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The Stand for me as well as Needful Things. I have to admit I read the Stand over 20 years ago though when I was still in Jr High.
I actually stood in line during the whole Green Mile thing though each time a new installment was going to be released! There was no way I could have waited for them to publish the entire novel at once back then!
This is slightly off-topic, but did anyone else ever read "The Plant", which was released in ebook format over several months in 2000? It was released in installments, much like The Green Mile was, but it was never finished. I did receive an email explaining why (something about King decided to focus his energy elsewhere), but I was very interested in the story and I occasionally think about it and wonder how it might have ended. It just irks me. :lol
Here's a wiki page on the e-novel if you are curious about this
I read CELL last week on an airplane.
I loved The Stand, but feel this is just a current (technology) rewrite of that story line.
I was disappointed because of that.
It still held my attention, but i couldn't help The Stand comparison through most of it.
Thanks schmoo2. I saw Cell at the grocery store and almost bought it but it did sound similar to the Stand and I don't think I would read the whole thing.
I've been on a Stephen King kick lately, but I'm starting to get really turned off by him. I'm not casting any aspersions on him as a human being, but have any of the rest of you noticed that he can't write a book that doesn't use the n-word? I don't know if I'd notice this if I weren't reading a bunch of them back to back, but come ON, Stephen King. Just because you have a black character doesn't mean you need to throw that word in there every damn time. Literary impact, blah blah blah. Stop it. Just friggin' stop. I'm reading Bag of Bones right now, and last night, BOOM, there it was. Again.
My favorite so far has been The Tommyknockers, btw, just so I'm not completely off-topic.:D The Stand bugged me, because my own expectations were wrong. Nobody's fault but my own, but I expected to learn more about the virus.
I really liked Needful Things, and I have to go against the grain and admit to loving Insomnia. I think that is actually my favorite of all of his works ... the fantasy elements of it were wonderful.
The Stand, definitely, but I also really a shorter work he did as Bachman, The Long Walk. Nothing supernatural about The Long Walk, and I'm not crazy about the ending, but still one of the most disturbing books I've read (as reality TV fans, you may find it particularly interesting).
I'm so glad you said that, because Insomnia will be my obligatory Stephen King summer read. I always get this urge to read Stephen King in the summer. There's something eerily wonderful about the hot summer air/chilling read combo. :lol I got Insomnia for my 16th birthday many moons ago but never got into it. After attempting to re-read it during an insomnia-ridden night a couple of weeks ago (that's how my brain works... life imitating art and all that), I realized that the problem wasn't the novel in itself but rather the crappy translation. I'm all set with an English version now and look forward to reading it. I always cared more for Derry than Castle Rock, and I really enjoyed Ralph's little cameo in Bag of Bones - which, incidentally, gets my vote for best Stephen King novel.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheddar;2433336;
Didn't care for Insomnia, but I read it super-fast a long time ago... My mother claims it is one of her all-time King faves, along with It, which I also didn't really care for. My two favorites are The Talisman and The Stand, both of which I've read multiple times and still enjoy. Nothing he's written recently (5yrs or so) has impressed me very much at all.
Have you read Bag of Bones? It was published in (I think) 1998 and it's probably hands down my favourite King novel. Loved the metatextual elements ("last night I dreamed I was back at Manderley..." - Rebecca) is one of my all-time favourite novels, so I was thrilled to see King's homage to Daphne duMaurier's novel), loved the main character and his struggle with writer's block, loved the ghost story, loved the love story, loved everything really.Quote:
Originally Posted by remote_goddess;2434021;