stephen king c/d?

well, a book THAT big. It's like lugging around the Concise Oxford ffs

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.

He's definitely been on a nice late period roll lately.

didn't get into under the dome, is there any king crossover in it or can i get the new one without fear of missing anything

no real crossover in Dome; has a good "Stand" feel about it. Ending suxors but the rest is p great imo; it's def worth a read

Will rep for Duma Key as well, scared the bejabbers outta me

11/22/63 is a total standalone

I liked 11/22/63 but thought it dragged massively in the middle

i guess the new dark tower book is out? "the wind in the keyhole"? my completionist's urge is telling me to read it, but my common sense is telling me that if i hated the last three dark tower books, it's unlikely i'll be pleased with this one. to this day i'm pissed about the last three, the characters felt like flat shadows of their former selves and everyone started talking in annoying dialect ALL THE TIME.

I kind of want to read it too - I liked the last three but my objection to the new one is DUDE YOU FUCKING FINISHED IT, LET IT GO. This is like some kind of prequel/dream story or something and i'm just...I dunno.

he didn't finish it he just released his notes iirc

there's crossover in 11.22.63? does it explain some of the yellow card man / time travel stuff?

you're thinking of howard webb at old trafford

i know i'm one of the british posters but i still don't speak football

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/04/popular-writers-stephen-king-interview.html

he actually makes me want to read a sequel to the shining. huh

rather he did another talisman book with straub

I don't know, his comment that Danny had to be an alcoholic now because his father was bothered me.

> rather he did another talisman book with straub

i had a real struggle with the second one, trying to remember things that i'd read 17 years earlier...

The Talisman 1984
Black House 2001

amateur mistake, that. fantasy epic hedz know that you have to commit to re-reading with the release date of the new installment in mind.

would've but talisman was 90 miles away

there are secret ways to get to it quicker iirc

I read both Talisman and Black House again last year and was surprised by how much I re-enjoyed them both. Talisman was one of my favorite books when I first read it at age 15, as King and Straub managed to capture that Spielbergian "a boy's adventure" thing that was right in my wheelhouse. Despite the travails and dangers Jack faces in the book, walking across the USA lit by the glow of shopping malls and highway lights seemed very romantic to me. Re-reading it was a nice blast of nostalgia.

Black House was better than I remembered it to be, although the killing of Jack's blind radio host/DJ friend struck me as one of King's needless cruelties, topped perhaps only by the attack on the head of the women's shelter in Rose Madder.

he likes to bite, yes. but i think you're otm about the adventure/spielberg feel, think that if a screenwriter could squeeze a bit more coherency from the books they'd make great movies.

It would have to be done as an 80s period piece, I think, but I would love to see someone tackle it.

This is that rarity, a fun and interesting list. Don't neccesarily agree but enjoyed reading.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/04/ranking-all-62-stephen-king-books.html

The Talisman seems underrated, I am glad it is getting some love on this thread.

The Talisman is great. That Vulture list is mostly fine, although I definitely disagree with Rose Madder placing dead last. It wasn't his best, but it was pretty decent. And definitely better than some of his other shit (looking at you, Needful Things). Also, Night Shift should definitely be top ten. That's the one I always recommend to people who are thinking about reading King for the first time.

idk rose madder is like if he was consciously trying to write 'bad s king' by-the-numbers

The ending of Needful Things put me off Stephen King for almost 2 decades. I didn't even give him a second chance (excepting for Wizard and Glass and On Writing, both Christmas presents as Needful Things had been). I had loved everything else he'd written up until that point and I don't know, there's some ridiculous shit in his early catalog, but something about the guy turning into a goblin and driving away in a car just put me over the edge.

What should I turn to next from his 1990s-2000s output?

I haven't read Rose Madder but I have a hard time believing it's worse than Gerald's Game, which was so bad that I have refused to pick up a Stephen King book ever since

lol

Of that trilogy, Dolores Claiborne >>> Gerald's Game >>>>>>>>>> Rose Madder.

Full Dark, No Stars, btw, is amazing. It feels like the work of a much younger King.

i will rep for insomnia and hearts in atlantis, beat that.

I remember liking Hearts In Atlantis, though i've never read any Dark Tower books so all that stuff was kind of annoying

oh shit you came hardcore I am not prepared to deal with this

a highly selective stephen king poll

Don't think I've read anything post Green Mile (which I liked at the time but now am pretty sure is total irredeemable hokum).

claiborne- steven, you've let me down

Geralds's game- steven, you've let the school down

Rose madder- Steven, put the fucking pen down

claiborne- steven, you've let me down

gtfo

Claiborne is top 10 King easily.

I like The Green Mile for the devastatingly nihilistic ending - "Won't God just please let me die already?"

xp yes, it is

i think yr letting kathy bates intidate ye

Sometimes being a challops is all a woman has to hold on to.

I was interested in the idea of The Green Mile as a serial novel but when I found out that it explicitly had a literal magic negro in it, I figured that my decision to avoid/abandon King post-Gerald's Game was a wise one

full disclosure i was just riffing off phils list of the three there i liked claiborne. In fact, he hasn't used half enough > tbh

FWIW the magic negro straight up basically kills one guy and drives another one permanently insane.

In the movie those two people were Sam Rockwell and that weirdo from LOST who married that 16 year old girl last year.

aw cmon dan it worked for the shining

There is also a mouse that does circus tricks so really there's something for everyone in The Green Mile.