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Opinions on Stephen King (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by penquin@lemm.ee to c/books@lemmy.world

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This may sound dumb, but I've never read for this man. I've always just heard about him on social media but never ventured to read his work. Opinions, please. Should I invest? Feeling like fiction lately. I've read so much non-fiction ~~through~~ throughout my life that I think I deserve a couple of fiction books to get busy with for a little while. Thanks in advance

EDIT: Thank you so much to all who answered. I have read and appreciated every single comment. I have decided to start with fairy tale since I ran into the book at Walmart. So giving that a shot to see. Thank you so much

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[–] penquin@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That bad? I'm getting mixed signals all over. Lol

[–] DokPsy@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Like Tolkien, his writing style isn't for everyone. Some are drawn in by the madness and cosmic horror realized, others can't penetrate the veil and tune out. Then again, that's what's great about fiction and story telling. Finding what works best for you.

[–] penquin@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've read "the hobbit" last month and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed it. Then watched the movie and got really mad how they didn't follow story. Same thing with "the count of Monte Cristo", watched the 2000 movie and I wanted to go choke the director of the movie. WTH did they do that for. The whole story was messed up. Lol

[–] DokPsy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I never go into a movie expecting them to stay close to the book. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, each medium has it's own way to tell a story and you can't compare them equally

[–] penquin@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I get it, but the books were so good that the movies made me mad. Especially, the count of Monte cristo. That really got on my nerves. They actually modified the story to tell different events. :/

[–] DokPsy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I'm just sad that the middle earth movies didn't include Tom Bombadil. Yeah, it would have severely interrupted the movie flow but that's kinda Tom's whole deal.

The Hearts in Atlantis movie is wholly different from the book and I really can't get myself to enjoy the movie even when trying not to compare because the underpinning plot drivers were removed. It would be like doing King's Insomnia as a movie and not including the little doctors.

It's complicated and a difficult tightrope to walk for people who enjoy both book and movie stories

[–] person420@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Check out some of his novellas like The Langoliers, If It Bleeds, Elevation, etc. They are shorter reads (for King at least, usually only a couple hundred pages) and generally get straight to the point (instead of spending a chapter describing a scene).

That and his short stories are some of his best work. It might make you want to jump into some of his more iconic stuff or allow you to realize you don't love his writing style and save you a couple thousand pages.

The Boogeyman is my favorite short story from him. Jerusalem's Lot is also the short story that Salem's Lot comes from. Another great read.