Anyone like Stephen King books?

[Lembas]

Good question, and a hard question. My favorite book of his is The Dead Zone so I'm a bit biased, but the one that seems to get the most mention whenever periodicals or even his own book blurbs advertise King, is "Stephen King, author of..." The Shining. I think in most polls I've seen where King readers are asked what their favorite is, The Stand usually wins out.

At King's official website, here's this intersting news:

New Dark Tower Book
Posted on: November 11th, 2009 11:21:49 pm

Stephen has announced that he has an idea for a new Dark Tower book, the working title of which will be THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE. He has not yet started this book and anticipates that it will be a minimum of eight months before he is able to begin writing it.

Wow, I don't know what he can add to the series or if it will be a stand-alone story. Very interesting.

Also, I've fallen behind and need to pick up the first two collected The Stand comics, now in hardcover graphic novel form, with the third series (I think the comics first) set for March of next year.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Hmm. I really hadn't thought about The Stand. It's already a classic of sorts, I guess. I'm kind of thinking of "classic" in the sense of...I dunno...Moby Dick or something by Dickens or something like that. Only something that you'd really enjoy if you were assigned to write a paper on it.')


Another DT book, huh? I'm thinking stand-alone might be the way to go. Although Roland would have had plenty of other adventures to write about, I think the actual quest for the Tower has been told. However it's done, I'm pretty sure it would be interesting.

I'm still up to date on the comic, er, graphic novel, but I may be unable to finish collecting it, in which case I'll have to get it in hardback form, which I might be inclined to do in any case.

[Lembas]

Well, after getting that bite about a possible DT sequel or stand-alone, from King's official website, I get this from Etertainment Weekly's website:

On the heels of the news that best-selling horror master (and EW columnist) told the audience at a Toronto book signing that he was considering writing a sequel to The Shining, King tells EW.com that he’s got no immediate plans to revisit the character of Danny Torrance. “It’s a great idea, and I just can’t seem to get down to it,” says the author in an e-mail. “People shouldn’t hold their breath. I know it would be cool, though. I want to write it just for the title, Dr. Sleep. I even told them [at the book signing], ‘It will probably never happen.’” Still, King — whose most recent novel is this month’s Under the Dome — can’t quite shut the door on the Shining sequel, adding, “But ‘probably’ isn’t ‘positively,’ so maybe.”

Hmm, it seems that King has sequelitis on the brain. I don't know about a follow-up to The Shining. It seems perfect as is. To me, it would be like Black House following The Talisman. I liked it but if you were expecting something that felt exactly like the first book, you'd be disappointed, as I initially was. I've come to accept it on its own terms, with the Talisman connections tying it together but for the main bulk of the book not seeming like a direct sequel. Of course, with The Shining, I guess all you really need is Danny and his ability and put him in any setting. I know I'll read it if it's ever written, as I will the DT sequel, if it happens.

[Tim Benzedrine]

I stopped at another website that I lurk and coincidentally, somebody had started a thread asking which authors in general would be on the classics shelves in the future. Several people listed Stephen King as a likely candidate. Somebody pointed out that it was entirely possible if his use of cultural icons does not seem to out-dated at that future point of time.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Well, as soon as I finish reading the book I started over the holidays (Peter Straub's Ghost Story, I've read it three times before, but it had been a long time so I decided to read it again.), I'll be launching into Under the Dome I've seen some people pan it, others have said they enjoyed it, so I'm not sure what to expect this time.

[Lembas]

I'll say it again, there's been very few King books that I've really disliked, so Under the Dome would have to really reek for me to not like it. I'm re-reading Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz, as it's one of my favorites by him.

I loved Ghost Story and was thinking about that book the other day. One of the many examples of a book, that when made into a film, fails to convey even a half of the book's greatness. And it had such potential, with the great cast of old guys playing The Chowder Society, yet it hacked out or changed half the events in the book like

SPOILER!:

Peter, the young boy (I believe that was his name), the real nature of Eva Galli (turned into just a vengeful ghost until the end of the movie where her rotted corpse was brought to light (yawn!), and wasn't there a sequence in a movie theater where Ricky Hawthorne and Peter are chased by a werework/shape-changer? I'd like to see another, more faithful movie adaptation.

I'll have to pick up Ghost Story again soon. Ever read any other Peter Straub? I've read Shadowland and Koko by him. Can't remember enough about Shadowland, except it had something to do with an uncle who was a magician and two boys were at his mansion. I remembered enjoying it.

Koko had to do with former members of a platoon of soldiers from the Vietnam War reuniting at the memorial wall in D.C. and finding out that murders linked to their time in Vietnam are occuring and that they may be targets, and that they may know the killer. It's been two or three years since I've read it, so the memory on it is a bit fuzzy, but it's a pretty compelling read. Nothing can beat GS, though.

Oh yeah, Stephen King, yay!

[Tim Benzedrine]

Yeah, I've also read Shadowland, Floating Dragon, and of course his collaborations with Stephen King, The Talisman and Black House.

Ghost Story is probably my favourite of his non-King books, It's kind of a slow read, and I had to read it a second time before I really "got" it. I kind of consider it a classic in horror literature, you'll see it compared to stories like "A Turn of the Screwby Henry James and Stephen King's Salem's Lot (in which the similarity was intentional).
I also liked Shadowland, which is on queue for a re-read, probably after I finish Under the Dome It is another one that benefits from more than one reading.
Floating Dragon....well, I tried reading it a couple times but aborted both times. I finally made it thru it, but I found it to be a bit too confusing. There was a book there that I wanted to enjoy, but it left me scratching my head more than I would have liked.

And yeah, I thought they really dropped the ball on the film adaption. I always saw Wilford Brimley as Ricky Hawthorne whenever I read the book, by the way. For the most part, I saw the movie as sort of dull and not particularly scary, but I wouldn't mind seeing it again to see if my perception might have changed.

[Tim Benzedrine]

I'm about 300 pages into Under the Dome, and so far I'm enjoying it a lot. Of course, 300 pages isn't that far into the story given that it's a 1000+ page book. His main villain is vile and his lesser villains are pretty nasty too.

I'll check back in at around the halfway point to let you know if it is holding up well.

[Tim Benzedrine]

I lied. I didn't check in at the halfway point, but instead plunged on thru. I waffled a bit on whether I should post about it in the "Book I've Just Read" thread or continue on here. Obviously I chose to do the latter.

Okay, I thought this was a pretty good offering from Uncle Stevie. Not without it's flaws, I've never held the illusion that King is the perfect writer, but he's always been dependably entertaining and when he's on his game he's REALLY on his game. (Although he did really cheese me off once in one of his author's notes, creating a short-term loss of interest in future works. But I got over it.).

Once again King borrows a bit from other tales to form the backbone of his story. I have heard people criticize his penchant for doing this, but it has never bothered me a bit. For example, he has freely admitted that 'salem's Lot was his rendering of Dracula in small-town America, and it is clear that Pet Semetary is a reworking of The Monkey's Paw, just to name two of his more famous works that were drawn in part from other works.
Whenever he does this I overlook it because I don't see it as a lack of originality. I believe that really there is nothing new under the sun, especially when it comes to horror, science fiction and fantasy. And I like seeing another take on a pre-existing idea.
So Under the Dome may give you a mild sense of deja-vu as far as the plot is concerned. You may recognize some elements of the story from other work. I'll spoiler them, but suggest ignoring it unless you are certain you will not read the book.

SPOILER!:

It has elements of the Twilight Zone's "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" and particularly, the Star Trek episode "The Squire of Gothos". I recognized the themes but I had to do some googling to pin down the exact name of the episodes, by the way. I'm a font of pop-culture knowledge, but I'm not THAT good! You might see a hint of "The Lord of the Flies" in there too. I did.

For the record, I wave away comparisons to The Simpsons Movie. I believe King when he claims that he had laid the groundwork for his book decades ago.

Anyway, as can easily be surmised from the book's title and from the cover art, Under the Dome relates the story of a small town in Maine, Chester's Mill that for some reason becomes encased in a transparent, nearly impermeable dome. Nobody unfortunate enough to be in the town when the event occurs can get out, and nobody from outside can get into the town. The dome does allow a very slight exchange of air and a small amount of moisture to work it's way thru, but in negligible amounts. One of the problems the townsfolk face is the degrading quality of the air. But that's a less immediate problem. More pressing is the power vacuum created by the isolation, and the main villains determination to fill that vacuum. And what a vile character that main villain is! I've read some critiques that state that he is a bit too vile, bordering on cartoonish. All I know is that I hated him. See if you can figure out who King had in mind with the character. I didn't see it myself until I read it in an interview with King.
The cast of characters is quite large and remembering who is who can be a little daunting when it comes to the peripheral cast. Naturally, Stevie does his best to slim that cast down as the story progresses. And there is a cast of characters at the opening of the book. Plus a map of the town for those who enjoy that type of visual aid.

This is one of King's more political books, it's hard to miss the allegories, metaphors and what-nots, and it is pretty clear which side of the line he stands even to me and I can be fairly dense when it comes to picking up on that sort of thing.

So, the bottom line is that I think this is one of the better tales King has spun in awhile. The end was just a tad weak but worked well enough(King wrote himself into a tricky spot I think, and an ending that would satisfy everybody would have been tough.) and there are some areas that are open to a bit of nit-picking, but overall, a solid page turner. It's going on my list of top 10 or so favourite King books

And boy, reading this over makes me realize something. I pretty much suck as a reviewer!

Oh, I almost forgot. If you read this book, you might want to pay a visit to a site I learned about just a while ago. It's pretty pointless and dull if you have not read the book, but if you have read it, (or plan to) this might help flesh it out a bit. Welcome to Chester's Mills

[Lembas]

Good comments, Tim. Of course, I avoided the spoilers, as I don't know how long it will be till I can pick this one up, both monetarily and literally (see, it's a big book and it's heavy...anyway). I just finished Twilight Eyes by Koontz, this being the second time I've read it. And I'm just starting into...Ghost Story again. So, I'm set for now.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Ghost Story? Whatever inspired you to pick up that oldie? I haven't read Twilight Eyes in a long time myself. I may have to dig it out-well, figuratively speaking anyhow, I can see it on the shelf in front of me-some time in the future.

Anyway, I hear you about having to wait for it due to funding. Hardbacks have gotten pretty high unless you A) catch a fantastic bargain like I did on Under the Dome ($9.99 hot off the presses thanks to that price war I mentioned earlier) or B) Wait for them to hit the bargain table. The only other options are to wait for them to be released as paperbacks, which these days aren't generally a bargain themselves, or borrow them from a library or a friend. Rest assured that I think UtD is one you definitely will not want to miss.

Coincidentally, I had just finished UtD and that evening, my sister called from the local mall. She had seen winter coats at an fantastic price and wanted to know if I wanted one. I agreed that I shouldn't pass one by, and as an impulsive aside, said "Hey, have you been to the bookstore yet?" She hadn't so I said, "How about cruising the bargain table to see if you spot Duma Key (no "s"). It's a long shot, but maybe they'll have it marked down."
It really was a shot in the dark, but when they arrived with my coat, they also came with the book, which was mine for only $5.99. Now all I need is his latest collection of short stories and I'm pretty much caught up again.*

*With the exception of "On Writing"* which I have never gotten around to finding and the one about baseball, for which I simply cannot raise any interest.

*But I do have the audio version of it. Which I have yet to listen to in its entirety.

[Irys]

I just finished Dome today and I enjoyed it very much, but it also is my very first King book, so I don't know how it holds up to his other books.

I watched the Simpson's movie for the first time a few days ago and couldn't help but laugh at the similar situation.

Big bad (and minions) was indeed so big and so bad that he was nearly unbelievable, but I feel that way about most characters that are either all good or all bad.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Well, it holds up fairly well, I think. But you really ought to try some of his early stuff and see what you think. I suggest 'salems Lot, The Shining, and The Stand first and foremost. Carrie, his first, is good, but is not quite as rich as what was to follow, if you ask me. But I'd still recommend it, of course. From there, you might want to try Christine and Firestarter. And finally It. I don't think I've known anybody to say they didn't like that one.

Geeze, I almost forgot The Dead Zone. And Cujo. And Pet Semetary and....oh heck you might as well read them all. But I think I made a passable "greatest hits" list to start get you started.

Wait! Don't forget to check out his short stories in Night Shift and Skeleton Crew Sometimes short stories are where he is at the top of his game.

[Irys]

Might as well have just posted everything he wrote!

I do want do read more. I've always wanted to read King. I just saw so many of the movies as a kid that I put off reading the books (and I don't know if I can ever do It... Pennywise scared me so bad that I couldn't even sleep in the room at my aunt's house that had the book on the shelf! and I don't know that I can have that face staring at me from anywhere).

I bought a few this year at the library sales: The Stand, Salem's Lot and something else I can't remember atm. I'll get to them this year hopefully.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Originally Posted by Irys

Might as well have just posted everything he wrote!

Well....okay! But I'll just go with his novels. His list of short stories is even more extensive.


