I just finished last night, after abouyt five days, and I think it's one of his best, with all the hallmarks of King's best work: interesting characters, cool dialouge, scariness, atmosphere, action, gore, everything's in here. I reccomend it.
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Who's Read Stephen King's Black House?
- Thread starter renny
- Start date
I am reading it right now.
I'm about half way through and am really enjoying it so far! the intro had me a little concerned... I didn't really like the whole 'flying over the town' thing. the story is really starting to come together now (at the half way point) but I wish I had re-read the Talisman first. I planned to do just that but got Black House for Christmas and just couldn't wait lol.
ps thank you for not posting any spoilers 🙂
I'm about half way through and am really enjoying it so far! the intro had me a little concerned... I didn't really like the whole 'flying over the town' thing. the story is really starting to come together now (at the half way point) but I wish I had re-read the Talisman first. I planned to do just that but got Black House for Christmas and just couldn't wait lol.
ps thank you for not posting any spoilers 🙂
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Glad to hear that this one's agreein' with someone here. It's next on my reads.
Oh, hey, wait... Ain't that King AND Straub? Props to Peter Straub here, too. Poor ole Peter Straub's prolly tired o' bein' second fiddle to King. OTOH, it must be nice to have a cut of the sales... 😉
dvnc
Oh, hey, wait... Ain't that King AND Straub? Props to Peter Straub here, too. Poor ole Peter Straub's prolly tired o' bein' second fiddle to King. OTOH, it must be nice to have a cut of the sales... 😉
dvnc
I have read every work of fiction the man has written lol including his e-books (will he ever finish The Plant?!) I just love the man's easy-going, story teller kind of style. I think one of the best examples of this style is The Eyes of the Dragon. his characters are so real that I miss them when I finish one of his books (altho, like renny mentioned, people and places have a way of popping into his other books). I even wanted The Stand to be longer! lol
DVNC, you are so right. hats off the Straub. I have often wondered how they went about their collaborations. wouldn't you just have loved to be there listening to them hash out ideas?
DVNC, you are so right. hats off the Straub. I have often wondered how they went about their collaborations. wouldn't you just have loved to be there listening to them hash out ideas?
Indeed I *would* like to know how they collaborated t'make that book, same as the predecessor to it. I guess it's a lot of phone calls. However they do it, the last one was great. Got me readin' Straub's work. Fine mix, those two. Very different styles that meld together well.
dvnc
dvnc
TickledToDeath
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Just recently received it from the Stephen King Library club of which I belong. I will be starting it this weekend if not sooner.
I am way behind on his books. At times I feel the man writes faster than I can read!😀 🙂
TTD
I am way behind on his books. At times I feel the man writes faster than I can read!😀 🙂
TTD
Boomtown13
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nope, nothing wrong here
Glad to hear the good reviews. I haven't picked up Black House yet, but Talisman took over my world back in the mid-80's. I even had a picture of Steven Spielberg standing amidst a room of Talisman props up on my wall for years after that. The photo was from Fangoria, the rumor, of course, that Spielberg was going to direct it.
I too read everything the guy had written. Through high school I spent my money on his first magazine appearances and rare editions. I even had The Crate in short story form. There was a monthly newsletter called Castle Rock, put out by his secretary. Any of you subscribe?
I was ga-ga for the guy. Up till Insomnia. After that one I had to give my Constant Reader status a rest. I couldn't get over the disappointment that there were maybe 4 good pages out of that whole book. I mean, those pages were excellent, and got my blood pumping again -- it was the Crimson King stuff, and the Roland stuff -- but it was a small oasis in a desert of a book. Though he gets points for crashing a plane into Connie Stevens.
Anyway, Desperation and Regulators both left me wanting as well, but I was outside of Waldenbooks before opening every month on the 28th for 5 months while he did that crazy Green Mile. Loved it. And last year I picked up Dreamcatcher. Yay! He was back in action! A space alien book two thousand times better than Tommyknockers.
