Hi voldi, I always took the creeping topiary as a manifestation of
Torrence's paranoia, delusion and general loss of reason just as the
characters in the Overlook brought back to life are pr0ducts of his
otherwise knackered imagination. For me King is exploring the line
between sanity and madness. How for instance, does the wasps nest
suddenly become reinhabited? but it is true that he does tend to
somewhat prolong the lives an activity of some of his characters
beyond the point where you'd think they'd no longer be able to function.
On 23 Apr 2013, at 10:02, Voldi Gailans wrote:
> Hi Ian and all,
>
> I don't tend to read Stephen king, but agree he is a very good
story-teller. I was extremely disappointed in the Shining, which
had plenty of suspense and a great build-up, but I completely lost
faith in it when the hedge animals started to move and, as I recall
someone was walking about with a knife in his back. To me the plot
became silly rather than horrifying and this has really put me off
trying any more. I did enjoy The Green Mile and did find it
terrifying. I didn't read Salem's Lot but found the radio
dramatisation a bit too much like dracula, but I did enjoy the Eye
of the Dragon which, I am told was written for his granddaughter,
rather like a fairy tale but with some good characters.
>
> Having written this, I see it is a two all draw - maybe I should
read some more!
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Voldi
>
> At 08:25 22/04/2013, you wrote:
>> I completely agree about his patchiness. The tommyknockers, for
instance is just plain daft. Then again, his most recent book,
11/22/63 is a very interesting take on time travel
possibilities. And I've already pre-ordered his next, Dr Sleep
which is a sequel to the Shining and is due out in september. both
of the books you mention as being good, dave, are examples of my
original contention that he is a fine story teller.
>> On 21 Apr 2013, at 22:09, David Russell wrote:
>>
>>> I have to say that I find King very patchy. When he is good he
is really excellent, as in "The Stand" and "Bag of bones", but some
of his books are totally unreadable, for me at least. One called
"From a Buick 8" was one of the most boring books I have ever tried to read.
>>>
>>> I rarely read him these days, but people keep suggesting I
would enjoy the Dark Tower series. Maybe I will try one or two
some time, but they are nowhere near the top of my list.
>>>
>>>
>>> David
>>>
>>> From:
<mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxx
g [mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Trish Talbot
>>> Sent: 21 April 2013 21:19
>>> To: <mailto:ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [ebooktalk] Re: AN OLD FAVOURITE
>>>
>>> Yes, Ian, I would definitely agree that "The Shining" is one of
his best books, of the ones I've read anyway. It was the first one
I read, as I hadn't thought I would like Stephen King, and was
surprised when I enjoyed it. I also liked "Misery" and "Gerald's
Game". I found "Insomnia" painfully slow and boring, and there was
another one I gave up on, whose title escapes me at the moment. I
started "Dolores Claybourne" and can't remember now why I didn't
finish it, but might give it another go.
>>>
>>> Trish.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From:
<mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxx
g
<mailto:[mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]>[mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of Ian Macrae
>>> Sent: 21 April 2013 20:46
>>> To: <mailto:ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [ebooktalk] Re: AN OLD FAVOURITE
>>> Don't recognise that title Shell, but The Shining is one of his
best. In fact, much of his good stuff is about writers of whom
Jack Torrence is one. Some time ago I read an interview with the
actor who played Lloyd the barman in the Kubrick film and he
described how Jack Nicholson deliberately took torrence over the
top in the first scene when the Overlook starts coming back to
life. For anyone interested in giving King a go while steering
well clear of the out-and-out horror stuff, I'd really recommend
Delores Claiborne. Yet another brilliantly conceived and
constructed story masterfully told. For anyone less faint-hearted,
Misery is a great book and also a great film with a memorable
performance from Kathy bates.
>>> On 21 Apr 2013, at 19:59, Shell wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Ian,
>>> I have to admit that I'm not a Stephen King fan. I enjoyed some
of his earlier books and would still like to read The Shining as
it's one of my top ten favourite films. I remember reading a
strange book by him many years ago called something like the Eyes
of the dragon I think, but that could be wrong. I think I read it
on calibre casettes, so that must be a fair few years ago. I
enjoyed that one enormously, though it's not my usual type of book.
>>> Shell.
>>>
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> From: "Ian Macrae" <<mailto:ian.macrae1@xxxxxxx>ian.macrae1@xxxxxxx>
>>> Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2013 6:52 PM
>>> To: <<mailto:ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Subject: [ebooktalk] AN OLD FAVOURITE
>>>
>>> > Some people here will know that I'm a fan of Stephen
King. Having read almost everything he's written, I'm not though
uncritical. He admits himself to having written Somme of his
books while the balance of his mind was chemically disturbed by
recreational drugs of one sort or another. But I've just finished
a book which has confirmed my belief that King is one of the great
story tellers of literature. Many of his books are very long. But
writing under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, he wrote a number of
shorter novels which have been published as The bachman books parts
one and two. I've read two of these since yesterday
lunchtime. The first, rage, was drawn to my attention by a message
to the RNIB TB list because there's a story going round that King
wants to take the book out of print because its subject matter
concerns a school shooting and it's apparently been found in the
possession of recent people who've undertaken similar activity. I
have to say I found it compelling. But the second, the Long Walk
was even more so. I started it just after The Archers omnibus and
finished it just before 6. It's set in a future US society and The
Long Walk of the title is what we'd now call a reality gameshow
involving a hundred men who set off from the US Canadian
border. The game has strict rules - no one can drop below the
speed of 4 MPH or stop walking without receiving up to 3 warnings
after which soldiers accompanying them shoot the offender. The
walk continues until only one of the men is left standing. the
winner can have a life-time supply of anything he wants. This is a
truly masterful piece of King storytelling, full of suspense,
anxiety, tension and excitement of a very understated kind. Anyone
who avoids him for his horror quotient need not do so with these
stories. Absolutely excellent and highly recommended.
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>> No virus found in this message.
>>> Checked by AVG - <http://www.avg.com>www.avg.com
>>> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3162/5762 - Release Date: 04/21/13
>
>
