I love 5, probably my third favourite behind 4 and 2. I do think 6 and 7 are quite a bit worse though.
Stephen King |OT| - Era Ka-Tet
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I love 5, probably my third favourite behind 4 and 2. I do think 6 and 7 are quite a bit worse though.
I think of all the "mia" stuff was greatly shortened 6 and 7 would be a LOT better. Jake/eddie/roland/oys storyline stay really interesting all the way through, but the Mia stuff is just a slog imo.
Oh man, i was just pumped to try to figure out what was up with the riders.
I think 6 and 7 move too quickly and probably needed a little more time in the oven to let ideas marinate and then edit into something a bit better. King's date with that van had him clickety clacking at his keyboard at a blazing pace, and I can appreciate an author with a sense of his own mortality and wanting to finish your damn series but I'd have loved just a little extra.
It all felt like a natural progression to the meta shit to me, and I loved that aspect of Wolves.
I agree with this.
Coming up on page 800 of The Stand and it's really not grabbing me super hard. The first book was pretty cool with how the virus gets out and how the transmission worldwide is presented, but this stuff with the 2 settlements is just dragging, and I'm not really fond of any of the characters, which for a King book, is a surefire way to bore me. The circumstances of the novel have been the same for like 400 pages. It's no longer new or special so all this time spent in Boulder setting up the politics and governing body etc is just hard to get into. I'm hoping there's something that happens in the confrontation/conclusion that I take to. I'm wondering if I'd actually like the abridged version more purely from a pacing standpoint.
Finished Wasteland and I really liked books 2 and 3. Wasteland ended rather abruptly but I still liked it probably better than 2. Looking forward to the next one but the audio book has a 11 day hold so I'm switching to Revival to bridge the gap.
Anyone notice that King always has someone (or multiple someones) piss their pants in every book? Seems weird but whatever. Just an odd observation lol
Anyone notice that King always has someone (or multiple someones) piss their pants in every book? Seems weird but whatever. Just an odd observation lol
1) god damn, I wish I could experience Wizard and Glass for the first time again.
2) I hadn't noticed that but I'm pretty sure that happened potentially more than once in It lol so it probably really is a weird thing with King.
Finished the regulators, pretty quickly too. I really liked it, and honestly one of the more scary king books. Now I'm halfway through desperation and it's even better. Can anyone recommend the mini series? Any good?
I would have gotten more from The Regulators if I had read it after Desperation.
Wizard and glass is one of my favorite king books, and the ending is one of his best endings of a book.
I was pretty bummed that this wasn't available at my library for 11 days. I wanted more Blaine and Roland riddle time.
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I'm gonna do you the biggest favor in the world and properly set your expectations for this book. It's a tremendous book. However it is very much unlike the other books in the series. I totally get what you have in mind for this next book. It is very much NOT more of the same and is a big departure for the series. It's almost like thinking of it as an intermission. Just go along with it and you'll enjoy it. I think a lot of us were hyped up for The Waste Lands Part 2 and it's very much not that.
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That's a useful warning. W&G is my favorite King book and it would have been a shame if my own expectations had kept me from enjoying it.
Imagine being those if us who had to wait YEARS.
I agree with others though. The bulk of the next book is sorta like a intermission and is more heavily like a western.
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That wait was insane. Waste Lands was 1991. It was before the internet was a household thing and there was no way to easily get news about upcoming books or talk with other fans. At a certain point I just gave up hope that we would ever see a conclusion to that cliffhanger. Then one day randomly in 1997 - SIX YEARS LATER- I was in Waldenbooks on my lunch break and I just saw this version sitting on the counter:
I could not believe it. I snatched it up and bought it right then and there.
This 1st edition hardcover version now goes for hundreds of dollars online.
At least it was delivered eventually. The Winds of Winter has been a longer wait lol.
I haven't read a comic in probably 25 years but my interest is piqued.
Oh I adore it. I couldn't put it down.
Cuthbert is the fucking man. The camaraderie of the ka-tet really struck a chord with me, it reminded me so much of spending huge amounts of time with childhood friends. King stories are often great like that.
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Right lol. I was still young when I read it. Oddly enough The Waste Lands was my first stephen king book ever. Was in high school, just getting back into reading (used to read tons of fear streat a couple years prior in 5th grade) and just saw a random book of my brother's. Didn't care it was the third book in a series . Was just like "whatever" I just want something to read in study hall.That wait was insane. Waste Lands was 1991. It was before the internet was a household thing and there was no way to easily get news about upcoming books or talk with other fans. At a certain point I just gave up hope that we would ever see a conclusion to that cliffhanger. Then one day randomly in 1997 - SIX YEARS LATER- I was in Waldenbooks on my lunch break and I just saw this version sitting on the counter:
I could not believe it. I snatched it up and bought it right then and there.
This 1st edition hardcover version now goes for hundreds of dollars online.
I got to the end and was like FUCK STEPHEN KING. I was livid that the best thing I ever read just stopped like that. Like a year or two later I read that the newest one had come out, but I was pour and couldn't drop like $40 on a book. Had to wait a little longer for the paperback.
But at the same time it started me on the path of Stephen King and read the first two and tons of his other books in the meantime and he became my favorite author.
And if you want to go above and beyond the comics actually narrate what happened before and after the book.
I consider them essential for fans of the Dark Tower.
Damn. I will certainly check it out, thank you.
One of the aspects of the series I like best is how immense the world seems. All the history of Gilead, the battle of Jericho Hill, Farson, etc., it truly feels like a world that has to so much history and we are being shown a snapshot of it.
The comics show you the money shot they even adapt the little sister of Eluria.
First world problems I suppose lol.
Well thanks for everyone adjusting my expectations. Still very much looking forward to it.
How is Fairy Tale? I only started reading it and it seems good so far
I like old Stephen King style of stuff and this looks more like that. Is there anything recent he has done more in that vein too? Basically horror and not shawshank redemption
Are the Dark Tower books good even though they're not horror?
I like old Stephen King style of stuff and this looks more like that. Is there anything recent he has done more in that vein too? Basically horror and not shawshank redemption
Are the Dark Tower books good even though they're not horror?
Revival and The Outsider are really the only horror novels he's done in the last ten years. Maybe The Institute? Revival is the best of those three, the first half of The Outsider is great.
Oh. I just started this as well! So far so good :D
Revival and The Institute are really good bits of newer horror from Stephen King. I think Revival is one of my favorite books from him, period.
I liked the first half of FT, the rest not so much.
I think his best of his "modern" Era (post his accident/crash) is Outsider, Institute, Under the Dome, amd 11/22/1963.
I personally think the Darl Tower series are peak King. Maybe not horror but def supernatural/wild with a heavy western twist. Think Matrix meets Clint Eastwood sorta. First book is a hard read for some, so at least get through the second (second is fantastic and gives a much better vibe of the series) before you give up on the series.
I loved Fairy Tale but I love that part of his lore and all the nods where right up my alley.
The Dark Tower is the best thing he has created.
I think if you like Fairy Tale then there's probably a significant amount of modern King you'd enjoy because I've seen more praise for stuff like Revival than Fairy Tale. I did enjoy Fairy Tale though.
As for Dark Tower… yeah. They're the man's magnum opus. I've enjoyed a decent number of King books so far (though I have many more to read yet), and while I enjoyed It, Pet Sematary, Salem's Lot, etc., the Dark Tower is one of my favourite series ever, and contains some absolute top tier stuff. There are characters in those books that will stay with you forever, and the overall themes I took away from it are things I've thought about many times prior to reading the series, and have thought about many times, with new insight, after reading the series.
Under a week to go until You Like it Darker. Pretty excited! Have it pre ordered already. Yesterday I started reading a book that should take me right to Tuesday so I can start the night it arrives. Funnily enough, the only other King short story compilation that I've read is Night Shift, so come Tuesday I'll have read only his first and last collections.
I finished Fairy Tale not too long ago maybe a month or so. I really liked it but the ending wasn't so good. Not that it took anything away, it just ended. Was a fun book I hope you like it. If you like that try 11-22-63. Fun time travel book that you might like. Not really horror but has some good suspense.
Currently on Revival and it's about to get into the meaty part I think. I can comment more in a few days.
Just got my copy of You Like it Darker and browsing though it there is just a short afterword. I was hoping we'd get a forward and a little telling of how each story came to be. There are a few in the afterward, but, I suppose, I was hoping for more in that regard. Can't wait to dig into the stories tonight though.
If you can, pick up a copy of Skeleton Crew while you are at it. It's an excellet collection too.
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Yeah those afterwords and intermissions were always the things that really endeared me to King. It was like he was giving you a peek behind the curtain, you were part of a special club and the author was speaking directly towards you. I always love getting insight into the inspirations behind the stories.
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Me too. I can't say I wasn't a bit bummed that we didn't get that this collection. I enjoyed those little peaks into the imagination and process just as much as some of his stories.
Finished Revival yesterday. It was OK but a bit of a letdown. Was kind of an odd story choice with how so many committed murder/suicide with no rhyme or reason. Maybe it's because I'm on a King binge of a new book right after another but sometimes his writing frustrates me. He doesn't really do conversational dialog very well and it often sounds forced. And a lot of pieces a normal conversation would lead in to, such as the similarities in the dreams were completely ignored. Ah well. It was enjoyable overall, just little nitpicks.
Back to the Dark Tower series.
Back to the Dark Tower series.
Man you guys weren't kidding about Wizard and the Glass being good. I'm enjoying this book very much. I don't really think it's that big of a departure from the other books, it's just a flashback story is all. Not finished with it yet only a little more than halfway through. Jonas just snuck in and tore up their cabin and pissed on their clothes. But it's really starting to build the tension and get really good. Seems like this will be a fun ride and people will die I'm sure but at least we know Roland survived lol.
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I think it hits differently reading it in 2024.
You have to have the context that The Waste Lands came out in 1991 and had a massive cliffhanger. There was no way to know WHEN the next book was coming and people just spent years in their heads wondering what was going to happen next, etc. Then Wizard and Glass just drops out of nowhere in 1997 - SIX YEARS LATER. I was so thrilled to dig into it and once I got past the introduction and realized this book was going to be a flashback without Eddie, Jake, Susannah and Oy-I was so bummed out and it ruined my mood.
That said-by the time I finished it, yes-I was floored. But I had missed those characters for so long and I wanted to be reunited with them so my expectations were off.
Ah that makes perfect sense. I have to remember that I'm binging them pretty much all at once. Although I also miss Oy.
I'm going to skip Sisters of whatever it is and go straight to Wolves next tho.
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Sisters is a short story that you can read at anytime so that's fine. It wasn't really released in a collected volume until Everything's Eventual. It's great though. It takes place before The Gunslinger.