• NEW! LOWEST RATES EVER -- SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE VERY BEST PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! Welcome to The Paracast+, eight years young! For a low subscription fee, you can download the ad-free version of The Paracast and the exclusive, member-only, After The Paracast bonus podcast, featuring color commentary, exclusive interviews, the continuation of interviews that began on the main episode of The Paracast. We also offer lifetime memberships! Flash! Take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! You can sign up right here!

    Subscribe to The Paracast Newsletter!

The Tommyknockers

Forums New posts
T

thetruthisoutthere

Skilled Investigator
I have just started reading it and was just wondering what everyone else thinks about the book. I love Stephen King and so far this is one of my favorite novels of his, there was a miniseries awhile back with Jimmi Smits as Gardener and I thought it sucked. Oh well just wondering what the general consensus is on the book.
 
thetruthisoutthere said:
I have just started reading it and was just wondering what everyone else thinks about the book. I love Stephen King and so far this is one of my favorite novels of his, there was a miniseries awhile back with Jimmi Smits as Gardener and I thought it sucked. Oh well just wondering what the general consensus is on the book.
Click to expand...

It creeped me out...but hey, it's a Stephen King book :)
It is of course much darker than the miniseries.

Potential spoiler:
The idea of an alien species with a purely emergent intelligence is interesting and has been used in a few science fiction stories (well, at least one I can think of). There are thought-provoking implications (since their technology is the result of evolutionary processes rather than indivdual genius and understanding of science it would take them millions of years to develop it) but I doubt it would work in reality.
 
Yeah its creeping me out two I am about two hundred and fifty pages in. I love the way king jumps from one event to another and how all of the characters have fit together so far. And the thing about the technology is interesting too it causing a lot of weird shit to happen in the little town.
 
I have read them all and my absolute favorites were The Stand, and the Tallisman. I'm supprised they haven't made Tallisman into a movie yet.

I never finished reading the tower books because it just got too long between releases. but I plan to go back and re-read the series someday.
It has been about 10 years so maybe I'll start it up again.
 
bsvalley said:
I have read them all and my absolute favorites were The Stand, and the Tallisman. I'm supprised they haven't made Tallisman into a movie yet.

I never finished reading the tower books because it just got too long between releases. but I plan to go back and re-read the series someday.
It has been about 10 years so maybe I'll start it up again.
Click to expand...

I loved 'The Talisman,' too. I believe I heard a while back that there was a "green-light" on "The Dark Tower." If you watch "The Mist," which I thought was pretty damn cool, you'll notice the lead character ( a poster artist) painting an ad for said picture at the beginning.
 
Because he is viewed by even those who respect him to be of the same ilk as your mega-selling John Grisham or James Patterson level authors, I think people often don't realize or at least recognize the incredible freaking imagination this guy has. He has been putting out at least one novel a year for, what like going on three decades now? And while I will be the first to admit that anything he writes is eminently unmistakably "King", having such things as psychic powers portrayed similarly from book-to-book and character-to-character for example, little of his work is derivative of his previous stories.

Not to mention, over these 30-odd years of writing, he has been simultaneously tying themes, plots, characters and events into his magnum opus, "The Dark Tower". Much of the tie-in stuff was written long before some of those novels!

I will admit to being an unabashed King fan, but I gotta say, I think that he deserves his accolades and that this is once where sales match the sustained level of quality

Also, I don't scare easily. I love his concepts but little of his work has actually stuck with me in a fear sort of way. Oddly, enough though, "Tommyknockers" really got to me. And of course "It". Doesn't it seem though that some of his greatest work has a conversly horrible TV/movie adaptation. Didn't see "Tommyknockers" show, but I did see "It". The first half was horrifying, and Tim Curry's Pennywise is one of the most fucked up performances I have ever seen. The second half on the other hand (starring sitcom stars you though were dead!) was just comical in it's awfulness.
 
I have fifty pages left and am enthralled by it. A book has never had this sort of affect on me all I can say is that I am glad its a king novel, because its freaking me the fuck out!
 
I am what Stevie calls a "Constant Reader" I started re-reading the Dark Tower series but then he kind of "hinted" in an interview for publishers Weekly that he might do a little something else with it. So, I'll wait a little before I start again. I have read em all twice anyway except for the final few which I have only read once.

Salems Lot is my favorite. I was young and living in a small Alabama town when I read it and I was blown away! Although the book is now somewhat dated the way he described the small New England town was so much like the small southern town I was living in at the time. The Stand and of course IT are great. Also, check out Christine and The Dead Zone from earlier King. I recently got to see the Eagles in concert (life long dream) and when Don Henley started singing I broke into a big ole grin. Now if I can just meet Stephen King I can say I've met the two best influences or at least the best entertainers of my life. Of course since passing the big 5-0 I don't get into the fanboy stuff anymore. So, maybe "meeting him" isn't that big of a deal. But I would love to attend a reading. 8)
 
When I was young, I was addicted to John Saul's novels.

I had read some King novels,
(Salem's Lot was my favorite, too, love the movie as well!).

But there was something about Saul that hooked me in deeper.
 
I loved King, Saul and Dean Koontz. Still try to read the new Koontz books when they come out.
I loved all of the old King books-One of my favorites was The Talisman by King and Peter Straub.
Wow...memories...
 
I am just going through the libraries collection of Kings novels and reading them all, I own a few too and have read those numerous times. Its safe to say that in my case he is my favorite modern author and I hope he keeps writing for years to come. And I think going to a reading would be AWESOME!!:)
 
If you dig these books, and haven't read Clive Barker's 'Imagica,' you're missing out.
​
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
 
skunkape said:
'The Great and Secret Show,' and 'Damnation Game' aren't too shabby either.<!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
Click to expand...

Oh God, I read The Great and Secret Show' :rolleyes: That was one weird and twisted story! (Good tho).
 
Bixyboo said:
Oh God, I read The Great and Secret Show' :rolleyes: That was one weird and twisted story! (Good tho).
Click to expand...
If you think that one was twisted, wait until you read 'Damnation Game.' That one has some seriously sick scenes.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
 
The tower is King's best work. Besides the novels, he also served as creative and executive director on marvel comics 30 issue prequel series.
 
I wish I remember it better, but I seem to recall it being really long-winded, but it redeemed itself in the end with a kick-ass finale. FWIW.
 
I loved the ending it was dark and twisted enough that it fit with a King novel yet at least for me it had a depth and mystery to it. Definitely a kick ass novel all the way.
 
Back
Top