NationStates Jolt Archive

Heya...this board is bad for me you know - i have missed about 5 hours of research in the past 2 days in order to debate topics that dont really require debate...

So hell, why break the habit?

The dark tower series by Steve King is, in my opinion, probably the best thing i have yet read - i find it original, deep, fascinating, puzzling, intricate, moving, more moving, and in places frankly...i dont really have the correct word to hand to describe how brilliant i think these books are (although i havent yet read the last one, im about 20% through...so post no spoilers).

Except for Wizard and Glass...that was only fairly good...which still is saying something.

Anyone dislike it enough to disagree? Id like to know why anyone couldnt like it basically :confused:

Never read it. Though I do think Steven King is a good writer. Maybe I'll check it out.

You'll probably scoff at my suggestion that I am a Stephen King fan who has not yet read the Dark Tower series. :p

I really love King's writing, The Stand is one of my favorite novels ever...but I simply haven't gotten to the Dark Tower yet! :(

A problem that will soon be rectified...

Heya...this board is bad for me you know - i have missed about 5 hours of research in the past 2 days in order to debate topics that dont really require debate...

So hell, why break the habit?

The dark tower series by Steve King is, in my opinion, probably the best thing i have yet read - i find it original, deep, fascinating, puzzling, intricate, moving, more moving, and in places frankly...i dont really have the correct word to hand to describe how brilliant i think these books are (although i havent yet read the last one, im about 20% through...so post no spoilers).

Except for Wizard and Glass...that was only fairly good...which still is saying something.

Anyone dislike it enough to disagree? Id like to know why anyone couldnt like it basically :confused:

Never heard it called that before. I know a man who likes it when other men climb his 'dark tower'.

lol, thats a much more deeply philosophhical statement than you realise, my freind...

Anyway - if you like the stand read the tower. Pour Quois? Because the Stand is *about* the dark tower! :eek:

...but you only figure that partway thru book 1...in fact almsot all kings best books are about the dark tower, indirectly - its pretty much the most beautiful thing i have ever read, in places (and i do read a lot...). Its not horror either, its just...you know how in places the green mile is tear-sheddingly beautiful just..because? a lot of the tower is like that although its not as real as the green mile...as in..no..it is..hell read it! go out buy The Gunslinger tomorrow, its short it will only take you a day or 2's on and off reading - but by god its worth it.

Do it, really. You will never regret it. :D

(life ambition number...oh...well one of them anyway, one of the uppermost ones: direct a set of movies of the dark tower. Its that good that its high in my list of things i would love to do even though i only started the series 3 months ago)

I'm not much of a King fan. I enjoyed 'The Eyes of the Dragon', but haven't really read anything else. I got about halfway through the Gunslinger and gave up. I just got bored with it.

.

All of King's work gets shitty TV or direct-to-video movies.

An absolute travesty (though the TV miniseries The Stand was among the best TV adaptions I've ever seen :))

probably the best thing i have yet read


Come on? Really. Read some literature ie. to kill a mockingbird, catcher in the rye for a start

Come on? Really. Read some literature ie. to kill a mockingbird, catcher in the rye for a start

Kill a mocking bird almost killed my will to read. Catcher in the rye is actually on my list of things to buy this week though, beside a new copy of the Illiad and a copy of the odessey.

Fabarce, Have you read the series lol? If you have then did you take time to check out all the stuff it references throughout? TS elliot, Wolfe, Charlamange-era epic poetry, Childe Roland...though for the moment i have forgotten who wrote that lol :(


Chodolo, true but "dont dream its over" was a strange choice of theme lol...needful things was okey. Actually come to think of it most of his stuff has done pretty well - the green mile is a good example, and the stand wasnt...quite..right but was still good...IT..aint seen people seem to like it though, likewise the Tommyknockers. Salems lot...did they doa movie of that?

I like his Castle Rock stories.

