Category: Uncategorized

Stephen King: #19 – Sleeping Beauties

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

#19 – Sleeping Beauties

Plot

In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep; they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, and the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent; and while they sleep, they go to another place. The men of our world are abandoned, left to their increasingly primal devices.

One woman, however, the mysterious Evie, is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Evie a medical anomaly to be studied, or is she a demon who must be slain?

Review

Sleeping Beauties was co-written with Stephen King by his son, Owen.  It’s been debated on reddit forums how much Stephen was involved with this novel.  Some have voiced that Owen King wrote the overwhelming majority, and then used his father’s name to sell more copies.  Personally, I could care less because this was just an outstanding novel that fits exactly what King (Owen and/or Stephen) does best.  

Sleeping Beauties is everything that Under The Dome should have been.  You have a compelling plotline centered around women who fall asleep, become cocooned and cannot wake up.  You have a complex – yet fully realized – cast of characters all under a small-town umbrella.  You also have the correct balance of realism and supernatural to create a tremendous reading experience.  

You could teach a collegiate class on this book because it touches on so many different subjects.  Are men more inherently violent than women?  If the world suddenly lost an entire gender, would chaos and violence rule the day?  Are small towns full of small-minded individuals, or are they representative of the entire country?  It’s fascinating the amount of discussion that could come after reading Sleeping Beauties.  

Details

Pages: 702

Dates Read: December 2018 – January 2019

Quote: “In a terrified world, false news was king.”

Best Part: The opening scene is a cross between Breaking Bad and Black Mirror.

Hint for #18: Stephen King’s first published novel.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

 

Stephen King: #20 – Doctor Sleep

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#20 – Doctor Sleep

Plot

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

Review

Despite my intention of reading all newly published Stephen King material during this journey, I did not read Doctor Sleep until nearly six years after it was available.  The reasoning was that since this was a sequel to The Shining, it would make sense to read it after I had finished The Shining.  Some decisions are better than others, but this was one of my better ones.  

The development of Danny (now Dan) Torrance was fascinating and resonated on a deep/emotional level for me since I had just completed The Shining.  Reading about his struggles – both immediately after The Shining – and now decades later, were as compelling as anything King has written.  

In perfect King-like fashion, once Dan starts moving past the events from The Shining he is thrown immediately into a new adventure that can’t help but bring up those old, horrible memories. 

And that adventure – is completely captivating.  King develops a tremendous plotline from a grounded storyline that has just the right amount of supernatural.  The fact that King can tell this tale from multiple points of view was another fascinating development from this undeniably terrific novel.

Details

Pages: 531

Dates Read: April – May 2019

Quote: “FEAR stands for fuck everything and run.”

Best Part: Dan revisits the Overlook Hotel.

Hint for #19: To my knowledge this is the only novel Stephen King co-wrote with his son.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

 

Stephen King: #21 – Gwendy’s Button Box

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#21 – Gwendy’s Button Box

Plot

There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson took the stairs, which are held by strong—if time-rusted—iron bolts and zigzag up the precarious cliffside. Then one day when Gwendy gets to the top of Castle View, after catching her breath and hearing the shouts of kids on the playground below, a stranger calls to her. There on a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small, neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat.

Review

Previously I’ve talked about the importance of developing a strong protagonist and an equally strong antagonist to tell a compelling story.  But what if the protagonist and the antagonist were the same person, and the narrative was structured around this dichotomy.  King and Richard Chizmar tackle that conundrum in Gwendy’s Button Box.  

The premise is relatively straight-forward on the surface.  Gwendy Peterson has been given a magic box that has levers and buttons.  The levers release special chocolates or gold coins, and the buttons create mass destruction.  Essentially, Gwendy has unlimited power at her disposal.  How would you act if the box was in your hands?

That question is central to the plot of Gwendy’s Button Box.  Gwendy tackles addiction, guilt and paranoia throughout the 171-page novella, which makes for a fascinating read and look into our own humanity.

