Stephen King

[fermy88]

Any tips on good books by him. I want to read something really good and spooky. I already read Carrie. It wasn't really what I wanted. I need something scarier. Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Klostrophobic]

Uhh, don't read Stephen King, he isn't that great.

Go read some Richard Matheson.

 

[fermy88]

Never heard of him. Any good?

 

[Klostrophobic]

Yeah, I haven't read any of his novels, but if his short stories are any indication, his novels should be great.

"Stir of Echoes" was adapted from one of his novels and that movie was freaking great. "Girl of My Dreams" is one of the best short stories I have read.

I suggest checking out a couple of his short stories to see if you like his work. He has written probably 80+ short stories.

 

[Duke]

My Name Is Legion by Richard Matheson. It was made into the movie The Omega Man with Charleston Heston, plus it is the book that Stephen King credits with giving him the idea to write horror.

Clive Barker writes decent, if not great, horror. He's a little more lyrical than King.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

The main problem with Stephen King is that all his books end in pretty much the same way, which is a bit of a disappointment.

That said, The Stand (uncut) is good, and has some wit to it, The Dark Half is very good - spooky, and Rose Madder is pretty tops too. And if you haven't seen the film, Misery is worth a read.

 

[SandStorm]

Hey, what a coincidence! My Mum is reading Misery right now, and I'm planning on reading it after her. As for your request, Fermy, I strongly suggest reading Night Shift - a brilliant collection of short stories - as a nightly reader. Most of the stories compiled in Night Shift were excellent - some left me sleeping with the light on!

 

[Der Alta]

While in High school I was an avid King fan. Collecting every book available up until Insomnia. After that I pretty much ran out of time for reading anything other than my bible. Yes, that may sound hypocritical, giving up Stephen King for more time reading a bible, but that's my life.

To this day, I get nervous swimming in a pond with a raft, and the story of "The grey matter" has occasionally revived itself in my nightmares.

Enjoy.

AO

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
The main problem with Stephen King is that all his books end in pretty much the same way, which is a bit of a disappointment.

That said, The Stand (uncut) is good, and has some wit to it, The Dark Half is very good - spooky, and Rose Madder is pretty tops too. And if you haven't seen the film, Misery is worth a read.

...which is why I didn't like The Stand. I read the original, and loved it up until about the last 20 pages. I HATED the ending, so when the uncut version came out, I eagerly read it, figuring that the extra 200 pages or so would round out the original crappy ending. NOPE. It was all stuff in the middle that didn't really advance the story, and the ending sucked just as bad.

If you haven't seen the movie (which was awful), The Shining was pretty good, and I also recommend any of the short story compilations.

The Dark Half is good, as Giles says, and I'm ashamed to admit I didn't see the ending coming until very late. I also enjoyed Gerald's Game and Bag of Bones.

 

[fermy88]

Aright, thanks! What about "IT". My friends say that it's supposed

to be pretty good.

 

[1X83Z]

Agreed, neon_duke - The Shining was a horrible movie; I rank it as one of the worst I've ever seen.

I hate Stephen King, I've read something like two of his books (Shining and Stand); both were crap.

How can people do that to themselves (read those books)?

 

[Tom M]

Read "The Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris. I realize it is poor timing with the movie just out, but the book was excellent. Any of the other books in the series are good as well. (But that is easily the best.)
Other than that, the Exorcist is good, but Legion by William Peter Blatty is the best.
Stephen King was decent at the beginning, but he just churns out book after book, and I never really liked his style. Try these out, and I gaurantee you won't be disappointed.

 

[fermy88]

Originally posted by Tom M
Read "The Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris.

I just got that the other day. I was planning on reading Dreamcatcher by Stephen King first, but maybe I wont. I read that book's reviews. Awesome.

 

[Duke]

Skip Dreamcatcher. Nothing good.

 

[Klostrophobic]

Just don't read. Wait until your brain shrivels up to the size of a pea and you won't even care about Stephen King.

I still say you read some Matheson. Yeah, I know I contradict myself all the time.