The Dark Tower reminds me of Robert Jordan. It's all bare plot, not enough detail or characterization. It's full of interesting scenes, ideas and action, but it's like a neverending storyboard.

Eventually you realize it's going nowhere, the loose ends will never be tied in, and you give up.

I myself have read the Dark Tower Series in it's entirity. I found it to be a very compelling journey filled with suprises, characters I could relate to, and above all complex human emotion. I have also read a good number of Robert Jordan Books and I will have to agree that they are somewhat similar. The characters in both cases evolve over time and become someone that is quite different from the person they were. Overall I would say that the Dark Tower is one of the best series I have ever read (and I have read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye).

Onion Pirates - surely you havent rea more than 3 of them, yeah? i mean...hell, im only part way through the last of the books and already most of the loose ends have been tied up! And the ones which havent havent for good reasons. The characters have all been well developed except for some details about martin/flagg which lets face it is kindof the point and im expecting that to be resolved as well. As for going nowhere...what? pardon the phrasing of the question but...WHAT?

The wheel of time series and the tower have one thing in common - they both referance lord of the rings...the tower to a fairly small degree i think, in fact very small - whereas in jordan's epic the referances may as well be written in 70 foot high flaming letters. I prefer the tower - i was just thinking earlier that maybe Jordan has been a bit too ambitious - the last book read like the illiad in places - names names names names and unless you have recently finished the previous book it's a bit of a hike in places i found. Also the tower series is very very quick and easy to read, the story flows better, whereas in the wheel of time you really do get a good idea of how much time is passing (years) and how it takes its toll.

I have DT 4,5 and 6 standing on my bookshelf. Finished The Stand last week.

7 (last) is out, but I haven't gotten round to buying it yet.
Not much time now. May bbl

If you think Stephen King is the best thing you've ever read, then you're probably being more productive wasting time on these boards than researching anything.

Stephen King isn't really my thing.

I never really got why he is so popular...

Opal Isle, that is possibly the most utterly arrogant thing you could have said - you know that, right?

Have you read the books? I doubt it - could be wrong but i really doubt it.

I imagine you are basing your opinion on a couple of his horros stories which you didnt much like - might interest you to know that i dont really like *any* of his stories except for the stand and the tower - because those 2 stand well, well apart from his other books. You would know that - if you read them.

Apolagise if you have...

I've read a couple of these. Every so often, King manages a ripping yarn. The Stand did it, and this series manages it too. It's not brilliant literature in a technical sense, but it tells a good story, and that's good enough for me.

There is a very high chaff to wheat ratio, though.

I've never been a Stephen King fan, until I started the DT series. Now, even the mainstream stuff I never liked before has some behind the scenes meaning. I just finished Desperation/Regulators and I've started Talasman/Blackhouse, I've read DT 1-6, but haven't stated 7 yet. I have to say, TV did more to turn me off of Stephen King than any other thing.

I'm not much of a King fan. I enjoyed 'The Eyes of the Dragon', but haven't really read anything else. I got about halfway through the Gunslinger and gave up. I just got bored with it.

.

Gunslinger is a little boring, but the rest of the series is well worth pushing through it.

Excellent series. I haven't read the latest two though, and I only vaguely remember that last one with Blaine the Train since it's been awhile.

Opal Isle, that is possibly the most utterly arrogant thing you could have said - you know that, right?

Have you read the books? I doubt it - could be wrong but i really doubt it.

I imagine you are basing your opinion on a couple of his horros stories which you didnt much like - might interest you to know that i dont really like *any* of his stories except for the stand and the tower - because those 2 stand well, well apart from his other books. You would know that - if you read them.

Apolagise if you have...
It's not that they are necessarily boring or uninteresting...but it just doesn't have much of a message. The point of the his writing is to frighten and/or entertain. It's like watching porn...as opposed to the news.

Heya...this board is bad for me you know - i have missed about 5 hours of research in the past 2 days in order to debate topics that dont really require debate...

So hell, why break the habit?

The dark tower series by Steve King is, in my opinion, probably the best thing i have yet read - i find it original, deep, fascinating, puzzling, intricate, moving, more moving, and in places frankly...i dont really have the correct word to hand to describe how brilliant i think these books are (although i havent yet read the last one, im about 20% through...so post no spoilers).

Except for Wizard and Glass...that was only fairly good...which still is saying something.

Anyone dislike it enough to disagree? Id like to know why anyone couldnt like it basically :confused:

I loved the final ending.
I didn't even know you could use an egg whisk like that...

It's not that they are necessarily boring or uninteresting...but it just doesn't have much of a message. The point of the his writing is to frighten and/or entertain. It's like watching porn...as opposed to the news.

That is probably the best description of Stephen King's writings I've ever heard.

I loved the final ending.
I didn't even know you could use an egg whisk like that...

Dang it! I just started The Gunslinger, but now that you've ruined the ending for me, why bother?

But seriously, I'm enjoying The Gunslinger, it's slow going, but it's very relaxing to read. It's not one of those books that you can't put down, but it looks good on the shelf and it gives me a refreshing feeling when I read it, like I'm drinking a glass of water after eating too much chocolate cake.

Oh Yeah. I like Stephen King, but personally I don't like the Dark Tower books.
I'll stick with the The Stand anytime :P

That is probably the best description of Stephen King's writings I've ever heard.
Which is why even simple NationStates posters like myself can be better writers than Stephen King.

...not really...I don't think I'm on the level of Stephen King. At least not in fiction and creative writing anyway. If we're talking about technical writing, that's probably a whole different story.

I certainly don't think King is one of the best authors /ever/, but he's a good storyteller, a distinction he himself makes. The Dark Tower series is a good story (one I haven't finished, I have to get the 7th book) by most accounts. Is it deeply thought inspiring or a critical reflection of any modern ideal? Not in the least. It's just good reading.

But you really think every King book came out poorly on vid? How about Needful Things? I enjoyed the movie version of that (though of course, of course, it wasn't up to the level of the book, movies shouldn't be expected to be up to that level).

Tumaniia/Opal Isle - which goes for most of his stories - but i still think that you will both find that you have not read the dark tower, nor have any idea of its plot? (Btw sorry if im not being well mannered here this is just my thread for having an argument as opposed to a debate lol! dont take it personally guys, its not meant that way)

Anyway!

Yeah!

you ahvent read it! or have you? i asked but the answer was cleverly devoid of a yes or a no! ha! bring it on. Ha! On.

Tower has a message and a meaning - so does the stand to a lesser degree - his other books dont but surely you should be getting somehting from the fact that such a proportionof ppl who have posted here didnt like his other stories, but did like the tower/stand? Myself included!

Well :D ?

Anyway - read it - the gunslinger *is* very...relaxing to read- i personally found it quite compelling as well because in parts it was just deeply haunting, though this could be because i had just finished paradise lost and after that almost anything seems compelling - interesting and deep though it may be...

Tumaniia/Opal Isle - put your prejudices aside for a minute and read the gunslinger and see if you still dont like anything that king has written, r if you still find it shallow - which once upon a time i did...i put off reading the dark tower since i was about 10, you know?. In fact, hell - if you arent willing to buy it i will even post you my copy on loan!

The best book in the world is actually a poem i.e. Dante's Divine Comedy.

I think that maybe the events of the DT series take place hundreds of years after the Stand.


I liked the Talisman very much, but Black House is rather boring. It just kept dragging on, and the parts where (Main character) goes to (that magic place) looked rather forced in. The end is not as good as I had expected, and I didn't like Boy with psychokinetic abilities
The Shining (forgot)
The Stand (Leo)
DT series: (Jack)
Black House (forgot)
...
It's beginning to sound almost generic.


Sorry for all the brackets. King's books have so many elements it's impossible for me not to forget some.

The best book in the world is actually a poem i.e. Dante's Divine Comedy.

I never finished that.
I was a few chapters through Purgatory and then I left the school I was reading it at.
Also it probably would have been better if I actually knew who the people he often refers to were. I only remember knowing the classical ones.

I think that maybe the events of the DT series take place hundreds of years after the Stand.


I liked the Talisman very much, but Black House is rather boring. It just kept dragging on, and the parts where (Main character) goes to (that magic place) looked rather forced in. The end is not as good as I had expected, and I didn't like Boy with psychokinetic abilities
The Shining (forgot)
The Stand (Leo)
DT series: (Jack)
Black House (forgot)
...
It's beginning to sound almost generic.

Sorry for all the brackets. King's books have so many elements it's impossible for me not to forget some.
That's kinda the point you're missing, ST books, most of them if not all of them are connected in the ST universe. A character from one book wakes up in another, parallel universes with similar characters, sometimes the same character, there is so much more meaning than what you at first get from the Tommyknockers type stories the mainstream audiences gobble up. Books like the Stand, Talisman, It, and the Regulators give you insite to the world Roland lives on in the DT series.

That's kinda the point you're missing, ST books, most of them if not all of them are connected in the ST universe. A character from one book wakes up in another, parallel universes with similar characters, sometimes the same character, there is so much more meaning than what you at first get from the Tommyknockers type stories the mainstream audiences gobble up. Books like the Stand, Talisman, It, and the Regulators give you insite to the world Roland lives on in the DT series.

Sort of like Robert Rankin then?

Ja!

West - Europa - erm...because there is no set time that the books are set in - in the DT they do actually enter the stand's world during the time of the stand...and also thats not even the point as there is so much time travelling in the books all events are happening pretty much at the same times...rolands world might be a few hundred years ahead but at the same time maybey not, its never really explained but thats on purpose

Divine comedy...do you say? I will read it. Once i finish DT7....and catcher in the rye...

Tumaniia/Opal Isle - which goes for most of his stories - but i still think that you will both find that you have not read the dark tower, nor have any idea of its plot? (Btw sorry if im not being well mannered here this is just my thread for having an argument as opposed to a debate lol! dont take it personally guys, its not meant that way)

Anyway!

Yeah!

you ahvent read it! or have you? i asked but the answer was cleverly devoid of a yes or a no! ha! bring it on. Ha! On.

Tower has a message and a meaning - so does the stand to a lesser degree - his other books dont but surely you should be getting somehting from the fact that such a proportionof ppl who have posted here didnt like his other stories, but did like the tower/stand? Myself included!

Well :D ?

Anyway - read it - the gunslinger *is* very...relaxing to read- i personally found it quite compelling as well because in parts it was just deeply haunting, though this could be because i had just finished paradise lost and after that almost anything seems compelling - interesting and deep though it may be...

Tumaniia/Opal Isle - put your prejudices aside for a minute and read the gunslinger and see if you still dont like anything that king has written, r if you still find it shallow - which once upon a time i did...i put off reading the dark tower since i was about 10, you know?. In fact, hell - if you arent willing to buy it i will even post you my copy on loan!

You want me to do things to Stephen King like the sun and the moon. I don't think so. Don't have time. (Anyone here pick up who I'm alluding too? Hehe)

I think that maybe the events of the DT series take place hundreds of years after the Stand.


I liked the Talisman very much, but Black House is rather boring. It just kept dragging on, and the parts where (Main character) goes to (that magic place) looked rather forced in. The end is not as good as I had expected, and I didn't like Boy with psychokinetic abilities
The Shining (forgot)
The Stand (Leo)
DT series: (Jack)
Black House (forgot)
...
It's beginning to sound almost generic.


Sorry for all the brackets. King's books have so many elements it's impossible for me not to forget some.

The world in the Stand is just one of many different worlds in the Dark Tower universe...one that just happened to get wiped out.