Carrie (1974)
Salem's Lot (1975)
The Shining (1977)
The Stand (1978)
The Dead Zone (1979)
Firestarter (1980)
Cujo (1981)
The Mist (1981)
Pet Sematary (1982)
Christine (1983)
Cycle of the Werewolf (1984)
The Talisman (1984)
It (1986)
The Eyes of the Dragon (1986)
The Tommyknockers (1987)
Misery (1987)
The Dark Half (1989)
The Stand, the Complete and Uncut Edition (1990)
Needful Things (1991)
Dolores Claiborne (1992)
Gerald's Game (1992)
Insomnia (1994)
Rose Madder (1995)
Desperation (1996)
The Green Mile (1996)
Bag of Bones (1998)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)
Storm of the Century (1999)
Dreamcatcher (2001)
Black House (2001)
From a Buick 8 (2002)
The Colorado Kid (2005)
Cell (2006)
Lisey's Story (2006)
Duma Key (2008)
Under the Dome (2009)

The Dark Tower
1. The Gunslinger (1982)
2. The Drawing of the Three (1985)
3. The Waste Lands (1991)
4. Wizard and Glass (1997)
5. Wolves of the Calla (2003)
6. Song of Susannah (2004)
7. The Dark Tower (2004)

[Lembas]

Well Tim, I did at least hint that I might be picking up Ghost Story again soon, in my post after you talked about reading it again.

I'm still fairly in the beginnings of the book, but I had forgotten all about Sears James' tale of Fenny Bate and how that was so spooky and would have been at least a nice little short story in a publication on its own. But, as I believe

SPOILER!:

part of it ties into something later in the book, I guess that wasn't in the planning.

And Tim, I don't think you ever told me you'd finally read

SPOILER!:

Lisey's Story and what you thought of it. Do tell.

And is The Mist in a paperback all its own now? I figured they might do that once the film version was released. Irys, if you can't find it, it's also in King's short story collection, Skeleton Crew as a novella. That collection also has quite a few good King stories, as Tim has said.

Tim, remember what King said some critics accused him of? He said they opined that on his bigger books that he had "diarrhea of the keyboard." I was talking to a writer friend of mine, and she said that she had never heard that phrase before and that it was "awefully descriptive."

[Tim Benzedrine]

I'm getting ready to re-read Shadowland as soon as I finish Duma Key. We had a power outage here last night, so armed with a booklight, I knocked off a fairly large portion of it in one sitting. So far, I'm interested.

I thought the story of Gregory and Fenny and sister was probably the creepiest part of ghost story, and agree that it could have stood alone as a short story or maybe even as a novel if it were properly fleshed-out.

Hmm. Lisey's Story. What did I think? Well, I liked it. I didn't love it to death, but I thought it had a fairly decent premise. But now that I'm trying to focus on it, I find that I can't remember too many details other than Lisey's husband's sort of unique ability and his rotten childhood. Thinking it over kind of makes me want to re-read it, and that's a pretty good indication that I liked the story. If I get around to doing so, it's very possible that I'll be further impressed. After all, the first time I read Ghost StoryI wasn't that bowled over either. Now I consider it something of a classic.

I'm not sure about The Mist. It seems reasonable that they would have published it as a stand-alone with the release of the movie, but I never actually saw it in that state. I just c&p'd that list from one of his bibliography pages out there on the 'net, so I can't vouch for it's accuracy.

And yep, I remember the keyboard diarrhea accusations. I never considered it a valid criticism, but I've seen casual readers imply similar critiques.
I think somebody slipped King some literary ex-lax when he decided to forge ahead with Under the Dome. Not that I minded, I'm always thrilled when his books weigh 5 pounds or so. And Dome was a fun read for me, so it didn't seem all that long. Be sure to grab it whenever you are able and post your thoughts on it.

[Irys]

You guys are great!

Was Rose Red the tv miniseries just written for tv? I watched it a couple years ago (and the prequel) and really wanted to read what it was based on, but from what I can find, it was just a tv script.

And, weirdly, I was reading the book House of Leaves at the same time (both stories dealing with creepy houses that change) and BOY did I have creepy nightmares that week!

One thing about Koontz/King: King books/short stories make decent (and sometimes excellent) movies, but every Koontz based movie I've ever seen made me regret living... oops, not quite true, Soul Survivor was nearly ok, but nothing compared to the book.

Also, I didn't know there were different editions of the Stand. Mine doesn't have that "uncut blah blah" in the title, and I was going to start on it soon, but I want to read the good version if there are different ones. Is the Uncut version improved over the original? The Stand was one of the first King movies I watched and the story really haunted me (as well as them using Crowded House's "Dont Dream it's Over", which is my favorite song of the 80's).

[Tim Benzedrine]

Since you have never read the edited version, you might as well go for the richer of the two. King fleshed the story out even further. One of the particularly interesting additions is a series of vignettes illustrating how the end of civilization can be a real nuisance. Also you learn more character background and get introduced to a new character or two. The original holds up fine, but the unabridged version give you more of a good thing.

I've only seen a few movies based on Koontz books, and was never impressed with any of them. Never saw Soul Survivor though. I can't remember if I've read the book, either. Glancing at the bookshelf, I see nineteen titles and it isn't amongst any of those, but I have more somewhere around here and so I can't be positive one way or the other.