I'm looking forward to Black House. The way I understood that they worked during Talisman (according to that Castle Rock newsletter) was pretty much how you'd expect these guys to do it. Straub's all the way out in England. They used the most primitive of emails back then. They agreed on an outline of the book, and then they each would write a spell, send it to the other guy, write a spell, send it to the other guy. They tried to trick readers by writing like each other. They stayed pretty loose and natural with the pacing so the storytelling would ramble on quite naturally. It worked against them though, because they finally completed the climax of the book, yet Jack was still all the way across the country from his Mom, and they were, what, 800 pages in? After some discussion, they decided to screw the outline from that point forward and just send a limo to take Jack home.
If anyone would like to discuss ANY Stephen King book, please lay it on me. I would LOVE to take part in any and all King discussions.
DVNC, I still have your Tom Gordon book on tape, and you Blood and Smoke. Girl Who Loved was classic King. Like Gerald's Game, it's a ton of pages where nothing at all happens, yet it remains compelling. He's got quite a knack for that. Blood and Smoke I liked much. He recorded the three stories in Blood and Smoke a short time after the accident. One of them is actually good and spooky. Each tale has the throughline of a guy who goes through an intensely painful experience, deals with it, and comes out okay. Now where the hell did he come up with that one?
I don't read much Straub, but Shadowland is one of my all-time favorites.
Ayla, thanks for the heads-up on this thread, dollface.
All my best,
Carrie White
Glad to hear the good reviews. I haven't picked up Black House yet, but Talisman took over my world back in the mid-80's. I even had a picture of Steven Spielberg standing amidst a room of Talisman props up on my wall for years after that. The photo was from Fangoria, the rumor, of course, that Spielberg was going to direct it.
I too read everything the guy had written. Through high school I spent my money on his first magazine appearances and rare editions. I even had The Crate in short story form. There was a monthly newsletter called Castle Rock, put out by his secretary. Any of you subscribe?
I was ga-ga for the guy. Up till Insomnia. After that one I had to give my Constant Reader status a rest. I couldn't get over the disappointment that there were maybe 4 good pages out of that whole book. I mean, those pages were excellent, and got my blood pumping again -- it was the Crimson King stuff, and the Roland stuff -- but it was a small oasis in a desert of a book. Though he gets points for crashing a plane into Connie Stevens.
Anyway, Desperation and Regulators both left me wanting as well, but I was outside of Waldenbooks before opening every month on the 28th for 5 months while he did that crazy Green Mile. Loved it. And last year I picked up Dreamcatcher. Yay! He was back in action! A space alien book two thousand times better than Tommyknockers.
I'm looking forward to Black House. The way I understood that they worked during Talisman (according to that Castle Rock newsletter) was pretty much how you'd expect these guys to do it. Straub's all the way out in England. They used the most primitive of emails back then. They agreed on an outline of the book, and then they each would write a spell, send it to the other guy, write a spell, send it to the other guy. They tried to trick readers by writing like each other. They stayed pretty loose and natural with the pacing so the storytelling would ramble on quite naturally. It worked against them though, because they finally completed the climax of the book, yet Jack was still all the way across the country from his Mom, and they were, what, 800 pages in? After some discussion, they decided to screw the outline from that point forward and just send a limo to take Jack home.
If anyone would like to discuss ANY Stephen King book, please lay it on me. I would LOVE to take part in any and all King discussions.
DVNC, I still have your Tom Gordon book on tape, and you Blood and Smoke. Girl Who Loved was classic King. Like Gerald's Game, it's a ton of pages where nothing at all happens, yet it remains compelling. He's got quite a knack for that. Blood and Smoke I liked much. He recorded the three stories in Blood and Smoke a short time after the accident. One of them is actually good and spooky. Each tale has the throughline of a guy who goes through an intensely painful experience, deals with it, and comes out okay. Now where the hell did he come up with that one?
I don't read much Straub, but Shadowland is one of my all-time favorites.
Ayla, thanks for the heads-up on this thread, dollface.
All my best,
Carrie White
they collaborated via email? wow. there go my visions of the two of them in a room with over-stuffed victorian furniture and a crackling fire. Struab with a martini and King with a Bud. the two of them taking turns madly dashing off notes. I am not completely surprised tho. King does seem to be fascinated with the internet and it’s possibilities.
well, I just finished Black House and as with all of is best work... I am sad that it is over. the Dark Tower tie-ins and the mention of Brautigan, from Hearts in Atlantis, were classic King. I always end up reading my favorites 2 or 3 times... so I am sure I will visit this book again. I don’t remember who I loaned my copy of Talisman to so I am just going to have to take a trip to library. I still want to reread that one.
