Universal_Hamster 4,948 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 17 years agoThe Dark Tower isnt really the sort of series you can skip installments of. I thought "Wolves of the Calla" was the weakest book in the series, but it still has some absolutely essential plot elements you need to know.
My quick quality guide:
Gunslinger - A couple of great bits, but not brilliant.
Drawing of the Three - SUPERB, my favorite in the series, shedloads of action, drama, tension, and very damn funny in places too.
Wastelands - Also superb, a great follow-on from book 2
Wizard and Glass - Still on top form, the book may be mostly backstory, but its a compelling one.
Wolves of the Calla - Bit of a sliip-up here, but he did write it while recovering from his accident, so I'll let that slide.
Song of Suzannah - Back to form, totally loved this one.
Dark Tower - Just as great, very powerful stuff this.
Dadachum? -
I almost don't want to read the last book. Because then it would be over! Sob. -
Kay 21,094 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 17 years agoThe Drawing of the Three was indeed excellent, Loved the part where he enters Jack Mort and the way he 'acquires' the ammunition at the gun shop.
And if you're sad about it being over - try reading the short story about Roland in Everything's Eventual as I mentioned before. It's sort of like a mini-adventure set before the Dark Tower books, I think.
K
Edited by Kay at 10:46:35 02-08-2006 -
Messiac 3,465 posts
Seen 10 years ago
Registered 15 years agorepairmanjack wrote:
If you have any interest in King at all you really should read his early short story collection "Night Shift". I read it many years ago, and can recall many of the tales vividly. It's the author at the peak of his powers.
Also recommend It, Misery, The Shining, Salem's Lot. His later work has been a bit patchy, to be honest. Desperation onwards there's a real issue with quality control. "On Writing" is well worth a look for anyone who dabbles themselves.
Thats pretty much how I feel as well - I really enjoyed his earlier stuff - IT, Misery and Salems Lot is one of my favourite books of all time. His later stuff doesnt compare to his early genius in my opinion. I have dabbled in The Dark Tower but it just seems really badly edited if not indulgent on his part.
Apart from Salems Lot a tad over rated as a writer for me as well. -
Kay wrote:
I didn't know about that until you mentioned it. I just picked up a copy from eBay for 99pee.
And if you're sad about it being over - try reading the short story about Roland in Everything's Eventual as I mentioned before. It's sort of like a mini-adventure set before the Dark Tower books, I think.
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Fonzie 3,459 posts
Seen 10 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoInsomnia is my favourite along with The Stand. Rose Madder is also a good read. -
Genji 19,682 posts
Seen 9 years ago
Registered 16 years agoWolves of the Calla is a ripoff of the Seven Samurai, which is probably why I like it the most of the later books. I think they even comment on its derivative-ness in the book itself.
Very postmodern, that. -
Genji wrote:
They do point out the similarities, but not until Song of Susannah.
Wolves of the Calla is a ripoff of the Seven Samurai, which is probably why I like it the most of the later books. I think they even comment on its derivative-ness in the book itself.
Very postmodern, that. -
Genji 19,682 posts
Seen 9 years ago
Registered 16 years agoBlerk wrote:
Ah. It's been a while since I read it.
Genji wrote:
They do point out the similarities, but not until Song of Susannah.
Wolves of the Calla is a ripoff of the Seven Samurai, which is probably why I like it the most of the later books. I think they even comment on its derivative-ness in the book itself.
Very postmodern, that.
Anyway, by the time of Song of Susannah, King had his head so far up his arse, I just lost interest.
The ending was pretty cool, though. Fitting, considering all of the Western references in the series. -
boo 13,791 posts
Seen 9 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoI'll second the Talisman - good book.
Also, The Dead Zone. One of the few books I've read where I thought the film version was actually not bad.
Big thumb's up too, for 'It' (poor ending though), Christine, the collections: Different Seasons, Skeleton Crew and Night Shift.
Firestarter was a decent film - no idea what the book's like though. -
King's books are generally ten times what the films were, except Misery for some reason. I never really got on with the book, but enjoyed the film. Go figure.
The Shining, for instance, is heralded as a masterpiece of horror cinema, but it's actually pretty cack once you've read the proper story. See the film first. -
repairmanjack 6,133 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 15 years agoWell, if we're getting into films, Misery and The Dead Zone are two of my favourite movies. -
Don't bother with Cell. It's utter trash. -
Genji 19,682 posts
Seen 9 years ago
Registered 16 years agoPfft, Kubrick made the Shining way better than the book. So much that King just got jealous.
The Shining mini-series... now that was cack, and it stuck to the book like glue. -
Kay 21,094 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 17 years agoI've had Dreamcatcher on DVD for ages, haven't seen it yet though. I'd never heard of the book and film before as well.
K -
Genji wrote:
*cough*
Pfft, Kubrick made the Shining way better than the book. So much that King just got jealous.
My arse it was! Half the book's missing, half the story's different and the ending is shite. -
Kay wrote:
Dreamcatcher the movie is a bit... er... pap. I've not read the book.
I've had Dreamcatcher on DVD for ages, haven't seen it yet though. I'd never heard of the book and film before as well.
K -
Genji 19,682 posts
Seen 9 years ago
Registered 16 years agoBlerk wrote:
Maybe that was why I liked it. :-D
Half the book's missing, half the story's different... -
No, the ending to the book version of the shining is terrible. Really terrible. Superb book otherwise.
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