I stopped reading him due to Gerald's Game which was also the first book I never finished.
I think his scariest, most upsetting books are The Stand, IT, 'Salems Lot and Cujo (HM to Misery). Pet Sematary was weird in that the most upsetting portion had nothing to do with the graveyard/supernatural horror stuff; it was the fallout from the funeral.
― THE CHOMPING DUCK GETS HIS FATTY OUT FOR VADAR (HI DERE), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:42 (thirteen years ago) link
i think mine was little bits and pieces of "it" and "the dark half," swiped from my mom's not-for-kids reading pile, as mentioned, when i was around 11 or so.
first s.k. story that really got to me, though, was survivor type around 12 or so. (think i mentioned this in a previous revive.) probably the most horrific concept i'd come across at that point.
― strongohulkingtonsghost, Monday, 4 October 2010 20:43 (thirteen years ago) link
It appears most people here started earlier than I did: I think I was 20 or 21, and my first was Carrie. After that I pretty much went chronologically: Salem's Lot, Shining, Stand... I'm old, so I think the first one I bought as a new release was Pet Semetary.
― Taller than the president (Dan Peterson), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:45 (thirteen years ago) link
xp to dan
some of his short stories are more unsettlin than any of those imo- crouch end towne in nightmares and dreamscapes for instance. and the one about quitting smoking and seeing the bat people is another level of wtf awesome in the same collection
― i dont love everything, i love football (darraghmac), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:46 (thirteen years ago) link
ooh I just looked it up and I realized that the ending I liked so much wasn't Needful Things, it was The Dark Half. (NT was a much better book tho)
ooh I forgot about the Bachmann books, which word for word are another level of creepy
― THE CHOMPING DUCK GETS HIS FATTY OUT FOR VADAR (HI DERE), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:47 (thirteen years ago) link
like, Thinner and The Long Walk both gave me nightmares
Aggh the Long Walk was kinda terrify
Also, "The Fog"...or maybe it was called "The Mist"? I imagined the supermarket as the little one in my hometown and I had dreams about it for weeks. But it was a great story.
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 4 October 2010 20:52 (thirteen years ago) link
Terrifying. Jeez.
Do you remember who the last competitor was in The Long Walk? I remember I worked it out once by process of elimination like it was an Encyclopedia Brown puzzle, but it's hazy now.
― Philip Nunez, Monday, 4 October 2010 20:52 (thirteen years ago) link
oh yeah his short stories > his books, no question
he usually doesn't have to fight for an ending in his short stories
the last competitor is never definitively identified but I have my theory (ie, he crazy)
― THE CHOMPING DUCK GETS HIS FATTY OUT FOR VADAR (HI DERE), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:53 (thirteen years ago) link
I heard Merrilee Rush's "Angel of Morning" yesterday and instantly thought of the wacko dude in "The Langoliers".
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 4 October 2010 20:54 (thirteen years ago) link
I always think of him when I hear that song on the radio.
― (¬_¬) (Nicole), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:57 (thirteen years ago) link
What was the book/story that he used 'Eli's Comin' by Three Dog Night?
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 4 October 2010 21:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Hey ho, let's go
― David Allah Coal (sexyDancer), Monday, 4 October 2010 21:04 (thirteen years ago) link
I *think* the first King I read was Cujo, but I know I was reading The Stand by the time I was in the 8th grade. I wanted to read it, and my mother decided to let me, why because it look interesting. She figured I was old enough and mature enough to handle it. (This was back in 1982, btw, so this was before the "uncut edition" or whatevs.) I've never given up on a King novel, and I've read them all; probably the lowest ranking one for me is Rose Madder, which not only was not as good as his other "abused woman" novels, but seemed unnecessarily cruel and sadistic, even for him.
― a seminar on ass play for kids or something (Phil D.), Monday, 4 October 2010 22:59 (thirteen years ago) link
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, October 4, 2010 4:54 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark
I have four small dogs who show their affection by biting and sometimes they remind me of the Langoliers.