Dreamcatcher was an excellent read. one of my favorites. I wasn’t sure I would like it once I realized there were extra terrestrials (Tommyknockers did nothing for me. except for those ‘few pages’ you mention, boomtown) but I was wrong. I loved it.
well, I just finished Black House and as with all of is best work... I am sad that it is over. the Dark Tower tie-ins and the mention of Brautigan, from Hearts in Atlantis, were classic King. I always end up reading my favorites 2 or 3 times... so I am sure I will visit this book again. I don’t remember who I loaned my copy of Talisman to so I am just going to have to take a trip to library. I still want to reread that one.
Dreamcatcher was an excellent read. one of my favorites. I wasn’t sure I would like it once I realized there were extra terrestrials (Tommyknockers did nothing for me. except for those ‘few pages’ you mention, boomtown) but I was wrong. I loved it.
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Is it just me, or are King's books becoming more violent and gory since his accident? The "shit weasels" in Dreamcatcher were pretty freaking gross, and Charles Burnside's nursing home rampage in Black House was probably the most splatter-punky scene I've ever seen in his stuff.
More explicit violence? Yep. Where the sexual content finally attenuated a bit, the explicit descriptions of the grotesque have burgeoned, by my view.
Doesn't seem contextually out of place, but, rather, over-informative. Scare tactic, really. No big surprise there. 😉
dvnc
Doesn't seem contextually out of place, but, rather, over-informative. Scare tactic, really. No big surprise there. 😉
dvnc
Boomtown13
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Good Christ, did we just go through that whole thread and not once give props to the fact that The Talisman contains the longest and most intense tickling scene of any Stephen King book? Remember?
Quick test - can anyone name the other Stephen King works that contain tickling? I can think of two right off the bat.
- Ben Mears
Quick test - can anyone name the other Stephen King works that contain tickling? I can think of two right off the bat.
- Ben Mears
I know, I know!
The Shining has a very quick tickle on the stairs between Jack and (what was her name? too lazy to go get the book right now lol.) his wife.
The Talisman had tickling? now I REALLY have to reread it! 🙂
The Shining has a very quick tickle on the stairs between Jack and (what was her name? too lazy to go get the book right now lol.) his wife.
The Talisman had tickling? now I REALLY have to reread it! 🙂
Boomtown13
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Good one, Ayla. I had forgotten about that one. You get points.
But you forgot the name Wendy. You lose points. But I forgot that scene ever happened. So I lose points.
The Talisman, and I'm sure I'm remembering this correctly, has the scene where an old guy with a bushy white beard is prostrating himself in front of Jack, kissing Jack's feet fervently. Jack is trying to stay composed but the guy's beard is tickling his feet like crazy, and more and more as the guy doesn't stop.
As for the other Stephen King tickles I'm remembering, one comes from
a novel where a teenager tickles his younger sister, remarking to himself that as she's developing breasts the tickling feels strange, almost inappropriate. Can anyone name the book?
The other one is a movie. The story was written as a screenplay, never in story form. It stars an actress who played the title character in a different Stephen King book-to-movie adaptation.
My tickling-sensitive mind also remembers a tickle chance in Dead Zone, where Johnny makes love to his girlfriend out in a barn. She drags her bare toes across his chest. I forget her name. I lose points. It'll come to me tonight as I'm falling asleep.
More King talk, more King talk!
- Danny Torrence
But you forgot the name Wendy. You lose points. But I forgot that scene ever happened. So I lose points.
The Talisman, and I'm sure I'm remembering this correctly, has the scene where an old guy with a bushy white beard is prostrating himself in front of Jack, kissing Jack's feet fervently. Jack is trying to stay composed but the guy's beard is tickling his feet like crazy, and more and more as the guy doesn't stop.
