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BountyHunter
10-08-2017, 03:28 AM
While I haven't read this yet (it's on its way to me via book depository), I thought I'd start a thread about Sleeping Beauties because I didn't see one on here yet.

So let the discussion begin. I'm sure a bunch of you have read it already. How is it?

Mr. Rabbit Trick
10-08-2017, 11:45 PM
I thought it needed a proper editor. Steve and Owen have their own editors, and Steve's one is the least overworked person on the planet. This book is too long and average at best.

BountyHunter
10-09-2017, 02:36 AM
:( Darn. Not what I was hoping to hear. Hopefully, I'll think differently when I get mine.

TravelinJack
10-09-2017, 03:39 AM
There is definitely some bloat in the book. Overall a very interesting topic. I love that they collaborated and how they collaborated, but not the best book. Good, but not great. I was also a little put off in the need to throw in some politics.

Ben Mears
10-10-2017, 02:26 AM
Not one of his better books. With SB coming on the heels of Gwendy's Button Box I hope SK is finished collaborating for a while; like for the rest of his career.

BountyHunter
10-10-2017, 04:25 AM
Not one of his better books. With SB coming on the heels of Gwendy's Button Box I hope SK is finished collaborating for a while; like for the rest of his career.

Except, of course, for the third Talisman book, right? 😉

Ricky
10-10-2017, 04:29 AM
About 70 pages in and like it so far. I do think there's a bit too many characters this early on and wish it would've started with the sleeping sickness right away.

BountyHunter
10-16-2017, 03:33 AM
Mine just arrived today, and seeing the lack of activity on this thread leads me to believe it's gonna be a stinker. Good thing I prefer to read first and make up my own mind, eh? 😄

biomieg
10-16-2017, 05:51 AM
I'm currently at page 300 or thereabouts and so far I really like it :smile:

WeDealInLead
10-16-2017, 11:30 AM
Page 403 and I'm struggling to find motivation to continue. There are simply too many characters. It's not just the quantity - The Stand had a pretty ridiculous cast but those people were interesting and we're able to illicit an emotional response. Sleeping Beauties is full of cliched caricatures and I simply don't care about any of them.

And talking animals? Really?

Roseannebarr
10-16-2017, 02:23 PM
Page 403 and I'm struggling to find motivation to continue. There are simply too many characters. It's not just the quantity - The Stand had a pretty ridiculous cast but those people were interesting and we're able to illicit an emotional response. Sleeping Beauties is full of cliched caricatures and I simply don't care about any of them.

And talking animals? Really?

Talking animals is my favorite part.. I Loved watership down

BountyHunter
10-16-2017, 11:28 PM
Talking animals? Lol. Wha?

biomieg
10-16-2017, 11:30 PM
Yes, so far the talking animals aren't bothering me at all. It's true that there are too many characters but I'm still entertained and curious where the story will take me so that's a good thing!

AstroDad
10-17-2017, 09:29 AM
finished it today. I enjoyed it, but agree it was just average compared to King's other stuff.

writersblock
10-18-2017, 11:43 PM
I am about a quarter of the way through and enjoying it at the moment. Got a few books on the go to read after this as I am trying to work my way through the whole bibliography at the moment :biggrin:

RichardX
10-20-2017, 06:35 AM
A real conceptual mess. I get the impression that Owen wrote the bulk of it. Too many characters that go nowhere. The best example are the Griner brothers who are referenced, make an appearance at the climatic moment, and then get themselves killed without advancing the plot one iota. It's too bad because they were among the more interesting of the characters. To top it off we get a jarring reference to shootings by white police officers toward the end. I do give SK and OK some credit for not following the standard plot lines. There really is no "bad" guy in the book or winners and losers. Everyone is equally miserable. I give it a forgettable C-. If they make it into a TV series, it's going to be another Mist-like disaster.

cowboy_ed
10-24-2017, 08:03 PM
Funny cause I got the impression SK wrote most of it - I couldn't see Owen's voice at all.

What happens to trans people during Aurora? Must be a bit of a kick in the teeth if you've identified as a female for years but you keep waking up :eek:

Tommy
10-24-2017, 08:12 PM
Funny cause I got the impression SK wrote most of it - I couldn't see Owen's voice at all.

What happens to trans people during Aurora? Must be a bit of a kick in the teeth if you've identified as a female for years but you keep waking up :eek:

For folks that have had their teeth kicked in their whole lives I suppose it would be just another drop in the bucket.

Vern
10-26-2017, 03:34 PM
Finished the book today and loved it. Especially loved the way characters dropped like flies during the fight at the prison.

Next up, Revival.

webstar1000
11-07-2017, 04:55 AM
I liked it. Seems to be a book that some liked and some almost hated. I think they could have done MUCH more with the book though. It could have been a classic but it was just a book I liked.

biomieg
11-07-2017, 10:30 AM
I definitely liked it as well. I think they could have devoted some extra pages to tie up everything at the end - it felt a bit rushed, especially after the long buildup. But it was a solid and enjoyable book.

CyberGhostface
11-13-2017, 06:52 AM
You guys have hit the nail on the head as to how I'm feeling. It's a real slog to get through for me...

triton53@yahoo.com
11-16-2017, 06:47 PM
Ok, I finally finished the book. It was a struggle but I kept thinking there would be a good wrap up for all of this. I was so very, very wrong. Alright. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Do not read any further if you have not read the book.


Wow, where do I start? First, I get it. It was a good thought--i.e. what would happen if one gender was gone? This wasn't anything new. We saw something similar with "Left Behind". The dialogue was absolutely horrible. Everyone sounded the same and seriously lacked any intellect. An elderly lady saying "Yippie"? Wow. I wish I had a digital copy of this book as I would love to count the number of times a particular 4 letter word was used in the book (it begins with F and ends with K). I think every character in the book uttered that word at some point. I also think this book made a concerted effort to include as many catch phrases as possible. One of my initial issues was with folks swinging from one extreme to another within the blink of an eye. One question I kept hoping I would get an answer--i.e. why were the women trying to stay awake? Are we to believe Aurora was of concern only for Dooling? The world is filled with male scientists but a plastic surgeon in Dooling is the only one able to make any discoveries? (I'm referencing his discovery with burning the cocoon). BTW, how big of a town is Dooling if it has its own resident plastic surgeon? Back to my question--i.e. why were the women trying to stay awake? Ok, I can understand there are some women who may need to stay awake for as long as possible but we've got women in prison trying to stay awake. Is the answer because no one understood or knew anything about Aurora? Umm, this affected the entire world. Wouldn't places (medical facilities) have already established some of the obvious ... including the obvious of 'they ain't dead'? Wouldn't this be similar to a coma? Ok, I get that Lila would need to try and stick it out; she's the sheriff for gosh sake. But am I to believe a sheriff on drugs has a prayer at being productive in performing her duties (and in a crisis situation to boot)? Oh, let me get this out of the way as well. I had to laugh at the miserable failure of the evidence Lila collected accusing her husband of fathering another child. When their son looked at the picture and couldn't see the "obvious" resemblance Lila swore was there, I had to do a double take. This is a 20 year law enforcement officer. Was this an example of that law enforcement office's investigative skills? And speaking of Dooling's law enforcement office, am I to believe they don't have emergency response procedures which establishes chain of command and whatnots? The book suffered, in my opinion, when it tried to include real world instances such as mentioning 9/11, which, in law enforcement, is huge in terms of responding to disasters. I won't bother commenting on Terry, the alcoholic. He's 2nd in command, worked at the law enforcement office before Lila joined but is inept. (Ok, I did comment. LOL) This story was poorly done and could have benefited from some research. The deck was stacked. "All men are bad and violent. All women have been abused and taken advantage of." We all could close our eyes and finish the book just from reading the initial pages. Even Eve Black hated men. It struck me as funny how the men of the world couldn't carry own once Aurora started. No one went to work. No one opened any stores. Business stopped. Men couldn't do laundry, shave, etc. It was interesting Dooling only had a women's prison. I wonder where men went when they were sent to prison; out of town, maybe? But the story stated men were bad and violent so why did Dooling have a women's prison? (Duh, because the story needed it.) A point of the story was women didn't have a say. So, Our World, gave women a place where they had a say. What about the rest of the women of the world? What I mean is the decision rested with only the women of Dooling in Our World in terms of whether they would return or not return and it had to be unanimous. The point was the men would not give the women a voice (yeah, I know, loved how they made sure Lila reminded Clint about the pool to further show how the women were mistreated in the real world). So, the women who were still asleep during all of this didn't get a say in whether they wanted to wake up in Our World or wake up in the real world. I'll wrap this up with one more. Clint and Frank. Another pair of characters who are "gung-hoed" one minute and "I don't know" the next. Frank's goal was to collect Eve Black and bring in doctors from ... out of town<?> (apparently, the only doctors in Dooling MUST be women since the story only talked about the local hospital when Frank was taking his daughter there). Why didn't Frank get the doctor (or doctors) and have them go to the prison? I found none of the characters of any interest. Lila's goof with facial features (20 years of law enforcement!) was just too silly. Clint's internal rage at everybody (including Lila) seemed to come out of nowhere. Clint was certainly the most sex deprived character in the book. When he asked Lila if she met anyone in Our World, I started laughing wondering where that came from. Near the end, there was the bit of him sexually fantasizing about Eve Black. Geez. Oh, forgot about Fleckenger. Frank chops down his front door with an axe and the next thing they are BFFs. Oh come on! After reading this book, I wanted so badly to re-read Revival, Doctor Sleep, End of Watch, anything. I needed to find comfort in a really good book. lol. On a slightly positive note, I also purchased the audiobook and remembered it included an audio conversation with MR. Stephen King and Owen King. I learned the original plan was to make it a mini tv series. Owen noted they shot 2 episodes, including the pilot, but chose to write the book first. Knowing this, the number of characters in the book made sense. I will say this, knowing what I know now, I would have still read the book. I am too big of a Stephen King fan ... just wish it wasn't so bad. Anywho, just my loose thoughts.

