Stephen King - what am I missing?

[chocolateaddictions]

As a teen I read quite a few and hated them all.

I’ve seen lots of the films - It, Carrie, Pet Cemetary, Misery, the Shining but could never get into the books. I never really enjoyed the films either but it was the sort of thing you watched at teen sleepovers.

I found them incredibly dull and almost impossible to get through. Carrie for example had pages and pages about telekinesis or something when I just wanted it to get on with the plot.

If you’re a fan, honestly what is the appeal? What am I missing? If you’re not, do you feel the same way as I do?

🙄🙄

Read the nuance in other posts! No one is denying that, but equally, no one can deny King's influence on the genre.

You don't have to understand it!

I prefer his fantasy based novels (The Talisman, Insomnia, Rose Madder, the Gunslinger series (although it gets iffy towards the end and not really resolved to my liking)). And I like the crossovers that you get between novels, with Randall Flagg appearing in both the Gunslinger series and The Stand. The tommyknockers freaks me out, but is so good. I’m petrified of IT.

What I can’t get on board with is the more torture elements, which I find in the short stories (I’ve never read Misery). They are not books I want to read again, so they go on my ‘disappointing read’ pile, even if I can see the cleverness in the writing.

I read a few many years ago. Now I realise SK is a misogynist. Stephen King subjects his female protagonists to an excessive amount of abuse. This abuse often is central to the story, while in male-centred stories, it is not.

Same goes for Stieg Larsson (Girl dragon tattoo books). They both disgust me and I'd never buy a book or watch a film based on a book of theirs.

Tell that to Paul Sheldon!

🙄

Yes same here. And not just the misogyny but the awful things that happen to children in his books.
I read a lot of his books at the time when everything he wrote was being turned into a film. "It" has given me a lifelong fear of clowns. Stand by me has some wonderful descriptions of childhood friendships. But the standard dropped off the more he produced, so I stopped reading them. Then years later I read a couple of newer ones. Mr Mercedes was one and I can't remember the name of the other, but it felt like I was seeing them clear-eyed for the first time.
Without the decent writing of the early books, there was nothing to disguise or temper the misogyny and twisted cruelty in his stories. I didn't finish the last one, and I won't be buying any more.
His non fiction "on writing" was great, but I feel differently about that too now 🙁

This is the first 'adult' book he has tried (he's not a massively strong reader and not very mature for his age). I think it came as a bit of a surprise! He can always try it again when he's a bit older.

I read lots of horror as a teen but preferred Richard Laymon and Dean Koontz!

Some writers just aren't for you. I love Stephen King on the whole though his 'inner thought' ramblings for characters can get a bit much in some books. I don't get Terry Pratchett's work but it's very popular with others.

I have read most of his shorter books, and even those have various parts where I think "just get on with it!". There are some which I've started and just stopped because he seems to just drag random stuff into the storyline and then it's like wading through treacle. The one that sticks in my mind is Needful Things, I really tried to read it, but just kept getting bogged down and bored.
I've found all his short stories to be better, he gets on with the plot and it finishes before he can start droning on!

You have to pick the right ones. They can all be so different.

If you don’t like the more traditional SK (Carrie, Pet Semetary…) try Under the Dome or The Green Mile.

I hate his work. Mind you, my idea of fiction heaven is Virginia Woolf or Marguerite Duras, so no surprises there.😀

Yes i enjoyed this one, but not many others.

I read all his books when I was young and loved them.
These days I find myself skim reading the pages and pages describing something that could be done in half a page.
I enjoyed the Mr Mercedes series, loved the Holly books, and enjoyed Fairytale except for the Fairytale bits 😀 . Like Rose Madder before the supernatural parts.
Billy Summers is probably one of my favourite SK books.
Some of the older film adaptations are on YouTube if anyone wants to watch them.

I like spooky but not horror so much so I tend to avoid most of his work.

I began reading them in the late ‘80s and stopped in the ‘90s at some point. I did really enjoy the old material such as Firestarter, Christine, The Tommyknockers, It, Misery, Cujo, The Shining, Needful Things, Rose Madder. I think I liked how he would get into the characters’ heads so well. Some of the plots were very imaginative. At some point I hated the gore and found them depressing and predictable. I bought Dr Sleep the follow up to The Shining and wasn’t impressed. Another one which had loads of potential but just fell flat for me was Sleeping Beauties. I haven’t read another since. “It” and “The Shining” are the most terrifying books I’ve ever read.

I love SK. I love the detail in his writing, I adore the character development, the inner thoughts, I love the descriptive way he writes. So much so, that I'm now disappointed with other thriller style books, because they're sooo basic and simple, I feel like I'm being treated like an idiot with some of these authors.

I love him. I've been reading his books since I was 10. The Stand is my favourite book of all time.

That said I haven't read much of his new stuff in the last decade (except The Institute). I think I'm subconsciously saving them because one day in the not so distant future there will be nothing new to read.

Ha! I agree. I have no interest in horror, but I decided to read The Cell, since the premise sounded interesting.
Couldn't believe what a bore it was, as I recall - a floundering plotlessness and dull writing.

He sets up settings and descriptive narrative really well, I used to eat his books as a teen. I’ve read The Shining since and I really enjoyed it but it didn’t quite do what it did for me as a teen (but I’ve turned wussy since ageing 😅)

I think a lot of his earlier books are amazing. Later ones not so much. The story is there but most need editing to almost half.

I agree that some of his books are better than others, but I've always loved his descriptive style of writing. I can picture the scenes, people etc that he writes about.
So much so, that when I watched the original Pet Semetary, everything in it looked exactly how I'd pictured it all in my mind! So the screenwriter obviously got it like I did!

When SK is at his best, I forget I am reading.

I feel like it plays inside my head like a movie. But I have absolutely read books of his that disappointed me.

11.12.63 was my favourite for this. But if you don't like him that's fine too. I really couldn't get into the Northern Lights books and I had high hopes going in.

This! I’m the same as you. I’ve tried to read Carrie, Pet Semetary and others but found them hard going. I like Nightmares and Dreamscapes though which are short stories.

That one is awful. Accompanied by an equally awful film adaptation with John Cusack. 2002-2006 was not a good era.

I have only read one (Pet Semetary) for a book club. Didn't hate it but it didn't make me want to read any more. Reading horror is not really my thing although I have enjoyed some of the films. Particularly liked Dolores Claiborne with Kathy Bates and Judy Parfitt.

If I don't enjoy a writer I don't read them, I don't worry about whether I'm missing out because they are popular with lots of other people.