Stephen King

[Valksy]

I was a great fan but have gone off him in recent years. His writing style seems to have altered and I find it irritating - I have never finished Lisey's Story, didn't rate The Cell and might get Under The Dome when it is a cheap paperback but not before.

To my mind his finest hour remains the unedited version of The Stand. I adore that book and have worn one copy out and am well in to my second and while it is a bit self indulgent from time to time I just love it.

IT is also great.

Oh and Rage and The Long Walk published as Richard Bachman.

The Shining remains the only book I have ever read that actually scared me.

Part of me wonders if his writing really changed when he had that nasty road accident. I don't know. But to my mind the visceral horror that I loved so much has been missing for a long time.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

IT - The film version of this classic horror tale is perfect in my opinion, however as scary as the film may be (I am scared of clowns) the book is so much more terrifying. This is because with a book you can picture what is going on yourself so the imagery etc is always going to hit home more than a film.

I enjoyed IT a lot in book form, but found the film too silly.

The Dark Half was OK in book form, bland on film.

The Shining was a great film, but never read it.

For all other King's works I prefer to simply watch the films as many of the plots are terribly straightforward. King even made a short story, breaking the fourth wall, arguing that his straightforward horror was better than other styles. Can't remember the name of the story now.

 

[ginty2]

i enjoy reading his early books like christine, the stand and misery.

 

[primitivescrewhead]

IT - The film version of this classic horror tale is perfect in my opinion, however as scary as the film may be (I am scared of clowns) the book is so much more terrifying. This is because with a book you can picture what is going on yourself so the imagery etc is always going to hit home more than a film.

I enjoyed IT a lot in book form, but found the film too silly.

The Dark Half was OK in book form, bland on film.

The Shining was a great film, but never read it.

For all other King's works I prefer to simply watch the films as many of the plots are terribly straightforward. King even made a short story, breaking the fourth wall, arguing that his straightforward horror was better than other styles. Can't remember the name of the story now.

The Shining is worth a read, it differs vastly to the movie.

 

[seamusotorain]

I used to read a lot of his stuff, but I haven't in quite some time. I think the last one was some short story about a man lying conscious on an autopsy table but being unable to move or otherwise show any sign of life, untill... oh the ending. XD

My favourite book - I'm not sure perhaps The Mist, but I didn't see the movie adaptation nor do I feel the need to.

Spoiler: Yes, that was a...

happy ending.

My favourite adaptation is Stand By Me - they changed it for the better, in my opinion. My favourite book is The Stand, or Cell. Me and my apocalyptic visions.

 

[linwolf]

I am a big fan of him, My favourites by him is
Desperation, It, Cycle of the Werewolf, and The Green Mile

 

[AmayaOnnaOtaku]

I am a second generation King fan in my family. Thanks mom So far the stand has been my favorite and I enjoy his short stories.

For the movie adaptations the original Shining is my all time favorite.

 

[Gxas]

'Salem's Lot scared me shitless.

I still have nightmares from it sometimes.

 

[shwnbob]

I've only read Under the Dome but I still think he is a awesome writer!

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

I love his books, Christine, Misery and Insomnia being my favourites, but yeah King FTW.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I love his writing, but it always seems like he has trouble ending his novels. So I like his short stories more. Nightmares and Dreamscapes and Everything's Eventual are two of my favorite books. I am almost done with The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower II), and I am enjoying that series so far. IT and The Stand were both very good, just didn't end as strong as they should have. Cell was just a disaster and it makes me cautious when it comes to reading his newer works (although I do want to try Under the Dome).

OT: Yes, I am a fan, just not of his endings.

His endings, in the novels as opposed to short stories, do seem a little forced or tacked on, but the rest of the book is usually fantastic. One thing I do like about King's endings is that even though "good" may have won out over "evil", the bad guy or monster is usually still around at the end. One of the major themes of King's work seems to be that both ends of the spectrum need to exist and will always be around in order for people to fully appreciate the good parts of life.

