I had forgotten that I had already read this as part of a short story collection but it was well worth a re-read. This has all the elements of a great I had forgotten that I had already read this as part of a short story collection but it was well worth a re-read. This has all the elements of a great horror short story. No-stop spine tingling action, extremely gruesome details, and a nice finishing twist. If you like horror, ya gotta read this one. ...more
"You must be human . . . how weirdly exotic and excitingly perverse.” Oh my! Being a Stephen King fan and having read more than 40 of his books, I can'"You must be human . . . how weirdly exotic and excitingly perverse.” Oh my! Being a Stephen King fan and having read more than 40 of his books, I can't believe I have not heard more about this one. Fucking Fantastic! Being a King fan I catch myself sometimes being more critical of his work than I am of others. I think it is because I have given him so many 5 star reviews that I start wondering if I am being partial and therefore look for reasons why maybe I should rate one lower. If truth be told, I have probably given some of his books 4 stars that were better than books by other writers in which I gave a 5 star. Well, the more I read his work, the more I accept and am not ashamed of my fanaticism of his work. He is, without question, one of the greatest writers of my generation. Okay, enough about the King and more about 'Needful Things'. Have I already mentioned it is FUCKING FANTASTIC! I didn't bother counting (or Googling)how many characters there are in this book but it must be in the hundreds and they are people and places that are connected with the likes of: Cujo, Dead Zone, The Body, and The Dark Half just to name a few. This was a long novel; 690 pages in my hard-cover, but as is with most of Kings work, it is easy to read, entertaining, goose-bumply, hard to put down and FUCKING FANTASTIC! Needful Things, the name of a new shop opened in a famous 'King' town called 'Castle Rock' starts out grabbing the readers attention from the beginning and never lets go. The tempo, and the plot builds to a crescendo of Lightning, dynamite and chaos that left me with that giddy excitement that only book lover understands. Books are my drug, and having finished 'Needful Things' I am higher than a kite! "“I'm having a magenta day. Not just red, but magenta!” ~S. King ...more
i love the way Mary Stewart portrays Mordred in this version. I don't want to give too much away but don't exp What a great culmination to the series.
i love the way Mary Stewart portrays Mordred in this version. I don't want to give too much away but don't expect the bad guy--traitor of Arthur we have so come to accept.
This is a re-read and I still consider it a fantastic series. ...more
Happy Halloween one and all. And when we think of Halloween we all think of a good scare, right? And when we get a good scare, what happens? Those 4.5
Happy Halloween one and all. And when we think of Halloween we all think of a good scare, right? And when we get a good scare, what happens? Those little goose bumps rise up all over our bodies. Now here's the thousand dollar question, class: who can tell me why we get those little goose bumps? Well, if you don't know, I'll shoot you a clue. Goose bumps are empty hair follicles.
If you pay attention to much of the animal kingdom you will notice that, as an instinctual, defensive habit, the hair, fur, hide (Hyde) will stick out or fluff up to make them appear bigger in hopes of intimidating an adversary. Over a long period of evolution the human race has shed most of its hair, but we have not shed the instinct of a defensive posture when spooked. That's right, goose bumps are our bodies old habit of trying to fluff itself to appear larger when faced with a threat. They really are useless now since we no longer have a hide. Ah, but we do still have a Hyde.
This was a re-read for me, the first time being when I was in my early 20's. The book was good then, but with years of experience under my belt it holds so much more meaning.
Like so many others, I, like Dr Jekyll, have drank my potions and lordy lordy do they have a way of bringing out the bad boy (or girl). And sometimes those potions aren't spirits or opiates, they are circumstances or experiences that bring out another side of our character that might seem the opposite of our normal behavior.
Stevenson did a great job in his depiction of the dual personality of human kind. This classic, part of the Holy Trinity of horror (the other two being Dracula and Frankenstein) is a great example of just how easy it is to lose ourselves over to our baser nature. After all, even though it seems like it has been a long period of time, we are really still not that far removed from our hairy ancestors. It might take a full moon, or maybe a few shots of Jack Daniels, but from time to time that transformation from man to werewolf tries to overtake us and take us on a berserk ride.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an antiquated writing but it is short and the story still has the power to hold the reader and entertain. Even though Frankenstein and Dracula have shared more popularity over the years, it's my opinion that this novella is the superior of the three. If you haven't already, this is one that every reader should try. It just might give you some goose bumps. ...more
Some may have noticed that for some time now I have only been leaving ratings and have been thin on my reviews. Between Hurricane Irma, (I still have Some may have noticed that for some time now I have only been leaving ratings and have been thin on my reviews. Between Hurricane Irma, (I still have co-workers in Puerto Rico trying to restore power) an illness in the family, and the process of selling and buying a new house, my energy reserves have left me little interest in taking the time to pen my thoughts on the books I have read. But considering Lolita is on my 'Five Start Favorites' shelf, I feel I owe it the consideration of my opinion.
