Favorite Stephen King?

[Batty]

Same here, to me the Stand is just about as good as it gets. I've read it a few times and loved the unabridged version.

Eyes of the Dragon is up there as it was the first King book (and really novel) I ever read.



Glad I was able to help with that, even though it turned into a bit of a cluster ____

That it did.

But it was all worth it considering how much they were selling for on eBay.

 

[Darth Cruel]

I certainly do not feel that Stephen King is deserving of any bashing.

His work is not going to solve any human suffering around the world. But for it's intent...it is hard to beat. He writes for entertainment. Not for intellectual stimulation. And few can entertain like he can in a horror novel.

And for horror novels...his are some of the very best-written that can be found.

There are differences between presenting the intricasies of law or science to an audience as opposed to presenting a fictional horror story. Many, many horror writers will fire off the story in basic prose. SK will make the reader dwell on details and think about consequences to heroic actions.

I have always seen SK as the "thinking reader's" horror wordsmith. Whereas to me, authors like Clive Barker and Dean Koontz tend to make things a little easier on the brain (not that they are not very entertaining stories, mind you).

 

[Agent0028]

Thanks for the info on the Dark Tower tie ins. I added The Stand to my reading list and I'll work through the others recommended as well.

 

[Darklord Dave]

IMO King is overrated. Much like George Lucas, his ideas can often be better than the execution. The Stand, It and Needful Things are my favorites from him, but some of the actual literature is base, simplistic, obvious, boring, extremely trite, juvenile, and frankly not that well written.

Haven't even had as much as an itch to read any of his novels since I was a sophomore in high school.

That said, I would welcome a well executed IT or The Stand feature film.

Funnily, despite my knowing how bad his writing is, I admit the stories had a lot of impact on me. Of course I was 12-15 when I read them all, anything would have had the same impact, probably.

I honestly would feel bad for anyone over say 18 who read his books and found them to be very good.

Not to start a war or anything, but I think you're completely and unequivocally as wrong as any 4 people can be. And that's really, really wrong. (all in good humor of course - )

I didn't realize it when I was reading them as a teen, but he's probably one of the best writers of popular fiction that has ever written. As I'm revisiting his books as an adult I find I still have a hard time putting them down - he keeps the suspense going and he's the best at evoking emotions just from the choice of his words. Sometimes the ideas aren't fully formed, but it's not poor writing - it's just that he cares more about the characters and less about how they got in these unbelievable situations.

Most of his books I've read recently are pretty light on the science or providing an explanation for the supernatural - something that would frustrate me to no end as a teen. But as an adult you accept that some things aren't explained. As King himself mentions in Danse Macabre (a great book on horror and writing in general) - sometimes it's what you DON'T see that is the most frightening and by explaining it all the fearful object loses its power.

I've read a lot of writers and have taught Freshman English, but I'm always surprised at how much King sucks you into the story, and for sheer entertainment value, can't be beat.

I'm a huge fan of JK Rowling but some of her writing comes off as just a little half-assed - like she had an idea that just didn't work but she barreled forward anyway. But I still love the HP books and will read anything she puts out.

Now Stephanie Meyer - there's a writer I can get behind hating.

 

[YoNoSe]

I read a lot of fiction. I sometimes pick up books that I know are crap simply because I have the urge to read about a certain character. Whether the books in between are classics or movie tie-ins, whenever I come back to King I am always surprised again by how enjoyable and easy it is to read his writing. Even if it's a sub-par story I find him to be a great storyteller.

"I don't know if it's art, but I like it."

 

[ProgMatinee]

I think we can divide the story, which King is really great at, from the prose, which I think he is pretty much a hack.

I'll have to pick one up and reread to be better able to discribe it, but I just felt King leaned on the verge of being too simple in his discriptions and not very colorful or poetic.

He pretty much lays the visuals out there bare bones, too simple, for example he might write:

"he stood in a blue hotel room alone, a lamp in the corner, and on the night stand was a broken gin bottle"

Whereas someone with a bit more prose such as JK Rowling might say:

"he stood in solitude, the glow of a bed side lamp projecting jagged shadows of a shattered bottle of gin against the blue wall of his sparcely furnished hotel room."

Especially notice the subtle use of alliteration which is all over Rowling's work.

I made that up so it sucks, but do you get my point? His writing is flat compared to others. His ideas are great, and I think thats what keeps you reading.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I think we can divide the story, which King is really great at, from the prose, which I think he is pretty much a hack.

I'll have to pick one up and reread to be better able to discribe it, but I just felt King leaned on the verge of being too simple in his discriptions and not very colorful or poetic.

He pretty much lays the visuals out there bare bones, too simple, for example he might write:

Whereas someone with a bit more prose such as JK Rowling might say: Especially notice the subtle use of alliteration which is all over Rowling's work.

I made that up so it sucks, but do you get my point? His writing is flat compared to others. His ideas are great, and I think thats what keeps you reading.

Well, I think they have different styles, but I wouldn't say one is superior to another. Whereas they are both superior to Stephanie Meyers.

 

[Batty]

I think one of the scariest things King ever wrote was in Gerald's Game (not one of my favorite King books) with the shape in the corner that may or may not have been there. There was something so real and frightening about that scene.

 

[sithjedi171]

I'm about 1/3rd of the way through Under the Dome right now. I've really enjoyed it so far.

 

[devilof76]

I think one of the scariest things King ever wrote was in Gerald's Game (not one of my favorite King books) with the shape in the corner that may or may not have been there. There was something so real and frightening about that scene.

He's scary as hell. I read the scene with Frank Dodd in the closet when I was in 2nd grade. Even when I was 12 and staying up late reading It, it took everything I had to reach two feet to turn off the light.

As an adult, I don't get scared, but the experience of the horrors he depicts (the cabin in Black House; Trash Can Man's big scene; the restaurant at the end of Song of Susannah) is so acute that it has me just as captivated.

 

[Nitro80]

I'm about 1/3rd of the way through Under the Dome right now. I've really enjoyed it so far.

Under the Dome was great, I personally found the climax very rewarding. Then again, I also enjoyed Black House which a lot of the people I talk to seem to, at best, be indifferent to.

 

[Buttmunch]

I really liked both Under the Dome and Black House right up until the endings. They have the classic stupid King endings. 90% of the time he can't figure out a good way to end the book, which is disapointing. Especially after investing so much time in some of those books. I think part of the reason the Shining and the Stand are such great books is they don't have the crappy ending syndrome.

 

[sithjedi171]

Hard to pick a favorite. The Shining or It for me.

 

[xjamiex]

Either IT, Carrie or Pet Cemetery.... I love everything Stephen King writes

 

[Darth Waller]

I haven't read much of his in the last ten years, but The Stand and The Green Mile were my favorites.

 

[xjamiex]

I haven't read much of his in the last ten years, but The Stand and The Green Mile were my favorites.

Another amazing one

 

[sithjedi171]

Final Jeopardy answer yesterday was Stephen King... One of the rare occasions I got Final jeopardy right.

 

[Garemlin]

My favorite novels are Pet Semetery and Christine. Read them both long before seeing either movie. I started reading The Stand but made the mistake of putting it down for a while half way through. With all of the characters and sub stories I could never get back into following it. Shame because really enjoyed it up to that point. But my absolute favorite has always been The Mist short story. Even after all these years driving in the fog gives me the chills every once in a while.

Tap'd from my G'Tab 8.9

 

[CTO15]

I still remeber reading Misery in Junior High. That was a great book

 

[NAZGUL-KING]

I read Skeleton Crew when I was a freshman in HS and that got me hooked - making the transition to his full novels easy. My favorite is IT, followed by The Shining and Salem's Lot. There are so many that I still have to read (mostly King's later stuff). I had a subscription to the Stephen King Library for almost twenty years so I have most of His books. Hopefully I'll be able to get around to reading them all someday.