Stephen King

[Mystery]

starri, I assume you're talking about It and not The Stand. I love The Stand, it's my favorite book of his. I bought the full-length version that came out later, and it just made me realize how well edited the original was. I liked It and thought the TV version did it justice, though I didn't care for the endings of either the past or present stories. I still don't walk near street drains! 

[AuntiePam]

  On 3/18/2017 at 8:44 AM, Mystery said:

starri, I assume you're talking about It and not The Stand.

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I had to read the post twice but that's the book starri was referencing.  That's the problem with It -- the title.  Imagine calling the bookstore to see if it (It) was in stock:  "Do you have It?" "What?"  "Do you have Stephen King's new book?"  "What's the title?"  "It".  "Huh?" 

[SherriAnt]

  On 3/11/2017 at 7:26 PM, SherriAnt said:

The Stand is the best, and I totally agree about It, I found it very hard to believe the whole ending, weren't they like 12 or something? I'm pretty sure kids in the '50's and '60's didn't grow up quite that fast.

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Sorry, I should have put "It" in quotes!

But about the Stand, I would love to see a new mini series of it, casted better, and on a cable channel so all the swearing and violence is left in.

That and one about Swan Song by Robert McCammon are my dream movies.

[starri]

  On 3/19/2017 at 3:22 AM, SherriAnt said:

But about the Stand, I would love to see a new mini series of it, casted better, and on a cable channel so all the swearing and violence is left in.

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They were talking about doing a multi-part film adaptation a few years ago.  I think they decided to focus their efforts on the new version of IT, which is supposed to be two films, one set when the Losers Club are children and one when they're adults.  I believe they moved the time forward so that the past stuff takes place in the 80s and the adult stuff takes place now.  Which makes me feel ancient.

  On 3/18/2017 at 8:44 AM, Mystery said:

I liked It and thought the TV version did it justice, though I didn't care for the endings of either the past or present stories. I still don't walk near street drains! 

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But we all float down here...

[SherriAnt]

  On 3/19/2017 at 1:26 PM, starri said:

But we all float down here...

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Ha! I didn''t know that about the It film being 2 parts! That could be good or bad, depending on how long we'd have to wait for part 2.

[Melgaypet]

Oh, no, IT the miniseries! I was 9 years old when it aired. Is it too late to have my parents investigated by Child Services? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING. To this day I have a horror of clowns.

You know, I don't think I've ever read a Stephen King book. Not deliberate avoidance, I'm just not much for gory-type horror. Or horror in general. I'm a scaredy-cat, I admit it.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Melgaypet

[theredhead77]

  On 3/20/2017 at 12:33 AM, Melgaypet said:

Oh, no, IT the miniseries! I was 9 years old when it aired. Is it too late to have my parents investigated by Child Services? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING. To this day I have a horror of clowns.

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OMG I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was allowed to watch IT when it was on TV when they were just 9.

[Lovecat]

  On 3/15/2017 at 8:47 PM, Jalyn said:

You're describing IT, not The Stand. The Stand is the super flu wiping out the world and what happens after. Both are particular favorites.

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Phew, I thought I was losing my mind there for a second.  Ditto on both being particular favorites.  I haven't read either for quite some time, though.  I also loved both miniseries, and am somewhat apprehensive of the upcoming IT re-make.  The new Pennywise is suitably terrifying, anyway.  I saw Poltergeist as an impressionable tween; I was already iffy on clowns when the IT miniseries came along, and now I'm just nope, Nope, NOPE.

[SherriAnt]

  On 3/20/2017 at 12:33 AM, Melgaypet said:

I'm just not much for gory-type horror

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You might like Insomnia, if I recall correctly there's not a lot of gore.

[theredhead77]

  On 3/20/2017 at 2:30 PM, Lovecat said:

 I was already iffy on clowns when the IT miniseries came along, and now I'm just nope, Nope, NOPE.

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All my friends know if they start quoting IT they are most likely going to get slugged. But I was feeling super brave one night (thanks, vodka) and told a friend of mine I'd go see IT with him, under a few conditions: we get partake in all you can drink mimosas first, we go to a mid-morning show, resume the drunkening and he spends the night every night until I'm no longer scared. And those nights are on the couch because he's not that sort of friend). That was all arranged when I thought IT was being released in 2016. Hopefully he forgets by this October.

[starri]

There isn't a lot of gore in his most recent books.  The only one I can think of that has a significant amount is Cell, and that's a zombie story so of course it does.