[Lembas]

Rose Red, like Storm of the Century, was an original script that King wrote for television. After SotC, or around the same time, a book was released that was basically the script, I think, wasn't it, Tim? I believe it had pictures from the miniseries. I didn't bother with it because I'd seen the miniseries, which I liked. I've thought, in hindsight, that

SPOILER!:

there could be a sequel of sorts to SotC, with the dad trying to save his son from total corruption from Linoge, although it looked like it might have been too late anyway.

Irys, they released a companion paperbook of Rose Red, but it wasn't a book that King had written before the miniseries. It's called The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red by Ellen Rimbauer (heh-heh), Joyce Reardon, and Stephen King. Then there's The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer by Ellen Rimbauer and Joyce Reardon. I don't know if they're the same book, but I noticed one of them has Stephen King listed as being involved somehow. Whether it's just a marketing ploy or if he actually wrote something, I do not know. Just know that the miniseries came first in both cases.

Dean Koontz himself has stated that he was disappointed with most of the film versions of his books. I haven't seen them all, but I remember being disappointed in Watchers, which is a smashing book but a so-so movie. It's watchable but the book is so good, you just feel let down by the flick. I did enjoy Phantoms, which is one of the few movies starring Ben Affleck that I've enjoyed, so that should tell you something.

That said, Koontz is personally involved with the upcoming versions of his books The Husband and The Taking, the latter of which I've read, and enjoyed. Hopefully he'll make sure that they do a reasonably good job.

Tim, I'm into the final quarter of Straub's Ghost Story, and enjoying it immensely and picking up more things than my teenage brain did back in 1979. One cool thing is that during the portion of the book when

SPOILER!:

the town is snowed in and weird things began to happen apace, it snowed in Texas more than it has since 1978. I believe my town got about 7 inches and I went nowhere for two days, and the sense of isolation in the book was made more real by the, well, sense of isolation from being snowed in.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Right, Storm of the Century was only published a a script to the best of my knowledge. I bought the book, but would have preferred to read a novelization of the story.

Ghost Story had atmosphere, didn't it? It wasn't an easy read, and was a bit dry in spots, but was still a great book.
I still plan on rereading Shadowland soon. Oddly, I originally thought that story took place in Britain. I somehow missed that it explicitly referenced events taking place in Arizona. I think it was because Straub used the term "headmaster" for the principal of the main characters school, which I thought was exclusively a European term and probably because I thought Straub was British. He lived in Britain for a time, which I guess could explain that misconception.

I agree,Watchers was only a so-so movie. Interestingly, the sequel was closer to the book than the original movie. It was more of a "do-over", than a sequel, I think. Watchers and Phantoms remain two of my favourite books by Koontz, and the first two I read by him. Well, so I thought, see below....


I actually read my first Dean Koontz book a long time ago without even knowing who it was. I had bought The Funhouse after having seen the movie. Didn't give it much thought at the time. It was an okay book based on an okay movie. I didn't know until years later that it was actually adapted from the screenplay by Koontz under his nom de plume, Owen West. I think I only learned this after it was re-released under his real name and I eagerly grabbed it off the shelf. "Cool! a new Dean Koontz book!" I examined it a bit and then had a "Heyyyy....wait a minute!" moment.
By the way, you should check out Koontz's bibliography at Wikipedia. You might get a surprise and learn you read something you did not realize he authored. That dude wrote a lot of books! I just learned that he was the author of Demon Seed. Which I've never read, but remember the movie. It was about a computer that decided it needed to impregnate a woman. I can't remember too much about it beyond that, but it sounds a little more preposterous that it actually was(though it was preposterous enough). But it wasn't a case of the PC playing a Barry White MP3 and practicing the art of silicon valley seduction. It wasn't that silly. Um, gotta go, I don't like the way my PC is looking at me!

[Irys]

Thanks guys! I'll have to look up the improved Stand.

Tim, Soul Survivor is about a plane crash. If that doesn't ring a bell, you probably haven't read it. I won't say anything more about it because it's a great book and all I can think of are big spoilers.

Funny you are talking about Watchers and Phantoms. I'm reading Phantoms right now (I saw part of the movie a couple years ago, but as soon as I realized it was a Koontz, I turned it off so I wouldn't ruin the book).

The first time I saw Watchers, I really wasn't paying attention much because I was actually reading the book and was wondering if I could finish the book before the end of the movie (I did, just barely). I wasn't at all impressed, but who would be while reading the book for the first time? It remains one of my favorite Koontz books.

