83 replies to this topic

[G Donnelly]

Imaginarynumber1, on 13 December 2012 - 03:03 PM, said:

His short stories are okay. I find his books to be TERRIBLE. Can't stand them.

Mr King is what you call a " details" man and big on character development.
Be patient and wait for the cliff-hangers because they will come soon enough.
Btw my favourite short story is about that guy who self-cannibalises himself on a desert island.
The Langoliers and The Mist are worthy of a mention as well.
All this talking about the Dark Towers has got me thinking about parallel universes.
The Stand and the ones following it are not set on the same Earth.
Yet there's connections from both Earth's to the Dark Tower series.

Edited by Walnut Whip, 13 December 2012 - 06:26 PM.

[Dredimus]

If they were to cast and move forward on a dark tower movie... What actors would you guys pick for the main cast?

[supervike]

I've read a good deal of his stuff, but it seems like I'm always slightly let down by the endings.

He is brilliant at character development and dialogue.

The latest I read, 11-23-63, great at times, slow as hell at others.  He really could have used an editor on about 2/3 of that.

It seems that he always sets up such a great villian/conflict only to have a 'magical' ending for the protaganists at the end.  Far too convenient endings.

[Hasina]

Dredimus, on 13 December 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

If they were to cast and move forward on a dark tower movie... What actors would you guys pick for the main cast?

No one. I know, I know, many claim certain books or book series can't be filmed but I do believe the Dark Tower series is one of those, the type that can't become a film.

Edited by Hasina, 13 December 2012 - 08:16 PM.

[Imaginarynumber1]

Walnut Whip, on 13 December 2012 - 06:24 PM, said:

Mr King is what you call a " details" man and big on character development.
Be patient and wait for the cliff-hangers because they will come soon enough.
Btw my favourite short story is about that guy who self-cannibalises himself on a desert island.
The Langoliers and The Mist are worthy of a mention as well.
All this talking about the Dark Towers has got me thinking about parallel universes.
The Stand and the ones following it are not set on the same Earth.
Yet there's connections from both Earth's to the Dark Tower series.

The sad part is that I've read almost all of his books. I stopped sometime in the mid 2000's and began to question why I didn't earlier. Some masochistic streak, I suppose.

[Pandora7321]

Dredimus, on 13 December 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

If they were to cast and move forward on a dark tower movie... What actors would you guys pick for the main cast?

It took so many years for him to finish (if he is truly finished) the Dark Tower series. I have always pictured Roland as Clint Eastwood but now there is no way that Eastwood could ever play him at his age. Now I think that Timothy Olyphant who played Sheriff Bullock in the HBO series Deadwood would be an excellent Roland.

I am a HUUUUUUGE Stephen King fan. Have been since I was a pre-teen. I own just about everything he's written except for some of his more recent stuff. I even own The Green Mile in the original separate series of books.

I love how he references characters and events from one book into another. They're like little hidden gems that no one but a true fan will ever notice.

Trivia: What item from "Pet Semetary" is found in a pile of junk in the book "Insominia"?  
   The movie "Maximum Overdrive" was based on which of his short stories by another name?
   The movie "Shawshank Redemption" was based on which of his short stories by another name?

[Hasina]

Sneakers!
Trucks!
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption!

[Pandora7321]

Hasina, on 13 December 2012 - 09:21 PM, said:

Sneakers!
Trucks!
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption!

Odd, it never saved my first response. YOU ARE AWESOME!! I don't know too many people who can answer those. The blood stained sneaker is correct. Trucks is correct. Shawshank is almost correct. In my book it's called, Influencing the Hell out of Time and Rita Hayworth.

[Pandora7321]

I used to own a hardback of all of his stories written under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. It was called the Bachman Books. Unfortunately, I let someone borrow it and it never got returned. I haven't been able to find it in all these years. I've always thought that "The Long Walk" would make an excellent movie.

Edited by Pandora7321, 13 December 2012 - 09:34 PM.

[Hasina]

Pandora7321, on 13 December 2012 - 09:31 PM, said:

Odd, it never saved my first response. YOU ARE AWESOME!! I don't know too many people who can answer those. The blood stained sneaker is correct. Trucks is correct. Shawshank is almost correct. In my book it's called, Influencing the Hell out of Time and Rita Hayworth.

Oh cool! I've never seen it called that, but his short stories do get thrown around a bit, kind of like Lovecraft's. My dad and I are huge King fans.

[Dredimus]

Pandora7321, on 13 December 2012 - 09:34 PM, said:

I used to own a hardback of all of his stories written under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. It was called the Bachman Books. Unfortunately, I let someone borrow it and it never got returned. I haven't been able to find it in all these years. I've always thought that "The Long Walk" would make an excellent movie.

My first experience with "Bachman" was 'The Regulators' which contained the same characters as Desperation, just in a different setting and different roles.

Did any of you ever read "Eyes of the Dragon"? There was alot of carry over from the Dark Tower in that one.

[Purplos]

The first 'grown-up' book I ever bought myself was The Bachman Books when I was 12. I haven't read King in years though. Think the last one I read was "The Cell" or something like that.. zombie outbreak brought on by cell phone usage. I've trying to get my 14 yr old son, who loves horror and paranormal stuff, into him now, but it's not working very well.

[G Donnelly]

supervike, on 13 December 2012 - 08:11 PM, said:

The latest I read, 11-23-63, great at times, slow as hell at others.  He really could have used an editor on about 2/3 of that.

It seems that he always sets up such a great villian/conflict only to have a 'magical' ending for the protaganists at the end.  Far too convenient endings.

I don't know. I thought some of his endings were bittersweet.
You'll understand more clearly when watching The Mist.
When the characters just gave up  when the world was being put to rights.
You still get an uncomfy feeling despite the amount of happy endings.
We are talking about the world of Stephen King here who dosn't do straight-forward.
I'm looking forward to 11-23-63 if not for the Losers Club cameo.

[MysticStrummer]

I used to read a lot of King's stuff, then took a long break other than to reread The Stand when the expanded version came out. I just got through with the expanded first Dark Tower book and will be getting the second one soon. Other than The Stand, Salem's Lot is another favorite of mine, along with several books of short stories. I think Night Shift had a story called One for the Road which was a companion to Salem's Lot. The Bachman Books is another one I read more than once. King has had one hell of a career... and of course who can forget King's dramatic turn as Jordy Verrill in Creepshow, or as the man at the beginning of Maximum Overdrive who gets called an a--hole by an ATM?

[Pandora7321]

Dredimus, on 13 December 2012 - 10:14 PM, said:

My first experience with "Bachman" was 'The Regulators' which contained the same characters as Desperation, just in a different setting and different roles.

Did any of you ever read "Eyes of the Dragon"? There was alot of carry over from the Dark Tower in that one.

Heck yeah, I have it in my collection! Two of his books that I haven't seen anyone mention on here is "The Talisman" and it's sequel, "Black House", co-written with Peter Straub. It crosses over with the Dark Tower series.