Tag: Stephen King

Stephen King: #56 – Lisey’s Story

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

#56 – Lisey’s Story

Plot

Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a twenty-five-year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man.

Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went–a place that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it’s Lisey’s turn to face Scott’s demons, Lisey’s turn to go to Boo’ya Moon.

Review

This is the first book on this list I gave a “three-star” rating on Goodreads, which uses a five-star system. Every book from here on out will have earned three stars or more. Of the 64 Stephen King novels on this list, a staggering 24 of them garnered a five-star review from this Constant Reader.

Lisey’s Story could have made for an unbelievable novel if it would have been 300 pages. But the first 200+ pages of this book are excruciatingly slow. Granted, this was likely deliberate on King’s part to demonstrate the incredible grief Lisey was experiencing, but it made for a painfully deliberate start.

The concept and plot behind Lisey’s Story are incredible. Imagining a physical place – outside our universe – where a writer goes to craft ideas for stories was powerful. In perfect King irony – this fantasy land is filled with terrors and nightmares.

Lisey’s Story touches on mental health, love, death, grief, and one’s ability to move-on. There were moments of this novel that were quite powerful – but others that were cumbersome and needlessly lengthy.

Details

Pages: 513

Dates Read: August – September 2015

Quote: “The harder you had to work to open a package, the less you ended up caring about what was inside.”

Best Part: Lisey recalls several stories of her past, and the one where she saves her husband from a crazed fan was well done.

Hint for #55: The shortest Stephen King novel – at 127 pages – and one that includes comic illustrations throughout.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #57 – The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

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

#57 – The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

Plot

Several months have passed, and Roland’s two new tet-mates have become proficient gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But while battling The Pusher in 1977 New York, Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s where and when—has already died.

Now Roland and Jake exist in different worlds, but they are joined by the same madness: the paradox of double memories. Roland, Susannah, and Eddie must draw Jake into Mid-World then follow the Path of the Beam all the way to the Dark Tower.

Review

As we go on this journey you will discover that some of these books were difficult to accurately rank. This is the first of those novels. The Waste Lands is an excellent fantasy tale. It brings the band back together (Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake) with compelling dialogue and dynamic scene setting. However, the two biggest drawbacks were the ending and Blaine The Mono.

This book had no ending. It just stops. Specifically, it ends right in the middle of a cliffhanger. And sue me, after nearly 600 pages I expect some resolution. The Waste Lands gives Constant Readers zero. The Waste Lands also gives us one of the most annoying antagonists in Blaine The Mono.

Without giving away too much, Blaine is a sentient train who is now insane and suicidal. But get this – he loves riddles. And the only way Roland and crew can escape is by solving a series of them. The premise is beyond silly, and the execution was dreadful.

There is a universe where I re-read The Dark Tower series and The Waste Lands races up this list. Until then, it resides near the bottom.

Details

Pages: 590

Dates Read: Pre 2012

Quote: “Wow. This makes grand central look like a bus stop in Buttfuck, Nebraska.”

Best Part: One of my favorite Stephen King characters – Oy – is introduced.

Hint for #56: Apple TV premiered a TV show based off this book in June of 2021, starring Julianne Moore.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #58 – Desperation

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#58 – Desperation

Plot

Nevada is mostly a long stretch of desert you cross on the way to somewhere else. And with someone else, if you’re lucky … because it’s a scary place. Headed down Route 50 in the brutal summer heat are people who are never going to reach their destinations.

Review

When I finished The Dark Tower series I did not have any action plan for tackling the remainder of Stephen King’s bibliography. The system I eventually found relied heavily on friends and family members’ recommendations plus whatever bargains I could find at Half Price book-stores. A friend of mine suggested Desperation and we are no longer friends.

This massively long book was published at the exact same time as its “mirror” novel, The Regulators. Had I known that at the time, it may have impacted this ranking – but not by much. King paints an outstanding backdrop but fills it with lengthy internal monologues and overly religious tones.

Characterization is such a strong suit of King, but it is nowhere to be found in this horror novel. Yes, at times King takes us along on a twisted-scary-demented journey, but the meat-and-potatoes of this story were sour-tasting.

Details

Pages: 690

Dates Read: Pre 2012

Quote: “You have the right to remain silent,’ the big cop said in his robot’s voice. ‘If you do not choose to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. I’m going to kill you. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you?”

Best Part: Our introduction to police officer Collie Entragian.

Hint for #57: This novel shares its title with a famous poem by T.S Eliot.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #59 – The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah

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#59 – The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah

Plot

Susannah Dean’s body has been usurped by a demon named Mia who wants to use Susannah’s mortal form to bear a demon child. Stealing Black Thirteen, Mia has traveled through the Unfound Door to 1999 New York where she plans to give birth to her chap, a child born of two mothers and two fathers who will grow up to be Roland’s nemesis.

With the help of the time-traveling Manni, Roland and Eddie plan to follow Susannah while Father Callahan and Jake find Calvin Tower, owner of the vacant lot where a magical rose grows: a rose that must be saved at all costs.

Review

After I finished reading The Stand, I moved on to The Dark Tower series. No specific reasoning behind that decision, but I liked how my next seven books were pre-determined. In retrospect, this was a horrible decision. The better move would have been to read The Dark Tower last as the entire series intertwines with pre-existing Stephen King characters (including the author himself). It would have been a richer experience had I first accumulated some prior background details.

The penultimate book deals with demons and duality, as Mia (the demon) takes over Susannah (a good guy) in hopes of birthing a child that will ultimately take down Roland (THE good guy). King published both VI and VII (The Dark Tower) in 2004, but it certainly felt like he rushed VI to get one book closer to the end.

The Dark Tower series is fantastic – an absolute epic in every meaning of the word. However, Song of Susannah drags throughout and doesn’t have a complete ending – it’s a massive cliffhanger that is resolved early in VII. The best part about this series was that every book – except for this one – was great on its own. Song of Susannah basically acts as a 400-page preamble to the series finale.

Details

Pages: 544

Dates Read: Pre 2012

Quote: “Anger is the most useless emotion,” Henchick intoned, “destructive to the mind and hurtful to the heart.”

Best Part: Roland visiting Stephen King’s house. This was meta before Meta was a thing.

Hint for #58: Webster defines this title as a state that results in rash or extreme behavior.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.

Stephen King: #60 – Under The Dome

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#60 – Under The Dome

Plot

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day, a small town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener’s hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts. No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if— it will go away.

Now a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome, but their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn’t just running short, it’s running out.

Review

When I was in high school, I wrote a short story about a bubble that encapsulated a small town. You can imagine my reaction as I discovered King had penned a massive 1100 page epic centered around the same premise eight years later. And you know what? I loved everything about the book. It has tremendous character development, tells a wide – and yet focused story. However, it clocks in at #60 because it has – hands down – the single worst ending I’ve ever experienced.

My first gig when I moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Columbus, Ohio was at Delaware County Bank in Marysville, Ohio. It was a brand-new branch – super slow – and staffed with too many bodies. A lot of down time was available – much of which I spent reading this novel. Work smarter, not harder folks.

“Big Jim” is one of my all-time favorite literary characters as I despised him to no end. In my mind, I pictured Donald Trump while reading about James “Big Jim” Rennie.

This is a great novel and a masterpiece in storytelling, but after reading 1000 pages its conclusion left me upset and betrayed. All the collateral that it had built was instantly ruined.

Details

Pages: 1074

Dates Read: January – March 2010

Quote: “She can’t help it,’ he said. ‘She’s got the soul of a poet and the emotional makeup of a junkyard dog.”

Best Part: Everything about “Visitors Day” was outstanding.

Hint for #59: Its initials match a common smoke-signal for help.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.