The Drawing of the Three is one of the best books from the Dark Tower Series......I'd say books 2-4 are the highlights of the series whereas the rest are not quite as strong.
The Stephen King Megathread
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The Drawing of the Three is one of the best books from the Dark Tower Series......I'd say books 2-4 are the highlights of the series whereas the rest are not quite as strong.
My wife and I own a copy of every piece of fiction that he's ever written, including comics, and we've read about 75% of it so far. My faves:
1. Different Seasons---I've actually re-read this one a couple of times
2. Eyes of the Dragon---very solid sword n' sorcery stuff
3. Salem's Lot---the prototypical "eclectic group of characters team up to fight the bad guy" story
4. Storm of the Century---I watched the mini on TV before reading the screenplay---very interesting premise
5. Cell---I would love to see this one made into a gazillion dollar blockbuster---the visuals are so intense
6. Lisey's Story---gut-wrenching and disturbing---man, do you root for that heroine!
7. Dark Tower---haven't finished the saga yet, but I'm really getting into it
The only things of ol' Uncle Stevie's that I did not enjoy were a few of his early short stories---too many Lady or the Tiger endings, and Dreamcatcher, which was a fantastic idea for a 600-page book, but it was, unfortunately, a 900-page book.
King-based movies and TV minis have been all over the map, but I would say that my faves (be they faithful to their sources or not) were Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Kubrick's The Shining. Carrie, Cujo, and Christine are enjoyable, in a B-moive kind of way.
He has said in his articles and in interviews that he's a liberal Democrat, but I don't recall any of his books that give that fact away. Perhaps I am obtuse.
BTW, I used to love King's articles in Entertainment Weekly. He still do those?
1. Different Seasons---I've actually re-read this one a couple of times
2. Eyes of the Dragon---very solid sword n' sorcery stuff
3. Salem's Lot---the prototypical "eclectic group of characters team up to fight the bad guy" story
4. Storm of the Century---I watched the mini on TV before reading the screenplay---very interesting premise
5. Cell---I would love to see this one made into a gazillion dollar blockbuster---the visuals are so intense
6. Lisey's Story---gut-wrenching and disturbing---man, do you root for that heroine!
7. Dark Tower---haven't finished the saga yet, but I'm really getting into it
The only things of ol' Uncle Stevie's that I did not enjoy were a few of his early short stories---too many Lady or the Tiger endings, and Dreamcatcher, which was a fantastic idea for a 600-page book, but it was, unfortunately, a 900-page book.
King-based movies and TV minis have been all over the map, but I would say that my faves (be they faithful to their sources or not) were Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Kubrick's The Shining. Carrie, Cujo, and Christine are enjoyable, in a B-moive kind of way.
He has said in his articles and in interviews that he's a liberal Democrat, but I don't recall any of his books that give that fact away. Perhaps I am obtuse.
BTW, I used to love King's articles in Entertainment Weekly. He still do those?
That's exactly what makes it silly.
"Wow! The super powerful extra-dimensional alien bully showed mercy just like that little girl bully showed Julie mercy. That's the way everybody should live. Let's all sing Cumbaya!" It's hard to take the tension of the rest of the book seriously when it's saddled with that "ABC Afterschool Special" ending.
Just read Night Shift for a start. Most of the stories in it are marvelous. Different Seasons, while less straight horror, is fantastic as well - it's a collection of 4 shorts.
Read his earlier work, which suffers less from the lack of pay off problem. I quit reading his stuff for that very reason, but Dead Zone, 'Salem's Lot, Carrie - basically all the pre-Cujo stuff is very strong and often have great endings. Except The Stand. Hard core King fans love it, but I thought it was the worst offender in the great build up, lousy ending arena.
This is a little off topic - but has anyone read Justin Cronin's The Passage? It kind of reminded me of King at his best.
Yeah, I loved Christine. It's undervalued, I think, because the one-sentence plot summary sounds stupid. I just wouldn't recommend it to someone who, for example, hadn't read It yet. But for those who are looking for excellent mid-80's high-as-a-kite King, something along the lines of Cujo, then this is a great read.
FYI :
http://collider.com/the-stand-movie-adaptation/73847/
The Stand was my favorite single Stephen King novel and the TV series is above average for a Stephen King movie, but I'd love to see the Stand done right...........
http://collider.com/the-stand-movie-adaptation/73847/
The Stand was my favorite single Stephen King novel and the TV series is above average for a Stephen King movie, but I'd love to see the Stand done right...........
I was about to post that. I bet a bunch of other projects will pop up if these films are financially successful.
So is the Cell movie ever going to get made, or what?
Maybe now that The Walking Dead is popular. King did write a screenplay in 2009.
Man, I hope so. I thought that was one of King's better novels lately. Started off quick and didn't let up till the end.
M-O-O-N, spells trilogy!
Wonder if they'll get the same actor for Flagg to appear in both Stand and Dark Tower.
Tommyknockers, IT, Thinner
I'd recommend it. What would be the point of recommending it to someone who's already had the pleasure?
In fact...
HEY ALL YOU NON-STEPHEN KING READERS OUT THERE! START WITH CHRISTINE! REALLY! IT'S AWESOME! ITS ABOUT A POSSESSED '58 PLYMOUTH FURY THAT KILLS PEOPLE AND FIXES ITSELF SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT CAME OUT OF JAY LENO'S GARAGE! THE BOOK AND THE MOVIE WERE BOTH BADASS!
Yeah, silly premise, but it's the coolest book based on a silly premise I've ever read.
For the longest time, I had a great deal of interest in reading The Dark Tower series, but was interested in reading it moreso because it appealed to my tates as a fan of Fantasy fiction than because it was written by King; however, after reading The Talisman and Black House (the first two King novels I ever read, BTW) and the first four novels in The Dark Tower series, he's now become one of my favorite authors in terms of the way he writes and his skill as a storyteller. I have seen the movie version of The Green Mile and really enjoyed it, but have yet to read anything by King outside of the 6 books mentioned above, and am not entirely sure that I ever will, mainly because a lot of his work doesn't really appeal to me even though I do, as mentioned, like the way he writes and the way he's able to successfully weave a story that is compelling and engaging.