Topic awaiting preservation: One day at the OZONE...

...A book got recommended, I can't remember when it was, but almost half a year ago, in a thread about peoples favorite books. Stephans Kings "The Dark Tower" series was mentioned several times, if I recall. So, anyways, I went out to Barnes and Noble to check out the first book "The Gunslinger." They didn't have it, but instead a whole shelf full of Stephen Kings books, so I bought a diffrent one: "The Tommyknockers."

It sounded interesting, and it was interesting. There was a surprising amout of character depth for what I though, having never read King before, would of been a pointless horror novel.

I have a problem, though. The style that it is written in is not appealing to me. It's like you have to push your way through his books. That, or I've become used to reading in Dean Koontz and H. P. Lovecrafts style (for Horror books). The style took an otherwise good book and made it unintersing and practically impersonal. This contributed to me now being fully able to really: "Get into the book," and many times I had to force myself to read instead of drawing.

Does anyone else have this problem with King? Is Gunslinger written in the same style? (Basically, my questions.)

[This message has been edited by counterfeitbacon (edited 03-10-2003).]

Sorry, I can't help you there, CFB. I haven't read any of King's books, just seen the screen adaptations

. . : slicePuzzle

Personally, I really liked his earlier works. Like Carrie, Cujo, The Dead Zone, and Fire Starter. I lost serious interest in Stephen King sometime around/after Gerald's Game.

Rather than tackle another novel, try one of his collections of short stores. Skeleton Crew, Different Seasons (novelettes), or Night Shift.

Bag of Bones.

Try it, honestly.

A lot of King's novels make reference to early characters, or a past history of the towns they're set in. Castle Rock was the main creation of King's, with Derry, Bangor and many other New England townships around it being real.

Bag of Bones is nice because it's a straight forward ghost story that has very few references to the Castle Rock days (The last Cstle Rock novel was Needful Things). If you're looking for something a little more epic, but less horror driven, look into Insomnia...great book.

As for his writing style, I can agree that being younger and not having history with King's writings will make it a touch more plodding. As you get more in depth with his stuff, you'll find you enjoy it more. WJ's suggestions of his early work is also a good route, as those books give you a starting point. His short collections are classic.

Once you get into the style more, I think you'll learn to enjoy it, and spread to other novelists with great depth. Neil Gaiman...just one suggestion.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll try out his collections and Bag of Bones.

I think I need to clarify, though: I like books with depth, and it's not the fact that the reading is tedious and/or boring. I thoroughly enjoy reading old books like such as Tale of Two Cities (Which happens to be a favorite). It's just that his style (and I guess that I've heard that his style takes getting used to) is, well, odd. So, I guess I'll need to ease myself into it, because he is obviously a very talented writer.

I didn't know that he wrote series with the same characters, though. Hmm.

Bugs: Yah, I'm looking forward to Dreamcatcher

Thanks for the info.

I have been reading Stephan King's Dark Tower series...IMHO, it's his best work...and I think it is destined to become a classic (if he ever finishes it, that is...).

It's also not like most of his other books...IMHO.


WebShaman

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Well, I read the whole cycle. I liked those books and the writing style, but I have to say that they were clearly not so good books. Just a good moment. I don't think the writing style really changed between those different novels.

However, King is nothing compared to Koontz and Lovecraft. If you really want to read good horror, I advise you to read those two.
My advises :
- "Midnight" from Dean R. Koontz
- Every Lovecraft is good, but "The color fallen from the sky" (translation ?) was one of my favorites, without mentionning the cycle of Cthulu



[This message has been edited by Moon Shadow (edited 03-10-2003).]

The Gunslinger was actually a pretty good book for King. Written more in a fantasy-horror style than in his usual formulaic approach. It's also based on an epic-style poem, not his own idea. Definitely worth reading if you can lay your hands on a copy. I agree he should get around to finishing it!

The Tommyknockers scared the hell out of me, but I was 14, and that was the last King book I read before I got my hands on Gunslinger. Everything since then seems, as I said, formulaic.
Koontz always seemed that way too. Lovecraft, however, there is a horror genius!


Bodhi - Cell 617

Ahr, Jim-lad! I thoroughly recommend Lovecraft. His stuff isn't jump-out-and-get-you scary, and some of it isn't exactly scary at all, but his best work has a brooding sense of cosmic dread and horror, not a feeling of "oh, there's a serial killer with a bloody axe" but a feeling of "wow, the true nature of the universe is at odds with all precepts of sanity." It's a type of horror that has seldom been adequately reproduced.

I love Stephan King's work. Try The Langoliers. I read the book, then saw the movie... It was brilliantly written with all kinds of character development and soliloquys... And it keeps you on your edge, makes you want to read more. And it's a great example of science fiction.

Though, lately I haven't read much... I kind of stopped reading books. Now it's just screen plays to unsigned movies that I read.


_____________________
Prying open my third eye.

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
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Eh, Poe is Poe. I've always loved Poe. Fall House of Usher, and The Pit and the Pendilum... Black Cat, Annabell Lee. Many....

~looks around and runs to the library~

btw My favourite king would be :

The Green Mile series
6 little books you have to read with two months or even more in between.
(they where written in a two year timespan).

Yes Stephen King is odd.
That's his strengh i think..

<Off-topic>:
The best King movie ever is Stanley Kubrick's version from: "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson.
This combination from King, Kubrick and Nicholson will be unbeaten for a long time.
<off-topic end>

"Freedom of speech is by no means freedom to insult others" from the Razorart goodbye letter.

Thanks for your replies. I picked up Bag of Bones, as since it was said to be good, from a teacher, and have started reading it. I like it better than Tommyknockers, either because I'm getting used to his writing style, (which seems better now, although it could just be the book), or because it's just a better book. In any case, I think I'm going to enjoy reading more of his works.

On Koontz: No, I haven't read Midnight, MS, but I have read seven of his other books. I'd reccomend "Strangers," which is better an the back cover makes it seem, and "One Door Away From Heaven," which I am reading simultaneously with Bag of Bones. I haven't finished ODWFH yet, but as I'm 3/4 of the way through it, I can say that it is bery good, and I think that Koontz does just as good a job of developing realistic characters (in his more recent books, and expecially tese two, although some are formumatic (?)) as Kings seems to be doing.

On Lovecraft: I love his work, and have read MANY of his works. Thats about all I have to say, besides that I'd reccomend them to anyone.

Question: I heard somewhere that King came up with the original idea for the movie "Pi" (which, by the way, Id reccommend to anyone), is this true?

Franz Kafka..... now there is an Author well worth reading, although it seems that many people consider his work a bit twisted.

I love all of King's earlier stuff, as well as his more recent books like Rose Madder, Tales from a Buick 8, Bag of Bones and Hearts in Atlantis.

BTW, if you guys like King alot, then I would suggest reading some Richard Bachman, I like his book 'The Regulators'.