This was probably the best series i have read by any author...Tolkien's Ring series was good, but also boring....Jordon just seems to be tailing it out as long as possible to just make more money outta it....and David Eddings books are too much like the last one to matter much. R.A Salvatore throws out a couple good ones, but once again they are all very similar. I work in a bookstore so i get to read lots

:rolleyes: I have read all of Stephen King's books, including all seven Dark Tower novels. I don't usually post messages, but I felt the need to address this one:
Stephen King is an excellent storyteller. One reason he's such a good storyteller is that he was born that way: his natural method of writing stories is almost by closing his eyes and letting his fingers do the typing - by his own words, he doesn't know where the stories come from, and some are good and some aren't so good. I think some of the best storytellers are the ones who don't think about their stories very hard, and I don't think King does. If he did, he'd philosophize them into nonexistence. They aren't perfect, there are errors ("Susannah jumped to her feet"?? DT7) and even plot holes, and they certainly aren't intentionally deep and meaningful to the extent of changing lives. My opinion is that his fascination with horror is actually a fascination with people - people are funny, and the psychology of horror in the human mind is both hilarious and deeply endearing. This shines through in every one of his gory stories. The Dark Tower is more thought-provoking than most of his other novels, and the series as a whole is the most entertaining thing I've ever read. Stephen King does not feel the Dark Tower series was a complete success: I disagree, taking all factors into account, including the real world time frame of the project (spanning four insane decades) and his own personal disaster (he got hit by a van). This novel is the work of his life, and no one has a perfect life.

That has got to be one of the most eloquint posts I have seen yet...very well phrased my friend. I would like to hear from you some more. You seem to have some interesting ideas on this subject.

Dark Tower= best book series evah! :)

Im waiting for #7 reading it since i was 12 now 13

That has got to be one of the most eloquint posts I have seen yet...very well phrased my friend. I would like to hear from you some more. You seem to have some interesting ideas on this subject.

I agree, I'm glad someone said it, I was going to but got distracted. (Stupid work...)

Yea I'm almost done the 7th book, I've also read a lot of his other books and I agree with what most people here are saying. Some of his horror books arn't that great, but the Dark Tower series and The Stand are amazing books. I can't wait to finish the 7th book!

Oh and Opal, I think the point with King is that all his readers read to be entertained, not read something boring like a biography (Just my style of readin, I'm sure some people like biographys and stuff like that)

Heya...this board is bad for me you know - i have missed about 5 hours of research in the past 2 days in order to debate topics that dont really require debate...

So hell, why break the habit?

The dark tower series by Steve King is, in my opinion, probably the best thing i have yet read - i find it original, deep, fascinating, puzzling, intricate, moving, more moving, and in places frankly...i dont really have the correct word to hand to describe how brilliant i think these books are (although i havent yet read the last one, im about 20% through...so post no spoilers).

Except for Wizard and Glass...that was only fairly good...which still is saying something.

Anyone dislike it enough to disagree? Id like to know why anyone couldnt like it basically :confused:

I like Stephen King, but I hate the Dark Tower series. Those books just seemed like they were going nowhere to me.

I never finished that.
I was a few chapters through Purgatory and then I left the school I was reading it at.
Also it probably would have been better if I actually knew who the people he often refers to were. I only remember knowing the classical ones.

Some of the characters whom he meets on his journey are very obscure hi ranking Venetians or Mantuans. People forgotten by history but who were well known at the time. That'll be why you have never heard of them.

hmm..i still think the tower is deep but it could be im misusing the word deep.
Probbaly..i suppose the anti-wasteland (as in..anit.what..the gradual "corrosion" of the world? not physically spekaing) elements such as to "deny discordia" isnt very deep but i find it very moving...but come to think of it no i dont suppose that is deep at all in the normal sense of the word, even if it is a wonderful idea!

hmm, okey, apolagies i ahev just realised that i have been misusing a word...

Vodkaslavia - very nice

everyone else - this isnt actually that exciting lol - i guess i just cant start a blazing row intentionally!