For those who might be apt to say "Under The Dome" was someone else's idea, you may want to read "The Tommyknockers" where, as the residents of the Main town of Haven gradually fall under the influence of a mysterious object buried in the woods the object contains the townfolk inside a invisible barrier that surrounds the town. The Tommy Knockers was published in 1987, two years before The Simpsons first episode.
just finished the dark tower today, this man is a genius and i look forward to helping my children with their book reports on his work in a decade or two!
Did he just say " i wish i was more original " ? He is, more than anyone. King transformed everything around us in nightmares. Our cars, our dogs , our hotels in vacations, sewers, flu, fans, clowns...i've never read anything like it.
Just love Stephen King. I am still making my way through all of his books. I do read other authors, a select few, but Stephen King takes me to experiences that no other can do. Thank you Mr. King. 🇨🇦
The Stand is my favourite. It's not long enough. I've read about 20 stephen king books including most of his classics and I'm still reading them because they're amazing. I actually can't describe how much I love reading stephen king books. The first one I ever read was the green mile because I'd seen the film and I literally couldn't put it down. He's a genius. I want to be an author, I haven't got much hope because I'm starting a levels in september but I'm only 17 so there's plenty of time
If there was ever a writer who can create a world so real it scares the crap outta ya its Stephen King. An amazing writer, an amazing guy, and if any writer wants to learn fifty years worth of knowledge in a few hours, read his book on Writing.
Stories about domes over cities is common. It's almost a category. The interviewer ask great questions. I think King has some idea of the coming questions.
I am so sick of academics putting Stephen King down. They wish they could write 1/4 as well as him. I've been reading him for over thirty years. He is a King!
Storytelling and literature are two different things. If you actually think that King is a better writer than Dickens, Joyce, Faulkner, hell, even Murakami, you need to read more books.
Under the Dome/ Simpsons movie, 'salem's Lot/ Dracula, Christine/The Car, elements of Kings works in many tales told before. But nobody does it like the King. An American literary master!
Popular Fiction can also be literary. I like to read all kinds of books so I don't understand readers who are automatically against a certain style of fiction. I just love fiction in general. That's why I love SK's books so much, because he gives me a little bit of everything I could possibly want from a story in all his various masterpieces. The best example of every genre in one I've ever read is The Dark Tower, of course.
My favorite SK stories are Misery, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and Deloris Claiborne. He is an awesome writer and I think when he has a nice body of fiction that is not really about horror but about psychology and human relationships and complex situations. He definitely has the chops to be literary when he wants to be. He also did a nice trilogy (Bill Hodges) that was more mystery/suspense and it was great. He can do whatever he wants, he just likes scaring the be-jesus out of people. I think he spent too much time growing up reading pulp fiction and comic books--that's where the tendency to write horror comes from. I didn't like Dreamcatcher very much, it was too jumbled up and I got the feeling he was writing from a sort of delirum caused by his accident and his health problems healing up from it. It started out great and I was enjoying getting to know the four primary characters and then it devolved into a confused and sort of trite mess. I think he should revisit those four and write a different sort of book. I like how he takes ordinary people and puts them in extraordinary situations where they have to show what they are made of. He has an exquisite touch with characterization much of the time.
Chester's Mill was originally formed under the premise of Tarker's Mill from Cycle of The Werewolf - Chester's Mill is West of Tarkers Mill which is East of Derry, Maine - there's a map on Stephen's Wiki page of his fictional areas of Maine, New England. Quite interesting :)
What a brilliant author and have loved his books for yrs and he's still writing and proved that he could write more than silly horror stories ,will be reading him always ,
"After finishing 'Glitz', I went out to the bookstore and bought everything else of Elmore Leonard I could find." - SK in 1985 "You certainly wouldn't expect him to have produced his best novel [The Hot Kid] at the age of 79, but he seems to have done it." - SK in 2005
@myrtic1 That was exactly the same thing I did. "Under the Dome" was the first King book I read. I immediately read "The Shining" next. A year and a half later, I've read more King books than I can remember.
It's interesting to speculate on the ages of a lot of commenters, rating certain books as "the best", etc. I say this with no malice whatsoever, I think it is fantastic! I started at about 13 years old with Pet Sematary when it was originally published, and read everything King wrote as fast as could. The books grow with you and change meaning as you grow. To me that may be the greatest part. The story that is the bulk of 'Wizard and Glass' is my favorite. Thanks for your head, Mr. King.
This man is the King of Horror Novels and Literature itself! I love his devotion to his writing and how me manged coming in with these brilliant plots in ALL he's books. each one is just a joy and countless movie had been made from his books! For first readers of him I suggest: Carrie it's short and easy and will get you into it to reader the bigger books which is all of them. The best in my view is Rose Madder and I'm quite depressed it didn't get the same knowledge as The Shinning it is good!