Considering the controversy and the mixed reviews on Lolita, I have tip-toed around the way I want to convey my feeling about the novel. This was a re-read for me and I didn't want any one thinking I was a pervert for having a second helping of this book. Well, actually, I am a pervert... but that's beside the point. I have been re-reading a lot of my old fav's lately, so it was inevitable that I would eventually get to a book that I consider one of my top 10 favorite novels--a favorite, not because of the plot content but because of the quality of writing. I love writing. I have self published, not with intent as a profession, but as a hobby, and reading something as masterful as Lolita is enlightening to the creative writer in me.
As for the controversy surrounding this literary masterpiece, let me share a quote with you from Oscar Wilde; “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”
Believe me, I can understand the reluctance to read Lolita, and the disgust from those who have. After all, this is a story about a pedophile. And this pedophile, Humbert Humbert, is a detestable monster. Not only did he take advantage of a twelve-year-old girl, but after spending some time with her, he began plotting the possibility of producing, through our poor Dolly Hayes, another offspring that he might make his new nymphet. Oh, and he didn't stop there; his mind went even farther, imagining the day he might have a Grand-Lo. There are definitely some cringe moments throughout this tale and I think that may have been the moment when Humbert took on a whole new level of monster in my mind.
Okay, so this guy Humbert is bad. He's real bad. He's a repulsive, sick monster. He has seduced an under-age girl and probably scarred her mind for life. But wait! That's the crime that stands out to the audience of Lolita, but is Dolly's molestation the worst that happens in this book? Didn't Humbert murder another human being? I know... I know, the bastard deserved it. And believe me, if someone hurt one of my daughters or granddaughters like that, Humberts actions would look like childs-play compared to what I would do. I only point it out as a segue to my next question; what is worse, molestation, or murder?
I imagine (and would surely find if I searched) there are reviewers who have bashed Nabokov for this story. They feel that to be able to come up with this story and actually write it, he must surely be a sick old pervert, while at the same time those same readers give rave reviews to the likes of Thomas Harris's, Silence of the Lambs, Bret Easton Ellis's, American Psycho, and Robert Bloch's, Psycho. In no way am I downplaying the tragedy of abused children or the pain and suffering of rape victims, but for those who slam this novel because of it's plot, let me ask you this question; what would be worse to happen to you, taken advantage of and molested at the age of twelve? or slashed in a shower by a maniac wearing his dead mothers clothes? or looking at broken fingernails on the wall of the well in which you are trapped while a serial killer above you demands you put lotion on your skin?
So here's my thought; I liked those other novels I referenced and I like many more that are similar. I like them because the writers created believable characters. Characters that are about as monstrous as they come. And this is what Nabokov has done. So, no, I don't despise him or imagine that he is a sicko. What I do think is that he was one of the most talented writers in history and that this book, Lolita, is one of the great masterpieces in literary history.
I woudn't blame a soul if they refused to read Lolita, just like I couldn't blame anyone for not wanting to read something as horrific as Silence of the Lambs, or American Psycho. But if you do, keep in mind, you are not reading an erotic letter in Hustler magazine designed for a deranged audience, you are reading a novel involving a very powerful plot with a character that has been developed like no other.
Avoid it if you want. Hate it if you will. But as for me, my opinion still stands after this second read. Lolita is a masterpiece.
So, now that I have read this a second time, I think I like it even more than the first go round. Roland of Gilead and his ka-tet of gunslingers, Sale So, now that I have read this a second time, I think I like it even more than the first go round. Roland of Gilead and his ka-tet of gunslingers, Salems Lot, light sabers, Dr Doom. The book isn't perfect, but King really shows his creative chops in this one.
It's tough to pick a favorite, but this one definitely ranks among the best of the series....more
Whew! Finally finished the massive last book of this massive series. I feel exhausted, but in a good way. And now for the intimidating task of trying Whew! Finally finished the massive last book of this massive series. I feel exhausted, but in a good way. And now for the intimidating task of trying to review this thing.
