Stephen King

[Doombringer50]

Though I enjoy all the works of Stephen King, it bothers me that he always has the same base plot, the same events when he writes his books... It's overly structured to the point of boredom. What are your thoughts?  

[stevetom]

i also like the works of stephen king, sometimes. i got bored with them after i discovered that all the characters in his books have nearly the same personalities and perspectives.

in one of the books, (Pet Semetary comes to mind, though i may be wrong), i just got fed up after the little kid reasoned with logic like that of an intelligent adult. you're right though, the stories just seem too structured and too...orderly? is that the word? i dont know about you, but that seems to be a trend among all his books. i did like 'The Stand' and 'The Talisman' though  

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

I've never actually read any of his books (shame shame!). If the movies are any indication, his early stuff was better. I loved It, but couldn't stand Rose Red. The Shining, I had high expectations for but was disappointed by it. They put too much supernatural stuff in it. When it comes to supernatural, less is more.  

[Doombringer50]

SteveTomm

Structured

Yeah... Structured probably is the best word for it... He sets it up so that everything is the same, and just changes the words every time, with the same basic characters and basic plot.  

[xx____Riku]

Although I've only read It, and I'm currently making my way through The Talisman; I find him an interesting author. None of the movies quite capture the horror in his stories in my opinion. But I think that instead of giving people a large dicription of the horror that they should capture in their mind, that the reader must make up the horror in their own mind so that the story is somehow more 'personal'? Sort of like the works of Edgar Allan Poe in The Cask of Amontillado. Edgar doesn't give you all of the gore and blood, but instead makes the reader imagine the scene in their own mind. I find this to be a better way to write a horror novel. It's better to scare people from the inside out rather than giving them the author's personal image in which to base an opinion on. Stephen King is probably a very well known author and although his stories do have the same basic plot I do find that he gives them all their own little twist. Maybe that's just me. Stephen King is a great writer nonetheless but he'll live up to the glory of Edgar Allan Poe.

 

[Doombringer50]

The cask of Amontilliado... Now that was a good horror story razz  

[LifeIsAGlitch]

Right now I'm reading Cell, his newest novel, if I'm not mistaken, and it does seem amazingly similar as his other books. Personally I've read Christine, my favorite, It, and I am also reading From a Buick 8 They have slight differences, and as Green With Envy said, their own little twist. The characters are essentially the same people, just in different sitiuations.  

[`Emotivated]

What I enjoy about Stephen King is how many of his novels are tied together. A lot of the earlier books have references to some of the events in his Dark Tower Series, and I love scouring the text to find them.  

[Doombringer50]

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, has the plot differed enough so that you can't guess the ending? Or differed enough to be a new book? Or should they all be considered too simalar...  

[BabbleFish]

I've only ever read Gerald's Game so I'm not sure what you mean by his characters seem to have the same personalities. I guess I'll find out what you mean when I finish From a Buick 8.  

[I am Jaques colon]

I'll admit, there is a definite feeling of Deus Ex Machina in most, if not all, of his work. Especially in the 'Dark Tower' series. That series has a very heavy sublot that puts Stephen King himself into the story and gives you this huge sense of surreallity, but all the while you know that the good guys (or at least one of them) will get what he came after. And you only get that feeling after king introduces himself into the story. It's bizarre and hard to describe...perhaps you should read the series if you haven't already.

Anyway, I also know what you mean about the same subplots and the same characters in all his stories. There's always something to do with 4 kids having something amazing happen to them when they're young (dreamcatcher, IT) or a guy getting hit with a van and dying (Song of Susannah, dreamcatcher). Those were all real experiences in King's life, I'm sure (I know for a fact that he was hit by a van) and that's the most likely reason why he continues to use the same general events and settings. But, as your poll suggests, that doesn't mean he doesn't write entertainging books.

King is my mom's favorite author, and yet she has so many gripes about his work. And that doesn't make sense to me. But it does prove that your work doesn't have to be perfect to be awesome.  

[I am Jaques colon]

W0mb4t

What I enjoy about Stephen King is how many of his novels are tied together. A lot of the earlier books have references to some of the events in his Dark Tower Series, and I love scouring the text to find them.

Those were the best books ever. But I haven't read enough of his works to know that he makes references to that 7-book monolith in other stories...it kinda makes you want to believe that Roland and the Crimson King were real and really did talk to Stephen King that one day in 1977...  

[xx____Riku]

Oh, lancekatre, in The Talisman Stephen King also includes Jack's family member being hit by a Wild Child van. The van must have scarred him metally if not also physically because it appears a lot in his writings.

The Talisman was awesome. It wasn't scary but I just liked the feeling of it. The Territorys, Speedy Parker, Wolf. All amazing characters that you just can't help but love. His writings amaze me. He's not realistic, but his fantasy isn't too unbelievable. If that makes any sense...

 

[Aramethea]

I loved King. For years, he was my idol. I read Carrie when I was 12. Wanted to be just like him. But I haven't read a word of his since The Black House. I'm so disappointed with him now. Now he's the hack that everyone used to think he was, and it's depressing.  

[SJC^Superslacker^]

I've read Bag of Banes and Desperation.

Bag of Bones was weird.

Desperation was really good.