BountyHunter
11-23-2017, 12:00 PM
Finally got around to starting this, and so far I'm loving it. Not having problems keeping the characters straight at all, and I can't put it down. Can't wait to see where it goes.

BigJoeHillfan
11-30-2017, 07:31 AM
A real conceptual mess. I get the impression that Owen wrote the bulk of it. Too many characters that go nowhere. The best example are the Griner brothers who are referenced, make an appearance at the climatic moment, and then get themselves killed without advancing the plot one iota. It's too bad because they were among the more interesting of the characters. To top it off we get a jarring reference to shootings by white police officers toward the end. I do give SK and OK some credit for not following the standard plot lines. There really is no "bad" guy in the book or winners and losers. Everyone is equally miserable. I give it a forgettable C-. If they make it into a TV series, it's going to be another Mist-like disaster.

+1
I struggled to get through it and am glad I am done so I can move on to a better book. It was just too long and slow. thumbsdownlarge

CyberGhostface
12-04-2017, 07:49 AM
Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.

Roseannebarr
12-04-2017, 08:01 AM
Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.

I. Reread cujo and started Christine after reading sleeping beauties. I could not put them done! Sb is a hard read

O.o

Bev Vincent
12-04-2017, 08:07 AM
Interview with Owen: https://storgy.com/2017/12/03/interview-owen-king/

stroppygoblin
12-04-2017, 08:50 AM
Interview with Owen: https://storgy.com/2017/12/03/interview-owen-king/

I dislike sycophantic interviewers. "STORGY: ‘Sleeping Beauties’ had me in stiches; whether that be talking about ‘trumped-up tax dodgers, emphasis on the Trump’; or ‘the Kardashians farting being breaking news’"

In stitches? Really? :unsure:

Oh and by the way, learn to spell 'stitches'.

Ricky
12-04-2017, 10:15 AM
Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.

