King, Stephen

• The Stand (9 r)

  • King's most ambitious work...this was probably the most successful of the novels in terms of how it translated to the screen. A very engaging story about the U. S. swept by a virulent plague that wipes out just about everyone except a few thousand good people and evil people. Yes, it's melodramatic. Yes, King can be really corny. I still read it twice.

• The Tommyknockers (7 r)

  • Another long novel about a spaceship that is discovered outside a small Maine (where else?) town and the effects it has on everyone. A little slow in developing, but this has several great short stories buried in it somewhere. The whole thing is put together fairly well, and I would recommend it.

• It (9 r)

  • This is a story about seven people who are reunited to face a monstrous terror that has returned to stalk a small (guess which state?) town that it stalked when the seven were all children. Some of the subplots of the seven are a little pedantic, but the whole in this case is much greater than the sum of its parts. It has some of the scariest scenes I've read, but they're still pretty tame (and I NEVER watch horror movies). Definitely recommended.

• The Talisman (with Peter Straub) (5 r)

  • This is set in a world that has a parallel world to our own, and a child finds that he passes between the two worlds now and then. In order to stop a great evil, he must transport a talisman across the country through all kinds of dangers. Readable pulp, perhaps a bit above average.

• Eyes of the Dragon (8 r)

  • An excellent dive into the fantasy genre for Stephen King. One of the things required by a good fantasy novel is typically a really repugnant and evil villain, and boy, does King know how to create that kind of character. In fact, King fans will recognize the name "Flagg" from some of his other novels. Anyway, this story involves the horrible plot of an evil advisor to a king and the good people of the king's family who fight against him. Some of the scenes in this novel that take place in the prison tower are unforgettable.

• Insomnia (6)

  • Another lengthy King tome, of the same order as the Tommyknockers or the Talisman. This time, we're back in Derry some years after the events of "It". The story follows an older gentleman who has recently lost his wife. Since that time, he's had a hard time staying asleep for very long, and soon he starts noticing strange things about himself and even stranger things about the town and its denizens. This is a pleasant little adventure/mystery to follow, but it certainly doesn't hold a candle to the epic feel of "The Stand" or "It". There is some horror here, but because of the nature of the main villains, it is hard to be afraid of and/or care about them. Roger Ebert once said that a good movie with a villain always depends mainly upon how good the villain is...how detestable or how interesting. The villain here is neither, though there is a pretty horrific scene about halfway through with the dog named Rosalie that sticks in my mind. Good pulp for King fans, but a step below his usual engrossing standard.

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