Any other big fans of The Tommyknockers?

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twiggymarie

Daughter of One
Mar 17, 2011
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I do!!! I always loved the dynamics between Gard and Bobby, and I loved the characters he introduced. One of my favourite quotes by King comes from this book, in Ruth McCausland's section. True, it was a bit campy and the idea of
battery hungry aliens
made me giggle, but King invests such of himself into everything he touches that I found myself loving it. The older I get, the more I like it. A couple of other things...
I really, really want one of those thought machines Bobby has!! And I really dug the way everyone hive minded, even though they had little to no control over it. Sure, the aliens were savage, warring species, but honestly, aren't we humans exactly the same?
 

recitador

Speed Reader
Sep 3, 2016
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I really, really want one of those thought machines Bobby has!! And I really dug the way everyone hive minded, even though they had little to no control over it. Sure, the aliens were savage, warring species, but honestly, aren't we humans exactly the same?

humans are just as stupid and bloodthirsty, tommyknockers toys are just cooler
 

grin willard

"Keep the change, you filthy animal!"
Feb 21, 2017
1,144
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humans are just as stupid and bloodthirsty, tommyknockers toys are just cooler

I can't agree. I think the point of the book was that humans are not as stupid or bloodthirsty as ... the tommy-ites? Gard and several other characters showed a level of selflessness that the aliens were, from what we saw in the book, incapable of. Case in point. There might be a Subway on their planet, but no tip jar! Think about it.

6994375_f496.jpg
 
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AchtungBaby

Well-Known Member
Dec 5, 2011
3,856
15,540
I have recently developed an alien fascination—I’ve been watching documentaries and conspiracy videos on UFO sightings and the different species of aliens thought to be ‘out there’. Do I believe in aliens? Definitely. In all the galaxies there has to be other forms of life. Do they actually ever visit Earth? Who can say? I lean toward yes, though.

I’m thinking of giving Tommyknockers another read soon...
 

Doc Creed

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Nov 18, 2015
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Woman trips over something in woods. What is it? Starts digging. Her beagle's cataracts disappear. She stocks up on Kotex. Digs some more. Writes a novel in her sleep. Digs some more. She passes out as friend, Gard, shows up. Come see what I'm digging, Gard. Flying tractor. Nuclear powered water heater. They dig together.
Did I mention there's a lotta digging? Missing kid at magic show. Evil dolls. Suicidal sheriff. Digging. Spaceship revealed. Mind-reading townfolk distrust her friend. Glowing shed, bad stuff in there. Digging. Gard sails into space. Lo and Behold missing kid is back.
 
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wdb1124

The Ayatollah of Rock And Rollah
Sep 12, 2017
801
5,801
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The last house on the left
Woman trips over something in woods. What is it? Starts digging. Her beagle's cataracts disappear. She stocks up on Kotex. Digs some more. Writes a novel in her sleep. Digs some more. She passes out as friend, Gard, shows up. Come see what I'm digging, Gard. Flying tractor. Nuclear powered water heater. They dig together.
Did I mention there's a lotta digging? Missing kid at magic show. Evil dolls. Suicidal sheriff. Digging. Spaceship revealed. Mind-reading townfolk distrust her friend. Glowing shed, bad stuff in there. Digging. Gard sails into space. Lo and Behold missing kid is back.

Nailed it.
 

MadmaxofDerry

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2018
46
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I'm at part 3, or book 3 rather. Didn't like book 2 that much, I prefered the first part. It is well written, very detailed like Mr. King does, he himself came out saying it wasn't a very good book after the fact. Looking to see how book 3 turns out.
 

