On 2008-02-07 17:33:42 -0800, acwheele@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Andrew Wheeler) said:
> tphile <tphile@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> I am gonna have to wait for the movie then.
>> In spite of being a lifelong book reader I have a real problem with
>> Kings
>> I had read some of his earlier works but Tommyknockers just ended it
>> for me
>> and I haven't been able to get thru another King story since. For me
>> taking ten
>> pages to describe what other great writers could write in 10
>> paragraphs is not good
>> storytelling. Its like trying to run thru mud.
>> I even started Gunslinger about a dozen times over the years but just
>> lost interest
>> I suppose thats happened to most everyone here at some point with some
>> book or author
>
> I haven't read King myself in years, so I'm not urging you to run right
> out and grab everything you missed, but _Tommyknockers_ is generally
> considered his worst book, and even King himself doesn't remember
> writing it. (That was during the coke years.)
>
> It's also a good twenty years ago now; he's had as much (or more) of a
> career *since* _Tommyknockers_ that he did before it.
>
> I'm not sure if you've tried to read anything he's written more recently
> -- if so, then he's clearly not for you. But I don't think anyone
> considers _Tommyknockers_ typical.
>
> (For myself, it was _It_ that knocked me off the King habit.)
For me, his very first story collection knocked me off, and it was the
first thing I read. But I wound up reading MISERY because there was
nothing else to read, and that yanked me back on, and I wound up
catching up on everything.
I enjoyed TOMMYKNOCKERS, but I might have had a similar reaction to the
general one if I'd read it as a new book -- knowing that he went on to
better things changes one's perspective.
I enjoyed IT, too, but I'm not alone in that.
I didn't enjoy PET SEMATARY, CHRISTINE or ROSE MADDER much, along with
not caring for the main plot of CUJO.
But I've liked most of what he's done from MISERY on, and the more
reflective novels, particularly BAG OF BONES, LISEY'S STORY, DUMA KEY
and the character-interplay stuff in DREAMCATCHER ave some very
absorbing, very strong writing to them.
I think, as he's gotten past the need to be commercial (since he's
gonna sell zillions no matter what), he's developed a real flair for
rich, textured wordsmithing, and it makes the books a real pleasure to
spend time with.
His son Joe's first novel, HEART-SHAPED BOX (by "Joe Hill") is a
powerful horror novel that feels a lot like early King, but with a very
modern sensibility.
kdb
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