Really hope Koontz will get around to writing that final Chris Snow book someday.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Well, that's the thing. I knew it was about a plane crash, so I must have read it. Well, there's nothing to be done for it except to dig around and see if I own it, I guess. Otherwise it will bug me incessantly.

*COUGH* Note to self: Go back in the recesses of the paperback vault and dust sometime.

I'd estimate that I have around 500 paperbacks (and perhaps as high as 600) just here on the shelving beneath my computer workstation(my workstation is big. And cluttered.), so while I've always tried to keep them sorted by author, it isn't impossible that it is mixed in where I didn't look. I need to rotate my stock, there are many books there I don't remember having, let alone remember the plots. There are lots of horror books of varying quality stored there, I used to buy a lot and got many every Christmas for years. I sort of shifted gears to fantasy and Sci-Fi later in life, so there is a lot of that genre too.
I don't shop the bookstores like I used to and don't know if it holds as true now, but in the 80's there seemed to be a glut in the mass-paperback horror market. I think that Stephen King may have been partly responsible for that. I have tons of 'em from that era. Some quite good, others incredibly cheesy.


I didn't find Soul Survivor but I did find a couple other Koontz books I forgot I had. But I still think I read that one. My sister reads his stuff too, I may have borrowed it off of her. It's generally been the other way around, but she'd occasionally beat me to the punch. Did the plot involve an organ transplant of some sort? A mysterious woman? (Well, a lot of his books involved a mysterious woman, I guess)

Phantoms remains another of my favourites to this day. It was genuinely creepy. The movie...eh, not so much. It was watchable, but forgettable.

[Irys]

An organ transplant... a mysterious woman? Yes, that could be many books. You may have read it. THere is indeed a mysterious woman. There are odd occurances.

BUT!!! you might be thinking of the other book titled Soul Survivor, a true (supposedly) story about a little boy who may be the reincarnation of a WWII pilot. I thought incorrectly that it was Soul, but I guess the Koontz book is Sole (both make sense in the context of the book).

I totally understand your book storage dilemma. You should have seen my house last year... well, there is still book storage drama, but when I lost my dear aunt last year, I inherited her bookcases (and far too many books! ), so now my house is pretty much lined with bookcases. I'm glad I love books as decoration!

Stupid local bookstore didn't have any version of the Stand (it's the only bookstore for miles around, you would think they would have better stock, especially since it is a B&N). At least I got the new Hitchhiker's Guide book for $5 (wouldn't want to pay more... I like Colfer's children's books but don't trust anyone in Adams' universe!) Guess I'll have to shop online.

[Tim Benzedrine]

I always wanted to have a room for all of my books. A room with bookshelves lining the walls and light optimal for comfortable reading. Such a specialized room should probably be called something specific, so I'd call such a room...hmmm...."the well-lit, comfy room with bookshelves" makes the most sense, I guess.

I can't decide if I've read the book in question, but I definitely have not read any book about a kid reincarnated from WWII pilot.
Have you read Koontz's Tick-Tock? Now there is a fun read!

After you read The Stand, It should go on your short list in addition to the ones I recommended earlier. Uncle Stevie was at the top of his game on that one.

I'm amazed that your local Barnes and Noble didn't have The Stand. Did they have any King titles at all?

[Lembas]

Tim, I read Tick-Tock and loved it. I thought (and still think) it's his most humorous book. Another great one by him is Life Expectancy, with a guy being born and having a prediction of a certain number of days in his life which will be monumental (and not necessarily in a good way). Very good book, with humor, also. He's tended, in this portion of his career, to put more humor in with the dark proceedings and I think they complement each other very well.

Thanks for the link to Koontz's Wiki site. I've actually already visited it and am even a fan of a Koontz page on Facebook. I need to visit the King page and join that.

I just finished Ghost Story again and I loved it more this time around. When I was in High School, I must have glossed over many things because almost everything seemed to tie together better for me this time. Straub can be a little long-winded in his descriptions of things but it didn't bother me so much on this read. I have a couple of questions that I think I know the answers to but I wanted to see what you thought:

The continued use of the phrase

SPOILER!:

"I am you." Was this the shape-changers' way of saying "You are going to become like me once I get through with you" or "You're just like me, you just don't know it yet?" And, the de Peyser woman. Was she actually the leader of this particular cadre of ghouls? It usually had her as the "guardian" for Anna Mostyn et al, and Don said at the end that he had to pay a visit to a woman in San Francisco, which is obviously Florence de Peyser. So, I gathered that she was the boss of the baddies. Right or wrong?

