The Stephen King Thread

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Demdike

I decided against it as Baseball is a subject i know nothing of, nor do i want to.

Ditto, they have it in my local library and I've never felt the need to read it for the same reasons

[Make Them Die Slowly]

I've read loads of books by writers who I like but have no interest in the subject matter. I often find the actual writing more interesting than plot, character etc.

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

I've read loads of books by writers who I like but have no interest in the subject matter. I often find the actual writing more interesting than plot, character etc.

That's a good point actually, next time I'm in there I might read the first few pages and see what it's like

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Originally Posted by Rik

That's a good point actually, next time I'm in there I might read the first few pages and see what it's like

It's a small book, why not read it all and save some money!

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

It's a small book, why not read it all and save some money!

It's in my local library, suppose I could probably read it all in one sitting seeing as I've done that with the Da Vinci Code and The Exorcist

[Make Them Die Slowly]

If you want a quick read try "Rumble Fish" by the excellent S.E. Hinton. The book is so slender it actually takes less time to read than to watch the film!

[Rik]

Just searched for it on Amazon, its only 135 pages long, now that is short!

[Wes]

I'm sure most SK fans have this but I'd highly recommend tracking down Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King - the kind of book you sit down with for 5mins and end up stuck in it for an hour.

[Rassilon]

Originally Posted by suziginajackson

Personally, I think that after 'Misery', Mr. King went down hill. For me, the shorter books have worked the best

It seems (to me) that since then, he was 'getting paid by the word', and so was just introducing characters (and by definition making his books longer and longer) for the hell of it

I also think that because he is so popular, his editor is too scared to stand up to him, and suggest that he take out all the the material which is not needed in the books!!!!

[/I]

I disagree. King is in a position of complete artistic freedom. He has always been one for crafting a story and taking his time with it. He has said that the older he gets the harder it is to write shorter fiction as he gets carried away with his characters.
Some of his later books are still amazing. And for the record none are longer than his early classics The Stand, Salems Lot or It.

From his newer work I highly recommend the Dark Tower series, Dreamcatcher, Under the Dome and the fantastic Duma Kay.

King for me is one of the few writers who always surprises with a story and has never gone down hill. Yes there have been a few books I wasn't mad over (Liseys Story) but overall I can't think of another horror writer still at the top of his field after all these years.

[Wes]

I'm a bit more cynical of SK these days, I thought Under the Dome was a Twilight Zone short story stretched out to gigantic length. But for what it's worth The Dark Tower series (that is the original 7-book series) is a monumental work and 6 months of happiest reading of my life.