What I’d really like to see are It, The Stand and The Dark Tower epic each made into an HBO series. That has really turned out to be a wonderful medium for epic novels and series, especially those that feature a large tapestry of characters (like Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire). It’s great for character driven stuff; they have more time to wallow in their drama instead of being rushed through it. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter could have done better justice this way, but there was too much money to be made in the films.
I haven't watched or read the Game of Thrones thing, but yes, a better quality series, with enough room to explore and play would be great -- not a two- or four-part mainstream TV station (well, unless it's FX -- they've kicked ass with American Horror Story, I think they can go anywhere King has gone).
I'm not really a fan of the LotR movies, although there's been a few HP movies I enjoyed. But really, when you try to translate a sprawling work to the screen of any sort, the more canvass you have, the better.
I realized I missed the mark after I wrote that. I was mainly thinking of The Stand, and Dark Tower 7, where the Crimson King turns out to be kind of a dud,
yeah, he really was. It's not that it's an "invalid" ending, but it certainly seemed a let-down after a humungous, 20 year (or whatever it was) sprawling 7 book series.
The Running Man, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Pet Sematery and The Dead Zone are other examples of books of his with superb climaxes and endings.
Yeah, I think those are all great. The Running Man movie was a joke, btw; but I *love* his novella. and now it's clear that he was probably strung out on coke or something while writing it -- he claims to have finished it in a 36-hour hell-bent-for-leather race for the hills. it's one of the fastest reads I've had with him too.
I was really disappointed that Pet Semetary didn't translate to screen as well; I really think it was a solid book, thematically. When King takes time to choose his threads appropriately, he gets a solid canvas in place.... I mean, a doctor whose occupation is saving lives and who is skeptical of magic, afflicted with an ominous nightmare and dead-spirit guide, who then has tragedy impact his family that TEMPTS him to do something he not only has a natural bent toward doing but is personally motivated to do (i.e., heal/restore life), despite knowing it'll turn out poorly? It's as tragic a story as Macbeth's.
Haven't read 11/22/63, but intend to at some point. Also haven't read Under the Dome, and feel no real urge to.
it's one of those books where I enjoy reading the individual scenes, I just don't have a lot of motivation to keep slogging because I'm not sure where it's going. I've heard good things about 11/22/63.
Have you read Dreamcatcher? If so, you would probably say it was yet another attempt by King to rewrite The Tommyknockers (man, he must really have a love/hate relationship with The Tommyknockers).
Lol! Little green toothless men... and women.
I did read Dreamcatcher when it came out. I remember really liking the first few chapters, then it just got worse and worse. There was a reference to Pennywise at the end that I appreciated, but otherwise, kind of meh...
Getting back to the difference between his earlier and later stuff, I’d say there’s an edginess and intensity to his earlier work that his later work tends to lack somewhat by comparison, but this is also true of other writers. In King’s case, I don’t know if it’s related to his “sobriety cycleâ€, but it could be, at least in part. In any case, his own experience and struggle with addiction surely gave him a better feel for such characters as Jack Torrance in The Shining, who is as convincing a fictional portrait of a dry drunk struggling to remain sober for the love of his family as I’ve ever read. I believe he would’ve made it, too, if that damn haunted hotel hadn’t pushed him over the edge.
I suspect (as I do some writing too) that an author is edgier and less polished earlier in one's career, but at some point the edge kind of dulls a bit. It's kind of like innocence vs experience; older and wiser, true, but less liable to take big chances and do crazy things that might pay off when you're desperate enough. You might fail big early in the career, but it's usually a beautiful explosion. The act of becoming more well-rounded necessarily means become less edgy and extreme.... alas. the fire dies down a bit. You've already uttered the words in your soul and might feel you have less to say.
I’m a fantasy and horror geek, and love the supernatural, but it’s the characters and drama that form the foundation of quality fiction of any genre.
yes, exactly. That's exactly it. Stories are about people. The other things make the story juicier, but they can't provide the core of human drama.
Some filmmakers of King’s horror novels were slow to understand why his stuff works for so many readers, as have writers who tried to imitate him.
They all just saw the surface thrills but missed the essence of the characters.
There’s obviously a lot of generic stuff in the genre section, like all the pale (and in some cases downright awful) Tolkien imitators who first emerged when publishers like Ace saw a market for generic fantasy back in the 70s following the Tolkien craze. But on the other side of the same coin is the “literary†fantasy that gets more respect than it deserves. In uppity literary circles, drama and story are looked down upon. “Literary†fiction is thus boring more often than not, but that’s considered a virtue!
meh. I could have been an academic, but I feel like I'm down to earth, with grittier tastes. I want the human element, not the "high art." That is the stuff that resonates with me.
Did you ever read Donaldson? Some people are hard on him because he can be wordy, but I enjoyed how he blends horror into fantasy in his Thomas Covenant series, as well as psychological (the nature of evil) and philosophical themes (existential thought). I read his first series when I was only ten or so, and some of the scenes in The Illearth War still creep me out.
Have you read Wicked by Gregory Maguire? I was excited about exploring Oz and its characters in an adult novel, but it turned out to be the kind of ponderous “literary†novel I have trouble finishing, where the characters have nearly inscrutable motives, and the story takes a back seat to tedious themes. As if we needed a novel like this to teach us that apartheid laws are inhumane. The story ends up being beside the point, a weak vehicle to promote self-evident themes and show off the writer’s literary talent and brilliant use of allegory (and nothing deadens a story like conscious usage of allegory as the main inspiration). The Harry Potter books by comparison, because they are character and story driven, made the themes of bigotry and upper class superiority seem much more relevant and urgent to me than Wicked did. I share SK’s belief that if you get the story right and bring the characters to life—let the story take over, as he does—the themes take care of themselves.
It's so funny you mention Macguire. I want to read him, I really really do; and I have my copy of Wicked; but I honestly only got a few pages into it before becoming bored. I never continued. I'm a HUGE fan of the Wicked musical, but again, it's all about people people people. The story is accessible in the Broadway show, and the music/lyrics convey strong sense of character and motivation. I know it's more of its own story rather than capturing the details of the book, but I just enjoy it much more.