She’s playing the Turtle
― bhad bhabie...you gon' hurt your bhack (voodoo chili), Thursday, 19 April 2018 21:09 (six years ago) link
no man, fucking Clint Howard as the turtle or GTFO
― when worlds collide I'll see you again (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 19 April 2018 21:11 (six years ago) link
Just read Joyland, the first King novel I've read since I was probably 14 of 15. It's fun; a good little supernatural murder mystery that doesn't overstay its welcome (my frustration with King way back when was largely due to his tendency towards pointlessly epic length) and mostly plays by the rules of the add-up-the-clues type of thriller. Like many recent books and films, though, I have to wonder if its period setting is strictly functional: if this were to take place in the present day, much of the mystery and suspense could have easily been curbed by access to Google and texting.
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Thursday, 26 April 2018 01:50 (six years ago) link
The Outsider sounds quite promising
― Number None, Monday, 21 May 2018 20:07 (five years ago) link
First half out Outsider is GREAT, then (wait for it) SK realizes he's painted himself into a corner yet again & has to get silly to get out of it.
― The Thnig, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 04:13 (five years ago) link
My suggestion for a newbie would be to rip out like the last quarter of any given King book before reading. And then just imagine an ending.
― Now I know my ABCs. Next time won't you scream at me? (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 10:23 (five years ago) link
thats p solid advice
― laurel or hardyhearin (darraghmac), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 10:57 (five years ago) link
for the dark tower, sub "ripping out" for "not buying"
real talk now: stephen king is butt
don't @ me
― i am fast and full of teeth. i willl die in a barn fire (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 10:59 (five years ago) link
Get out.
― Now I know my ABCs. Next time won't you scream at me? (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 11:44 (five years ago) link
My (negative) epiphany came with The Stand. I went back to it not long ago thinking I would give it a shot, knowing nothing about the author's extended version. Which at the time was the only one you could buy. Still is? Anyway, it restored some 400 (or something) pages his editor originally cut, and when I learned that I thought, wow, the last thing that book needed was to be longer. For that matter, if you can cut 400 pages from a book and no one really noticed ... wow.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 11:57 (five years ago) link
In other words, yeah, cut out a quarter of each book and make up what's missing. Create your own suspense!
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 11:58 (five years ago) link
I dig the extended version but I skimmed right through the Trashcan Man and Mother Abigail origin chapters (which, iirc, are really long and get in the way of the story). But it's pretty damn consistent for a book that size. And the ending sucks in the short version, too.
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:21 (five years ago) link
Dear King fans, please name me one (1) good King ending. I cannot think of one (1).
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:30 (five years ago) link
The Mist?
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:31 (five years ago) link
Yeah, I immediately started thinking of some as soon as I posted that. The Mist, Dead Zone, Cujo, The Long Walk. All fine. Earlier stuff, mostly, I guess.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:34 (five years ago) link
Carrie has a good ending. Salem's Lot has a great nihilistic ending.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:35 (five years ago) link
After reading Needful Things, an adolescent me basically said to his adolescent self: look, you generally enjoy this guy's writing, but if you're going to continue enjoying it, you need to just learn to accept that he's the King of flubbing the landing. Vibe on the ride and don't worry about the destination so much.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:37 (five years ago) link
yeah me too
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:38 (five years ago) link
Okay, so he was maybe good with endings before he transformed into a book factory.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:38 (five years ago) link
Salem's Lot and The Shining had pretty good endings, yeah? The Raft and Grandma (?) were good short story endings (the latter's movie, "Mercy", is decent, also, starring Carl from TWD). But yeah - TS: The Stand's hand of God vs. the rainbow bolt in Needful Things. Still, I associate not sticking the landing with Koontz more than King.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:39 (five years ago) link
Pet Sematary's ending is pretty much perfect.
― nourish nourish your turtleheart (Eric H.), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:40 (five years ago) link
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut(?), too, for an ending.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:40 (five years ago) link
FTR, I'm just talking about his novels here. His short stories are more generally cooked through.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 14:45 (five years ago) link
The Stand's awesomeness is not diminished by it's terrible ending, unlike some other King books.
Salem's lot has a terrific happy/everything is fucked ending.
