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Yeah but what is? IT. That's all. The Stand gets close.It was no 11/22/63 (more on that later though)
Yeah but what is? IT. That's all. The Stand gets close.
I have just finished Mr Mercedes, and like many others, I would say a good solid 7.5/10 - But on a scale where the afore mentioned IT and 11/22/63 are 10/10, and the Stand is a 9.5, that's not too shabby. I liked it. A few negatives would be:
The lack of King's famous character development - I felt only Brady was developed with any kind of depth, and a good bulk of that came in one lump sum. Ok, granted, for this kind of story, Brady is probably the only one who needs this.
Jerome's 'stereotypical' black speak (Massa Hodges etc) - I get that it was a put on, a joke, and I sure as hell weren't offended by it, it just annoyed me reading, much the same as Detta Walker did in Drawing Of The 3.
Also, King's descriptions of technology. I may sound like I'm being harsh on our Master here, but when Steve describes technology it's a bit cringeworthy. It's like he's saying in big letters "look everyone, I've done my research, I know how these things work". It's a bit "try hard". Sorry Steve.
Overall, I felt the narative was good, I enjoyed the all too brief fling with Janey, I agree with Chazel - she was a much thinned outbut I still liked her, same with Holly - a bit thin on the ground, and seemed rushed, but still an enjoyable (but weird) character. Maybe if he had another 200 pages, things could have been fleshed out a bit. Just reading over this post, I didn't mean for it to sound too negative, because that's not the feeling I got. I enjoyed reading Mr Mercedes. I also applaud the fact that he wrote a crime novel with all the big reveals (who, how, why, etc) within the first few chapters of the book, and concentrated on the cat and mouse game.Sadie
Oh yeah, I totally understand why he did it, and that it fitted the character, I was talking in general though - it's a theme I've noticed in many books and stories. Sometimes the descriptions are needed to portray a character's lack of knowledge, but not always. For instance he would write something like "he clicked the button with the fox wrapped around a globe to launch Firefox" when "he opened the internet" would be fine. That would come through to me as Stephen trying to show he knows all about different web browsers, like I said, it seems a bit "try hard". I'm sure people will think it shows that extra attention to detail that sets him apart as the best, and I know how nit-picky I must sound, but it's still cringe worthy....to me anyway.I agree with the critique of character development, especially Holly. Her inclusion was rushed.
I would disagree on the technology part. Since Hodges is a detective, he has to be thorough about the nuances of the gadgets he comes across. It added to the cat and mouse element. Also, Hodges doesn't really understand new technology so it had to be carefully explained to him. This dynamic helped give the Jerome/Hodges relationship a bit of a Sherlock Holmes/Waston vibe with each character having a needed expertise.
I haven't read yet The Stand, please let me know why do you consider it a masterpiece and how it compares to IT novel. Thanks.Solid book, not an epic, but a good middle of the pack fill.
We can't honestly expect King to crank out "The Stand" every year can we?
It was a little slow for me (I read the letter, watched the preview, etc. before buying the book) so I kind of knew the beginning. I didn't find it particularly scary, but I was excited all the way up until the last little bit, in which I felt like a kid waiting for the end of the horror movie where the monster comes back. I would recommend it, of course, but I doubt it'll need a re-read for quite a while. Although I will say, The entire scene about Brady's mentally challenged brother is the first time King ever made something HARD to read, it was so awful that I literally wanted to stop imagining it.
3.5/5, good addition to my bookshelf.
I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even notice the misspelling! I didn't enjoy the book as much as others I've read but I also couldn't put it down at some points. It's not one of his best but well worth reading. I love it that you're in touch with sk and can ask him these little things.Well, turns out I was right about thinking the editors thought it was intentional so didn't point it out. I asked Steve yesterday and he didn't realize it hadn't been caught with Spellcheck and confessed it's one of those words that he often spells wrong. I've been in touch with his editors at Scribner and it will most likely be fixed in future printings but possibly not until the paperback is released. Color all of us embarrassed!