I've been feeling the same way. Been reading it since early October and still 200+ pages to go. Can't decide whether it's the plot itself, SK, or Owern that's to blame.

triton53@yahoo.com
12-04-2017, 06:37 PM
Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.

I. Reread cujo and started Christine after reading sleeping beauties. I could not put them done! Sb is a hard read

O.o

I know the feeling. I felt the need as well. I opted to check out Mr. King's other son's latest book.

Bev Vincent: With the audiobook version of SB, there's a conversation with Stephen and Owen at the end where, pretty much, the same information is revealed though is is just Stephen and Owen talking.

F1racefan
12-04-2017, 07:19 PM
Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.

I've been feeling the same way. Been reading it since early October and still 200+ pages to go. Can't decide whether it's the plot itself, SK, or Owern that's to blame.

I completely agree. It took me over a month to read when I usually read a King book in a week or less.

BountyHunter
12-06-2017, 01:24 PM
Not understanding the dislike for this book. I thought it was fantastic.

webstar1000
12-07-2017, 05:14 AM
Not understanding the dislike for this book. I thought it was fantastic.

I agree!

nesdamycart
12-10-2017, 06:19 AM
SPOILER ALERTS IN THIS COMMENT. I found this by googling “Sleeping Beauties Stephen King disappointing”. Because I own everything he’s ever written, and love his stuff – even the co-authored novels, but this one was really disappointing. I agree with the comments here – too many characters, no real redeeming qualities to any of them (or anyone to root for) very biased, finding the worst in both sexes (I’m female – and while I love some of his writing addressing violence against women – Rose Madder, etc – I found this one pretty heavy-handed). But my biggest problem with it was (SPOILER ALERT) the huge holes in the plot: for example – WHY did time go faster in Our Place? Did the women age in relation (Warden Janice's hair grew FAST - would that mean shorter lifespans?) But the biggest one unaddressed was – what REAL choice did the women have? With their cocooned bodies on the other side, they would still live in fear, and at the whim, of the very men they were choosing to leave behind. Was there any doubt that if they did not return, they left themselves utterly vulnerable? If the men grew angry or despondent that they lived in a women-less world, what would stop them from burning all the cocoons, effectively wiping out the New World? Why would the men left behind care enough to safeguard all those bodies so that the women lived on, in another world? Especially if they were as self-centred, callous, mean, etc as they were all painted to be? Absolutely made zero sense at all.

nesdamycart
12-11-2017, 06:34 AM
SPOILER ALERTS IN THIS COMMENT. I found this by googling “Sleeping Beauties Stephen King disappointing”. Because I own everything he’s ever written, and love his stuff – even the co-authored novels, but this one was really disappointing. I agree with comments of disappointment here – too many characters, no real redeeming qualities to any of them (or anyone to root for) very biased, finding the worst in both sexes (I’m female – and while I love some of his writing regarding violence against women – Rose Madder is a fantastic example – I found this one pretty heavy-handed). But my biggest problem with it was (SPOILER ALERT) the huge holes in the plot: WHY did time go faster in Our Place? Did the women age in relation? Warden Janice's hair grew extremely fast, was aging accelerated? But the biggest one unaddressed was – what REAL choice did the women have? With their cocooned bodies on the other side, they would still live in fear, and at the whim, of the very men they were choosing to leave behind. Was there any doubt that if they did not return, they left themselves utterly vulnerable? If the men grew angry or despondent that they lived in a women-less world, what would stop them from burning all the cocoons, effectively wiping out the New World? Why would the men left behind care enough to safeguard all those bodies so that the women lived on, in another world? Made absolutely zero sense at all. I feel like if this had been a debut novel by a new author, it wouldn't have made it past the rejection desk. I'm finding myself re-reading the classic King novels lately, and that only reinforces my disappointment in this book.

RichardX
12-11-2017, 04:10 PM
SPOILER ALERTS IN THIS COMMENT. I found this by googling “Sleeping Beauties Stephen King disappointing”. Because I own everything he’s ever written, and love his stuff – even the co-authored novels, but this one was really disappointing. I agree with comments of disappointment here – too many characters, no real redeeming qualities to any of them (or anyone to root for) very biased, finding the worst in both sexes (I’m female – and while I love some of his writing regarding violence against women – Rose Madder is a fantastic example – I found this one pretty heavy-handed). But my biggest problem with it was (SPOILER ALERT) the huge holes in the plot: WHY did time go faster in Our Place? Did the women age in relation? Warden Janice's hair grew extremely fast, was aging accelerated? But the biggest one unaddressed was – what REAL choice did the women have? With their cocooned bodies on the other side, they would still live in fear, and at the whim, of the very men they were choosing to leave behind. Was there any doubt that if they did not return, they left themselves utterly vulnerable? If the men grew angry or despondent that they lived in a women-less world, what would stop them from burning all the cocoons, effectively wiping out the New World? Why would the men left behind care enough to safeguard all those bodies so that the women lived on, in another world? Made absolutely zero sense at all. I feel like if this had been a debut novel by a new author, it wouldn't have made it past the rejection desk. I'm finding myself re-reading the classic King novels lately, and that only reinforces my disappointment in this book.

I agree. When I saw them in NY, Owen indicated this started out as some type of TV project and then evolved into a novel. That raises a lot of red flags. It's a conceptual mess and very disappointing. I'm sure SK did this in part to advance the profile of OK as a writer. Oddly enough I really enjoyed "Double Feature" but this one is a real stinker. One of the few King novels that I wouldn't bother to read twice.

Ricky
12-11-2017, 04:20 PM
It's a conceptual mess and very disappointing.

This. Big time.

CyberGhostface
12-12-2017, 07:39 AM
How does Owen's other stuff fare to those who read it?

On a related note I really wish King would write a full novel with Joe Hill as opposed to just the occasional short story. I actually asked Hill this at a signing but his response was (as I remember, this was back when NOS4A2 was out I think) that it probably wouldn't happen as their allotted free writing time together would only allow something short.

craigobau
12-26-2017, 11:10 PM
Finished SB yesterday and really enjoyed it, reminding me of some of the best King “multiple characters in peril” stories, particularly Under The Dome.

For me, it was a return to his big story-telling and writing style that was missing from the Hodges trilogy.

Ricky
01-01-2018, 04:23 PM
Finally finished Sleeping Beauties today after three long months. It seemed like it would never end. I don't know if I've ever dreaded reading a King story, so this may be a first. Way too long, too many characters (and none I really cared about), and the most interesting part of the whole book, Evie, was just there. Glad I'm finally finished, but can't help but feel irritated at the wasted potential here. Somewhere in Sleeping Beauties is a good book.

mikeC
02-22-2018, 12:25 PM
How does Owen's other stuff fare to those who read it?


I really enjoyed Double Feature quite a bit. I read pretty much just sci-fi and horror and I found it to be a really fun departure from my normal readings. I thought it was a very funny and fun book.

Every time I laughed during Sleeping Beauties I assumed it was Owen's writing.

Heather19
04-19-2018, 02:42 PM
I just finished the audiobook this morning. Wow, what a borefest. I really struggled getting through it. There was a huge cast of characters, but I really felt no strong connection to any of them. There also seemed to be a lot of stuff that went nowhere. Why was there all this time spent on Lila and Clint and what's going on, only to find out she thought he cheated on her, but he didn't. And then that whole story line just disappears. Seems like they could have greatly condensed this book down and made it a lot tighter and shorter. There was also all this buildup, but the end was pretty abrupt and nothing spectacular. I also had the question of why was it just the women of Dooling that get to make this choice. Seemed kinda odd that it wasn't all of the female population.

TravelinJack
04-19-2018, 02:51 PM
I just finished the audiobook this morning. Wow, what a borefest. I really struggled getting through it. There was a huge cast of characters, but I really felt no strong connection to any of them. There also seemed to be a lot of stuff that went nowhere. Why was there all this time spent on Lila and Clint and what's going on, only to find out she thought he cheated on her, but he didn't. And then that whole story line just disappears. Seems like they could have greatly condensed this book down and made it a lot tighter and shorter. There was also all this buildup, but the end was pretty abrupt and nothing spectacular. I also had the question of why was it just the women of Dooling that get to make this choice. Seemed kinda odd that it wasn't all of the female population.

