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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
informative
slow-paced
Final thoughts: Aside from being extremely repetitive at times and throughout multiple chapters, there was some good content that was actually worth reading. His thoughts on the horror genre (once you finally wade through it all) was interesting and reading his thought process on how he feels he fits into the genre was captivating. He leaned into a lot of the different formats and didn’t just stick to books, which led to fascinating discussions that this reader never thought about before reading this. He also gave great examples for readers to check out to back up his points that he talked about. Even if you haven’t read the work he mentioned, he went into great detail so you didn’t feel like you had to read/watch it - it was helpful but also made some of his points hard to get through because it felt like you were wading through long scene descriptions or synopsis. Did this book need to be as long as it was? Probably not, but every once in a while, there was something good to read. He also talked about the different sub-genres of horror, which again, was something this reader never looked at before so there was some good stuff there.
In the end, this reader wouldn’t recommend it to the causal King fan or even a causal horror fan. If you’re really into his work, you will find this compelling to read; otherwise it reads more as a biased look into why one guy loves the genre a lot.
In the end, this reader wouldn’t recommend it to the causal King fan or even a causal horror fan. If you’re really into his work, you will find this compelling to read; otherwise it reads more as a biased look into why one guy loves the genre a lot.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
I really thought that reading a whole book that was centered on Stephen King’s musings about the horror genre was going to be just what I’ve always wanted. I thought it was going to be utterly fantastic.
It wasn’t.
He mentions many things in this book, but he makes points about none of them. Except that he really doesn’t like John Saul. Oh, and he really loves The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I mean, he REALLY likes it. He goes so far off topic in many areas of this book and sometimes he wanders back around, but not really.
I found myself so bored reading this. I thought I would never reach the end, even after skimming pages of him babbling incoherently about nothing much.
Read his book On Writing. It’s better by far.
2 stars
It wasn’t.
He mentions many things in this book, but he makes points about none of them. Except that he really doesn’t like John Saul. Oh, and he really loves The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I mean, he REALLY likes it. He goes so far off topic in many areas of this book and sometimes he wanders back around, but not really.
I found myself so bored reading this. I thought I would never reach the end, even after skimming pages of him babbling incoherently about nothing much.
Read his book On Writing. It’s better by far.
2 stars
slow-paced
dark
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
What I loved: Hearing King talk about horror novels, especially ones I’ve also read and loved like The Haunting of Hill House, Ghost Story, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. I also loved any stories from his own life and things that recognizably inspired his work-I’m rereading The Tommyknockers currently and was thrilled to spot several topics and sayings.
What I didn’t: Hearing King talk about other horror media, BUT this is mostly due to how outdated those references are. Radio and TV, other than The Twilight Zone, I had no prior experience with in regards to horror. There are also very few of the horror movies referenced that I’ve seen. Sadly, these things seemed to take up a bigger chunk of the book so I found myself quite bored through most of the first half or 2/3 of this one.
•
I did listen to the updated version with a new introduction where King talks about a couple more recent movies, noticeably The Blair Witch Project, and I would LOVE to see (as mentioned in other reviews) a new nonfiction work with King’s thoughts on horror media from say 1990-2020. All in all, this one is worth a read for the true King and/or early horror fan, but I doubt it’s anyone’s favorite.
What I didn’t: Hearing King talk about other horror media, BUT this is mostly due to how outdated those references are. Radio and TV, other than The Twilight Zone, I had no prior experience with in regards to horror. There are also very few of the horror movies referenced that I’ve seen. Sadly, these things seemed to take up a bigger chunk of the book so I found myself quite bored through most of the first half or 2/3 of this one.
•
I did listen to the updated version with a new introduction where King talks about a couple more recent movies, noticeably The Blair Witch Project, and I would LOVE to see (as mentioned in other reviews) a new nonfiction work with King’s thoughts on horror media from say 1990-2020. All in all, this one is worth a read for the true King and/or early horror fan, but I doubt it’s anyone’s favorite.
informative
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced