Chris–Update/Dark Half wrap-up

So our internet service went down for a week or so, but then I went ahead and got started on The Dark Half anyway, cause I’m running out of year, and then when we got reconnected I was over halfway done so it seemed silly to post about starting it since I was almost done and I thought “Well, why not just wait until you’re finished and THEN post?’ and I said “Yep, that’s a good idea” so I went ahead and finished the book but then got super lazy and never posted about it and so now I’m already into Four Past Midnight and figured that I’d better get caught up.

So here I am.  Onward!

So, The Dark Half.  In my opinion, this is King’s most autobiographical work.  He’s a writer, Beaumont’s a writer.  The both had pen names.  They both went to weird lengths to keep their secret identities secret.  They both had said secret identities outed by some guy who had a little bit of luck and a lot of research.

However, as far as I know–Richard Bachman never killed anyone.

This is another Castle Rock book, so many of the locations are familiar, and there are the inevitable references–Sheriff Bannerman, Frank Dodd, Cujo–but really that’s it.  This is focused on writers, and writing, and their processes, and how sometimes they become different people when they are writing.  And it’s scary.  King often talks about how he’s compelled to write, and that he’d be doing it even if he didn’t get paid, simply because HE HAS TO.  Much like Thad Beaumont at the end of this one.

Speaking of George Bannerman, I was honestly surprised when Cujo ate him way back when.  Even though I had read that one before, I was thinking that Bannerman was the Sheriff in a great many books.  But I like Alan Pangborn.  And I hope to see more of him.

We will see Richard Bachman again… unlike Beaumont and George Stark, Stephen and Richard are still at least on speaking terms.

 

Chris–wrapping up The Tommyknockers

Well, my concerns were handled quite nicely. This is why you go back and re-read books. You get fuzzy on the details, start thinking that things didn’t really make sense, and you start to under-appreciate a story.

I mentioned that I thought that the opening rhyme about the Tommyknockers didn’t seem to fit with what I knew was going to happen. And honestly, there are no actual Tommyknockers in this book. That’s just a convenient handy name that someone picks up on and it just happens to stick. And the other instances that I was worried about were really just attempts for characters to make sense of what was happening to them, what they just could not believe was happening. So everything really falls into place.

The one complaint is the structure. You start off thinking that this is Bobbi’s story. Well, then it becomes Bobbi and Gard. And then we get a history lesson. And then a bunch of other characters–some of which get full chapters. Then back to Gard and Bobbi, then a bunch more characters… and so on. So you sort of lose track over where the focus is supposed to be. Somehow it works, but it does derail the narrative.

In the end, this is a book about a friend who thinks he is doing the right thing. He thought he was the hero, but he lost his way, failed to really stop and think about what he was doing, and why he was doing it. He failed to see the consequences of his actions, and failed to realize that by “supporting” his friend, he was simply losing her. Addiction, co-dependence, and obsession are really the central themes here–as well as the fact that you can break free.

There are a ton of connections in here. Charlie McGee, John Smith, and even Pennywise the clown are referenced. Jack Sawyer makes an appearance. Someone says something about Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”.  There is even mention of a writer in Maine whose books are filled with “made-up monsters and dirty words”. Now who could that be?

 

Chris–The Tommyknockers

Late last night and the night before,

Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at my door.

That’s how this one starts.  So honestly, it sounds like there’s some Slenderman-like creepy thing out in woods, getting ready to eat you.

Well, that’s not the direction that this one goes in.  And honestly–even though I have read this one semi-recently–I’m a little worried about how what is actually happening lines up with some of the events in here.  I seem to remember that I liked this one, but I can’t remember how everything comes together…

So here’s hoping!

 

Chris–Misery wrap-up

OK, we’ve seen glimpses of Stephen King in his books before–Gordie Lachance, Stuttering Bill–but in Misery, he really gets autobiographical.

Of course, there are some connections in here.  Early on, you learn that Paul is near Sidewinder, Colorado.  Remember that town?  It’s just down the road from the Overlook Hotel–or what’s left of it.  In fact, the old Overlook gets a mention later on.  There is one other odd thing.  Paul has an early memory of his mother going to Boston with a Mrs. Kaspbrack–could this be Eddie Kaspbrack’s mother?  Or another relative?

