I also think part of the reason Joyland is also overlooked is that it was issued as a trade paperback, not a hardcover, for the general public. It didn't seem to get the hype it would have gotten had it been a hardcover.
John
Your most underrated SK book
- Thread starter StephenTorrance
- Start date
-
This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.
I also think part of the reason Joyland is also overlooked is that it was issued as a trade paperback, not a hardcover, for the general public. It didn't seem to get the hype it would have gotten had it been a hardcover.
John
Bad things about Cell ? I am shoked. I think this is one of the best SK's works in the last years. In his "old-school" language...
Yeah, i was schocked too. That was why i thought it might qualify as underrated. I think unconvincing and Lacking in building of characters and unengaging language is things i've heard. Among other things.
I thought Cell was great. Definitely one of my faves of his.
I'd go with Desperation and The Regulators. It seems not many people enjoyed these but I thought they were quite fun.
I need to read Insomnia. Started way back when it first came out but never finished.
I'd go with Desperation and The Regulators. It seems not many people enjoyed these but I thought they were quite fun.
I need to read Insomnia. Started way back when it first came out but never finished.
Agreed! I do not understand why so many people do not care for Insomnia
It has a well thought out storyline. It has wonderful good guys and scary bad guys. There's suspense. There's mystery. There's a chilling otherworldliness. What's not to like? It's my second favorite SK novel 
I do have another book that I think is very underrated: The Regulators. For years I did not read this book because of all the "bad press" there is out there about this book. When I finally did get around to reading it, I absolutely loved it. I find it to be a much better book than Desperation. I just love the whole idea of it, the characters and the all-out lunacy of it.
Funny how books can be polarizing, isn't it?
That's at the absolute bottom of my list of all King books. Even below the 'alien' books (lol) because I'm just sort of bored by them. I actively dislike The Regulators.
The Nameless
M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
Joyland went straight in at number 3 on my favourites list (until I read the stand, then it dropped a place). I have never read a book so fast, and have never been compelled to not put a book down as much as I was with joyland.
On 4 past midnight, I was a bit disappointed with sun dog and library policeman, they were ok but I was kind of expecting more. Didn't make it through secret window. I think it's because it peaked at the langoliers - which I thought was fantastic. I LOVED the langoliers.
In terms of books getting bad reviews that I really enjoyed, the girl who loved tom Gordon and the gunslinger.
On 4 past midnight, I was a bit disappointed with sun dog and library policeman, they were ok but I was kind of expecting more. Didn't make it through secret window. I think it's because it peaked at the langoliers - which I thought was fantastic. I LOVED the langoliers.
In terms of books getting bad reviews that I really enjoyed, the girl who loved tom Gordon and the gunslinger.
And that's what "makes the world go 'round!" It's so great that we can so vehemently disagree with one another on here and still all be friends!Funny how books can be polarizing, isn't it?
Almost no depth, characters didn't feel real, etc. IMO, of course.please do tell why not?
One day I want to include The Regulators in this thread. (I have personal difficulty with it as connected with Desperation, which I felt so strongly positive about that anything connected to it must comply with my own experience.)
I felt the same way about Cell! I couldn't connect to the characters at all. None of them were likable in my opinion. I understand unresolved endings, and sometimes even prefer them (i.e. The Mist). But this one just didn't do it for me.
Sharon, I agree with you about "Cell" and the characters, although maybe from a slightly different angle. I remember the young girl -- was it Alice? -- who really got on my nerves because she seemed to talk in too precocious a fashion. There are kids like that in real life, but probably not during the apocalypse. And that kid who was close to that dean guy? The way he was talking annoyed me, as well. Didn't he say something like "Will we have poetry? The dean loved poetry." No kid acts like that.
Still, "Cell" was an interesting exercise in the zombie genre, although I would have preferred something more traditional I think (i.e., not psychic zombies). Maybe they could have found some people who received only a glancing blow of the Pulse and were half-in/half-out of the zombie state and could have talked about what was happening in their brains. As far as the unresolved ending, I didn't mind that so much, but I would love to have a short-story sequel explaining what the Pulse was about (and, yes, no aliens!).
I absolutely agree with others who have cited "From a Buick 8" and "The Regulators" as underrated. "8" was just a relaxing joy to read, I enjoyed the narrative about the spooky vehicle. And "Regulators" was fun with its narrative techniques.
Still, "Cell" was an interesting exercise in the zombie genre, although I would have preferred something more traditional I think (i.e., not psychic zombies). Maybe they could have found some people who received only a glancing blow of the Pulse and were half-in/half-out of the zombie state and could have talked about what was happening in their brains. As far as the unresolved ending, I didn't mind that so much, but I would love to have a short-story sequel explaining what the Pulse was about (and, yes, no aliens!).
I absolutely agree with others who have cited "From a Buick 8" and "The Regulators" as underrated. "8" was just a relaxing joy to read, I enjoyed the narrative about the spooky vehicle. And "Regulators" was fun with its narrative techniques.
Interesting!! I remember that i liked him and found him believable (the kid who asked about poetry). In my opinion there is a certain type of kid thats talk like that. And i didn't mind Alice either. Strange how different you look upon a book. Thats one of the many great things about SK, his varied choice of writingstyles and subjects which make it possible for anyone to find something.
Roadwork for me. It's gritty, dark, raw, emotional and I love the characters. Mindblank here (old age, ha ha), but the main character, that's right, Bart, is so fully three dimensional, it's uncanny. He is suffering so much and is such a sympathetic character. I just relate to him, I know what it is to lose a home, (and he also lost a child, worst fear ever), such a rich, in-depth and multi layered story. Haven't we all at one time wanted to ditch our employer, our past, our life...welll maybe not, but it is a story I just freakin love!! Rings true, it ain't a Clayton's! Most underrated. Would love to see it as a film or mini series. I sometimes so wish I had been born in Maine, it is so alive on the pages of King.