First off, I know this is going down as a review for The Dark Tower, but it is also going to be my feelings about the series as a whole. After all, this is the book that wraps up the whole crazy story in one nice package. So, since this was a re-read I guess I'll back up and start with a little history about my first encounter with Roland Deschain.
Having been a Stephen King fan from the very beginning, reading Carrie when first published and then just about every other book he wrote along the way, I think it's accurate to say that when I first came across The Gunslinger in the early 80's, I found it to be quite a head scratcher. Is it a Western, fantasy? What the hell? Not only was it a mystery, but I could tell by the way it ended that there just had to be a sequel, and yet there didn't seem to be any on the horizon. So just about the time I was beginning to forget about it, along comes The Drawing of the Three, and BAM! Okay, so know I am really enthralled with the tale, I have gotten to know Roland a little better and there is now a Ka-tet in his party to help him on his quest to find a tower. I'm ready for the journey, and... nothing. Or so it seemed for several more years, once again.
Well, now I can't really tell you why, but because of the lag and just life in general, I couldn't find the desire to read the other books when they were published. It wasn't until around 2008 that I finally finished the series because a friend gave me the books. I loved most of the final books , but because of the gap in time it took me 26 years to read the entire series. I knew there were details I had forgotten and I was impressed with the ending so I knew that eventually I would have to re-read the series. And now, here I am.
The final book didn't quite have the "wow" factor that it did the first time I read it, but that goes without saying because this time around I knew what was coming. Still, in my opinion, The Dark Tower has to be a 5 star novel. It's obvious that King borrowed from many tales and myths like the Arthurian tales, The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, etc. to create this epic story, and yet, even though it sounds contradictory to what I just stated, this is one of the most unique pieces in literature I have ever read. Stephen King was and is a master of horror, but with the Dark Tower, he has given us a spaghetti western, Oz, vampire, fantasy, Sci-fi, horror with characters from The Stand, Salems Lot, and Hearts in Atlantis, and some guy named Stephen King. In a way, this 36 year journey in reading and re-reading The Dark Tower series has put me on the same path as the gunslinger. Going back and repeating it all over again. "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
I believe the Dark Tower series deserves to be considered a classic masterpiece in literature. As a whole I would have to give it a 4 star rating, only because in my opinion, I did not like Wizard and Glass. I think the way King has tied so many of his novels and characters together through the years, especially through the Dark Tower, is genius. He may have a few stand alone books like, It, The Stand, The Green Mile, etc. that might be considered better novels, but love him or hate him, when he is gone, Stephen will be remembered, and I guarantee that The Dark Tower will be remembered whenever he is mentioned. His story will live on. And the gunslinger, Roland Deschain, will still be trudging through the wastelands in search of his elusive Dark Tower.
This being my second time around with the series, I've anticipated this one and wondered how I would take it this time now that I know the whole story This being my second time around with the series, I've anticipated this one and wondered how I would take it this time now that I know the whole story. The first time around I grew tired of it because, even though it filled me in with a lot of Rolands back story, it was really just one giant lump of... gag me... romance.
Well, now that I do know the rest of the story I liked this one even less than the first time. It's unfortunate because the books opens on a great note with the conclusion of the riddling adventure with Blaine and ends well with the OZ like appearance of an Emerald City and a visit from Randall Flagg (even though, because he nor the OZ event ever comes up again makes me wonder, what was the point?) But in between these two entertaining pieces that do involve the Ka-tet and the journey to the Dark Tower, there lies a mass of shit known throughout the land as "romance". I'm not even going to try to rehash anything of importance during the back-story because in literally several hundred pages of this teen-age love affair, the most exciting thing to happen involved a stand-off with a sling-shot.
I still believe that as a whole this is a fantastic series, but in my opinion, this 800+ page novel was completely unnecessary. King could have added this back-story at any time and accomplished it in one chapter.
And now that that is out of the way, I'm off to #5. ...more
This is the book where everything comes together in the journey toward the Dark Tower. Jake has crossed over and adopted Oy into the group, Eddie and This is the book where everything comes together in the journey toward the Dark Tower. Jake has crossed over and adopted Oy into the group, Eddie and Susan prove themselves as gunslingers, and Jake shows his potential chops in his shootout in Lud.
