What are you reading right now?

LoathsomePete · 04-22-2012, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Above

Just finished The Running Man by Stephen King. It was alright. Like a book you'd read for filler while waiting for something else, which is what I'm did (waiting for my local library to get The Plague delivered). I feel as though the potential of a plot like this was wasted with King.

I think that's pretty indicative of Stephen King as a whole.

NSW · 04-22-2012, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

I think that's pretty indicative of Stephen King as a whole.

Blasphemy!!

Ok, not that bad, but really? As a whole?

**Janszoon** · 04-22-2012, 04:54 PM

I like Stephen King, but am I alone in thinking he's not very good at writing endings? It's especially true with his horror stories. I feel like they frequently have final acts that aren't up to the level of the rest of the book.

NSW · 04-22-2012, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I like Stephen King, but am I alone in thinking he's not very good at writing endings? It's especially true with his horror stories. I feel like they frequently have final acts that aren't up to the level of the rest of the book.

You might have a point there. I thought the endings to "Under the Dome" and "The Mist" could have use a little tweaking. In fact, the ending to the film "The Mist" was tons better than the book.

I would never say that Stephen King books were generally good "filler" material though.

midnight rain · 04-25-2012, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I like Stephen King, but am I alone in thinking he's not very good at writing endings? It's especially true with his horror stories. I feel like they frequently have final acts that aren't up to the level of the rest of the book.

I think he's good at coming up with stories, bad at writing them.

LoathsomePete · 04-22-2012, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonsubmissivewife

Blasphemy!!

Ok, not that bad, but really? As a whole?

A few of his books can stand on their own, but as a whole I think his writing is the very kind that's designed to be read once while you're in between books and then dropped off at a used bookstore. Go to any used bookstore in your city and count how many Stephen King books infest the shelves of the horror section, hell one of the ones where I live has actually set aside their own shelf that's just dedicated to his material. If they weren't, then why would people be so intent on getting rid of them?

I don't hate his works, in fact The Long Walk was one of the first books that really got me into psychological horror and his books can at least be relied upon to provide entertainment, but it's a fleeting kind for me. The Myst, The Long Walk, Desperation, and Misery have all managed to stay with me after reading them, but a lot of his other novels haven't. It would be foolish to say he has not had a major impact on the horror genre, he has, its just not a genre defying one that H.P. Lovecraft had

Above · 04-23-2012, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

I think that's pretty indicative of Stephen King as a whole.

Yeah, he even said "I'm the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries."

NSW · 04-23-2012, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

I think that's pretty indicative of Stephen King as a whole.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Above

Yeah, he even said "I'm the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries."

See, I always thought this description fit someone like Dean Koontz more. Nothing but filler. I've read so many of his books I can't even count them anymore, and I can only remember what one or two of them was about. The rest all blend together.

**Janszoon** · 04-24-2012, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonsubmissivewife

See, I always thought this description fit someone like Dean Koontz more. Nothing but filler. I've read so many of his books I can't even count them anymore, and I can only remember what one or two of them was about. The rest all blend together.

I actually think Stephen King is underrated in a weird way. Because he's so popular, and because he's thought of as a "genre fiction" writer, people dismiss him, but his actual writing is quite good. I have a sneaking suspicion that fifty years from now he'll be held in higher literary esteem than he is currently.

Above · 04-24-2012, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I actually think Stephen King is underrated in a weird way. Because he's so popular, and because he's thought of as a "genre fiction" writer, people dismiss him, but his actual writing is quite good. I have a sneaking suspicion that fifty years from now he'll be held in higher literary esteem than he is currently.

Yeah, the "Hipster Effect."

04-22-2012, 04:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	I like Stephen King, but am I alone in thinking he's not very good at writing endings? It's especially true with his horror stories. I feel like they frequently have final acts that aren't up to the level of the rest of the book. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm