Category: Books

Stephen King: #40 – Later

On By Luke FlorenceIn Books, Lists, Stephen King, Uncategorized, WritingLeave a comment

#40 – Later

Plot

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability that his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

Review

We’ve all played the Superpower game, where you get to pick between being invincible, being able to fly or possessing super speed. What we don’t consider when playing that game – especially as children – are the unintended consequences of that power. What if that special ability was more curse than blessing? This is the conundrum King tackles in Later.

It’d be easy – and incredibly lazy – to make comparisons between Later and The Sixth Sense, but Later deals more with the horror and ramifications of seeing dead people. And what if others knew about this power and wanted to exploit it? King is a master when it comes to setting plot and Later is a great example.

Another easy read that flows well right from the start. Empathy is very quickly earned for Jamie which makes the reader instantly connected and engaged. The plot is fast-paced, never straight-forward and an absolutely breeze to read. It may have taken me a week, but I knocked this one out in a pair of sittings.

Details

Pages: 248

Dates Read: March 8 – March 15, 2021

Quote: “So yeah, I see dead people. As far as I can remember, I always have. But it’s not like in that movie with Bruce Willis.”

Best Part: One whistle flips the script in dramatic fashion.

Hint for #39: This final piece of a trilogy was co-written by Stephen King, who did not take part in the second novel.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #41 – Rage

On By Luke FlorenceIn Books, Lists, Stephen King, Uncategorized, WritingLeave a comment

#41 – Rage

Plot

A disturbed high-school student with authority problems kills one of his teachers and takes the rest of his class hostage.

Over the course of one long, tense and unbearable hot afternoon, Charlie Decker explains what led him to this drastic sequence of events, while at the same time deconstructing the personalities of his classmates, forcing each one to justify his or her existence.

Review

Once I started to make enough money that I didn’t have to go bargain hunting for used books, I typically went to Amazon for all my new King books. All of them were easy to find and ran anywhere from $10-$30.

Except for Rage – some folks wanted $300 for this novel which made no sense to me. Since I don’t read anything about an upcoming book beforehand, I only realized after I had finished why it was so expensive (and no, I did not spend $300 for one novel – fortunately Rage is still being printed in The Bachman Books collection).

Stephen King asked for Rage to be pulled from production in the late-1990s because gun shootings in school (the premise for this book) was starting to become more prevalent in America. 2022 says to hold its beer.

Rage is very-early King – published originally in 1977 (his 4th novel). And while it does deal with gun violence, the foundation of this book deals with mental health.  The main character – Charlie – who is holding his class hostage begins to have very nuanced conversations with his classmates. The more his classmates learn about Charlie, the more they understand and empathize with his current situation. What an amazing concept, eh? Listening!

Details

Pages: 149

Dates Read: June 2019

Quote: “When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain.”

Best Part: Charlie’s classmates turn from hostages into rioters.

Hint for #40: A common phrase said at the end of phone calls.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #42 – Thinner

On By Luke FlorenceIn Books, Lists, Stephen King, Uncategorized, WritingLeave a comment

#42 – Thinner

Plot

Attorney Billy Halleck seriously enjoys living his life of upper-class excess. He’s got it all­—an expensive home in Connecticut, a loving family… and fifty extra pounds that his doctor repeatedly warns will be the death of him. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Halleck commits vehicular manslaughter when he strikes a jaywalking old woman crossing the street. But Halleck has some powerful local connections and gets off with a slap on the wrist … much to the fury of the woman’s mysterious and ancient father, who exacts revenge with a single word: “Thinner.”

Review

After I finish reading a Stephen King book, my routine involves reading book reviews from the New York Times – and others – to compare my feelings with critics. I also peruse any movie trailers associated with the completed novel to see if A) they exist (typically yes) and B) if they look interesting (typically no). Well, Thinner had – by far – the worst movie trailer I’ve ever seen for a King book. It was so bad I had to make sure it was about the same book I had finished.

Thinner was written by Richard Bachman and after it was published folks started to connect the dots from Bachman to King – ultimately spoiling the secret identity. You could easily make the argument King wanted to get caught as he references a clown holding a balloon and even has a character comment about how the plot felt, “like a Stephen King novel.”

Thinner is on the light-side of King’s bibliography (see what I did there?), but it allows for King to go in full story-telling mode. It reads as if King is telling this story around a late-night campfire. Character development isn’t crucial to Thinner, but the story is fast paced right from the jump and moves well throughout.

Details

Pages: 544

Dates Read: September 2021 – February 2022

Quote: “But it’s hard for a man to give up all his pleasures, even when they don’t pleasure him no more.”

Best Part: You will think twice about eating a strawberry pie after reading this novel.

Hint for #41: Stephen King asked for this book to be removed from publication following multiple school shootings in the 1990s.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #43 – Bag of Bones

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#43 – Bag of Bones

Plot

Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, Bag of Bones recounts the plight of forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving following the sudden death of his wife Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his computer.

Review

An early lesson in any writer’s career is to “write what you know.” Stephen King abides by this as he often establishes his main character as an author. And while this holds true in Bag of Bones, it’s the only time I can remember King giving writer’s block to the main protagonist.

The original manuscript for Bag of Bones was more than a thousand pages but was edited nearly in half. Thank goodness as this novel benefitted enormously from the cutdown. The first half of this novel drags in places but picks up the pace at the midway point when the focus comes off Mike and is firmly placed on Kyra and Mattie.

This book – especially in the latter half – does an excellent job of mixing real emotions with a bountiful of fantastic horror. Bag of Bones is ultimately about a love lost and being able to move forward. It sprinkles in a child custody battle, a haunted house, and a town mystery for some added flavor.

Details

Pages: 544

Dates Read: September 2021 – February 2022

Quote: “I see things, that’s all. Write enough stories and every shadow on the floor looks like a footprint; every line in the dirt like a secret message.”

Best Part: Who knew senior citizens could be such excellent rock-throwers?!?

Hint for #42: Anyone who is on a diet is essentially trying to become this title.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #44 – Needful Things

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#44 – Needful Things

Plot

A wonderful new store has opened in the little town of Castle Rock, Maine. Whatever your heart’s secret desire—sexual pleasure, wealth, power, or even more precious things—it’s for sale. And even though every item has a nerve-shattering price, the owner is always ready to make a bargain.

Review

Another favorite of my Aunt JoAnn, I read this book very early in my Stephen King career. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed it – especially Leland Gaunt. Playing the main antagonist with a name so perfect you can already visualize his appearance, Gaunt is able to manipulate the entire town of Castle Rock by preying on their most superficial needs.

The town is full of characters – some better developed than others – most of which succumb to Gaunt’s spell and end up in the middle of pure chaos. As far as set-up goes, this one is right up near the top. It was the execution that had me slightly disappointed.

With more than 700 pages at his disposal, King misses too much for my liking as it relates to character development. Because of this the massive climax building in Needful Things doesn’t resonate as much as it could have. In my humble opinion as King has gotten older, he has turned into a better self-editor and this one would have been a Top 20 novel had King wrote it in 2021 instead of 1991.  Don’t get it twisted though – Leland Gaunt is a superbly written character and one of my personal favorites in the entire King bibliography.

This is my highest-rated 3-star review from Goodreads. We now move into the 4-star reviews with the next 19 books.

Details

Pages: 736

Dates Read: Pre-2012

Quote: “Everyone loves something for nothing … even if it costs everything.”

Best Part: Any scene that had Leland Gaunt. Seriously, he’s fantastic.

Hint for #43: Pierce Brosnan played the main character in an A&E miniseries based on this book.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.