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tcgarback's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: A-
King nerds like me should eat this thing UP. I was fascinated by every page. It’s written in no particularly impressive way—it just gets the job done, and I’m happy with that. I’m sure most of this trivia is available widely, as well, maybe, as much of the correspondence, memorabilia, and other documents…but I don’t care. Having all this info in one visually appealing book has delighted me. I love reading about King’s work, and I love reading about his life.
It seems like the other King overview by Bev Vincent (from 2022) is just a mildly revised and expanded version of this book, so I’m going to wait a little until I read that. It feels sort of shady that the 2022 book has SO much of the same material from this companion without any warning on the cover…kind of a scam. But I’ll still read it, lol.
Note: I had to skip over the few pages that discussed the plots of Lisey’s Story and 11/22/63, as I’ve not yet read those books. I’ll come back to those portions of this book once I have read them.
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: A-
King nerds like me should eat this thing UP. I was fascinated by every page. It’s written in no particularly impressive way—it just gets the job done, and I’m happy with that. I’m sure most of this trivia is available widely, as well, maybe, as much of the correspondence, memorabilia, and other documents…but I don’t care. Having all this info in one visually appealing book has delighted me. I love reading about King’s work, and I love reading about his life.
It seems like the other King overview by Bev Vincent (from 2022) is just a mildly revised and expanded version of this book, so I’m going to wait a little until I read that. It feels sort of shady that the 2022 book has SO much of the same material from this companion without any warning on the cover…kind of a scam. But I’ll still read it, lol.
Note: I had to skip over the few pages that discussed the plots of Lisey’s Story and 11/22/63, as I’ve not yet read those books. I’ll come back to those portions of this book once I have read them.
kandicez's review against another edition
5.0
The text in this book didn't hold a lot of surprises, especially if you're a stalker fan like me, but the pictures alone are worth the price of the book. Throw in the eight glassine envelopes that hold copies of manuscripts, sketches, letters, news articles and pages in King's handwriting and you have a virtual gold mine of memorabilia.
I have three other books "about" King, [b:Feast of Fear: Conversations With Stephen King|2197379|Feast of Fear Conversations With Stephen King|Stephen King|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|6974762], [b:The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Works of America's Master Of....|92228|The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia The Definitive Guide to the Works of America's Master Of....|Stephen J. Spignesi|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|15602] and [b:The Stephen King Companion|1538917|The Stephen King Companion|George Beahm|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1263951486s/1538917.jpg|1531072], not to mention [b:Danse Macabre|11563|Danse Macabre|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166480184s/11563.jpg|1230142] and [b:On Writing|10569|On Writing|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254200s/10569.jpg|150292] which are non-fiction and written by King himself and give you plenty of personal insight. It's safe to say I know a lot about the guy. All the little "extras" I could remove, touch and feel were what made me love this book more than the others.
This is a "must have" for any true Kingstalker fan.
I have three other books "about" King, [b:Feast of Fear: Conversations With Stephen King|2197379|Feast of Fear Conversations With Stephen King|Stephen King|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|6974762], [b:The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Works of America's Master Of....|92228|The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia The Definitive Guide to the Works of America's Master Of....|Stephen J. Spignesi|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|15602] and [b:The Stephen King Companion|1538917|The Stephen King Companion|George Beahm|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1263951486s/1538917.jpg|1531072], not to mention [b:Danse Macabre|11563|Danse Macabre|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166480184s/11563.jpg|1230142] and [b:On Writing|10569|On Writing|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254200s/10569.jpg|150292] which are non-fiction and written by King himself and give you plenty of personal insight. It's safe to say I know a lot about the guy. All the little "extras" I could remove, touch and feel were what made me love this book more than the others.
This is a "must have" for any true King
sjj169's review against another edition
5.0
HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK IS BEAUTIFUL!
I put this book on my paperbackswap.com wish list years ago. It was pretty pricey at the time and it's been sitting there. Until a couple of weeks ago and my number was up. I have been itching to get this book in my greedy little hands.
It was worth the wait.
It's full of tidbits from King. From ideas of where his stories originated. (The house that was in his mind with Salem's lot)
(I took this pic with my phone so excuse if it's crappy)
Then it has these little envelopes scattered throughout it that contain goodies.
Then there is of course, photos of King.
Check out Becky's review while I go and drool over this sucker.
I put this book on my paperbackswap.com wish list years ago. It was pretty pricey at the time and it's been sitting there. Until a couple of weeks ago and my number was up. I have been itching to get this book in my greedy little hands.
It was worth the wait.
It's full of tidbits from King. From ideas of where his stories originated. (The house that was in his mind with Salem's lot)
(I took this pic with my phone so excuse if it's crappy)
Then it has these little envelopes scattered throughout it that contain goodies.
Then there is of course, photos of King.
Check out Becky's review while I go and drool over this sucker.
linddykal's review against another edition
3.0
The quotes in this book are mostly a rehash of On Writing, Stephen King's excellent memoir. What makes this book special is that it ties in the biographical details into the catalog of his works. The book has a lot of inserts of rough drafts complete with corrections. While they're interesting, it's annoying and gimmicky to take them out of the envelopes.
pynewhise's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot believe that I found this book in mint condition for 20$ at a half price book store! This book is a great addition to any collector of SK. I learned so much about his life and inspirations from reading it.
sapphirestars's review
5.0
Owned this book for 10 years since my days working at Borders and finally read it cover to cover. I didn't expect the writing and narrative it covers of his life to be so well put together. Brilliant use of quotes, photos, and old copies of odds and ends he wrote or revised. Definitely a few things I didn't know about, and I see that the SK Tour I went to in Maine in 2015 is mentioned which made me extra happy.
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