 

[TheGreatDirectorWatanbe]

I love Stephen King his stories are always so interesting to read. Under the Dome and The Shining are just my personal favorites.

Also, 100th Post

 

[Crimson King]

Insomnia
IT

I finally found a Stephen King book that I couldn't finish.
I was 1000 pages into the Dark Tower IV, nothing was happening, nor had anything happened for a long time. So I peeked ahead a little. Still, nothing was happening. I peeked ahead a little more; NOTHING. No matter where I looked in the 2000+ page book, I could not find ANYTHING happening.

 

[DreadfulSorry]

I've read a lot of Stephen King books over the years (for the life of me I can't remember which one I read first). I particularly liked From a Buick 8, Dreamcatcher, The Eyes of the Dragon, the Stand, Hearts in Atlantis, Salem's Lot, and all the shorts in Different Seasons, particularly Apt Pupil (talk about a fucked up story.)

 

[Aptspire]

I like his work a whole lot
Favorite story: The Dark Tower. I mean, such a great way to get most of his stories together under one huge theme
as for movie adaptation, I'm still going with 'The Shining', great acting and story

 

[reg42]

I really enjoyed Cell, Carrie, and The Mist. I read Lisey's Story too, which was... weird.
I've got Under the Dome siting on my shelf, I'll get to it soonish.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and IT. IT was brilliant.

 

[Cryofthewolf]

I am a huge fan of Steven King. His novel Bag of Bones got me into his work, and since then I pick up his books whenever I see them.

Pet Cematary has to be my favorite so far. It is the only book that I have read that truly frightened me.

The movie Stand by Me has to be my favorite of his movie adaptations. I have to say that it was one of the best movies of the 80's, in my opinion.

Other books I have read by him, Insomnia, Cujo, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, Cell, and there are others, I just can't think of them right now.

Glad to find another King fan on here. =-)

Does anyone else only like to read his original print books (with the original covers) more than the newer publishings? There's something great about picking up an old King book for 25 cents at a yard sale, enjoying the smell of the yellowing pages as you read through.

Agreed with you there, I am yet to go into a charity store and not find at least one King novel for 25/50 pence.

Not exactly sure what a pence translated into a dollar is, but yeah, it's awesome to find them cheap. =-D

 

[primitivescrewhead]

I am a huge fan of Steven King. His novel Bag of Bones got me into his work, and since then I pick up his books whenever I see them.

Pet Cematary has to be my favorite so far. It is the only book that I have read that truly frightened me.

The movie Stand by Me has to be my favorite of his movie adaptations. I have to say that it was one of the best movies of the 80's, in my opinion.

Other books I have read by him, Insomnia, Cujo, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, Cell, and there are others, I just can't think of them right now.

Glad to find another King fan on here. =-)

Does anyone else only like to read his original print books (with the original covers) more than the newer publishings? There's something great about picking up an old King book for 25 cents at a yard sale, enjoying the smell of the yellowing pages as you read through.

Agreed with you there, I am yet to go into a charity store and not find at least one King novel for 25/50 pence.

Not exactly sure what a pence translated into a dollar is, but yeah, it's awesome to find them cheap. =-D

pence is the british equivalent to your cents

 

[foxlovingfreak]

His dark tower seris is quite possibly the best books serise I ever read each and every single book in it is a litreal work of art when it comes to story telling. My other faviorte bok that he's done is The Stand ( Which I'm surpriesed no one else has put up on here yet) and my faviorte short story that he's done is The Mangler ( But please for the love of all that's good do not see the movie verion of it read the short story)

 

[BonsaiTreee]

my mom got me into reading King. I am currently reading the Dark Tower series. Some favorites of mine are The Shining, Misery, Everythings Eventual, Carrie, The Tommyknockers, The Running Man, and Pet Sematary. Pet Sematary was actually the first i read as a kid.

Favorite move adaptations would be Needful Things and Misery.