The Stephen King Megathread

[suarezguy]

I've read many of his books: Carrie, The Shining, Different Seasons, The Green Mile, Firestarter, Christine, The Talisman, It, Misery, The Mist, Hearts in Atlantis.

Will read Dreamcatcher, The Dead Zone, probably Gerald's Game and Insomnia later.

He generally creates good momentum and interesting characters, and especially interesting supernatural evil, but sometimes is a little too unserious (all the Lord of the Rings referencing in The Talisman, which near the end felt video gamish) or repetitive. I also don't really like his dismissive attitude to the fans.

[Nathan_Heller]

I've read all the Stephen King novels with the exception of the Dark Tower series; I didn't care for them. I'm halfway through Under the Dome (very good novel).

[timothy]

the eigth book in the dark tower series is now ready for pre-order april 3, 2011.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I assume you mean April of 2012?

Also, the book is a mid-quel of sorts - set between volumes 4 and 5, I think.

[timothy]

yep I am., my bad.

[Starbreaker]

Joyland was recently released in trade paperback only. It's actually reasonably priced, though. I picked it up

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Under the Dome begins airing on June 24th

The CBS series adaptation of Under the Dome will premiere on June 24th. The dramatic series will chronicle the lives of Chester's Mill's many residents as they struggle to survive under a mysterious dome cutting them off from the outside world.

Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and scheduled for an initial 13 episode run, Under the Dome is poised to be a major player on the summer TV landscape.

CBS Studios International has announced that Channel 5 has acquired exclusive broadcast rights for upcoming drama Under the Dome in the U.K. to air this fall.

And probably the most exciting news, Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining will be released on September 24th.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”
Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

[DalekJim]

Love King, had a great impact on me when I started reading. It was my favourite book when I was little, though The Stand is his best accomplishment.