MadmaxofDerry

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2018
46
157
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Finished The Tommyknockers a few days ago and Cujo yesterday. The stories that Mr. King puts out wreck you building up to the final climatic event. I've noticed through the fraction of the works he's put out(that I've read), there is a happy ending.
Like Hilly and David being reunited again, even though now they only have each other.
Vic and Donna pushing on together after losing Tad and almost their marriage.
Danny, Wendy and Dick in The Shining starting a new life.
Danny being accepted in a new family in Doctor Sleep.
The list can go on and on.
It's not perfect, but it's peaceful and satisfying. A small, sliver of happiness. Now I'm afraid that I'm going to get into a book and knowing that it's going to twist and there won't be a happy moment at the end.
The Tommyknockers, defiantly a good read, final thought is that Mr. King said that there was a good 350 page novel there. I somewhat agree, if it was just about Bobbi and Gard with nods to the townsfolk I would've been just as happy about it.
 

Doc Creed

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Nov 18, 2015
17,221
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Finished The Tommyknockers a few days ago and Cujo yesterday. The stories that Mr. King puts out wreck you building up to the final climatic event. I've noticed through the fraction of the works he's put out(that I've read), there is a happy ending.
Like Hilly and David being reunited again, even though now they only have each other.
Vic and Donna pushing on together after losing Tad and almost their marriage.
Danny, Wendy and Dick in The Shining starting a new life.
Danny being accepted in a new family in Doctor Sleep.
The list can go on and on.
It's not perfect, but it's peaceful and satisfying. A small, sliver of happiness. Now I'm afraid that I'm going to get into a book and knowing that it's going to twist and there won't be a happy moment at the end.
The Tommyknockers, defiantly a good read, final thought is that Mr. King said that there was a good 350 page novel there. I somewhat agree, if it was just about Bobbi and Gard with nods to the townsfolk I would've been just as happy about it.
King is an unreserved sentimentalist and he loves a happy ending or a bittersweet ending (I'm thinking of his 'Marriage Trilogy') but he has given us quite a few sucker punches...the bleak ending. I agree about The Tommyknockers; I enjoy the book as it stands but wish The Town section could have been whittled down or spread out amidst the primary plot, or even omitted. The long history of Haven stifles the momentum of the book. However, King manages to succeed at this effect in IT, where he details the history of Derry, but it is accomplished through small increments and the Losers' story is constantly unfolding and moving forward, so to speak.
 

MadmaxofDerry

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2018
46
157
30
King is an unreserved sentimentalist and he loves a happy ending or a bittersweet ending (I'm thinking of his 'Marriage Trilogy') but he has given us quite a few sucker punches...the bleak ending. I agree about The Tommyknockers; I enjoy the book as it stands but wish The Town section could have been whittled down or spread out amidst the primary plot, or even omitted. The long history of Haven stifles the momentum of the book. However, King manages to succeed at this effect in IT, where he details the history of Derry, but it is accomplished through small increments and the Losers' story is constantly unfolding and moving forward, so to speak.

I was and still am conflicted on the depth of description of the townsfolk in the current time of the book. I liked the section for the Constable Ruth, she was a great character. Through and through, I didn't care much for the others especially the 'Shed People' I love the history that he lays down. I enjoyed it all reading, but in reflection not as much.
 

Doc Creed

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Nov 18, 2015
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I was and still am conflicted on the depth of description of the townsfolk in the current time of the book. I liked the section for the Constable Ruth, she was a great character. Through and through, I didn't care much for the others especially the 'Shed People' I love the history that he lays down. I enjoyed it all reading, but in reflection not as much.
I agree. Ruth and (her husband? Forgot.) Butch are the best of the townies. I liked Ev Hillman's story and his grandsons' story, too.
I think this book would have been scarier without the sometimes cartoonish characters but maybe it was a necessary ingredient to allow for the zanier happenings in Haven. As King does in Needful Things, he delivers the scares with big laughs. In both books he satirizes the Maine denizens he knows and loves and pokes fun at them with more than a little glee. I like both novels better than when I first read them because it shows his range as a writer. Either way you slice it the laughs dull the axe blade of horror, but The Tommyknockers is closest to true horror. It gave me nightmares.