How I feel when I crack open a SK book..

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unclelouie

Well-Known Member
Jun 15, 2012
815
151
Lud
So I am a life-long SK fan. I've read only about half of his body of work (short stories included). I admittedly read lots of other genres and authors, but I always find myself returning to the world of SK. And only having read about half of his work there are fortunately always "new" novels to read (i.e. ones I'd missed), and always of course his new releases.... so yeah, there's always "old" stuff to discover.

Anyhow, last night I began Desperation (next, I will read The Regulators), and it's been several months since last SK reading, but it's always like going home when I crack open a SK novel. No other author's body of work draws me in and captivates me like the universe of Uncle Steve. The way that his universe and body of work is tied together and connected, is so fascinating... I just feel so "at home" there. Enterting the universe of Sai King is always a warm treat that I always cherish, and am thankful for. That might make me twisted... but I bet you all might know the feeling.
 

bigkingfan91

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2014
190
921
32
WV
I've never been interested in much of anyone else besides SK. When I quit reading for years ( I just got back into reading a couple weeks ago actually ) I quit completely. Now I have so many of SK's works I missed out on to catch up on, not to mention Joe Hill's works, I don't really have time for another author. I want to re read all of his classics when I get caught up too so its only SK and Joe Hill for me for a good long while. Love it that way too!
 

fonzberry

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2011
121
36
West Coast
I 100% agree and sometimes in a weird perverse way it makes me sad/angry.

I read roughly 50 books a year (~4 a month); all fiction. So I am constantly reading other authors and looking for new things to read. Far too many times I get bored and annoyed with other authors. These are books that I want to like but just cannot get into. Then finally after about 10-20 books, I will return and re-read another King book (I have read every book of his...) and I am sucked in and captivated and LOVING it from page #1. It then makes me realize how amazing King is but at the same time that there is only one of him and his work is finite and that makes me sad. King has spoiled me.


-f
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2014
9,724
53,642
Colorado
Well. I can say that there are SK stories that I think are gifts from the literary gods. There are some that don't rise to that level by a long shot. But the point is that the story is always strong enough for me to make it through.

I'll draw a contrast. My dad was a fan of international conflict/military/intrigue. As such, he was a big Tom Clancy fan and kept tossing those to me. Hunt for Red October. Okay, that was a pretty good yarn. Red Storm Rising. Pretty interesting. Kept my attention! Cardinal of the Kremlin. I put it it down halfway through and gave it back. He just didn't understand. I said, "Dad, I just didn't care anymore." (Rainbow Six, the same thing, except that didn't make it to the 20% mark.)

Scott Turow. I thrilled to The Burden of Proof. Oh, my goodness, the entire structure of the well-constructed plot balanced upon one tiny little fact. Brilliant! And then Presumed Innocent. Okay, it's decent, and about half the impact of the first one. And then Pleading Guilty. Again, I gave up a third or a half into it. I just didn't care.

in case you're wondering if this has a point, and I wouldn't blame you, it's that in all the nuggets that Mr. King has produced, golden or brown, I've made it through, and happily so. Because he's never made me not care.
 

prufrock21

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2011
2,956
12,657
The Caribbean
I read him because his stories are over the top, his characters are unique, his sense of time and circumstance are spot on. He also speaks to the masses, the common man and woman. Of course, other writers of horror may do this as well, but there is a difference. Inside the basement of his house of horrors there resides something which gives me the willies and is unapologetically gross and creepy. It is writing which is uncensored, white hot and at fever pitch.
Case in point, Stephen King's THE PLANT. Hardly anyone can match him in this respect.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I have over the years come to relish entering the Stephen King multi-verse. I have been reading his books since 'Salem's Lot was first published in paperback. I was a teen back then and cared not one iota what good writing was about. All I cared about was whether or not it was a good story. I wasn't a 'King-aholic' back then either, not by a long shot. Those early King novels were written in a desperate white-hot fury, which translated to the page as 'Read this! Now, I'm gonna show you this! And THIS! AND THIS!' I felt like King was standing behind me, watching me read his novels and chuckling every time I got to a 'good part'. King has grown IMMENSELY as a writer over the years (can you imagine the same King who wrote The Shining turning out, let's say Bag Of Bones, as the follow up The Shining?) and I've grown as a reader over those same years. My taste in what is 'good' has changed. I no longer just want to read about vampires or haunted cars- I want to also read about the characters that inhabit those stories. I think King cares more about his characters now and how important 'they' are to a story and how they make it 'real' for us, the readers. Picking up a new KIng novel is like being hugged and kissed on the cheek by a very dear friend, one that I only get to visit with about once a year or so, but one that I have never regretted befriending (well, there is The Tommyknockers........) and one that I wish I could see more often. Whether it be a novel or a short story, I know that I'll get that hug and kiss just the same.
 

danie

I am whatever you say I am.
Feb 26, 2008
9,760
60,662
60
Kentucky
I have over the years come to relish entering the Stephen King multi-verse. I have been reading his books since 'Salem's Lot was first published in paperback. I was a teen back then and cared not one iota what good writing was about. All I cared about was whether or not it was a good story. I wasn't a 'King-aholic' back then either, not by a long shot. Those early King novels were written in a desperate white-hot fury, which translated to the page as 'Read this! Now, I'm gonna show you this! And THIS! AND THIS!' I felt like King was standing behind me, watching me read his novels and chuckling every time I got to a 'good part'. King has grown IMMENSELY as a writer over the years (can you imagine the same King who wrote The Shining turning out, let's say Bag Of Bones, as the follow up The Shining?) and I've grown as a reader over those same years. My taste in what is 'good' has changed. I no longer just want to read about vampires or haunted cars- I want to also read about the characters that inhabit those stories. I think King cares more about his characters now and how important 'they' are to a story and how they make it 'real' for us, the readers. Picking up a new KIng novel is like being hugged and kissed on the cheek by a very dear friend, one that I only get to visit with about once a year or so, but one that I have never regretted befriending (well, there is The Tommyknockers........) and one that I wish I could see more often. Whether it be a novel or a short story, I know that I'll get that hug and kiss just the same.
Well said...very well said.