[Melgaypet]

Wait, I lied, I have read a King book. Needful Things, which was in a box of books I bought for two bucks at a yard sale when I was about 17. I must not have been too traumatized, since I had completely forgotten having read it until now. I must not have liked it, but I think I would remember it better if I had hated it.

[theredhead77]

Speaking of IT, I read 11/22/63. 

  Reveal spoiler

That book needs to come with a warning! 

[nodorothyparker]

The trailer for It dropped today.  Scary as hell but I'll admit the thing that makes my heart hurt the most is seeing the kids' nostalgia part of the story updated to the '80s of my own childhood instead of the original '50s.

[starri]

  On 3/29/2017 at 7:44 PM, nodorothyparker said:

The trailer for It dropped today.  Scary as hell but I'll admit the thing that makes my heart hurt the most is seeing the kids' nostalgia part of the story updated to the '80s of my own childhood instead of the original '50s.

 

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I feel you on that.  I had the same reaction.

Well, that, and the fact that the aesthetic reminded me so much of Stranger Things.

And that it looks as scary as hell.

[theredhead77]

  On 3/20/2017 at 2:19 AM, theredhead77 said:

OMG I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was allowed to watch IT when it was on TV when they were just 9.

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I take that back. I was 12.

  On 3/21/2017 at 3:18 AM, theredhead77 said:

All my friends know if they start quoting IT they are most likely going to get slugged. But I was feeling super brave one night (thanks, vodka) and told a friend of mine I'd go see IT with him, under a few conditions: we get partake in all you can drink mimosas first, we go to a mid-morning show, resume the drunkening and he spends the night every night until I'm no longer scared. And those nights are on the couch because he's not that sort of friend). That was all arranged when I thought IT was being released in 2016. Hopefully he forgets by this October.

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After seeing the trailer, NOPE! NO FUCKING WAY. NUH UH. CHANGED MY MIND!!!!!!!!

[starri]

Has anyone actually read Rage?  It's one of his Bachman titles, and is, I believe, the only one of his books that's out of print.  It's about a school shooting, and as those increased in frequency throughout the 80s and 90s, he got increasingly uncomfortable having it out in the world.  It was eventually only available in his Bachman omnibus, and after the shooter at a school in Kentucky was found to have a copy of it in his locker, he decided to never print it again.  Copies, especially of the stand-alone version, go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

I'm always been curiously about it, but I think I'd feel icky reading it.  And none of the three library systems in NYC still has a copy anyway.

[Anela]

  On 4/5/2017 at 2:55 PM, starri said:

Has anyone actually read Rage?  It's one of his Bachman titles, and is, I believe, the only one of his books that's out of print.  It's about a school shooting, and as those increased in frequency throughout the 80s and 90s, he got increasingly uncomfortable having it out in the world.  It was eventually only available in his Bachman omnibus, and after the shooter at a school in Kentucky was found to have a copy of it in his locker, he decided to never print it again.  Copies, especially of the stand-alone version, go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

I'm always been curiously about it, but I think I'd feel icky reading it.  And none of the three library systems in NYC still has a copy anyway.

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I read it almost twenty years ago. I had a copy of the book, but I can't remember how. Either someone gave them to me, or the previous owner of this house left a stash of Stephen King books behind (I remember finding and reading Insomnia, about six months after we moved in). I mentioned that story on another site the other night, but couldn't remember the name. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

  On 4/5/2017 at 2:55 PM, starri said:

Has anyone actually read Rage?  It's one of his Bachman titles, and is, I believe, the only one of his books that's out of print.  It's about a school shooting, and as those increased in frequency throughout the 80s and 90s, he got increasingly uncomfortable having it out in the world.  It was eventually only available in his Bachman omnibus, and after the shooter at a school in Kentucky was found to have a copy of it in his locker, he decided to never print it again.  Copies, especially of the stand-alone version, go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

I'm always been curiously about it, but I think I'd feel icky reading it.  And none of the three library systems in NYC still has a copy anyway.

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This post is nearly a month old, but yes, I've read Rage. I still have a copy of The Bachman Books somewhere, and the story isn't as bad as it could be, all things considered.  Given the subject matter and the way the story progresses, King's decision to self-censor is understandable, but I'm not sure it couldn't be used as a warning about how these things happen as much as seen as unnecessarily glorifying it. There are some things society could stand to be a little uncomfortable about.