I remember in the '70s that Demon Seed movie and my sister seeing it and going on and on about how she loved it. That raised a red flag with me because she and I hardly ever liked the same things. So I've not read the book nor seen the movie. I should get over that, I guess.

Right now, I'm kind of looking for something good to read in the horror/thriller vein. Something paperback-priced. I was looking at the Koontz books that my local Borders had, and I think I've read all of them. And I'd definitely read all the King they had, except for Under the Dome, which I'll have to wait a while on. The two most recent Koontz books that are still in hardcover, Relentless and Breathless caught my eye, but once again, my eye is bigger than my bank account. Still, an opportunity may present itself.

I noticed a book entitled Patient Zero by Jonathan Mayberry. There was a "patient zero" in Max Brooks' World War Z, so I wonder if this guy borrowed the term because it involves zombies. Here's the product description:
Product Description
When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance....

So, right there I'm hooked. I almost picked it up but somthing held me back. I bought an imported Empire magazine for @ $10.00, because I like the humor and hey, it's got lots of pretty pictures. I'll get through it in a couple of days. *sigh*

[Irys]

Ooh, Life Expectancy is one of my very favorite Koontz books! I adore the Tock family (not to be confused with anything in Tick Tock, which I haven't gotten yet).

Patient Zero sounds interesting. And I hope Max Brooks writes something new soon (I want to read Recorded Attacks, but it's too expensive for a graphic novel still).

Tim, our B&N sux. It used to be great, then it moved into the mall. There aren't words to describe (within this board's guidelines) the way I feel about that store. Plus, it put the good little bookstore in the mall out of business. I only go there for the love of walking through a bookstore.

I wanted two other books, both new releases in the past 6 months (Anne Rice and Marion Zimmer Bradley/Diana Paxson... both pretty popular authors, no?). Neither of those were there either.

They did have quite a few King books. Duma Key was on the discount rack, and I almost picked it up, but my mind was set on The Stand. The others I saw were the Dark Tower books and a handful of others. (I think the self help, the cafe, and the multimedia section take up way too much space.)

But... success at the library! But I think I'm a bad person, because I left the book in the backseat of my car, and while driving my 10 year old niece to school, she picked it up and started reading it aloud to me... and once I realised what she was reading, I just let her continue. She didn't get to anything bad, but, that's gotta be irresponsible.

But I'm enjoying it... don't know about picking up It next tho... Pennywise *shudder*. I still have nightmares after watching that movie 20 years ago.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Lembas, in reference to your spoiler....

The continued use of the phrase

SPOILER!:

"I am you." Was this the shape-changers' way of saying "You are going to become like me once I get through with you" or "You're just like me, you just don't know it yet?" And, the de Peyser woman. Was she actually the leader of this particular cadre of ghouls? It usually had her as the "guardian" for Anna Mostyn et al, and Don said at the end that he had to pay a visit to a woman in San Francisco, which is obviously Florence de Peyser. So, I gathered that she was the boss of the baddies. Right or wrong?

Well, on the first question, I have to confess that I'm not sure. But I guess the first seems more likely. But that would be an odd way to phrase it.
I remembered that Stephen King focuses a bit on Ghost Story in his book "Danse Macabre". (Oh, there's another one for you Irys, if you are interested in King's thoughts on the horror genre in pop-culture.) Anyway, I dug it out and King mentions that line specifically, and mentions it being a chilling line, but doesn't interpret it for the reader. Personally, I think Straub may have been being deliberately obtuse, leaving the implication to the imagination of the reader.

Hmm. maybe I should spoiler box the rest. Out of context it shouldn't mean much, but better safe than sorry.

SPOILER!:

As for the second question, yes, I think Ms. de Peyser may have been A.M.'s mentor at the very least, Peyser herself perhaps being an even older and/or more powerful entity. Or maybe she actually summoned or created A.M. We know (as I understood it at any rate) that A.M. "created " Gregory Bates,guaranteeing him his immortality, who deferred to her. It may be that there is a chain of command, so to speak. Think about it as the old head "vampire creates underlings" style convention. In which case de Peyser may have been the head honcho. Or maybe she was just an occultist who enabled A.M. to enter this world, I'm not sure. It's a great atmospheric piece of work, but was frustratingly vague about the creatures at times.

I remember in the '70s that Demon Seed movie and my sister seeing it and going on and on about how she loved it. That raised a red flag with me because she and I hardly ever liked the same things. So I've not read the book nor seen the movie. I should get over that, I guess.

I only saw bits and pieces of it. I mostly remember the bit where she was on a table and the computer was performing the procedure.