― kkvgz, Monday, 4 October 2010 23:20 (thirteen years ago) link
LOL
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 4 October 2010 23:29 (thirteen years ago) link
I haven't revisited it since high school but I rememeber that "Cain Rose Up" stayed with me for a long time, the one where the college kid goes on a shooting rampage.
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 4 October 2010 23:32 (thirteen years ago) link
This may be an old quote, or it may not even be a quote of Stephen King's, but it sounds like him...
http://i.imgur.com/oWHb5.jpg
^_^
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 July 2011 13:07 (twelve years ago) link
Okay, list me some post-'92 books of his actually worth reading. I've been traveling a lot this summer and have already finished Dead Zone, Carrie, and 1/2 of Dolores Claiborne in the last two week.
― Blind Diode Jefferson (kingfish), Tuesday, 9 August 2011 02:16 (twelve years ago) link
which have you liked most?
― 10/11 of a dead jesus (darraghmac), Tuesday, 9 August 2011 02:20 (twelve years ago) link
dead zone / shining / talisman / black house / running man
offa the top of my head.
― Blind Diode Jefferson (kingfish), Tuesday, 9 August 2011 02:34 (twelve years ago) link
I'm still stuck 64 pages into Under The Dome.
― Super Villains With Drum Machines (MintIce), Tuesday, 9 August 2011 02:37 (twelve years ago) link
i think i made it about that far before just....yeah
kingfish have you tried the dark tower? first four are very good, last three worth reading, lots of odd little links to his other books throughout.
other than that, since 92
Nightmares & Dreamscapes Insomnia The Green Mile Hearts in Atlantis On Writing Black House Everything's Eventual From a Buick 8
i enjoyed all of these, though insomnia and hearts in atlantis draw a lot of hate in particular
― 10/11 of a dead jesus (darraghmac), Tuesday, 9 August 2011 02:46 (twelve years ago) link
Yup, read all the dark tower, and plenty of the other books that have the DT refs.
Reading thru Dead Zone, I was struck by how perfect it was to get David Cronenberg and cast Christopher Walken
― Blind Diode Jefferson (kingfish), Tuesday, 9 August 2011 03:17 (twelve years ago) link
To answer a question asked upthread, I believe the first SK book I read was _Skeleton Crew_ and I read it at the end of 9th grade, when I was 15 years old. The short story "The Mist" both terrified me and hooked me for life...
― Sara R-C, Tuesday, 9 August 2011 03:58 (twelve years ago) link
Reading 'Salem's Lot for the first time since I was maybe 10. I'm about 3/4 of the way through, but right now I'm sort of amazed at how little of this book I remember, and what I do remember is playing back differently than it did when I was a kid. Like the scenes I'm imagining now as I read it are different from the few that I can remember. I think I can attribute the lack of memory being due to so much grown-up stuff. My favorite SK at the time was IT, which had its share of adult situations that were unintelligible to my elementary school mind, but I must have been more invested in it due to the focus on children. Other favorites at the time were the first few Dark Tower books, Cycle of the Werewolf, and Eyes of the Dragon. I was also pretty into the Stand as well though, which I don't think had many little kids running around, so who knows.
― lag∞na beach: the real ∞range c∞unty (beachville), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 11:43 (twelve years ago) link
i like when i see people still reading king books (new or old) on the train. i have to imagine even the worst ones are better than girl w/ dragon hoo-hah or the bodice-rippers that became true blood through some brand of hbo alchemy.― strongohulkingtonsghost, Monday, 4 October 2010 20:58 (1 year ago)
― strongohulkingtonsghost, Monday, 4 October 2010 20:58 (1 year ago)
OTM
― Number None, Tuesday, 20 March 2012 12:21 (twelve years ago) link
I like Stephen King, but there are 2 problems with his books: they are almost always way too long, and he is so terrible at endings.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 12:50 (twelve years ago) link
As said several times upthread, but it was so OTM i needed to repeat for the current page.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 12:51 (twelve years ago) link
they are almost always way too long, and he is so terrible at endings.
