What do you think is Stephen King's most Lovecraftian novel?

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Barth113

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Jun 30, 2014
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There are undercurrents of H.P. Lovecraft in most of what Stephen King writes, but of all of his novels with such themes, which one is the MOST Lovecraftian?

I'd have to go with IT. Through most of the novel there's a foreboding sense that reality as we know it is falling apart at the seams, you have mere humans struggling to come to terms with this all enveloping cosmic horror, you have the concept of the "deadlights", and the protagonists maneuver through clashes between vast, unexplainable cosmic beings that are utterly indifferent to the fate of humanity. The fact that everyday objects turn into wellsprings of primal horror and disgust is another plus.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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There are undercurrents of H.P. Lovecraft in most of what Stephen King writes, but of all of his novels with such themes, which one is the MOST Lovecraftian?

I'd have to go with IT. Through most of the novel there's a foreboding sense that reality as we know it is falling apart at the seams, you have mere humans struggling to come to terms with this all enveloping cosmic horror, you have the concept of the "deadlights", and the protagonists maneuver through clashes between vast, unexplainable cosmic beings that are utterly indifferent to the fate of humanity. The fact that everyday objects turn into wellsprings of primal horror and disgust is another plus.
From a Buick 8? (with the
portal into another universe?
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I agree with Neesy--From a Buick 8
Hurray! (you made my day!) I have never really thought of myself as a critic or someone who analyzes books - I just read them because I enjoy them.
Now I will have to go investigate this Lovecraft guy and learn more :biggrin2::peach::love:
p.s. I do not mean this to sound negative - when I say "critic" I mean someone who analyzes or dissects books, that's all :inspect:Life is for learning after all!
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
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Hurray! (you made my day!) I have never really thought of myself as a critic or someone who analyzes books - I just read them because I enjoy them.
Now I will have to go investigate this Lovecraft guy and learn more :biggrin2::peach::love:
p.s. I do not mean this to sound negative - when I say "critic" I mean someone who analyzes or dissects books, that's all :inspect:Life is for learning after all!
I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan (or From a Buick 8 fan, either--lol). Interesting ideas, but I don't like his execution. His mommy/female issues are laughable and cringeworthy (to me, of course. There are a lot of Lovecraft fans here who would probably disagree strongly).
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
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I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan (or From a Buick 8 fan, either--lol). Interesting ideas, but I don't like his execution. His mommy/female issues are laughable and cringeworthy (to me, of course. There are a lot of Lovecraft fans here who would probably disagree strongly).
His writing is far too dense for me to enjoy.
 

SutterKane

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Jun 7, 2014
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I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan (or From a Buick 8 fan, either--lol). Interesting ideas, but I don't like his execution. His mommy/female issues are laughable and cringeworthy (to me, of course. There are a lot of Lovecraft fans here who would probably disagree strongly).

His female issues are nothing when compared to his racism. Even considering the time period he was worse then most.

The negro is fundamentally the biological inferior of all White and even Mongolian races, and the Northern people must occasionally be reminded of the danger which they incur in admitting him too freely to the privileges of society and government…The Birth of a Nation … is said to furnish a remarkable insight into the methods of the Ku-Klux-Klan, that noble but much maligned band of Southerners who saved half of our country from destruction at the close of the Civil War. The Conservative has not yet witnessed the picture in question, but he has seen both in literary and dramatic form The Clansman, that stirring, though crude and melodramatic story by Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., on which The Birth of a Nation is based, and has likewise made a close historical study of the Klu-Klux-Klan, finding as a result of his research nothing but Honour, Chivalry, and Patriotism in the activities of the Invisible Empire. The Klan merely did for the people what the law refused to do, removing the ballot from unfit hands and restoring to the victims of political vindictiveness their natural rights. The alleged lawbreaking of the Klan was committed only by irresponsible miscreants who, after the dissolution of the Order by its Grand Wizard, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, used its weird masks and terrifying costumes to veil their unorganised villainies.
Race prejudice is a gift of Nature, intended to preserve in purity the various divisions of mankind which the ages have evolved.
>from an editorial in The Conservative Vol. I, No. 2, (1915)

That's a direct quote from his news column.


All things considered though, I'm still a fan. His creativity was groundbreaking enough to override all those other unfortunate character flaws.
 
Last edited:

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
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USA
His female issues are nothing when compared to his racism. Even considering the time period he was worse then most.

The negro is fundamentally the biological inferior of all White and even Mongolian races, and the Northern people must occasionally be reminded of the danger which they incur in admitting him too freely to the privileges of society and government…The Birth of a Nation … is said to furnish a remarkable insight into the methods of the Ku-Klux-Klan, that noble but much maligned band of Southerners who saved half of our country from destruction at the close of the Civil War. The Conservative has not yet witnessed the picture in question, but he has seen both in literary and dramatic form The Clansman, that stirring, though crude and melodramatic story by Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., on which The Birth of a Nation is based, and has likewise made a close historical study of the Klu-Klux-Klan, finding as a result of his research nothing but Honour, Chivalry, and Patriotism in the activities of the Invisible Empire. The Klan merely did for the people what the law refused to do, removing the ballot from unfit hands and restoring to the victims of political vindictiveness their natural rights. The alleged lawbreaking of the Klan was committed only by irresponsible miscreants who, after the dissolution of the Order by its Grand Wizard, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, used its weird masks and terrifying costumes to veil their unorganised villainies.
Race prejudice is a gift of Nature, intended to preserve in purity the various divisions of mankind which the ages have evolved.
>from an editorial in The Conservative Vol. I, No. 2, (1915)

That's a direct quote from his news column.


All things considered though, I'm still a fan. His creativity was groundbreaking enough to override all those other unfortunate character flaws.
Interesting! I don't know anything about him outside of his stories.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
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Revival as novel, The Mist as Novella, Crouch End as Short Story. But King write so much better than Lovecraft ever did. He had some interesting ideas though.....
 
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