[MarkHB]

  On 3/31/2017 at 2:06 AM, theredhead77 said:

I take that back. I was 12.

After seeing the trailer, NOPE! NO FUCKING WAY. NUH UH. CHANGED MY MIND!!!!!!!!

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When he wrote it, Stephen King said that it was the first book he had written that actually scared him.

For those that are into The Dark Tower, I'm going to start a separate thread for that series.

[starri]

  On 5/4/2017 at 12:17 PM, MarkHB said:

When he wrote it, Stephen King said that it was the first book he had written that actually scared him.

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I think that's probably because it's the most personal for him.

I mean, he uses a lot of stand-ins for himself, but I think Stuttering Bill is probably the closest to who he actually is.

IT is clearly about him working through some issues about being a yuppie. 

[Rosieroo]

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After seeing the trailer, NOPE! NO FUCKING WAY. NUH UH. CHANGED MY MIND!!!!!!!!

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I feel this way BEFORE seeing the trailer. I won't even watch the trailer.  Just a pop up of that clown hair and I've got the remote ready to go. Same with the Sonic commercials.

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I think that's probably because it's the most personal for him.

I mean, he uses a lot of stand-ins for himself, but I think Stuttering Bill is probably the closest to who he actually is.

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This brings me to the question that brought me to this thread.  I'm not a big Stephen King reader.  I appreciate his writing ability but don't love horror.  But I did notice from what little I have read or watched (Stand By Me/The Body, It* and Sometimes They Come Back) is a reoccurring theme of a younger brother having lost an older brother and dealing with that loss.  Are there more with that theme?  Do we know if its autobiographical? 

 

*though I've blocked it from my memory for the most part I believe its included in this list....shudder!

Edited September 8, 2017 by Rosieroo
forgot my original question

[scarynikki12]

According to Wikipedia, King does have an older brother, though no mention of anything bad happening to him.  King's father walked out on the family when he was young and he apparently did witness a friend dying from getting struck by a train so he's got some real life trauma to draw from for his stories though I assume his imagination does most of the heavy lifting.

[rubaco]

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did witness a friend dying from getting struck by a train

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King has stated he doesn't remember this, so he can't swear it happened. He apparently heard the tale from his mother.

“According to Mom, I had gone off to play at a neighbor’s house — a house that was near a railroad line. About an hour after I left, I came back, she said, ‘as white as a ghost.’ I would not speak for the rest of the day…. It turned out that the kid I had been playing with had been run over by a freight train while playing on or crossing the tracks… My mom never knew if I had been near him when it happened. But I have no memory of the incident at all, only of having been told about it some years after the fact.”

[Hybridcookie]

I've been re-reading IT, and I love it... except for the interludes which just slows the pace down. I like them slightly more this time, now I realise that it's Mike telling the stories. I love the stuff with the kids, and when the adults are interacting together

[Qoass]

I loved it too but I was always very uncomfortable about the way the kids, shall we say, came together to defeat Pennywise and I was very relieved that the movie changed that scene.

[Hybridcookie]

Haha yeah, I try and pretend that scene doesn't exist. Now I know whereabouts it is I can skip it when I get to it

[AgentRXS]

I just started reading Stephen King this past year.  I loved the 11/22/63 miniseries which lead me to borrow the book from a friend and from there I was hooked!

My opinion of the books I read so far:

11/22/63:  Loved it. I'm fascinated with the Kennedy era and love time travel stories so this book was right up my alley. The ending was sad but really beautiful.

The Shining/Dr. Sleep:  I didn't find the The Shining to be as scary as I expected, and was quite pleased to learn that it was completely different from the movie. Jack Torrance is still one of my favorite SK characters ever. Dr. Sleep wasn't scary at all but it was a fantastic book. I loved catching up with Danny Torrance and seeing how he ended up. I was sad when the book ended. I read both books back-to-back so I did notice a few continuity errors in the sequel that bugged a bit, though.

It: I liked it ok, I guess, but I feel the book is a bit overrated. I loved the kids parts as a coming-of-age story, but I thought the "scary" parts were more ridiculous then scary. And the last 100 or so pages were just too over the top. I feel like this book was SK's way of dealing with some kind of mid-life crisis. Not surprised to learn from reading here that he was on drugs during this time period LOL.  The only SK book so far that I was extremely relieved to finally finish.

Currently reading The Stand and it is easily becoming my favorite SK book by far. Its such a hard book to put down.