Right now, I'm kind of looking for something good to read in the horror/thriller vein. Something paperback-priced. I was looking at the Koontz books that my local Borders had, and I think I've read all of them. And I'd definitely read all the King they had, except for Under the Dome, which I'll have to wait a while on. The two most recent Koontz books that are still in hardcover, Relentless and Breathless caught my eye, but once again, my eye is bigger than my bank account. Still, an opportunity may present itself.

I hear you. My reading budget is much lower than it used to be. Books have really gone up. I get all misty-eyed when I dig up an old paperback and see the cover price of $1.95. As probably people did when they remembered them being 50 cents. And so on.
Have I ever asked you if you've read anything by Graham Masterton? He's the guy who wrote "The Manitou. His stuff can be really extreme. He often wrote books postulating that there was truth behind myths and stories, usually ugly truths. Some of his scenes are incredibly and outrageously graphic descriptions that might set your gag-reflex off, but they are almost always fun stories. I recommend "Mirror Feast and in one of the few books that made me really squirm House of Bones
. And of course, The Manitou and it's sequels. By the way Feast actually got me smacked by our very own Bambi. I insisted that she read it without warning her of the subject matter, and she had never read anything by Masterton before. Naturally, it was one of his more shocking efforts. "So, what did you think?" I asked innocently. "POW!" Slugged in the arm by my own book!
He also writes, um, non-fiction instructional romance books, but I've never sampled them. I'd almost be afraid to!

I just noticed that you can read some PDF short-stories as well as some book excerpts here at his website. I've just discovered them myself, so can only offer them in good faith, I'll be reading them myself when I get some time. If you choose to read them, remember that short may or may not reflect the body of an author's work.

Finally, on to Irys. Think of it this way, Irys. If your niece reads much King, she'll get the jump on her peers in the matter of playground profanity!

And put aside your coulrophobia and read It for Pete's sake!

[Lembas]

Tim, thank for your theories on Ghost Story. I guess he was purposefully vague about the

SPOILER!:

complete origins of the manitous, except to let us know that they have been behind every myth or scary story that's been floating around forever. Kind of like you said about Masterson's take on myths and the ugly truths behind them. I wonder if Straub was inspired by Masterson?

I really hadn't heard of Masterson, but you mentioned The Manitou, so I wondered, hmmm? (that's how I wonder, always with a "hmmm?"), could that '70s cheesy movie with Tony Curtis be based on Masterson's story, and sure enough, after a trip to IMDB, it is.

And Bambi pummeled you with your own book?! She is one violent woman! Thanks for the link to Masterson. I'll have to look that over.

And Irys has coulrophobia? That's what fear of clowns is? I thought it'd be honkocephasia or seltzermania or bozophalia. Hmm, go figure.

Irys, forget the movie and read the book! I'll spoil just a bit and say that Pennywise is many things, not just a clown, and that Tim is right. The book is a must if you even halfway like King. All kinds of good stuff that the movie left out.

[Tim Benzedrine]

Yep, it was that Manitou, alright. It worked better in book form, though.As is so often the case, I was very disappointed with the film adaptation. Even the casting was not what it should have been. Mind you, the premise of the book was a bit silly, but it was fun. He wrote a few sequels to it.
Don't let my recommendation lead you into thinking that I believe Masterton to be a literary giant, he just writes entertaining, page-turning, horror. There is no "What was meant by that?" type of thing like we were discussing regarding Ghost Story novels. He wrote one called "The Wells of Hell" that as a H.P. Lovecraft fan, I liked a lot.

Hmmm. Maybe I'm underselling him. He's won awards. Here is his wikipedia entry:

Graham Masterton (born 16 January 1946 in Edinburgh) is a best-selling British horror author. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, Graham Masterton's first novel, The Manitou was released in 1976. This novel was adapted in 1978 for the film The Manitou. Further works garnered critical acclaim, including a Special Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America for Charnel House and a Silver Medal by the West Coast Review of Books for Mirror. He is also the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger for his novel Family Portrait, an imaginative reworking of the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Masterton was also the editor of Scare Care, a horror anthology published for the benefit of abused children in Europe and the USA.

Masterton's novels often contain visceral sex and horror. In addition to his novels Masterton has written a number of sex instruction books, including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed and Wild Sex for New Lovers. A number of his novels have also been adapted into films.

That "Family Portrait" the article mentions was excellent. It's American title was Picture of Evil. Charnel House was good too.

If you are inclined to shop Amazon, I see they offer a number of his novels. at varying prices. Including one of the ones that I want to read again, but can barely bring myself to do it, A Terrible Beauty. Wow, that had a couple things happen that made me, a jaded horror fan, go . He took a look at Celtic mythology in that one. Maybe it would help to have played some soothing Enya music in the background while I read it.