There is a ton of greatness in this 3rd book of the series, but I give it only 4 stars because for me, much of this story felt like a suspense novel where I was following the lengthy chase scenes, or the connection from Jakes New York to Mid-World. It was good stuff but just seemed to drag on a little too long.
Still, this was an adventurous novel to read and Kings style, as usual, pulls me into his story and makes it difficult to put the book down. The conclusion of Part III with the group aboard Blaine the Mono, riddling for their lives, is one of my favorite parts of the entire series. And so now I am off to Part IV. ...more
This is my second read of The Drawing of the Three and I'm going to leave my rating at 5 stars. The book isn't perfect, but it's still damn good. One This is my second read of The Drawing of the Three and I'm going to leave my rating at 5 stars. The book isn't perfect, but it's still damn good. One of the best of the series.
I'll be honest; the first time I read this, which was many moons ago, I didn't care for either Eddie or Odetta/Detta very much. To me, their characters felt like trash that Roland had to pick up along the way to fulfill his quest. It wasn't until the following book in the series that I began to see them in a different light and then later in the series began to really love them.
Now that I am on my second go-round I am seeing things right off the bat that I didn't catch before. This time I am immediately noticing, not only the significance, but the power of both Eddie and Odetta/Detta, who I will now call 'Susannah'. I am especially keen on Eddie. He is a lot tougher and braver than I gave him credit for the first time. The first time I read this I was blinded by personal experience because of addicts I was around during my childhood, and because Eddie was a heroin addict I wrote him off before really giving him a chance. My only problem with Eddie this time around has nothing to do with his drug addiction but rather the way King had Eddie and Odetta fall in love so quickly. Nah... not happening.
Aside from my new found appreciation for Eddie and Susannah, the thing that really makes this book stand out is our featured gunslinger; Roland Deschain. Even though he showed his chops in the first book, The Gunslinger, by wiping out the entire population of Tull, I thought his show-downs when going through the doors to Eddie and Susannah's worlds portrayed more of the real bad-ass Roland. This was Clint Eastwood x 10 even with his internal surmising about "tooter-fish sandwiches" and "honk mah-fahs".
Yes, this is still one of my favorites and now I am on to the Wastelands....more
Even Stephen King admitted that this book was a mess, and I have to agree. The first time I read it, which was about 25 years ago, I thought the book Even Stephen King admitted that this book was a mess, and I have to agree. The first time I read it, which was about 25 years ago, I thought the book was pretty good but didn't like the ending. I thought maybe knowing beforehand how it was going to end, I might not be so disappointed. Well, this time around I am wondering how in the hell I thought the first part of the book was good? This thing really was a mess. Political rantings, overkill on fillers, and still a horrible ending. As a fan who has read every one of Kings books, I hereby proclaim that The Tommyknockers is now, officially, my least favorite book by Stephen King. Quite honestly, if this were any other author, I would have probably given this 1 star. ...more
I've read all of McCarthy's books including a couple of his screen plays, and this is the first time I have re-read one of his novels. I chose this onI've read all of McCarthy's books including a couple of his screen plays, and this is the first time I have re-read one of his novels. I chose this one because I constantly see it mentioned by many reviewers as Cormack's best work, and when I first read it, it just didn't impress me that way. I'm a huge fan of his work so I was wondering what I missed.
I definitely appreciated the book much more the second time around. What especially stands out is the writing genius of McCarthy which I think I missed it the first go round because I was caught off guard by the sheer brutality of the story; very similar to how many miss the brilliance of Nabokov's writing in "Lolita" because they are blind-sided by the plot involving a pedophile.
I think this story also had an extra kick to it, for me, because it followed "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" which I just finished a couple of days ago. By the way, if a reader believes that McCarthy is being unrealistically graphic in his morbid details of the bloody western crusades, let my tell ya, what Cormack is doing is bypassing the Hollywood imagery of romanticized bullshit and telling us how it really was. If you want to believe that damsels in distress were rescued from savages by heroic cow-pokes, then read Louis L'Amour. If you want to know that in reality, many of those cowboy boot-heels (and Indian moccasins) were used to crush the skulls of infants because the scalp hunters collected as much hair as possible for a payoff, then read McCarthy.
For a wrap, I'll just say that I have a lot higher opinion of Blood Meridian than I did before, it really is a classic, but in my opinion there are a few of his novels that I like more. That doesn't imply that it is a sub-par novel, it's just hard for a piece of work to find its way to the top when it is surrounded by a bunch of fellow masterpieces....more
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