[rubaco]

I'm jealous of you, AgentRXS, with all the material you have yet to read/enjoy (considering I've read all of it over and over, and immediately devour each new book as it comes out). 

Sorry you didn't like It more. It's definitely in my top 5. I think there's a lot of really beautiful writing in there.

Most underrated SK books, IMO (so don't miss these): Misery, Joyland and Hearts in Atlantis. 

If you decide to climb aboard the Dark Tower train, be aware that will be a long haul, and far different from his usual work. I loved the series, but it's not for everyone. 

[AgentRXS]

  On 12/29/2017 at 2:16 PM, rubaco said:

I think there's a lot of really beautiful writing in there.

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I'll agree to that. He really  did nail the tone of the kids portion perfectly. It just kind of bugged me that

  Reveal spoiler

It turned out to be female, after all her apparitions were male. Because of course the thing representing all evil would be a woman. <RME>. And if they all suddenly began to forget each other once It died, what happened between Bev and Ben once they crossed the Derry town limits? Did they both freak out that they were riding in a car with a total stranger? I get that he was trying to point out that we all don't remember all of our childhood friends but to have them all forget each other again almost instantly kind of bugged.

 

I'll also add that it makes me a tad uncomfortable with how SK writes his black characters. I get that The Shining and It were written in a different era, so I do try to keep that in mind.

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The Shining gave me Magical Negro trope undertones with Dick. I hated how Dick was all but forgotten in Dr. Sleep once Danny grew up. This is a man who saved you and your mother from dying when you were little and helped you figure out your gift, and you lost track of him to the point where you didn't even know he died? 

And yet again, in It. All the white characters grew up to have amazing careers, while poor old reliable Mike is just the poor town librarian. Not even a wife or girlfriend to call his own. Just existing to help his friends remember their destiny. In all reality, the one least likely to leave Derry IMO would have been Eddie Kaspbrak. I don't see why Mike would have stayed after his fathers death.

Spoiler tagging for those that haven't read the books yet.

[Jalyn]

  On 12/29/2017 at 5:15 PM, AgentRXS said:

I'll agree to that. He really  did nail the tone of the kids portion perfectly. It just kind of bugged me that

  Reveal spoiler

It turned out to be female, after all her apparitions were male. Because of course the thing representing all evil would be a woman. <RME>. And if they all suddenly began to forget each other once It died, what happened between Bev and Ben once they crossed the Derry town limits? Did they both freak out that they were riding in a car with a total stranger? I get that he was trying to point out that we all don't remember all of our childhood friends but to have them all forget each other again almost instantly kind of bugged.

 

I'll also add that it makes me a tad uncomfortable with how SK writes his black characters. I get that The Shining and It were written in a different era, so I do try to keep that in mind.

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The Shining gave me Magical Negro trope undertones with Dick. I hated how Dick was all but forgotten in Dr. Sleep once Danny grew up. This is a man who saved you and your mother from dying when you were little and helped you figure out your gift, and you lost track of him to the point where you didn't even know he died? 

And yet again, in It. All the white characters grew up to have amazing careers, while poor old reliable Mike is just the poor town librarian. Not even a wife or girlfriend to call his own. Just existing to help his friends remember their destiny. In all reality, the one least likely to leave Derry IMO would have been Eddie Kaspbrak. I don't see why Mike would have stayed after his fathers death.

Spoiler tagging for those that haven't read the books yet.

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  Reveal spoiler

RE: IT - I don't really think that IT was actually female. That's the closest that they could come to understanding IT's biology in the moment of realizing that there were kids. As IT was singular, though, if IT had a standard binary gender, there would be no fertilization of the eggs for the babies to actually exist. So, IT is non-gendered and capable of reproducing asexually. I'm cool with that.

 

RE: Doctor Sleep - It's been awhile and I don't recall it clearly, but wasn't Danny's losing touch with Dick a product of both his alcoholism and the fact that life was hard for both him and his mother after Jack's death? You also weren't the only one that saw the tropes inherit in his character. I know that he's received a lot of criticism over it, so perhaps King was just trying to limit it for the sequel. 

Mike staying wasn't really a choice, I believe that by the time that his father died, the others had already left Derry. Whatever was opposing IT dispersed them to become what they needed to become and kept back Mike to call them home. It may have been that he was the hardest to send away before that point, as his family was so tied to their land, or it may have been that his father's knowledge of the Black Spot fire was a reason for him to be the historian that knew things. Personally, I wouldn't have given up any of Mike's family moments for him to be one of the ones who was able to get away and be successful, but I can certainly see how it could be viewed the way you mention. 

(Movie spoiler with 2nd movie speculation):

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I was extremely disappointed that the movie short changed Mike as badly as it did. Killing off his parents before the movie even started took so much foundational goodness away from his life that it was just heartbreaking. 

I do wonder if they, as you mention, think that he should be allowed to leave and grow and that that's why they gave Ben so much "history" stuff in the first movie. Of course, given that I've heard speculation that adult Mike may be a drug addict, they may just be planning on entirely ruining the character. 

 

[AgentRXS]

  On 1/5/2018 at 10:19 PM, Jalyn said:

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RE: Doctor Sleep - It's been awhile and I don't recall it clearly, but wasn't Danny's losing touch with Dick a product of both his alcoholism and the fact that life was hard for both him and his mother after Jack's death? You also weren't the only one that saw the tropes inherit in his character. I know that he's received a lot of criticism over it, so perhaps King was just trying to limit it for the sequel. 

Mike staying wasn't really a choice, I believe that by the time that his father died, the others had already left Derry. Whatever was opposing IT dispersed them to become what they needed to become and kept back Mike to call them home. It may have been that he was the hardest to send away before that point, as his family was so tied to their land, or it may have been that his father's knowledge of the Black Spot fire was a reason for him to be the historian that knew things. Personally, I wouldn't have given up any of Mike's family moments for him to be one of the ones who was able to get away and be successful, but I can certainly see how it could be viewed the way you mention. 

 

 

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  Reveal spoiler

In Dr. Sleep, we didn't get much of Danny's post-Overlook childhood. We got one Danny-Dick reunion (I believe Danny was about 8) where Dick taught him how to store away some of the ghosts that followed him from the Overlook into "lockers" in his mind. The book then FF's to when Danny is an (alcoholic) adult. No mention of Dick again until almost the end of the book and that's when we find out Dick passed away.  I guess its more likely than not that Danny had a rough childhood but there is not much mention of the years between 8 and adulthood, other than Danny getting addicted to alcohol when he was a teenager. I just don't see Dick letting the Torrances lose touch with him like that.

In regards to Mike, your explanation for why he was the one to stay in Derry makes sense. I just wish they gave him a little more of a life. Give him a wife, kids, a girlfriend/boyfriend, whatever.

In regards to the movie, that truly sounds terrible, but typical of Hollywood to diminish the black character with negative stereotypes(parents dead, getting hooked on drugs as an adult).

[topanga]

  On 3/7/2017 at 12:06 AM, rubaco said:

Sleeping Beauties (written with his son Owen) has just been given a publication date of Sept. 26. 

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Has anyone read this yet? I’ve started it, and it’s okay. The plot is very timely, and King sure knows how to tell a story. But there are a lot of characters, and after 50-60 pages, I haven’t found a character—or group of characters—that I care about very much. So I’m not sure if I’ll continue. 

[SherriAnt]

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Has anyone read this yet? I’ve started it, and it’s okay. The plot is very timely, and King sure knows how to tell a story. But there are a lot of characters, and after 50-60 pages, I haven’t found a character—or group of characters—that I care about very much. So I’m not sure if I’ll continue. 

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I just read it, and enjoyed it, but to be honest, I can't remember specific details. It had a good premise, and Owen is talented (with his Dad, at least), and I liked a few of the characters. I feel like having an over the top religious human bully is beginning to become his go to, even when it feels forced. Also, enough with the spider webs!

Just my opinion, of course, and tastes vary. My current faves of his are The Stand, Insomnia, and the Dark Tower. Book only, I did not enjoy the movie. 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

  On 5/3/2017 at 7:41 AM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

This post is nearly a month old, but yes, I've read Rage. I still have a copy of The Bachman Books somewhere, and the story isn't as bad as it could be, all things considered.  Given the subject matter and the way the story progresses, King's decision to self-censor is understandable, but I'm not sure it couldn't be used as a warning about how these things happen as much as seen as unnecessarily glorifying it. There are some things society could stand to be a little uncomfortable about.

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In Rage (which I've also read), the school shooter ends up convincing the entire class to torture the attractive All-American jock into drooling, mute insanity. The sticking point is that he ends up leading his fellow students down this path, which would be appealing for the kind of mentally ill psycho who would shoot up a school. As much as I hate censorship, I can agree with King's decision (although I wish there instead was a way to make the book available to adults only).