The ending of the movie version of The Mist is the king of "woah they really went there/comedy sad trombone" endings
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:05 (five years ago) link
It truly is the 'Scott Tenorman Must Die' of horror film endings.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:19 (five years ago) link
It's a great ending and King prefers it to his own! (which I guess is maybe not the greatest endorsement really)
― Simon H., Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:21 (five years ago) link
the talisman and black house cmon guys
― laurel or hardyhearin (darraghmac), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:40 (five years ago) link
Truly the worst taste in movies made from his own material of any author I know.
― nourish nourish your turtleheart (Eric H.), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:41 (five years ago) link
Except re the mist
― type your stinkin prose off me, ur damned qwerty uiop (wins), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:42 (five years ago) link
Tbh if I were to make a list of king’s faults that actually bother me the endings would be right at the bottom
― type your stinkin prose off me, ur damned qwerty uiop (wins), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:49 (five years ago) link
Or at least right at the end.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:53 (five years ago) link
I like that he has about a dozen books where the ending is basically “the whole town is destroyed”
― type your stinkin prose off me, ur damned qwerty uiop (wins), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 15:54 (five years ago) link
TS: "the whole town is destroyed" vs. "they somehow sensed what they had to do, as if some force was directing them"
― noel gallaghah's high flying burbbhrbhbbhbburbbb (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 16:36 (five years ago) link
the mob mentality is evil except for that one mob.
― omar little, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 16:39 (five years ago) link
Which, if any, of the major King works are significantly different from their film adaptations? There are a number of them (Carrie, The Dead Zone) that I’ve never bothered reading because I assume that having seen the films, there’s really not much left for me to discover in the books, but are there any where I’m really missing out by not having read them?
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:19 (five years ago) link
There are significant differences between the Kubrick version of The Shining and the novel.
― Brad C., Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:22 (five years ago) link
the movies are usually just missing a bunch of ugly bullshit. Kind of like the difference between Jaws the book and Jaws the movie.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:36 (five years ago) link
The #1 answer to this question is always and forever going to be The Lawnmower Man.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:40 (five years ago) link
Off the top of my head: Carrie is very similar to the book. The Dead Zone is fairly similar but I really like the slower, more methodical pace of the book. Cujo is pretty close but the book has a bleaker ending and the movie suffers from the absence of the dog's perspective (one of the book's strongest elements imo). The Mist, again pretty similar except the movie gets the bleaker ending this time 'round.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:44 (five years ago) link
Silver Bullet (screenplay by King) is actually a fleshed-out version of the more elliptical Cycle of the Werewolf.
― I cop this squat in the name of slack (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:45 (five years ago) link
that's true of a lot of the short stories, a surprising number of which have been turned into movies.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 17:48 (five years ago) link
Carrie is far streamlined from the newspaper article/Readers Digest excerpt novel.
― nourish nourish your turtleheart (Eric H.), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 18:04 (five years ago) link
Xps if we’re talking short stories with great endings I can’t believe “the jaunt” hasn’t been mentioned
― type your stinkin prose off me, ur damned qwerty uiop (wins), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 18:05 (five years ago) link
if you're bothered by stephen king endings, stick to the short stories.
― adam the (abanana), Tuesday, 22 May 2018 22:46 (five years ago) link
Which writer would be singled out for being particularly *good* at endings? Endings are hard.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 07:13 (five years ago) link
tolkien packed five into LOTR tbf
― laurel or hardyhearin (darraghmac), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 07:51 (five years ago) link
Most books have pretty good endings, imo. Being notably bad at endings I'd argue is a relatively rare thing, given how important endings are to books. I remember taking a contemporary literature class in college 20 years ago, and we read something I just didn't like. Maybe "The Joy Luck Club?" (King connection!) Anyway, I didn't like it and said so in class, and someone that did like it asked me why I didn't. So I said I didn't think it was well written. And she said there's more to a book than the quality of the writing. And I said, yeah, that might be true, but being well written is pretty fucking intrinsic to the success of a book!
Endings, too.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 23 May 2018 11:41 (five years ago) link
most books don’t even have good beginnings and middles
― Elonio Grimesci (wins), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 12:02 (five years ago) link
Of two authors that Stephen King has blurbed:
Michael Connolly is pretty great at endings, even if they're basically the same every time (the detective solves the case but there's a bittersweet/failed resolution to the B-plot about their personal life).
Elmore Leonard too - he's the anti-Tolkien of "saying goodbye to the characters".
― Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 23 May 2018 12:20 (five years ago) link