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Is Gerald's Game worth reading? I stopped reading his novels after The Tommyknockers, and jumped back in for the Mr. Mercedes Bill Hodges trilogy - which I loved. Made attempts with The Dome and Doctor Sleep, but both got put down (for the count).
I stopped reading his novels after The Tommyknockers, and jumped back in for the Mr. Mercedes Bill Hodges trilogy - which I loved. Made attempts with The Dome and Doctor Sleep, but both got put down (for the count).
I think King's work falls into 3 periods:
Early work, done when he was just getting started and still hungry. He prose wasn't exactly going to win any awards, but the stories were great. In this period I would put:
CARRIE
'SALEM'S LOT
THE SHINING
THE STAND
THE DEADZONE
FIRESTARTER
Drunk work, done when (by his own admission) King was a full-on alcoholic and drug addict. In this period I would put:
CUJO
CHRISTINE
PET SEMATARY
THE TALISMAN
IT
MISERY
THE TOMMYKNOCKERS
THE DARK HALF
Sober work, done after he cleaned up --- and later after he recovered from a near fatal accident.
NEEDFUL THINGS
GERALD'S GAME
DOLORES CLAIBORNE
And everything since.
I love most of his early work. I enjoy a lot of his sober work --- and really love some of it. It was his middle period when he was high out of his mind more often than not that I just lost connection with most of his work. I know his hardcore fans love IT, but I thought it was a muddled mess and almost incoherent in places. Very obviously the work of a hardcore addict.
I've been on a SK kick lately. Reread IT and am almost done with rereading The Tommyknockers, which directly references 3 of his earlier works:
- The Dead Zone - Stillson and John Smith
- IT - clown peaking above a manhole.
- The Shining movie - Jack Nicholson, his famous line and woodsman weapon of choice.
Some people say he hates Kubrick's film - I don't see why he would make the direct reference if that were so.
Some of his best work is from his drunk work, as you call it. The Tommyknockers has cemented it's 5th place in my novel standings:
1 It
2 The Stand
3 The Shining
4 'Salem's Lot
5 The Tommyknockers
I've skipped lots of his novels after The Dead Zone. And have read the Hodges Trilogy and loved it (Mr. Mercedes).
I haven't made a short story list, but that would be interesting.
Different Seasons, 4 short stories from the drunk period, includes two that are noteworthy:
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
&
The Body
Both made into successful films - Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me.
I plan on rereading The Stand, The Shining, and especially 'Salem's Lot. And I just found 2 hardcovers and a paperback that I bought and never read: Desperation, The Regulators, and Rose Madder. I may or may not read them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S.
I couldn't get into it. But I only tried once.
I think King's work falls into 3 periods:
Early work, done when he was just getting started and still hungry. He prose wasn't exactly going to win any awards, but the stories were great. In this period I would put:
CARRIE
'SALEM'S LOT
THE SHINING
THE STAND
THE DEADZONE
FIRESTARTER
Drunk work, done when (by his own admission) King was a full-on alcoholic and drug addict. In this period I would put:
CUJO
CHRISTINE
PET SEMATARY
THE TALISMAN
IT
MISERY
THE TOMMYKNOCKERS
THE DARK HALF
Sober work, done after he cleaned up --- and later after he recovered from a near fatal accident.
NEEDFUL THINGS
GERALD'S GAME
DOLORES CLAIBORNE
And everything since.
I love most of his early work. I enjoy a lot of his sober work --- and really love some of it. It was his middle period when he was high out of his mind more often than not that I just lost connection with most of his work. I know his hardcore fans love IT, but I thought it was a muddled mess and almost incoherent in places. Very obviously the work of a hardcore addict.
I would imagine there’s been renewed interest in some of your adaptations in the wake of It. I know that directors like Ben Affleck and Josh Boone had flirted with a two-film version of The Stand, and I’d heard that your novel Insomnia would be potentially turned into a virtual-reality series. Any updates?
You just never know until it’s gonna happen, but the VR thing is still percolating away. I don’t think it’s dead or anything like that, although I haven’t heard about it lately. There’s talk about another thing, an animated feature, but I can’t tell you anything further — it’s a secret. That looks like it might happen. There’s talk about doing The Stand as an extended TV series, possibly for Showtime or CBS All Access, and there’s been some interest in developing Salem’s Lot as a feature, probably because people are saying, “Well, we took an old miniseries called It and turned it into a phenomenon, so maybe we can do it with something else.” Nothing succeeds like excess!
I would love to see both THE STAND and 'SALEM'S LOT redone, since none of the previous film versions have captured the original novels very well.
Is Gerald's Game worth reading? I stopped reading his novels after The Tommyknockers, and jumped back in for the Mr. Mercedes Bill Hodges trilogy - which I loved. Made attempts with The Dome and Doctor Sleep, but both got put down (for the count).
I agree about not getting into the others you named, but I found Gerald's Game pretty good--very creepy.
I would love to see both THE STAND and 'SALEM'S LOT redone, since none of the previous film versions have captured the original novels very well.
I've said before I'm a big fan of the miniseries of The Stand. For what it was.. A TV Miniseries.. it was VERY well done. Short of Flagg, I thought the casting was excellent in it (Ray Walston, Matt Frewer, Bill Faggerbakke and Ossie Davis are standouts in my mind) and while I agree with you that there were limitations because it WAS a TV miniseries, and I would love to see it remade to where they could include "The Kid".. That still doesn't take away from the miniseries.
I'll also mention.. This completely escaped me.. Thanks Mark, for posting about it.. I'll certainly check it out. To be honest.. I read Gerald's Game many years ago.. I don't even remember it.
I've said before I'm a big fan of the miniseries of The Stand. For what it was.. A TV Miniseries.
I don't disagree. As TV miniseries of that era go, it was quite good. And yes, some of the casting was truly excellent. But some of the casting seemed a little clueless.
Flagg is supposed to be a sinister menace, but in the series he seems like a roadie for Whitesnake. When the Big Baddie of Armageddon isn't at all scary, it robs the story of a lot of its teeth. And Miguel Ferrer was a fine actor, but he was completely miscast in his role.
Apologies to It, but Gerald's Game shows how to really adapt a Stephen King bestseller
Yes--I totally agree.
I read the book when it came out and really loved it--one of King's creepier more thoughtful novels.
I hoped the film would be good, but didn't expect too much. Didn't see how they could really make a film out of all that thought. Was I wrong, or what?
Really good movie. Congrats Netflix. Finally a King movie at least the book's equal.
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