Desperation Vs The Regulators

[Baradin]

Ok here's the poll. So which was the one you liked better. Also let us know which one you read first as that seems to be the deciding factor for a great many people.

I started with Regulators then read Desperation, but I really like Desperation and not so much the Regulators. Good stories both, but Desperation was just so much more.. fluid. It had a better groove.

[Chassit]

I too read Desperation first and found it to be the better of the two.

XIX

[Jean]

Desperation. Hands down. No comparison.

[Randall Flagg]

I read Desperation first and enjoyed it. A short time later I started The Regulators and read about 1/10th of it and hated it. I put the book down and picked it up >5 years later. I then read it and although I finished it and it was interesting, I still thought Desperation was better.

[towerguard]

Desperation is my fav. King book of all time. Alot my friends who read King say it's their favorite too. Maybe it's a location thing. :lol:

[Darkthoughts]

I haven't read the Regulators, but I really didn't like Desperation at all. I didn't think it was badly written or without good characters, I just find alot of books from that particular era of King's writing, too bleak.

[Ruki]

i liked the regulators more. i thought it was weirder and more fucked up. maybe it has something to do with reading it first.

[Darkthoughts]

Are they interlinked? Would I like Regulators even if I didn't like Desperation?

[Chassit]

They are indeed linked. Hard to say as far as your second question goes because they are different stories (mostly).

XIX

[Old Man Splitfoot]

I read the Regulators first, and at the time of my first reading, it was the one I liked more. But a couple years later, I found the two of them in HC for really cheap, and reread them, and now I like Desperation more. Desperation has actually become one of my favorite King novels.

[Randall Flagg]

Are they interlinked? Would I like Regulators even if I didn't like Desperation?

Here is a brief description and then a link to a site that has done a very nice comparison.
BE WARNED!
The site does list characters that live in one book and die in the other.


Desperation vs. The Regulators!
Desperation and The Regulators was published simultaneously, and both novels really center around a new personification of evil that goes by the name of Tak. But Tak isn´t the only 'thing' the two books has in common.
One of the major points of interest between these two books, is King´s use of the characters in each novel.
Here is a little collection I have found...


http://users.cybercity.dk/~nmb21186/desreg.htm

[Erin]

I'm the second vote for The Regulators. I read it when I was maybe 14 or so and loved loved loved it. I read Desperation about a year later and for some reason I can't remember much of it. I need to do a re-read. Who knows, I may change my mind.

[Amata]

Regulators was good, even though it took two pages to describe the summer at the start lol... but Desperation is an amazing book, they don't even compare really.

[fernandito]

The Regulators has nothing on Desperation.

[VolsToTheWall]

I read The Regulators before I read Desperation. I liked both books, but I enjoyed Desperation much more.

[OchrisO]

I read The Regulators first, and I like a lot of stuff about it more. I like the cartoon characters coming to life and such, and I think I like it better, but as much as I like it, on all honesty, Desperation is probably the better story overall because you find out more about Tak in it.

[Darkthoughts]

Thanks for the link RF!! I'll buy Regulators when I get paid this week and then maybe re-read Desperation.

[Spencer]

Here's how big the gap is for me.

1. Desperation is my favorite non Dark Tower King book.

2. I'd be willing to say that The Regulators is my least favorite Bachman book

[fernandito]

1. Desperation is my favorite non Dark Tower King book.



:thumbsup:

[Telynn]

I liked them both, but Desperation was a better book, in my opinion. That is why I would tell someone to read The Regulators first. I think if I had read them the other way around, I don't think I would have liked The Regulators as much.

[Darkthoughts]

What did you all like so much about Desperation? (Those of you counting it as a favourite).

[Telynn]

I thought the story was deeper. More to it.

[fernandito]

What did you all like so much about Desperation? (Those of you counting it as a favourite).

One word: TAK!!

[Darkthoughts]

:D ... Yeah, that was cool - I preferred the story once it moved out of the police station and into the mine stuff. Did you think Tak was IT? I maybe getting confused, its a while since I read it, but I seem to recall thinking that.

[Ruki]

that crossed my mind while i was reading the regulators, but it didn't feel right so i never put much thought into it.

[Randall Flagg]

Thanks for the link RF!! I'll buy Regulators when I get paid this week and then maybe re-read Desperation.
I would send you my paperback, but postage to the UK is silly for a non collectible book.:angry:

[Matt]

I am a Desperation man personally. Although, the more I think about them the harder time I have remembering them. Like so many others in here, I may have to do a re read.

[Darkthoughts]

No worries RF - picked it up second hand for 50p at the weekend :D

And now I can compare, I have to say that Regulators is my favourite of the two. I appreciate Desperation more now that I've read Regulators, but I loved the Audrey/Seth stuff (reminded me a little of Lisey's Story - which I also love) and preferred the angle and setting of this story. I liked the incarnations of the characters better in this one too.

[fernandito]

No worries RF - picked it up second hand for 50p at the weekend :D

And now I can compare, I have to say that Regulators is my favourite of the two. I appreciate Desperation more now that I've read Regulators, but I loved the Audrey/Seth stuff (reminded me a little of Lisey's Story - which I also love) and preferred the angle and setting of this story. I liked the incarnations of the characters better in this one too.

Really? I always felt that the incarnations of the characters in the regulators were a bit hollow compared to those of Desperation.

[Hannah]

I'm going to say Desperation. It had more heart.

And I'm partial to Tak. :wub:

[fernandito]

I'm going to say Desperation. It had more heart.

And I'm partial to Tak. :wub:

Tak is my favorite SK villian. :)

"I see holes like eyes"

[sullivan19]

Desperation all day. Collie was so much better in this book.

[Hannah]

I agree with that wholeheartedly.

[ZoNeSeeK]

I dunno, I read desperation a couple of times before even knowing about its twin book so was pretty excited about the Regulators. Probably because of the originality and difference in the regulators id have to say that thats probably marginally in front of Desperation. The way Tak was done was a little more left of centre and insidious, instead of being this big ol baddie down a dark scary hole which is a little cliche.

[Darkthoughts]

Desperation all day. Collie was so much better in this book.
See, I think you're all a bit more sadistic than me :lol: All the stuff with Collie at the start of Desperation put me off the rest of the story.

[Cutter]

The funny thing is the start of Desperation just grabbed me and scared the crap out of me. I think it's because one always has a fear of the police. You drive past one on the road, you hit the breaks even if your going the speed limit, etcetera. So the bad cop idea just fed my fears. I remember reading about the first 4 chapters the first night, and the next day was "this is great" this is what I always wanted a bad cop, who you thought you could trust but was crazy. I'm pretty sure I was telling people at work how great the start of this book was that first day.

After that, I thought it was classic King in the sense of It or Pet Sematary or any of another number of his novels. It was just classic King: good storytelling, good character development, and a encounter with the supernatural as the bad guy, he creates his own mythology with Tak, and on and on.

I liked Regulators because I thought he took some risks with this novel, he didn't stick to his regular form of storytelling. But that was the attraction. it's only one one street, and one day, there is not a lot of variety with the novel, but he makes it work. My big beef, though, was no character development. It took me about half way through the book before I really who knew who was who.

Anyway, my vote goes to Desperation. I thought it was classic King!

[Frunobulax]

I read Regulators first then Desperation...and I liked Regulators more. I'm just a Bachman fan, what can I say??

[Darkthoughts]

The funny thing is the start of Desperation just grabbed me and scared the crap out of me. I think it's because one always has a fear of the police. You drive past one on the road, you hit the breaks even if your going the speed limit, etcetera. So the bad cop idea just fed my fears. I remember reading about the first 4 chapters the first night, and the next day was "this is great" this is what I always wanted a bad cop, who you thought you could trust but was crazy. I'm pretty sure I was telling people at work how great the start of this book was that first day.
I love the way you put that, its an excellent point. Its 50% of the reason it was so scary, to me, the other 50% being what happened to Pie...as I said in another thread, since I had kids stuff like that just freaks me out (kinda weird when you're a King fan, I know :D ) the way things happened in Regulators was as tense, but not so intense if you see what I mean.

[Jean]

when one of my students read Desperation, she was very deeply impressed. She said it was a bad book. I asked what she meant; she couldn't really explain, but the point was she liked the book (the way it was written, the plot, the characters, the imagery, the main idea, everything), - and instead of explaining what bad might mean, she just kept repeating, "It's bad, it's dark, all other King books are good, and that one is bad, it feels different, it even tastes different, it is bad!" Desperation is on my Top 5 list (as I discovered, much to my own surprize, answering in that other thread), but I think I understand, empathically if not rationally, what my student meant.

P.S. When that same student read The Regulators, she just shrugged her shoulders... so did I.

[Darkthoughts]

when one of my students read Desperation, she was very deeply impressed. She said it was a bad book. I asked what she meant; she couldn't really explain
I understand completely. In general all of SK's "baddies" are part of a bigger picture (Crimson King for example) and theres always some element of the white opposing them - but Tak seemed to be this random, chaotic evil that had no counterpart and no point other than to cause misery. Even Flagg isn't so chaotic in that respect.
I did appreciate the book in the sense that it had a great plot, characters etc - its just I couldn't enjoy it.


P.S. When that same student read The Regulators, she just shrugged her shoulders... so did I.
Thats a shame - I guess its "tamer" in the face of Desperation, but I enjoyed the angle of it a whole lot more.

[Brice]

I liked both books although I think I liked Desperation better. I had to read The Regulators a couple times before I could really apprciate it. I believe I read Desperation first.

[Jean]

I understand completely. In general all of SK's "baddies" are part of a bigger picture (Crimson King for example) and theres always some element of the white opposing them - but Tak seemed to be this random, chaotic evil that had no counterpart and no point other than to cause misery. Even Flagg isn't so chaotic in that respect.
Exactly. Evil underlying the whole order of things in the universe. As if the fabric itself of creation were made of evil, - with only a few people fighting their desperate fight against it, but these people seem to be suspended, having no solid foundation under their feet, with only the boy flimsily connecting them with the Good, personified as God, who, in His turn, is somewhere far beyond, as if He indeed has forsaken His creation and abandoned it. (it's not called Desperation for nothin', of course)

[CRinVA]

Absolutely Desperation - its longer, more thought provoking.

The Regulators is great in-you-face kind of stuff though!

[Frunobulax]

I'm in a dying breed...6 votes for Regulators...

[ZoNeSeeK]

Yeah me too. :(

[Ruki]

yeah but look how cool the people who voted for the regulators are :)

[Frunobulax]

W00t W00t!!

[jhanic]

For me, it's a close "race". I picked Desperation, mainly because I liked the story better, but Regulators was a VERY close second.

John

[gunslinger19]

I like both of them alot, but as a deciding factor I usually prefer religion and horror to not inter-mingle as much as they did in Desperation.

[Randall Flagg]

I like both of them alot, but as a deciding factor I usually prefer religion and horror to not inter-mingle as much as they did in Desperation.

That was actually one reason I preferred Desperation over The Regulators.

[NeedfulKings]

I read Desperation first. I was scanning SK books at the store and when I read the opening page, I was hooked. And it did scare me in many ways. Plus, I still remember the absolute horror when

**without going into any real spoilers*

she squished the spider on her head. Ugh, I damn near threw up! :p

Anyhoo....I then read Regulators and once I got over the confusion of character names, it did settle into just a fun, shoot em up story.

I like them both, for far different reasons. :)

[Wuducynn]

I liked Desperation just a little more than Regulators. I like both a real lot.

[Storyslinger]

I wish I could choose but I can't.

I loved the idea of the companionship, which is why I can't make a clear choice for one or the other.

[ATG]

I don't remember anymore which I read first.

[CyberGhostface]

I read Desperation first. Overall, I liked Desperation a lot but I think Regulators was still good.

I remember being pretty shocked at numerous points during the beginning parts of Desperation when I thought I had been thoroughly desensitized to King's works.

I think Regulators is a bit more bizarre for me. I thought the whole "alternate world" bit was a bit gimmicky being that with the exception of Tak (and when you get down to it the specifications of Tak are different in the two) it was just different people with the same names. But I did enjoy the novel, and I think I was more emotional with the finale then I was with Desperation.

[Daghain]

I'm on a reread of all my King, and I plan to do these back to back. Can't wait to see how that works out. :)

[Jean]

I've been doing it non-stop. I always read four to six books at once, and one of them is always King, so I am on a constant back-to-back reread.

[jayson]

I preferred Regulators, though I really enjoy both of these. I read Desperation first [start with the one King put his own name on I figured]. It took awhile to really get rolling, but once it did, I couldn't put it down for large periods of time. I think perhaps after meeting these characters in Desperation, it was fun to see them in a new context [prob another level of the Tower] dealing with Tak. I think I also really liked the idea of the baddies being plucked out of the mind of a child.

[Wuducynn]

Its interesting to read them in different orders. It gives a different perspective to their connections. I really enjoy reading them, they both have a lot of great scary moments and are "romps".

[ManOfWesternesse]

Voted Desperation.
Read that first too.
Neither would be my favourite King by any means - but both were pretty good.

[jayson]

Its interesting to read them in different orders. It gives a different perspective to their connections. I really enjoy reading them, they both have a lot of great scary moments and are "romps".

agree. the second time through i reversed the orders. both were still enjoyable, but each def reads differenlty with the other before it.

[Storyslinger]

Read Desperation first, but I still like it the best also.

The story seemed to have more substance.

[Brice]

I've been doing it non-stop. I always read four to six books at once, and one of them is always King, so I am on a constant back-to-back reread.

...as I am. :thumbsup:

[alinda]

I feel like rereading Desperation when I get home tonight!

[Wuducynn]

I feel like rereading Desperation when I get home tonight!


Feeling desperate about it?

[alinda]

I do now. Actually I am leaving in a few days time,
heading down state to Lake Okeechoobee to do
some fishing, and attend a "mudfest" what ever that
is, I only know its dirty and noisy! I'll be taking along
Desperation to read. Vacation cant be all activity
theres got to be book time right? Imagine 11 days
with out work to do! Ahhhhh :)

[Wuducynn]

I do now. Actually I am leaving in a few days time,
heading down state to Lake Okeechoobee to do
some fishing, and attend a "mudfest" what ever that
is, I only know its dirty and noisy! I'll be taking along
Desperation to read. Vacation cant be all activity
theres got to be book time right? Imagine 11 days
with out work to do! Ahhhhh :)


Awesome! My vacation isn't coming until June, well part of it is. I like to break it up. I'll be reading Duma Key next.

[alinda]

I'll be taking time again in July (birthday)
Although it's getting harder each year
to top the celebrations. I may just
have to rough it at the beach this year.
I think your gonna love DK, I am giving
a copy of it away ( on this site).
The characters are wonderful!

[Wuducynn]

Is it scary?

[jayson]

Is it scary?

not yet anyway [about 160 pgs in now], but it is creepy. it's slow developing, but still interesting.

[alinda]

I may not be the best person to ask that question, as I do not
ever remember being scared by SK. But it is a very good book
( IMO)





Is it scary?

[Wuducynn]

Is it scary?

not yet anyway [about 160 pgs in now], but it is creepy. it's slow developing, but still interesting.

I love creepy and slow developing, like Bag of Bones. Sounds like my cup o' tea.

[jayson]

i think you'll enjoy it if for no other reason so far than it reads like King.

[Heather19]

Is it scary?

It's not scary, but it does have a creepy moment or too. If you liked Bag of Bones then I think you'll enjoy this one. It had kind of a similar feel to it. It was a great book.

[Wuducynn]

I didn't like Bag of Bones I LOVED Bag of Bones..its one of my favorite non-Dark Tower books. So yeah, I'm wicked excited about this one.

[jayson]

I need to give Bag another go-round. It didn't do it for me the first time, but it's been awhile. After Duma Key I have to finish my re-read of W&G, but that shouldn't take long. Maybe Bag after that. Dunno.

[Heather19]

Definately give it another shot. It's a wonderful book. It's one of my favorite King stories.

[LadyHitchhiker]

Well I thought the story to the regulators was more interesting, but desperation was written better so I voted desperation...

[Farson]

Nothing scarier than a cop who adds, "I'm going to kill you." to your miranda rights. "Desperation" is in my top 10 best SK books. "The Regulators" was just whacked out. Serious trippage goin on in that one, still liked alot though.

[Lance]

Personally I liked The Regulators more because it didn't have all the religious implications that Desperation had.

[fernandito]

Nothing scarier than a cop who adds, "I'm going to kill you." to your miranda rights.

I love how King played on our natural fear of boys in blue and amped it up a little by having him act all weird.

[Girlystevedave]

Desperation is the better, hands down. I remember the first time I read it. It started with such a creepy vibe anyway, the feeling of isolation. Then this crazy cop comes in, and I'm thinking:
"Oh, I'm in for a hell of a ride here.":thumbsup:

[alinda]

I re-read back to back both books in the past weeks, and now I must say
tho' I at first said Desperation... The Regulaters was better than I remembered.
Having the names of characters switched around was so crazy reading both stories so close together.
Anyway, my opinion is they are both really good books.

[razz]

I'm just about to finish desperation. I was told that was the best way to go: Desperation then regulators. this is now one of my favorite books

[Arthur Heath]

Im covering my eyes as I type this as Im about 2/3 done with Regulators. Then on to Desperation. Visa Versa than Razzle Dazzle.

[Girlystevedave]

Is it your first read of both?

[Wuducynn]

I'm just about to finish desperation. I was told that was the best way to go: Desperation then regulators. this is now one of my favorite books


I've found reading them in either order works but just bring a different perspective.

[Brainslinger]

I think The Regulator is perhaps the more original of the two. The idea of thoughtforms from a possessed child killing people was very interesting, something I don't think I've come across before. (I suppose the closest would be the green Lantern's power..

That being said I prefer Desperation. I read it first too. I just love those stories that are close to the real world, all the things you know.... then twist! The characters in special cars were a cool idea, but it just seemed a bit more out there. I guess I like the kind of story, just enough off-set from reality where you think, "That could happen." There are exceptions though. I love the Dark Tower books after all, and there largely set in a fantasy world rather different from our own! (Mind you I like 'fantasy other world' stories too.)

That's not to say there was no originality in Desperation either. The can-tahs were a pretty twisted interesting concept. And ghost town stories (even if only recently 'ghosted') are cool.

[Heather19]

Im covering my eyes as I type this as Im about 2/3 done with Regulators. Then on to Desperation. Visa Versa than Razzle Dazzle.

Is this your first read of something else by King aside from the Dark Tower books?

[MrQuint]

I read Regulators first - and preferred that one. I agree that this is a case where the first one you read is the book of choice. You get used to the characters one way - to see them differently is a mind fuck.

[Darkthoughts]

I read Desperation first, but preferred Regulators which I read straight after. Desperation was too bleak for me.

[razz]

really started Regulators today. the whole scene with the vans is confusing, random, creepy, and awesome.

[Kingfanatic260]

I really don't think this one is even close IMO. Desperation is one of my fav King books hands down but The Regulators left something to be desired for me.

[Girlystevedave]

I liked The Regulators, but I agree that it was lacking something compared to Deperation.

[Hannah]

I thought Desperation was much better. The writing style, the story, the point ... it all seemed so much more relevant to life than Regulators.

[Jean]

hear, hear

[Daghain]

Thirded. I recently reread them back-to-back (Desperation first) and while I like them both, Desperation was the clear winner for me.

[flaggwalkstheline]

i have read them both and i think they rank among SKs' top work BUT the regulators is in my opinion far superior, that ending with the shotgun and the toilet and the demon talking saying it will return and the exploding heads has given me a deranged amount of sleepless nights, that book is really scary, desperations' opening with the "i will kill u" thrown into the miranda warning is sick but i felt the book didnt have as much sheer OOMPH as the regulators
Tak is my favorite villain though, in either book

[flaggwalkstheline]

and holy crap im the 19th person to vote 4 the regulators:panic:

[razz]

aand for desperation, I'm the big five-oh! (not as great as nineteen, but still pretty good)

[flaggwalkstheline]

i freaked out a few months ago after i read the regulators for like the umpteenth time, i woke up in the middle of the night and started shrieking my head off cause there was what appeared to be a cluster of floating red dots across the room, turns out it was the heater in my fish tank, but still it scared the crap outta me, the regulators (n desperation 2 a lesser extent in my opinion) is like the excorcist on steroids

[Tiffany]

I read Desperation first and loved it but I love The Regulators more.

Tak is one of my favorite SK villains, too, and I think I like him a little better in Desperation but The Regulators is so much creepier and scarier to me. I don't remember having any trouble keeping the characters straight, though.

They were both pretty brutal, in my opinion, and they're both good. The Regulators just happened to scare me more.

[mystima]

read regulators first then desperation...i liked regulators better because of the weird cars and stuff...wasn't that keen with all the "god stuff" in desperation. but both were good books. although there was this one part that i thought was really funny in regulators where the wife comes home she is killed and she is spawled out for the world to see and one guy says " i see london i see france but she ain't got no underpants"

that is king for youlll:shoot:

[batsker]

After seeing the results, I know I'm in the minority here, but I have to say Regulators. I still enjoyed Desperation, but something about the relationship with the characters in Regulators made me feel much more wrapped up in the story. I could feel the anxiety and fear. I did read Regulators first, and that may have something to do with it. