Stephen King's Novels: My Comments
Submitted by bertie on Sat, 05/03/2003 - 06:22
Tags:
- CARRIE [Not read. Saw the movie.]
- SALEM'S LOT [Read this, well, skimmed most of it, after grizham1's urging (see comments below), but I think I was right to ignore it at first sight. I don't blame grizham1, I've lately lost the knack of reading King, old or new. Saw the movie, which, btw, is being remade already.]
- THE SHINING [The first King novel I read. Hooked me. My mother liked it too. Saw the Kubrick movie and the later mini-series version.]
- THE STAND [First of king's novels to blend science fiction and supernatural fiction. I've read only the unexpanded version. Saw the mini-series. Lots of people nominate this as their favorite King novel, but not me.]
- THE DEAD ZONE [Good novel made into an excellent movie. The recent television series quickly went downhill once it ran out of King's plot.]
- FIRESTARTER [Good novel. The movie was notable for George C. Scott's evil villain.]
- CUJO [Not read. The movie was merely okay.]
- THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER [Not read.]
- CHRISTINE [Bold idea, a haunted car. Perhaps only King could have brought it off. The movie is only so so.]
- PET SEMATARY [Powerful stuff. My mother swore off King after reading this. The movie is a let-down.]
- CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF [Not read. Title calls up a ridiculous image in my mind: a very hairy guy peddling away furiously.]
- THE TALISMAN [With Peter Straub. An arduous read. Not as good as pure King. Not filmed, I think.]
- IT [My favorite King novel. It's not about the scares - which are great - it's about the children: they live, and even survive becoming adults - all but one. The mini-series is something of a travesty, but, even so, I like it too.]
- EYES OF THE DRAGON [Not read.]
- MISERY [Not read, but the movie is great.]
- THE TOMMYKNOCKERS [The second of King's blends of science fiction and horror. Quite effective. Movie version just doesn't work.]
- THE DARK TOWER II: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE [Not read.]
- THE DARK TOWER III: THE WASTE LANDS [Not read.]
- THE DARK HALF [Not read. Okay movie.]
- NEEDFUL THINGS [Not read. Bland movie.]
- GERALD'S GAME [Not read.]
- DOLORES CLAIBORNE [Not read. Excellent movie.]
- INSOMNIA [Not read.]
- ROSE MADDER [Not read.]
- THE GREEN MILE [Very good, despite the serialization gimmick. Very good movie, too.]
- DESPERATION [Classic King. One of my favorites. Why hasn't it been filmed?]
- THE DARK TOWER IV: WIZARDS AND GLASS [Not read.]
- BAG OF BONES [For me, this is where King really started to lose it. Very disappointing, though it does have one good scene.]
- THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON [Not read.]
- HEARTS IN ATLANTIS [Could not get more than a few dozen pages into this. Liked the movie, though.]
- DREAMCATCHER [After two attempts I couln't get more than five or six pages into this.]
- BLACK HOUSE [With Peter Straub. Not read.]
- WOLVES OF THE CALLA: DARK TOWER V [Not yet seen, but reading is highly doubtful.]
- FROM A BUICK EIGHT [King has decidedly lost the plot. Where is the plot of this 'novel'? I was as nearly bored as enthusiasm would permit. Read the first quarter, skimmed the rest. A grossly inflated short story with no punch-line.]
- CELL [This 'end of civilization - night of the living dead' pastiche is almost a return to King's old form. But not quite - the bloom has definitely gone off the corpse flower. I found CELL engrossing, though it did take me several sittings to get through it. Might be one of his ten best.
Author Comments:
Ranked list of the ones I've read: 1. IT 2. THE SHINING 3. DESPERATION 4. CHRISTINE 5. THE DEAD ZONE 6. THE STAND 7. PET SEMATARY 8. THE TOMMYKNOCKERS 9. THE GREEN MILE 10. CELL 11. FIRESTARTER 12. THE TALISMAN 13. BAG OF BONES 14. FROM A BUICK EIGHT
I suppose I should start where I agree with you about Mr. King. First off I couldn't stand Dreamcatcher as a film or book, which you though as well. I also disliked the book Hearts of Atlantis but felt that the movie was excellent, better than Green Mile even, which I didn't care for all that much. Ironically the best movie made that has to do with Stephen King is easily (in my mind) Shawshank Redemption, also his best short story is probably Everything is Eventual.