Some of this man´s work should be mandatory reading in schools around the world. Most people, when you talk about King, they go "..UUhh, spooky.." and not much else. They´re missing out for sure. Be proud, americans, the world´s best contemporary writer is one of you. Peace.
The one that 'knocked me out' was Needful Things, followed by The Stand uncut and perhaps The Tommyknockers. Reading Lisey's Story right now and intend to get to Christine, The Shining and It at some point...Under the Dome will have to wait a few years...doesn't look short.
Stephen King is the best author of all time. Very few authors have affected me so profoundly. And to anyone who feels alienated for not reading the smae stuff as everyone else: I began reading King when I about 12, and I have never regretted it. I hope that one day his books will be taught in classrooms. (I know that in the movie The Covenant they were reading Dreamcatcher for a literature class.)
He talked about spina bifida!!! I don't know why i'm so excited, i guess it's because an author mentioned it in an interview. I have spina bifida, so anything that mentions it i get really excited.
Interview very nicely done. Love to hear Mr. King talk, about his works & methods, his manner is very easy going and a lot of fun, thank you. Especially during our own Lockdown with the Trump Plague.
Above and beyond the fact that he is the king of horror, i also experienced a lot a humour in his writings mainly in IT and the "Stand" i enjoy reading his books as much as he scared the hell out of me to the point it haunted me and subsequently i get up with anxiety.
@LunescaZanJari the Dark Tower series is so amazing. It makes me crazy how good they are. Roland is just the most multi-dementional, beautiful, sad, strong, clint eastwood-esque, character i have ever read about. And Stephen is a hero of mine.
Oh my dear--it's not what's screwed you up, it's what you can do. I've never been a huge fan of Freud but think about the Id and how it comes to the fore when we sleep. In dreams. All of us dream of death, horror and fantastical things. You my dear ARE the luckiest person on earth, in that you can raise and lower that Id, that 'thing' AT WILL and then put it to paper beautifully. Thank you for years of reading pleasures. I wish for one thing. Audio of all novels in your own voice.
why do people have to pit talent against each other? I can appreciate all forms of talent. You don't have to diss, reject or forget other works or singers who found fame through a televised audition (which is what Idol is) in order to pay true tribute to the craftsmanship of legends like Speilberg and King. Not if you lack conviction, you can appreciate all forms of talent.
King is perceived by the masses as a writer of pulp thriller novels, but the truth known by his readers is that he's a top-tier crafter of story--a tremendous writer who should have more mainstream awards and accolades from academics. Except that, frankly, their opinions don't really matter, precisely because they've completely missed his genius.
@moviedude1500 -- I take it then that you read past the point of the boys with the girl? I didn't want to give out any spoiler, but if you did read that part, then I'm glad I wrote what I did. If you haven't finished the book yet, King does his norm and sums up the moral of the story in a couple of pages where he starts out with "So you leave..." and ends with "All the rest is darkness." This part is by far my favorite pages of the book and from any book for that matter.
@moviedude1500 "It" is by far my favorite of King's :) There's a point in it which comes off a bit "wierd" and when you come to that point, no doubt you might think the same. For me, that point is a reference of the kid's losing their innocence and thus moving on past childhood which is a theme in the book...
Stephen King is the only author I read...im inlove with his books...My favorite would have to be Stephen Kings IT...That book gave me the creeps. I love his books!!!
If you guys like Stephen King then check out his son, who is an author now, Joe Hill. He is avoiding running on his dad's name, and is one of the nicest and coolest people I ever had a chance to talk to. He is also a great writer. Look up Horns or 20th century Ghost Story. He has started off promising.
@MercedesKawasaki Dude awesome!! I know exactly how you feel!! IT was my first book by KING, and i couldn't read anything else for about a month until i discovered the rest of King's books! Yeah I read Under the Dome...I finished it so quickly because I couldn't stop reading. Its amazing. What a strange coincidence, I'm reading Desperation right now, about halfway through! It is....well, it's KING which is the same as saying its amazing! Nice to meet another Constant Reader! See ya!
"King has more depth. The Cthulu mythos was fascinating but many of the stories lacked the closure that I would have wanted" That's just the things though, Lovecraft didn't want to do it the way people wanted, he wanted it to show how hollow and cold the universe was. And that, I'm afraid, is depth.
@delloliod You are indeed a brave soul to have willingly suffered through them all. The trailers and what I read while hiking were all that I could take of Meyer's work. To me her entire thesis was absurd. High school Vampires that sparkle in the daylight. Q-If not for providing a good hunting ground why would a Vampire submit to being in high school forever? And with that, why would a Vampire 'protect' its prey? And I thought your reviews on your channel were very good. keep it up!