While King and Chizmar co-wrote this book, it’s completely seamless and impossible to tell where one author stopped writing, and another began.  I had never heard of Richard Chizmar prior to this book and was so enthralled with Gwendy’s Button Box that I decided to read his sequel, Gwendy’s Magic Feather (unfortunately that was a swing-and-a-miss).  Apparently having Stephen King involved with your book makes a little bit of a difference.  

Details

Pages: 171

Dates Read: November – December 2018

Quote: “Wanting to know things and do things is what the human race is all about. Exploration, Gwendy! Both the disease and the cure!”

Best Part: The secret box is no longer secret.

Hint for #20: A hypersomnia sleep specialist may also be more commonly referred to as this.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

 

Stephen King: #22 – The Regulators

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#22 – The Regulators

Plot

Peaceful suburbia on Poplar Street in Wentworth, Ohio, takes a turn for the ugly when four vans containing armed “regulators” terrorize the street’s residents, cold-bloodedly killing anyone foolish enough to step outside their homes. 

Review

If I only had one word to describe The Regulators, it would be – relentless.  This novel opens with a riveting action sequence, and then never lets up.  It reminded me of the movie, Captain Phillips.  In both, I was afraid to take a breath because of the furious pacing.

The Regulators was published in 1996 under the Richard Bachman pseudonym but by this time it was common knowledge that Stephen King and Richard Bachman were the same.  It was also published as a “twin-novel” to Desperation (ranked #58), but besides a character flashback to Desperation, Nevada – I did not notice too many similarities.  I also read these books more than eight years apart, so that probably didn’t help much on my end.

Despite the breakneck speed, The Regulators manages to effectively develop a colorful cast of characters.  Each one was completely unique and fully realized.  Truly a remarkable feat for just a 400-page book considering how much the plot was moving. 

The Regulators also dives head-first into the supernatural, but this time from a kid’s perspective – which was incredible.  I’ve mentioned this before, but King’s ability to narrate from differing point-of-views/ages/genders/etc. is unmatched.  The Regulators is a fine example of this as I was completely connected to Seth, an autistic eight-year-old.

Details

Pages: 400

Dates Read: August 21 – September 13, 2021

Quote: “When there’s no more room in hell, this artifact said, the dead will walk the earth.”

Best Part: Our introduction to the colorful vans slowly perusing the city streets.

Hint for #21: King co-wrote this book (the first of a trilogy), did not participate in the sequel, but helped co-write the third and final installment (previously seen on this list).

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

 

Stephen King: #23 – Joyland

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#23 – Joyland

Plot

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. 

Review

I’ve spent most of the last six years in the food industry business.  Working with vendors, distributors, and restaurants to ensure supply and to help reduce costs (sadly, I’ve been little help there as of late).  The true nature of what I do isn’t in food, it’s in people.  I work in the people business.  Joyland isn’t a book about horror, about supernatural events, it’s a book about people.  And it’s absolutely fascinating.  

Of all the Stephen King books I’ve read, Joyland has the most deceiving cover, as it does nothing to explain the novel.  Yes, there is a murder of a young girl, but it honestly does not matter much to the main story at all.  For Joyland is about a young boy (Devin Jones) who spends a summer working at a North Carolina carnival and how he ventured into adulthood.

What I enjoyed most about Joyland was the incredible writing King showcases.  He takes a rather mundane plot but completely captures your attention due to his ability to beautifully capture the human spirit.  

Devin’s first job at Joyland is working as the carnival’s mascot – Howie the Happy Hound.  Despite battling intense heat inside the massive suit, Devin enjoys making little kids smile.  It reminded me of my first job after high school working for the local bank, where one day I had to don a squirrel costume and hand out nuts to customers.  There were plenty of kids screaming in terror because of me, but very little smiles. 

Details

Pages: 283

Dates Read: January – February 2015

Quote: “When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction.”

Best Part: Mike’s first – and only – trip to Joyland.

Hint for #22: This was a mirror novel to another King book – one that appeared near the beginning of this journey.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.