Stephen King/ Richard Bachman

[bocephus7]

Someone had suggested a Stephen King book that they were reading. It may have been on the Non-Sports board and I believe it was Dream Chasers or Catchers. Not sure I've read that one, but I've read most of the King and Bachman books.

I would like to start a thread on all of his books, but it may require several threads. I would like to discuss the books under both of King's pen names and also discuss the common threads that run through many of his King novels.

Any ideas of how we should approach this? I'm open.

 

[tide69]

bocephus7,I posted that I was reading Dream Catcher last week.I'm about half way through it and think it's his best in a while.Some might criticize King for his use of four old friends who had done a brave thing together in the past and now facing a greater challenge,(IT),but I like the idea and I don't think Dream Catcher is redundant at all.They also grew up in Derry,the strange little town featured in IT.
I've read most of King's books,starting with Salem's Lot several years ago,some of them more than once,including the Bachman books.Maybe others will join us to discuss King's books.

 

[roll_2_tide]

searched to find a "dreamcatcher" topic and found this one....

just finished the almost 900 page saga that is this book and ive got to say i loved it. loved it moreso than most King books as it seemed to change every 150 pages or so......great book that id reccommend to even non-King fans

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If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you dont have integrity, nothing else matters.

 

[roll_2_tide]

as for a comon thread....i thinks it fear

but not fear...like im afraid of the boogey-man.....but fear like, i am the boogeyman

king speaks to the fear inside you, the pain inside your head, your fear that you are, indeed, not normal...and everything will not be allright and most of all...

theres nothing you can do about it

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If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you dont have integrity, nothing else matters.

 

[bobstod]

So, Tide69, are youo saying that DC uses the same thematic vehicle as It?

I thought It was one of the very best King novels, principally because he spends so much time with the kids when they are about 11 or 12 years old. That, IMHO, is where his greatest genius lies, and I have never thought he did enough of it. Stand By Me was the other wonerful example of this gift, but it was only a short story.

Does he make use of that gift in DC? If so, I will definitely have to make room for it...

I would be willing to contribute to a discussion on King's books (I have read most of them). Maybe just post a topic under a particular title, or maybe a "What is your favorite King novel?" topic?



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ALABAMA : Tradition ; Class ; A name to respect in College Football

 

[roll_2_tide]

bobstod....i, too have read almost all of Kings books and if your a fan...i think youll love DC.

it covers 2 age ranges in these 5 central characters lives and each age has its own related characters that offer something unique to the story. one thing that kept it interesting and fast paced for me was that there was no transition from one age in life to another. everything in this book seems to be happening all at once, though events are often separated by 20 years. i started this book on a thurs nite and finally made myself put it down 300 pages in. fri brought 400 more pages and i finished it up on sat wishing there was more to read......

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If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you dont have integrity, nothing else matters.

[This message has been edited by roll_2_tide (edited March 18, 2003).]

 

[bobstod]

That sounds quite a bit like It. I will definitely read the book. thanks for the info...

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ALABAMA : Tradition ; Class ; A name to respect in College Football

 

[BamaNation]

I read IT as a HS student. It used to keep me awake till 3 or 4 am!

The Stand remains my favorite King novel but several of his latest novels are right up there. I have DC but haven't got around to reading it yet

 

[roll2tide]

whatever you do.....dont go see the movie. especially if you read the book first.

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If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you dont have integrity, nothing else matters.

 

[porkchop]

"IT" was a great book, and maybe still my favorite of all time. The movie wasn't bad either BTW. Still the only one that actually sends chills down my spine. I own the movie but rarely watch it, and when I do, I find that the lights are all on and I'm under a blanket. My son is terrified of it and I actually know several people who have told me that "IT" caused them to be petrified of clowns. They wont watch to this day.

I think it goes back to our childhood fears and the fact that much of the movie and book takes place in the character's childhood. It just strikes a cord with us.

Two things here that I'll try to tie into the thread.

(1) DreamCatcher takes place in Derry, Maine. That is the scene of IT. I just purchased the book and am looking forward to reading it. I hear it has the same properties as "IT" did.

(2) The mention of Richard Bachman made me think of my second-most fav King book and it's called "Desperation". He wrote this right after he switched his pen name from Bachman to King and it is absolutely classic. Evil in a small town along Route 66. It's a must-read. You wont be dissapointed.

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"The Tide is the Grinch that stole our team's self-worth"

TheTushHog


Come visit us at Tide-Talk.com/

 

[CBag4Bama]

I started reading DC at work and never could really get into the beginning .. it just wasnt gettting my attention so I sat it down for about 4 months. We were in a slow period at work then so I picked it up and started again and just got totally immersed in it and finished it in a couple days, I thought it was great once you got past the set up in it. Havent seen the movie yet but probably will rent it when it come out.

 

[DMaguire27]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by porkchop:
The mention of Richard Bachman made me think of my second-most fav King book and it's called "Desperation". </font>

Man, this thread is old. I LOVED Desperation (its companion, The Regulators, isn't bad but IMO doesn't come close). I can't figure why they haven't made Desperation into a movie yet.