Which is why I still maintain The Dead Zone and Pet Sematary are his two best books. Neither is too long and both have great endings (particularly the latter).
― Eric H., Tuesday, 20 March 2012 12:57 (twelve years ago) link
I've never read either book! Maybe I will some day.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:00 (twelve years ago) link
Oh I hated Pet Sematery so much, the whole "family falls apart after child's death" thing was a little too real when I read it.
― thuggish ruggish Brahms (DJP), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:18 (twelve years ago) link
That is one of the only ones I didn't read -- I don't know why that seemed too dark to me when It or The Shining were perfectly okay.
― Respectfully, Tyrese Gibson (Nicole), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:21 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah. After all, doesn't It open with an allusion to a true-life anti-gay hate crime?
― Eric H., Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:26 (twelve years ago) link
i actually re-read the dead zone a few months back. (thank you, .25 paperbacks from goodwill.) once i got past (or learned to love?) the usual hokey overreaching parts of his charactetizations, it was pretty damn entertaining.
i still havent tried to tackle that hardcover copy of it i found at a church rummage sale last summer.
― jesus christ (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:37 (twelve years ago) link
My favorite is It. I love the structure with the flashbacks and whatnot and it was genuinely scary as a kid. I can confirm that it does have a typically King-ian horrible ending though.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:42 (twelve years ago) link
The gangbang(s) ruins that book for me, it makes no sense.
― Respectfully, Tyrese Gibson (Nicole), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:43 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah the gangbang is indefensible and the way they actually defeat the monster is nonsensical and disappointing but I enjoyed the lead-up enough to give the book the benefit of the doubt.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:47 (twelve years ago) link
it's definitely a king special, that gang bang. puberty, visceral glee, coke, the plot itself, king himself and what does he come up with? a mystical navigational clowncar vagina.
― less of the same (darraghmac), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:48 (twelve years ago) link
finding a copy of it at a suburban church rummage sale staffed by blue-rinsed old ladies is kind of a king-ian touch, now that i think of it.
― jesus christ (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:49 (twelve years ago) link
lol, that's like the one scene from the book EVERYONE remembers
― Eric H., Tuesday, 20 March 2012 13:49 (twelve years ago) link
Reading his new one "11/22/63" - some really excellent crossover in the early part of the story - worth it if you're a longtime fan, imo. Am bracing myself for a wtf ending, but have really enjoyed it so far.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 29 April 2012 06:39 (twelve years ago) link
ha i am doing the same thing after years of ignoring his stuff. it seems (so far) like a pretty solid book! i am in the homestretch and nothing dreamcatcher level stupid has shown up so far
― Rachel Profiling (jjjusten), Sunday, 29 April 2012 06:44 (twelve years ago) link
yeah I've got 100 pages to go and I'm still finding myself in full crap-out readiness, just in case lol
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 29 April 2012 06:49 (twelve years ago) link
girl was excited to loan me her copy of Under The Dome but damn, I think it might be worth $10 on the Kindle just to not carry that thing around
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Sunday, 29 April 2012 06:51 (twelve years ago) link
ugh tell me about it, I bought 11/22/63 specifically for my plane trip, and I cursed my nostalgic self there AND back again. Fuck carrying a motherfucking book.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 29 April 2012 06:56 (twelve years ago) link
well, a book THAT big. It's like lugging around the Concise Oxford ffs
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 29 April 2012 06:57 (twelve years ago) link
Just finished 11/22/63 and loved it. I'm not sure about a few aspects of the ending, but the closing chapter was great. Enjoyed Under the Dome and Full Dark, No Stars (four short stories about revenge) too, King's last few books have been a good run.
― Duane Barry, Sunday, 29 April 2012 15:14 (twelve years ago) link
He's definitely been on a nice late period roll lately.
― i love the large auns pictures! (Phil D.), Sunday, 29 April 2012 15:38 (twelve years ago) link