The Lawnmower Man

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

krwhiting

Well-Known Member
Jan 5, 2015
258
1,081
57
So I assume everyone knows this already, but wow. This story was way better than the movie of the same name. And way scarier. And it bore no resemblance at all to that movie. At all.

I enjoy it when writers dredge up the old pagan gods as foils in the modern world. It made Blackwood's stories way scarier. And also a reason (certainly not the only one) I enjoyed the Solomon Kane stories by Howard.

Kelly
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
funny-big-lawn-mower-noise.jpg
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
2,906
6,242
62
The movie I haven't seen (and my understanding is that I'm not missing anything), but thinking of this story right now reminds of the scene in The Stand where Harold is mowing the lawn in his bathing suit as is everything in his world is perfectly fine.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
47
United States
There's actually a comic book version of this story also. It's a pretty creepy little tale.
I haven't seen the comic book but when I first read this story I was completely transfixed. I had never read anything like it. What drugs was he taking? And where could I get some...just kidding. Terrific mixture of raw, naked horror (literally) and gleeful humor. Just bizarre.
 

César Hernández-Meraz

Wants to be Nick, ends up as Larry
May 19, 2015
605
4,416
43
Aguascalientes, Mexico
I really enjoyed this story (which I read in a single step just this morning, between chapters of "The Gunslinger").

I think Mr. King must have had a lot of fun writing it. The humor is very strongly present; so much so, I would easily put this story in the "comedy" category.

The lawnmower man was not complicated at all. He could do his job very well, and even states what the stakes are. Very straightforward resolution (he should have stayed with "God bless the grass", indeed).

Even though I did not read them immediately together, this works as a good relief after reading a more stressful "The Ledge".