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dirk_bannion_author's Reviews (157)
OK. I wanted to like Gerald's Game, but two things stopped me:
1) It's a short story premise stretched out to novel length. Sometimes King succeeds at this, but sometimes it's just painfully slow.
2) (And you may not consider this a con, but it took me by surprise and made me stop reading.) There is a scene where the heroine attempts to escape her prison by... I can't even write it out. The scene actually made me pass out for a few minutes. I'm very squeamish, and it's so vivid, it did me in. I'm not proud of it, but them's the facts.
So, I didn't finish it. Maybe you can.
1) It's a short story premise stretched out to novel length. Sometimes King succeeds at this, but sometimes it's just painfully slow.
2) (And you may not consider this a con, but it took me by surprise and made me stop reading.) There is a scene where the heroine attempts to escape her prison by... I can't even write it out. The scene actually made me pass out for a few minutes. I'm very squeamish, and it's so vivid, it did me in. I'm not proud of it, but them's the facts.
So, I didn't finish it. Maybe you can.
This was an interesting book with some very unique treatments of concepts King has experimented with before (art revealing subconscious conflict, fantasy coming to life/affecting the real world). It is a touch too long for its own good, but the ending was satisfying and all-in-all I really enjoyed the read.
I really loved this book. (Or, technically, series of four interconnected novellas, but that's really just semantics.) It has a specific, strong, connection to the Dark Tower mythology in that Ted has apparently escaped from a mind-prison in Midworld where he is forced to work for the Crimson King as a "breaker", and therefore has yellow-coated "low men" chasing him down. But, that little plot detail taken out, the book stands up perfectly fine on its own, so don't let that stop you.
I think one of the reasons this story works so well is that the characters, especially the kid whose perspective we're usually witnessing, are so down-to-earth and ordinary that we feel the freakishness of everything that happens to them as if it's happening to us. That's great writing.
I think one of the reasons this story works so well is that the characters, especially the kid whose perspective we're usually witnessing, are so down-to-earth and ordinary that we feel the freakishness of everything that happens to them as if it's happening to us. That's great writing.
Once again, another stellar collection of shorts from Stephen King. Although the stories are really great, as an author, I especially appreciate King's little "liner notes" before or after the stories talking about where the idea came from or just giving some context to the story.
Special Note: one of the 14 stories in the collection, "Little Sisters of Eluria" is actually a full-on part of the Dark Tower series. No alluding to, no references to the mythology, it's actually a story set in Midworld.
Special Note: one of the 14 stories in the collection, "Little Sisters of Eluria" is actually a full-on part of the Dark Tower series. No alluding to, no references to the mythology, it's actually a story set in Midworld.
I read the whole book and, I guess I know where he was going with it. It's not a bad story, per se... It just wasn't a solid King effort or a fully cohesive story. It's very much connected to the DT mythology in that the heroine keeps moving back and forth between the real world and Midworld, although it's not called that in this book (I don't think...)
I read it before reading the DT novels and, as such, it felt to me like an acid trip through a Twilight Zone episode.
I read it before reading the DT novels and, as such, it felt to me like an acid trip through a Twilight Zone episode.
Another "Bachman Book", The Long Walk has a different tone from most of King's work, but it works well and the story is solid. A group of boys is forced to walk non-stop until only one is left standing, therefore winning tremendous riches and survival. The rest of the group... well, not so much.
It's basically a story of survival against horrific odds, but with the added twist that these boys CHOSE to join the "race" knowing only one of them could survive. Desperate times indeed.
It's basically a story of survival against horrific odds, but with the added twist that these boys CHOSE to join the "race" knowing only one of them could survive. Desperate times indeed.
More spectacular short stories from Stephen King. I especially liked the almost humorous tone of "The Night Flier" and "Popsy" which appear (according to King's "liner notes") to be concerning the same vampire character.
There were points where I kind of shook my head and said, "that's a little lame", or something similar. But then I reminded myself that I was not in this for a deep, philosophical fulfillment or a cerebral mystery to unfold. No, I came into this book looking for a straight-up action story with an Indiana Jones feel. And for the most part, that's exactly what I got.
While some of the action is a little too cliche' (like escaping the bad guys by jumping out of a third-story window into a flatbed truck full of mattresses... yes, that really happened,) it still managed to keep the pulse racing along with no snore-pages that I can remember. And the last 100 pages contain several very unexpected twists and turns, especially with various character loyalties. For that reason, even a cliche' ending felt satisfying enough to warrant four stars and a recommendation to anyone who loved Indiana Jones.
While some of the action is a little too cliche' (like escaping the bad guys by jumping out of a third-story window into a flatbed truck full of mattresses... yes, that really happened,) it still managed to keep the pulse racing along with no snore-pages that I can remember. And the last 100 pages contain several very unexpected twists and turns, especially with various character loyalties. For that reason, even a cliche' ending felt satisfying enough to warrant four stars and a recommendation to anyone who loved Indiana Jones.
I'm really thrilled to start this latest prequel(?) addition to the Dark Tower series. I can only hope it slides right into one of my all time favorite worlds and doesn't jangle me too badly...
... and I'm done. And quick too!
What a great book! I have to say, it was a touch short for a DT book, and easily half of it was taken up by a fable told by Roland, so there was next to nothing in the book that directly related to Roland's ka-tet and their quest for the Dark Tower.
Still, it was a story fully immersed in the universe of the DT series, and was fascinating, exciting and impressive in its own right. As I mentioned before, I was dubious about some readers' claims that someone who had never read a DT book before could pick this up and enjoy it. And now, having finished it, I stand by that opinion. I think it's possible for a reader who enjoys high fantasy to find enough in the book to enjoy, but I really think that it requires a reader intimately familiar with Mid-World and at least the first four DT books to really get the most out of it.
That being said, I encourage anyone and everyone to read them all, including this one, and say thankya!
... and I'm done. And quick too!
What a great book! I have to say, it was a touch short for a DT book, and easily half of it was taken up by a fable told by Roland, so there was next to nothing in the book that directly related to Roland's ka-tet and their quest for the Dark Tower.
Still, it was a story fully immersed in the universe of the DT series, and was fascinating, exciting and impressive in its own right. As I mentioned before, I was dubious about some readers' claims that someone who had never read a DT book before could pick this up and enjoy it. And now, having finished it, I stand by that opinion. I think it's possible for a reader who enjoys high fantasy to find enough in the book to enjoy, but I really think that it requires a reader intimately familiar with Mid-World and at least the first four DT books to really get the most out of it.
That being said, I encourage anyone and everyone to read them all, including this one, and say thankya!
