I own every book he's ever written except two... Danse macabre and Season of the werewolf. Anyone read either of those? Are they any good? I'll proabably buy them anyway, just to say I have every Stephen King book every written.

Did anyone else catch the news that he's planning on retiring after his next four books are published? Weird, huh.

Danse Macrabe (sp?) is good, and i'm not even a horror fan. Its got great explanations of why Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury can be so darn scary, complete with examples that creeped me out (its clear the guy suffers from Bradbury, especcially if you think "The Body" is his "Dandelion Wine"). He execerpts an Ellison story about evil fetuses that I don't ever want to read... and I remember him having some good insights, and it was cool seeing if I'd been to any of the places he mentioned growing up in. If you're not on the East Coast, a quick guide: Bridgeport= really scummy city in CT. Stratford= incredibly scummy town in CT. So if he says they were good, that was when he was a kid, not now.
Oh, and I hope "next four books" includes the last 3 Dark Tower books. I'm pretty sure it does, but if it doesn't... well, i have a copy of "Misery," and I know how to read it.
In the intro to "The Green Mile," he says he actually gets creepy letters every day threatening to hurt him if he dosen't finish the Dark Tower series.
I just want them to make a movie of the first book before Clint Eastwood dies. You can't spell "aging gunslinger" without "Clint Eastwood is old enough to play Roland." Too bad Morricone isn't around anymore to do the soundtrack...
Speaking of movies, what are the best adaptions of his books? Best movies, not most faithful-- Kubrick's "Shining" (which i haven't seen) is unfaithful, i know, but still good.

I've read Cycle of the Werewolf. It was pretty good. Fairly short and light as far as his stuff goes, but enjoyable. The illustrations are, of course, very good.

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jello.
aka aron.

Never read Cycle of the Werewolf, but saw Silver Bullet...Gotta love Gary Busey...Think the best movie adaptations of his work are The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile...The Dark Half was quite good too...Heard about him retiring, but I'm sure he said that he would finish the Dark Tower series first...Sure hope so...Those are my fave King books (along with The Talisman and Black House, which seem to add on to the myth of the gunslingers).

"Keep chasing the dragon and eventually you will catch it." - quote the wraVyn

From Buick 8, the wolves of Calla, Song of Susannah, and the Dark tower are the titles~ I think. So , yes, he will finish the dark tower series. Which is indeed good.

King writes so fast it's almost impossible to keep up with him.

COnsidering doing my masters thesis on him, or involving one of his works (most likely The Shining) in something to do with the postmodern gothic or some such crap (could through Gaiman in there, too, now that I've come to like about it ... hmmm...)

I'm currently re-reading Different Seasons and it's as good as I remember. "The Body" ranks among his very best works of all time. He's really at his best when he keeps it short. He's also an absolute master at creating believable characters.

For movies based on his stories, Misery and Creepshow are also great, and tend to be forgotten. Creepshow is worth it just to see King as an actor, uttering the line "Meteor shit!" I love that bit.

Sad news about him - I read that he's going blind. It's a hereditary condition, and I guess there's nothing the doctors can do to stop it.

Jeff
______________________________
some people never go crazy.
what truly horrible lives
they must lead.

What do you guys think of his habit of constantly using a. writers and b. classic rock in his stories? I think both can get annoying if done too much, though sometimes the songs lend a nice creepiness when I hear them on the radio...

To me, they're part of the "background noise" of his writing, like Hemingway's inability to write a short story that isn't 1) in Spain, 2) about a macho hobby or 3) about a macho man. His love of classical writers, which is high-lighted in every bit of non-fiction he writes, and his love of classic rock, which is just as prevalent, are his sources of influence.

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In the end, I'm left with a selective memory and the tyranny of eternal hope.

How about The Long Walk by SK writing as Bachman? Dark and disturbing but still compulsive reading. I've just finished The Running Man,also dark, disturbing and unputdownable (nothing at all like the film). The grey, dismal world it's set in reminded me so much of George Orwell's 1984 that now I'm reading that again. I wonder if 1984 influenced The Running Man at all? Maybe not, Orwell didn't have a monopoly on gloomy future worlds.

Steve King is a pretty uneven writer. Bag of Bones was his best novel. I tend to prefer his short stories and novellas more than the big, thick King novels. Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight are great.