I think King's best works are:
-Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
-The Body (basis for Stand By Me)
-The Eyes of the Dragon

Other favorites include Dolan's Cadillac, The Dark Half, Cujo, Hearts in Atlantis...heck, I guess I like just about everything of his that I've read. Can't really think of any I didn't like.

-D.

 

[HomesickforBama]

King's non-fiction book "On Writing" is very good. He not only talks about his theories and his work ethic concerning his craft, he talks about his horrific accident a few years back and how he got through it by....writing! He has quite a sense of humor, too.

 

[DMaguire27]

I've got "On Writing"...I agree, it was good. I minored in creative writing but, sadly, haven't done much since graduating...

 

[HomesickforBama]

DMaguire--
You've got to write! Steal the time if you have to. I agree, it is HARD to find the time. I went back to school at 41 and got an MFA and now I'm working one full-time editing job and two part-time adjunct teaching jobs to pay the student loans. I think it would be so cool to live in a shack on Mobile Bay and write full-time. That is such a dream, though...the real world is a lot more demanding! Where did you study creative writing? Did you have good instructors?

 

[DMaguire27]

Homesick--

I was a minor at 'Bama. Most of the instructors were grad students, but a couple were pretty good. The best was Dr. George Wolfe, who taught a screenwriting course using (among other books) Robert McKee's "Story." It's geared for screenwriters (which was my aspiration coming out of school) but applies equally well to prose, in my opinion.

Regarding the teaching of creative writing: Sadly, I agree with a criticism I read a while back (I forget where) lamenting the fact that today's creative writing consists of too little honest, straightforward criticism and too much relativistic "workshopping," where everyone in the class reads what you've written and tells you what they liked and/or didn't like. The unfortunate thing is that too often, most of the people in the class are not bold enough to come out and say "this sucks" or serious enough to really give good feedback.

How about you? Where did you study?

 

[HomesickforBama]

DMaguire--
I couldn't agree with you more about the workshopping issue--it can be very helpful or it can be nothing at all. I got tired of them after a while.
Well, I graduated from Bama in '80 with a Mass Comm. degree, then after I married (a boy who played for the Bear, no less), we moved to Richmond, VA.
But while at Bama I studied with Barry Hannah--he was there in the late 70's, and boy, was it wonderful! He inspired me so much.
It was a wild time at Bama in the 70's (before you were born!), let me tell you.
I never really wrote after college other than gigs in retail advertising, and so I decided I really wanted to go back to school in 1996 at Virginia Commonwealth University here in Richmond. I took a lot of literature and creative writing classes on the undergrad level before I got the courage to apply for the MFA program, and when I got in, I was beside myself. It meant so much to me, being older and knowing that I truly wanted it--I made MUCH better grades this time!
VCU is a great school--a huge state univesity that is urban and funky and wide open intellectually--very liberal (they also have one of the top medical schools in the nation). I met a lot of writers when they came to town for readings (Lee Smith for one!) and I studied with Sherry Reynolds, who was on Oprah's book club a few years back for her novel "The Rapture of Canaan."
I loved every moment of grad school, and I consider it such a privilege that I was able to do it. I have a lot of rejection slips for my short stories, but I did get a letter to the editor published in the "Oxford American" a few years back. The funniest thing for me was being in school with "Mid-Atlantic" (translation: Yankees) folks and then pure Yankees. As the only writer from the Deep South, I was something for them to scratch their heads about. I consider myself blessed to have grown up in Alabama and to have known so many characters (most of them in my family!).
Now my son is a freshman in Tuscaloosa, and it's sort of like I'm experiencing it all over again. That's why I got on this board, and that's why I love connecting with people like you, because I am .......HOMESICK

 

[jthomas666]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by porkchop:
"IT" was a great book, and maybe still my favorite of all time. The movie wasn't bad either BTW. Still the only one that actually sends chills down my spine. I own the movie but rarely watch it, and when I do, I find that the lights are all on and I'm under a blanket. My son is terrified of it and I actually know several people who have told me that "IT" caused them to be petrified of clowns. They wont watch to this day.
</font>

The first half of the moive was absolutely terrifying. Tim Curry's Pennywise was chilling.

I remember that it first came on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. My wife and I were flying back to Alabama for the holidays, and I bought the book in the airport bookshop.

The second part was a bit disappointing. Because they didn't fully explain the nature of the beat as they did in the book, it was kind of like "A big spider? ***?"



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"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying." --Woody Allen

 

[wisten]

Another common thread is his exploration of religion in many of his books, or, rather, obsessive religious practices, as evidenced in Carrie (her mother), ‘Salem’s Lot (Vampires and the faltering faith of the priest), the TommyKnockers (The lady whose hubby was having an affair with his co-worker at the Post Office..her plastic Jesus figurine told her about it and showed her how to exact revenge), The Dead Zone (Johnny’s mother’s obsession with “fringe” Christian beliefs), The Stand (Heavy religious themes throughout). There are more but I am drawing a blank at the moment.

 

[BamaOzz]

I have read most of Stephen King's books, and my favorite was, and still remains, The Talisman. King colaborated with Peter Straub to write this book. Anyone else ever read it? I am about to begin reading The Black House, also written with Peter Straub. This is the sequel to The Talisman. I hope it will be just as good. Anyone read this one?