But WHY would I say that this is autobiographical?  Let’s get to that.

Paul Sheldon is Stephen King.  There a re clues throughout the book–Sheldon feels an urge, a NEED to write, regardless of whether or not anyone else is going to read what he ends up with.  He writes for himself.  Later Sheldon thinks about how he’s sort of been typecast as a “popular” writer, someone who will never really be taken seriously.  A fact which, while doing nothing to lessen book sales, definitely hurts.

If you’ve read any of the Author’s Notes in any book that King has written, you’ll see both of these themes mentioned.  And if you do any reading about King’s life, you will learn that he has struggled mightily with drug and alcohol addiction–again, much like our hero Paul Sheldon.

But it isn’t just these little references.  King straight out breaks the fourth wall in this one, and makes sure that we know that it is King himself telling this story.

In everything that we’ve looked at so far, while King has told the tale, it has always been through a filter.  Some oldtimer from Maine’s backcountry, or a neutral third-party observer.  But here in Misery, King addresses us specifically–with “Constant Reader.”

Now, go back to those Author’s Notes, where King is speaking to you (or me) directly.  What does he call you?  Constant Reader.  And now here, in the middle of this story, he drops that phrase: “She was the embodiment of that Victorian archetype, Constant Reader.”  And that’s just the first time.  He uses it a few more throughout.  This is King, all the way through, unfiltered and real.

His previous books were written to scare US.  Misery is what scares HIM.

 

 

 

Chris–Misery

Not only is it an accurate euphemism for the State of Missouri, it’s also the title of every writer’s worst nightmare come true.  Do you really, REALLY want to meet your biggest fan?

Really?

 

Chris–Eyes of the Dragon, finished and wrapped!

This was a very different book.  First off, it turns out that this is really something of a YA book–it was just written well before YA books were a thing.  On the jacket notes, King mentions how this was the first of his books that his daughter enjoyed.  Now, while the language and horror and gore are toned way down, they are not non-existant.  Everything is just a bit easier to follow.

I wasn’t really expecting this, honestly.  Like I said before, I have read this–I just read it waaaaaay back when I WAS a YA, and I guess that I wasn’t all that impressed with it the first go around.  And really, if this isn’t what you are expecting, you are probably either going to be pleasantly surprised with something new, or you’re going to be disappointed by this odd flavor.

So yes, it is written at an easier reading level.  And it’s written like a bedtime story (while it doesn’t QUITE start out with “Once upon a time”, it’s still pretty close).  And yes, it is a fantasy.  There is a kingdom, and a dragon, and a magician.  And a plot.  And a murder.  And really, that’s what it comes down to.  Once you get past all of those details, what you have left is a story.  And really, no one is better at telling a story than Stephen King.

Now you may think that there is no way that this fantasy story set in the realm of Delain could possibly be connected to the King Universe–but I have a name for you:  FLAGG.  Familiar?  He destroyed much of the world in The Stand.  He was referenced in Carrie.  And we’ll see much, much more of him when we get to The Dark Tower.  Flagg is King’s eternal boogeyman, the original Man in Black.  But that’s still a ways down the road.

So bottom line–it’s a super fast read, and once you get used to the idea of what it is and how it’s presented, it really does grab a hold of you.

Because at it’s heart, it’s a great story.

 

Chris–Eyes of the Dragon

Back at it!

Eyes of the Dragon is a bit of an oddity.  One, while King has done fantasy before–really, what else is The Talisman, or even The Dark Tower?–this is really more along the lines of a high fantasy.  So pretty well completely different than anything else that he’s written.  As with pretty much every book so far, I read this one years ago, and don’t really remember it.  However, looking at the jacket summary, and having gotten a few pages in, I’m pretty certain that this is going to tie into the overall King world quite nicely.

 

Chris–BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS!

So I picked up The Bazaar of Bad Dreams yesterday, and I was so excited!!!  YAY!

