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servemethesky 's review for:
Danse Macabre
by Stephen King
In Danse Macabre, Stephen King offers an incredibly thorough (and incredibly disorganized) overview and analysis of the horror genre in both film and fiction from 1950 to 1980. King is insightful and thoughtful, and his passion for the genre really shines through- it is clearly a defining part of his character. This tome also gave me several books to add to my reading list (one of which I've already knocked off, [b:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1318116526s/51496.jpg|3164921]), which I am looking forward to.
While I was reading, I often wished that this volume had been updated more recently. Though the forewords contain some good stuff, I often found myself wondering what King thinks of [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775], say, or the Paranormal Activity franchise. The books and films from 1981 feel like so long ago; I'd love to hear King's take on where horror stands today.
My main complaint with Danse Macabre is that it's far too long. At one point, King himself actually wrote the words "Dear God, we're off on another tangent!" If you the author are realizing that you're off on a wild and irrelevant tangent, perhaps it's not necessary to include that babbling stream of consciousness in the final published work. And no footnote should ever, EVER span 2 pages. Sorry, Stephen. A guy's gotta learn to be concise if he wants to make a point.
Thanks to [a:Thomas LeBeau|5155876|Thomas LeBeau|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1336133724p2/5155876.jpg] for giving me this as a Christmas present! One [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] down this year, many to go!
While I was reading, I often wished that this volume had been updated more recently. Though the forewords contain some good stuff, I often found myself wondering what King thinks of [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775], say, or the Paranormal Activity franchise. The books and films from 1981 feel like so long ago; I'd love to hear King's take on where horror stands today.
My main complaint with Danse Macabre is that it's far too long. At one point, King himself actually wrote the words "Dear God, we're off on another tangent!" If you the author are realizing that you're off on a wild and irrelevant tangent, perhaps it's not necessary to include that babbling stream of consciousness in the final published work. And no footnote should ever, EVER span 2 pages. Sorry, Stephen. A guy's gotta learn to be concise if he wants to make a point.
Thanks to [a:Thomas LeBeau|5155876|Thomas LeBeau|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1336133724p2/5155876.jpg] for giving me this as a Christmas present! One [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] down this year, many to go!