I hate The Stand, Luddite antitechnological bullshit. And the Green Mile, so soppy and trite. Regulators was pretty stupid, you just can't get enough suspension of disbelief to make me imagine a boy making crayon drawings come to life. Sun Dog, in Four Past Midnight. Umm, no, Steve, Polaroids and photos aren't peculiar at all, they're quite matter-of-fact, and the idea of a dog jumping through a photo and eating me is just plain ludicrous. Needful Things, how sophomoric can you get? He told everyone it was the last Castle Rock story, so he blows the place up and kills everyone. I can imagine his glee. Feh.

Of the famous Dark Tower, I've only read The Gunslinger, and that was good, but from what I've browsed through of the rest, I'd rather not go further along Roland's quest.

What I REALLY love to read from King is his nonfiction. On Writing, Danse Macabre, and those little asides between stories in Four Past Midnight, I love getting a little peek into Steve's mind.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was really good.

Has anyone read this? I just finished and want to know what people think.

John Paul Allen

<I>"The best time for me was just before the screaming stopped and their voices hit that pitch." - Jeffrey Michael Roberts, Gifted Trust</I>

I like Steve. I agree w/ everyone who has pumped up Different Seasons, it's very, very strong. Among the novels, I've always preferred 'Salem's Lot and Pet Semetary.

He has a real feel for the social dynamics of small town life. He is also unsurpassed among modern writers at conveying visceral emotions and states of mind, especially pain and fatigue.

Danse Macabre is a fabulous book that got me interested in several other writers. Read it.

quote:

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Originally posted by Dweller in Darkness:
To me, they're part of the "background noise" of his writing, like Hemingway's inability to write a short story that isn't 1) in Spain, 2) about a macho hobby or 3) about a macho man. His love of classical writers, which is high-lighted in every bit of non-fiction he writes, and his love of classic rock, which is just as prevalent, are his sources of influence.

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In the end, I'm left with a selective memory and the tyranny of eternal hope.

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I generally like his books, but as you said the much-too-frequent recurrence of writers and classic rock in his stories is a bit annoying.

I am replying to alot of stuff here... maybe. Randall Flagg relatables that were not mentioned. Low Men in Yellow Coats. Whatever the name of the last story/thing was in Hearts in Atlantis, Salems Lot... uh, Damn. Too Sleepy. I am pretty sure there are more. A good Fifty percent of his books since the start of Dark Tower are related. Also, gimme some feedback on this but in Black House I think Gorg May be Flagg.
I guess that is all that I'm saying for now. Later

I don't like horror books, but i love his non horror ones. Green Mile, hearts in Atlantis, Different Season... loved those. I started Dreamcatcher, thinking maybe I can handle his horror ones, but it was just too slow, I had to put it down. I wish he would write more non horror ones.

I saw the movie trailer for Dreamcatcher tonight. I can't tell whether I'll like this movie or not. I have not read the book.

The book is fantastically creepy! Imagine King writing an extended X-files movie. The scene in the shower has to be one of the most graphically quesy making scenes I've ever read. You will fear going #2 forever after. Well okay, maybe for a day or two...but still.
>shudder<

And I have to wonder how they'll handle it in the movie. It's there because there's a shot of the guy looking up saying "What do you want?" and in the background you can see the shower stall and curtain smeared with blood. I hope it's a good movie. The casting seems spot on.

"If you're not Outraged, you're not paying Attention!"

quote:

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Originally posted by Igpajo:
The book is fantastically creepy! Imagine King writing an extended X-files movie. The scene in the shower has to be one of the most graphically quesy making scenes I've ever read. You will fear going #2 forever after. Well okay, maybe for a day or two...but still.
>shudder<

And I have to wonder how they'll handle it in the movie. It's there because there's a shot of the guy looking up saying "What do you want?" and in the background you can see the shower stall and curtain smeared with blood. I hope it's a good movie. The casting seems spot on.

"If you're not Outraged, you're not paying Attention!"

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So I suppose you would recommend Dreamcatcher? I had heard it was not that good. I think my old woman has a copy...I'll try to find it and read it.

Yeah, I'd definitely recommend it. Not his best by far, but far from his worst. The psychological shit that goes on with a specific character is one of his better plot tricks though. I enjoyed it thouroughly.

"If you're not Outraged, you're not paying Attention!"