"The Stephen King and Horror Novel Thread"

So I have only read a few and I must say, The Stand so far has been my favorite King novel. Currently listening to IT, I am about a 1/3 of the way thru it. So far I've lost interest a few times, hopefully it will pick up. Oh, 11.22.63 was another good one. My next one that I want to read is the Mr. Mercedes Series.

 

The Dark Tower is a cool series. I didn't really like the end, but the journey was great all the way through and Roland is such an awesome character. I've been tempted to go back and read them again, but I'll wait to see how bad they butcher the story with the movie first.

 

@Chronmeister I heard that was good too, but the length of the stories were to long. Isn't there a television show coming out based on that?

 

They are making a movie of it, but Idris Elba is playing Roland. I like him and all, but he isn't what I pictured Roland would look like.



The books are definitely worth reading though and really pick up pace in the second. The other characters are just as memorable and once they enter the picture, the story gets much more interesting.

 

@Chronmeister Cool, well I have a lot of King novels on my list to read. This series is definitely one of them. I don't know when, but I can't wait. For The Stand, my favorite character in that book was Randal Flagg. Interesting book to say the least.

 

Whoa, I literally just came to a stopping point in King's "Desperation," put the book down, and 5 seconds later picked up my phone and saw this thread. Spooky.

Anyway, I've been on a huge Stephen King kick this year, reading the following:

Desperation
11/22/63
Dark Tower 1,2, and 3
Carrie
The Eyes of the Dragon (@N1TRO, Flagg is the antagonist in that one as well)
The Talisman

So far 11/22/63 is my favorite, possibly of all books I've ever read.

I'm loving this all so much that a friend and I forged a Dark Tower themed puzzle map. It's still got a few scripting kinks to work out but I intend to post it soon.

 

@Tom Cinder 11.22.63 was definitely good. I like the concept this book had, definitely had a lot of research involved. Different from his usual twisted style.

 

The Dark Tower is one of my favorite series of all times. They're making The Gunslinger into a series/movie, with possible sequels. I was a bit off put by the Idris Elba ("wtf, Roland can't be black!!") but after seeing some of the movie previews, I'm really liking where he's headed.

But really, there's no reason Roland needs to be white - it's not a major part of his identity, and Idris Elba seems to have a really good handle on the character, which is all I really care about.

Also, @N1TRO - if you like Randall Flagg, you'd love the Gunslinger. The villain (Man in Black) has a lot of similarities. Also, it's probably the closest in feeling to The Stand because of the travel and size.

Anybody like Under the Dome?

 

This thread inspired me to quit being lazy and put the finishing touches on the Dark Tower puzzle map. So to the OP, thankee sai.

Therefore, HERE it is ya'll.

 

The middle part of it when he's just building a new life as a 60's teacher is beautiful. And yet the thing that really had me turning the pages was the mystery of the yellow card man. The book just hits you on so many emotional levels.

 

while it isnt a major part of HIS character, it is a major part of Susannah's that she is black and Eddie and Roland be white. So unless they are flipping it so Susannah is white (which could work, but they would have to rewrite her dialogue) I don't see how that whole interaction between the three is going to work.

I'm a huge fan of the Dark Tower series btw, and I for one actually liked the ending for whatever reason. Maybe because it was not a happy ending.

 

Agreed - I do think we're going to lose a lot of the dialog between the two. And I don't think you can re-cast Susannah as white because of the racial history she's experienced... I still think the interactions can still have the same shape, and it might actually improve it for TV since some of the slang (and humor) may not age well in TV vs. print, but I'm cautious about it.

Oh, and I liked the ending as well =D

 

I feel like they are doing it because of the racial issues that have been coming up lately and they don't want to piss people off so they're just dropping that whole aspect of the character trio. Maybe. Or maybe they're just being lazy in casting.

 

They actually originally had Matthew and Idris swapped - Matthew was going to play Roland, and Idris was going to be the Man in Black. And yeah, Hollywood race issues probably were factored in. In any case, as long as they hit the soul of the characters right, I'll be happy.

 

I wish they had gotten around to doing a movie while clint eastwood was still younger, but I guess I'm happy they're doing one at all.

 

They should cast Clint Eastwood as Cort.

 

I thought 11.22.63 was an awesome show, but I don't like reading. I remember watching "Thinner" when I was a kid & I liked it but I bet if I went back & watched it now it's corny lol.

 

I've never met someone who doesn't like King. I've never read his stuff before. I feel like anyone who pumps out that many books can't have good quality. Kinda the quality vs quantity debate. I could be wrong though and each of his countless amount of books are good. Perhaps I'll give him a chance some day when I get my to be read pile down.

 

He's got a TON of short stories you could start with that are published in 3 or 4 collections. Any library should have them so you don't have to spend $$.