I felt the same way. Shame as it was a great story idea. Looks like the strange, abrupt, or fizzled ending is genetic. I was just waiting for the large strange spider or slave lord ants to pop up. Although I guess this wasn’t just a bad ending, it really was rough and splotchy throughout. I felt confused many times.

I feel as though, if a book is bad, ok it happens. But, when a super long tome-esq book is bad, that’s just mean.

For me it didn’t feel like a Stephen King book much at all. Even in some of his less liked works where the story isn’t that great or favored, I usually still enjoy the writing and characters. This time around I didn’t feel that way.

Heather19
04-19-2018, 02:57 PM
Yeah, I don't think the ending was bad per say, but just very boring. That's kind of how I felt through the whole thing. It was very forgettable. I was actually really excited when I first heard the premise, so it was a bit of a let down. I think the idea was good, but not the way it was executed. Maybe if they trimmed it down it could be a much better story.



For me it didn’t feel like a Stephen King book much at all. Even in some of his less liked works where the story isn’t that great or favored, I usually still enjoy the writing and characters. This time around I didn’t feel that way.

Yes, I felt that same way.

Ricky
04-19-2018, 02:57 PM
I was just waiting for the large strange spider or slave lord ants to pop up.

:rofl:

TravelinJack
04-19-2018, 03:00 PM
Yeah, I don't think the ending was bad per say, but just very boring. That's kind of how I felt through the whole thing. It was very forgettable. I was actually really excited when I first heard the premise, so it was a bit of a let down. I think the idea was good, but not the way it was executed. Maybe if they trimmed it down it could be a much better story.

I agree there, this book would definitely benefit from a trim. I think anytime a story starts to really feel bloated I begin to drift. But I still try to stay with it in hopes of improvement or something to change. I really wanted to like this one.

Sai Sheb
05-19-2018, 01:51 AM
Only just started SB. Question! On page 20 the word oncept is used, I've never come across this word, is it a typo? Also whats up with the censorship on a certain name on this thread?

Brainslinger
05-30-2018, 11:49 AM
I started this a while back, but finished it early this morning. I didn’t dislike it. The premise was interesting, and I enjoyed it well enough while reading it, but I didn’t feel strongly inclined to stick with it, and spent weeks with it to one side, while I read other stuff.

Granted, I’ve been very busy working long hours, but that wouldn’t stop me in the past. I usually find it difficult to put down a King book. Granted, this wasn’t just a Stephen King book, but I’m not gonna blame Owen as I don’t know if it’s his influence (and I haven’t read any of his own work, that I can remember, to judge him fairly) or just the result of the two of them writing together.

And as I said, I didn’t dislike it. It did feel a bit of a chore to get through, though. I purposely binged it the last three nights, not because I found it so riveting (although it does get more interesting near the end) but because I wanted to get it over with ASAP so I could move on to something else.

But, I did like it. Honest. Just not all that much. I liked the Evey character a lot, though.

Kingfan24
11-26-2019, 10:01 AM
Finally managed a slog through this book and finished it two days ago. What a waste of my time. The story was so bloated and so much could be taken out.

Interesting premise, horrible execution, and even worse ending. I agree with all the previous comments: bad dialogue, too many unnecessary characters, and no payoff for slogging through a mess of a book.

ur2ndbiggestfan
11-26-2019, 11:10 AM
I liked it a bit more than you did, but then, I had to, I have 31 copies of the book. (Still missing the UK proof and the CD lettered)

Seriously though, I liked SLEEPING BEAUTIES quite a lot. I had a few quibbles with it. I disagree with King's politics, but he has every right to put whatever he wants to in his books, they are his books, after all, and I thought the story moved along rather well. His dialog does irk me once in a while, but I'd put SB nearer the top tier of his novels I liked than the bottom.