As for the other Stephen King tickles I'm remembering, one comes from
a novel where a teenager tickles his younger sister, remarking to himself that as she's developing breasts the tickling feels strange, almost inappropriate. Can anyone name the book?
The other one is a movie. The story was written as a screenplay, never in story form. It stars an actress who played the title character in a different Stephen King book-to-movie adaptation.
My tickling-sensitive mind also remembers a tickle chance in Dead Zone, where Johnny makes love to his girlfriend out in a barn. She drags her bare toes across his chest. I forget her name. I lose points. It'll come to me tonight as I'm falling asleep.
More King talk, more King talk!
- Danny Torrence
boomtown, did this happen to poor travelin'-jack in that awful bar he was working in? I am going to the library tomorrow! 🙂 little bits of that book are coming back to me but it's been so long!
The Stand was a recent reread... that's not cheating is it? I still get my points, right?
I am racking my brain for the two you mentioned. The Girl who loved Tom Gordon? no...
I'm looking forward to Rose Red this month. his movies (with a few exceptions. ie: Green Mile and Stand by me/The Body) rarely get everything his books have... but they are still alot of fun to watch.
The Stand was a recent reread... that's not cheating is it? I still get my points, right?
I am racking my brain for the two you mentioned. The Girl who loved Tom Gordon? no...
I'm looking forward to Rose Red this month. his movies (with a few exceptions. ie: Green Mile and Stand by me/The Body) rarely get everything his books have... but they are still alot of fun to watch.
What do think of his works as Richard Bachman? I'm reading The Regulators right now, and it's awesome, of course. I guess being Bachman allows King to be more harsh and pessimistic; that's what I gathered from his older works, anyway.
pssst... boom, over here 🙂
the Bachman books (Rage, Roadwork, The Long Walk and The Running Man) did have a kind of 'cruel reality' to them. just the fact that the only monsters were human... makes them stand apart. Thinner, on the other hand, had more the usual ‘monster-under-the-bed’ feel.
a while back I loaned my nephew my copy of Eyes of the Dragon and he took it to school to read in study hall. the book was immediately taken from him and a conference was called with his parents. the reason? because it was by Stephen King... and because King also wrote Rage. if he had been reading Rage in school... well, I may have been able to understand the concern. maybe... but Eyes of the Dragon? next to go will be Shakespeare. can't have a rash of young lovers committing suicide now... can we?
the Bachman books (Rage, Roadwork, The Long Walk and The Running Man) did have a kind of 'cruel reality' to them. just the fact that the only monsters were human... makes them stand apart. Thinner, on the other hand, had more the usual ‘monster-under-the-bed’ feel.
a while back I loaned my nephew my copy of Eyes of the Dragon and he took it to school to read in study hall. the book was immediately taken from him and a conference was called with his parents. the reason? because it was by Stephen King... and because King also wrote Rage. if he had been reading Rage in school... well, I may have been able to understand the concern. maybe... but Eyes of the Dragon? next to go will be Shakespeare. can't have a rash of young lovers committing suicide now... can we?
Boomtown13
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So strange. This thread completely disappeared from my list at home. I'm at work now. I blame a backwards Mercury.
Stevie himself has admitted that writing as Bachman is a way of allowing his superdark side to come out. Has anyone read The Dark Half? That, along with Secret Window, Secret Garden and The Library Policeman, contains what seems to me to be elements concerning his alter ego. It's a subject that fascinates him, and with good reason -- seeing as how he has this other voice inside of him!
And to prove this to himself, he wrote the same book as each ego. Desperation as King, and Regulators as Bachman. Since the seed from which each story sprouts is identical, these books stand as the quintessential comparison of Bachman and King.
Stephen King's a Daddy, and a sweetheart, and likes Good, the Turtle, Love to reign supreme.
Bachman's a son-of-a-bitch who, were he a character, would have been part of Flagg's camp.
Ayla, that story about your nephew is ridiculous yet all-too-believable. I remember those Ed Meece days when Rage was on the Banned Book list. ("I hate that Meeces to pieces!" I was fond of saying vehemently back in high school.)
Now, the tickling passages --
Ayla, first you said Shining, then you said Stand. I don't remember tickling in either one, so you've got me there. But you'd better clarify, or I'm going to take away your points. . . and your shoes.