This is where are views diverge.
Salem's Lot is his best novel outside of the dark tower books in my opinion, it's his best work as a novelist in a single story, fabolous reading. You haven't read the book, which you must if your a true king fan, but I haven't seen the mini series though I"ve heard it's not all that good or bad.
The last comments deal with the dark tower books.
This books are the work of King's life, their are magnificent and easily his best, that's not an opinion it is the truth. The main character of roland is Stephen King in a different world, these books are the closest thing to perfection that you'll read from Stephen King. For some reason you haven't read these, read them, you be a better person for it.
Thanks for your comments. You have persuaded me to give Salem's Lot a read, but, for some reason, don't know why exactly, I have an unreasoning prejudice against the Dark Tower books. Don't even know what they are about (and don't really care to know). I suspect they are out and out fantasy, which has never appealed to me. I guess I'll never be a better person. I am currently re-reading IT and enjoying it all over again - those characters, the children, are so real to me. How do you rate IT compared to, say, Salem's Lot?
http://www.stephenking.com/DarkTower/
Just check this site out to learn a little about the books, it's a good website. There's a little on the overall plot of the story, also the first book is rather short and probably the best of the lot. Of course I"m sure your a great person and don't need to read these books to still be, but as you wish. IT is a good book, I felt that like many of King's novels the mini series on IT wasn't all that great and kind of hurt the book. Salem's Lot has alot in common with IT in that respect, other than that, I would say the characters in Salem's Lot are much more realistic to life as well as the whole small town setting and everything that goes with that. It's a great read, do you have any recommendations for me?
I recommend you ask me a more specific question.
I ment Stephen King wise, I haven't read many of his novels outside of the tower series. I don't like many of the one's I have read, I"ve read the Stand and It, The Shining, the Tommyknockers has always interested me, is it worth reading? Well I'm sure you get the idea, thanks.
Sorry, I had assumed you were well-read in King.
Just below my list you will find my ranking of the ones I've read, if that's any help.
There's also a good collection of four...short novels, I guess you could call them...called DIFFERENT SEASONS (I've also seen it published under the title of SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION). Three of the four stories have been filmed: "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" (filmed as Shawshank Redemption), "Apt Pupil" (filmed as Apt Pupil) and "The Body" (filmed as Stand By Me).
Oops! Forgot to reply regarding THE TOMMYKNOCKERS. This novel is an explicitly anti-intellectual (pro 'common sense') blend of sf and horror. A woman writer finds an alien spacecraft buried under her country property. She digs it up and it proceeds to exert a poisonous influence over her and the inhabitants of a nearby town. The poisonous influence is clearly a metaphor for radiation - this is King's anti-nuclear novel. The details get quite gruesome, as you might expect. It's a bit overlong, and has some bits in it that struck me as ludicrous. Still, I've read it twice.
i am 14 and the stpehen kings novels i have read are the talisman(with peter staurb) the shinning, IT, the dark half, the stand, desperation, the regulaters, needfull things, carrie, the langerliers, the body, rita haywoth and the shawshank redemption,dream catcher, the tommyknockers, secrect window secrect garden, christine and well thats all i can remmeber off the top of my head but i must say that they are all wonderful (with the acpection of the regulaters) and the ones that were my faveroutes were the stand and i really like needfullthings but i love them all!
Hell, kid, when I was 14 I was reading comic books and that was about all. But that was long ago, and in another country. Stay sane, kid.
Concerning 'Misery': If you think the movie is great, you should really read the novel. It's fantastic.
Concerning 'Desperation': It's one of my favourites, too. A movie is planned for winter 2004 or spring 2005, but it will be a TV movie.
I really don't know that I'll be reading any more King - ever again - I've simply gone off him, big time. Of course, I will watch the Desperation movie.