Then I put it on my shelf and realized that at the rate I’m going, I won’t get to read it for another 5 years, and I was so sad!!!  BOO!

Still working on The Water Knife, but just about done.  Then back to King!

 

Chris–What? ANOTHER break?

Yep.  Paulo Baccigalupi’s The Water Knife is up for a Goodreads award, and it’s been sitting on my bookshelf, looking at me with an accusing eye…  asking “why haven’t you read me yet?”  So, this is as good a time as any.

 

Chris–OMG FINISHED!!!!

Oh man.  Really.  So let’s wrap this up!

IT.  Here we get to see King not only TELL a great story, but also to CONSTRUCT a great book.  As far as King stories go, From A Buick 8 may honestly be my favorite, but as an entire complete package–I don’t think it gets better than IT.

So why?  The basic run down is that a group of kids discover that their home town is pretty much run by a literal monster that takes the shape of whatever the hell scares you the absolute most and then kills and probably eats you.  This–of course–sets up an epic showdown between good and evil!!!  Only we don’t see that.  WE see a bunch of adults who don’t remember A SINGLE THING about their childhood.  But then they each get a phone call which shatters their imaginary peacefulness.  With the phone call, things begin coming back.  And so as they learn and figure out what happened, what needs to happen, and why they can’t remember, we are right there with them.

Of course, they are pretty much overwhelmed.  They now have to deal with things that they went through–and things that they did–all over again.  And they never had a chance to process, deal, and move on from these events.  So BLAM.  Now, this book is seriously big.  My copy clocks in at 1138 pages altogether, and while that is a ton of words, I truly feel like this took me way too long to read.  And I believe the reason for that is that King loads it down with detail.  SO MUCH DETAIL.  So not only are the characters overwhelmed, but also the readers.  WE now have to deal with all of this information suddenly getting thrust at us.  And maybe not all of us made it…

As the story and the memories progress, things become more and more intense, and move at a faster pace, and the writing matches.  At first, it’s sort of slow.  They all get lost in their individual thoughts, go through a memory, and then we switch to someone else who does the same thing.  When they finally meet, things get a bit blurry.  And once things really get moving, we switch backandforthbackandforthbackandforth…  And then…  well, spoilers and stuff.

While this book really truly does work very well, I have one giant problem with it.  If you’ve read IT, maybe you can guess what it is.  Maybe you had the same problem.  If you haven’t read IT, you may want to skip the rest of this…

So, after the epic showdown back in 1958, the kids are lost in the sewers, unable to find their way out.  This is because the “breakup” has already started to happen.  They’ve started drifting apart, their purpose done–more or less.  Unfortunately, they still need each other, need to belong to the group as a whole.  So, in order to bring them all close again, Bevvie comes up with the brilliant idea that THEY ALL HAVE SEX WITH HER.  And this ultimate act of togetherness will bring them back as one.

Except, no.  Look, throughout the book the theme of the power of children’s beliefs is emphasized, over and over again.  That’s what frightened It, and what ultimately defeated It.  So what do children believe about sex?  That it’s gross.  That it’s weird.  That it’s funny.  Or, most likely, some combination of the three.  So why would this bring them close?

THIS is where Stan and the coke bottle should have happened.  When you are a kid, there is no bond stronger than that of a blood brother or sister.  Those bonds will last a lifetime and then some–ask any kid.  THAT act would have been so much more powerful and meaningful.  Instead, we get a super uncomfortable awkward scene that I don’t think would have worked.

Still, that’s like 5 pages out of the whole–overall, this book is excellent.

There are quiet a few King-isms in here.  Scattered throughout, you’ll see Orinco trucks, Texas Driver, Shawshank Prison, even Frank Dodd gets a mention.  But there are a few surprises.  In The Stand, we had a battle between the actual forces of good and evil–which is very similar to what happens in IT.  Mother Abigail was from Hemingford Home, Nebraska–where Ben has settled down.  Dick Halloran makes a cameo, shinin’ on as bright as can be.  And there is a very familiar 1958 red and white Plymouth Fury.

If you’ve got a couple of weeks between books–grab this one.