And you know what'll happen then.
Okay, these are the tickling scenes I'm remembering. The first one I ever read in a Stephen King book occured in Christine. Dennis tickle-tortures his little sister.
The other scene is in Cat's Eye. Drew Barrymore is sleeping, and a little goblin with a feather in his hat crawls up onto her bed. His feather tickles Drew's foot as she sleeps, and she flinches, kicking the little creature across the room. No giggling, unfortunately.
Now no one can get points, cuz I just listed them.
Anybody have any more?
Yes, Ms. NY, I'm looking forward to Rose Red too. It was my favorite of the three feminist books he wrote. Love the Minotaur at the end. Gerald's Game was damn good -- that guy creeping into her room is among the spookiest KingThings. Delores Claiborne was very cool because of the straight monologue narration, and the movie is excellent. But Rose Madder had the most colorful and interesting story of the three, I feel. Probably because it contained more magic/psychedelia.
King is at his best when he's getting all subconscious and dreamworld on our ass.
- Upson Pratt
Stevie himself has admitted that writing as Bachman is a way of allowing his superdark side to come out. Has anyone read The Dark Half? That, along with Secret Window, Secret Garden and The Library Policeman, contains what seems to me to be elements concerning his alter ego. It's a subject that fascinates him, and with good reason -- seeing as how he has this other voice inside of him!
And to prove this to himself, he wrote the same book as each ego. Desperation as King, and Regulators as Bachman. Since the seed from which each story sprouts is identical, these books stand as the quintessential comparison of Bachman and King.
Stephen King's a Daddy, and a sweetheart, and likes Good, the Turtle, Love to reign supreme.
Bachman's a son-of-a-bitch who, were he a character, would have been part of Flagg's camp.
Ayla, that story about your nephew is ridiculous yet all-too-believable. I remember those Ed Meece days when Rage was on the Banned Book list. ("I hate that Meeces to pieces!" I was fond of saying vehemently back in high school.)
Now, the tickling passages --
Ayla, first you said Shining, then you said Stand. I don't remember tickling in either one, so you've got me there. But you'd better clarify, or I'm going to take away your points. . . and your shoes.
And you know what'll happen then.
Okay, these are the tickling scenes I'm remembering. The first one I ever read in a Stephen King book occured in Christine. Dennis tickle-tortures his little sister.
The other scene is in Cat's Eye. Drew Barrymore is sleeping, and a little goblin with a feather in his hat crawls up onto her bed. His feather tickles Drew's foot as she sleeps, and she flinches, kicking the little creature across the room. No giggling, unfortunately.
Now no one can get points, cuz I just listed them.
Anybody have any more?
Yes, Ms. NY, I'm looking forward to Rose Red too. It was my favorite of the three feminist books he wrote. Love the Minotaur at the end. Gerald's Game was damn good -- that guy creeping into her room is among the spookiest KingThings. Delores Claiborne was very cool because of the straight monologue narration, and the movie is excellent. But Rose Madder had the most colorful and interesting story of the three, I feel. Probably because it contained more magic/psychedelia.
King is at his best when he's getting all subconscious and dreamworld on our ass.
- Upson Pratt
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Boomtown13
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Hold on, now. You're remembering page numbers? Someone's going to have to corroborate this.
I was re-reading this thread, and I'm glad you mentioned Eyes of the Dragon. I hadn't thought about that for a while. You know what I really loved in that book? The way the kids grew up with personalities reflective of the state of the King and Queen's relationship the night they made love and got pregnant with each. It was thoughtful and imaginative touch. It's a great book overall. Written, as you know, for his young daughter who hated all of his other stories at the time.
Anyway, for bringing up Eyes of the Dragon AND impressively remembering page numbers, you get to have back your points.
And. . .
one of your shoes.
Until that section of The Shining gets confirmed, we're going to hold your bare foot vulnerable and outstretched from your body, immobilized by a dozen copies of Insomnia and unexpurgated The Stands opened to the middle and weighing down your leg.
- Sheriff Bannerman
I was re-reading this thread, and I'm glad you mentioned Eyes of the Dragon. I hadn't thought about that for a while. You know what I really loved in that book? The way the kids grew up with personalities reflective of the state of the King and Queen's relationship the night they made love and got pregnant with each. It was thoughtful and imaginative touch. It's a great book overall. Written, as you know, for his young daughter who hated all of his other stories at the time.
Anyway, for bringing up Eyes of the Dragon AND impressively remembering page numbers, you get to have back your points.
And. . .
one of your shoes.
Until that section of The Shining gets confirmed, we're going to hold your bare foot vulnerable and outstretched from your body, immobilized by a dozen copies of Insomnia and unexpurgated The Stands opened to the middle and weighing down your leg.
- Sheriff Bannerman
Boomtown13
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Of course hardbound, DV. Autographed too.
Here's how much of a King geek I've been -- in high school I actually perfected the way he signs his name. I can whip off a Stephen King signature that looks authentic as easily as I sign my own name. I haven't done it in a while, but. . .
well, hold on a sec. . .
Okay, just tried it again. I still got it.
Here, let me demonstrate. I'll use this pen and. . . um. . . this smooth and clean Ayla sole. Now keep still, Ms. Ayla. . .
Anyway, I'm actually posting this note to say that I was apparently wrong about Rose Red. Here I thought all along that it was an adaptation of Rose Madder, for obvious reasons, but no. I just read a review that made it sound like Legend of Hell House or The Haunting. It's a different tale, not Rose Madder. Unfortunately.
It's said to be the bastard child of an attempted collaboration between King and Spielberg to make the ultimate haunted house movie. I don't think Spielberg actually has anything to do with this miniseries now, but I could be wrong.
Oh well. Too bad. I haven't been a fan of the King miniseries -- Storm of the Century and the like. But we'll see. We can still afford to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I guess.
Love,
Cujo
Here's how much of a King geek I've been -- in high school I actually perfected the way he signs his name. I can whip off a Stephen King signature that looks authentic as easily as I sign my own name. I haven't done it in a while, but. . .
well, hold on a sec. . .
Okay, just tried it again. I still got it.
Here, let me demonstrate. I'll use this pen and. . . um. . . this smooth and clean Ayla sole. Now keep still, Ms. Ayla. . .
Anyway, I'm actually posting this note to say that I was apparently wrong about Rose Red. Here I thought all along that it was an adaptation of Rose Madder, for obvious reasons, but no. I just read a review that made it sound like Legend of Hell House or The Haunting. It's a different tale, not Rose Madder. Unfortunately.
It's said to be the bastard child of an attempted collaboration between King and Spielberg to make the ultimate haunted house movie. I don't think Spielberg actually has anything to do with this miniseries now, but I could be wrong.
Oh well. Too bad. I haven't been a fan of the King miniseries -- Storm of the Century and the like. But we'll see. We can still afford to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I guess.
Love,
Cujo
Has anyone else heard/read about the interview in which King said that he's leaving the business fairly soon? My boyfriend found an article--on Yahoo, I think--where he said he was going to write about 5 more books and then quit while his career was still going strong. I guess he can't be blamed...he's been writing for several decades and the accident he was in probably made a lot of unwelcome changes in his life...but still, he's one of those writers who is just kind of *there*, kind of a constant. All I have to say is that I hope to all the gods that he stays long enough to wrap up this cool Dark Tower mythos that he's created...a lot of people say his work has gone downhill since after <i>Needful Things</i> or so, but I love this common thread he's been weaving through his last few books. Silly--maybe this is from being a fantasy fan, but I thought <i>Insomnia</i> was one of his best so far...I loved his description of the auras and stuff. But if he doesn't finish the whole huge saga of Roland/the Tower/the Breakers/etc...
<br>
Oh well...just another fan's rant 🙂
Calliope
(so excited about <i>From A Buick Eight</i> coming out sometime...it's set in Western PA, where I grew up!) 😀
PS: Speaking of books...any other Robert Jordan fans here?
<br>Oh well...just another fan's rant 🙂
Calliope
(so excited about <i>From A Buick Eight</i> coming out sometime...it's set in Western PA, where I grew up!) 😀
PS: Speaking of books...any other Robert Jordan fans here?
