Read 1/2

[chief4db]

I started reading king around 4 years ago. 11/22/63 was my first read and the one that got me hooked on king. I am half way thru his novels. I'm on d.t. V. Decided to take a break from it but hard to decide where to go. I finally found that king released the regulators and desperation at the same time. Is there one I should read first. Also in ur opinion is one better than the other. Lastly did these get released at the same time for a reason? Are the 2 books related like the hodges trilogy or are they 2 independent novels? Any info appreciated

 

[Walter Oobleck]

There's also information in the library...StephenKing.com - The Library
I understand that King had in mind a troupe of players when he wrote the two stories. For me, reading the two stories was a bit of a trip, as I did not know that and after reading one and moving on to the other I found myself grabbing the one I finished off the shelf and looking, yep! sure enough! some of the same characters in each one! No idea about them getting released at the same time. Wasn't one a "Richard Bachman" story? Or both? The troupe of players, the cast of characters, play different "parts" in the story...so you need to realize the "bad" in one or the "good" in the other are not necessarily good/bad in the next story. I'm not sure if one precedes the other, as far as chronology. I'm just guessing, but maybe Regulators comes first in "time". Desperation takes place out west...Nevada? Regulators takes place elsewhere...Ohio maybe. Somewhere in the east. Flip a coin on which to read first. I liked one more than the other. Both good stories.

 

[AchtungBaby]

Walter hit the nail on the head. I prefer Desperation, personally.

 

[staropeace]

You can read either. Desperation is soooooooooooo darn lovely, though. One of his best.

 

[AchtungBaby]

You can read either. Desperation is soooooooooooo darn lovely, though. One of his best.

I can't wait to reach it in my SK reread. I'll be starting Pet Sematary soon, and I started this project in May of 2015. So... I'll get to it in 2018 or so?

 

[chief4db]

I saw him on letterman and on that show they were promoting both books. So they did get released at same time. I read the first 20 pages of both and regulators grabbed me so I'm going to read that one first. Then hit d.t. V, then go back and read desperation. I have the grant edition of Desperation. Love that dust jacket. One of my favorites.

 

[AchtungBaby]

I saw him on letterman and on that show they were promoting both books. So they did get released at same time. I read the first 20 pages of both and regulators grabbed me so I'm going to read that one first. Then hit d.t. V, then go back and read desperation. I have the grant edition of Desperation. Love that dust jacket. One of my favorites.

I dunno..... No spoilers, but I think DT V's ending will make you want to plunge straight into VI...,

 

[Tery]

I dunno..... No spoilers, but I think DT V's ending will make you want to plunge straight into VI...,

What he said!

 

[Kurben]

For me they are very confusing. Even though the names are the same the characters are not, at least not always. If i remember correctly one character is grown in one book but a child in the other but the other are the same. I personally dont think it matters which you read first as long as you are prepared for the names coming back, in partly different roles. The first time i read them i liked the Regulators best. At the reread i liked Desperation much more. I think in hindsight it has to do with which one i read first. That was the one i liked best because when i started its companion the roles were set and my brain got confused by the switching characters. I think next time i let some time pass inbetween them so the brain can readjust its settings.

 

[skimom2]

Two different styles. I prefer Desperation (The Regulators is absolute rock bottom King for me), but there are MANY others who think differently. I liked that he used many of the same names in both books--that was clever and interesting--but I think Kurben is right: it could be difficult reading them successively. Happy reading!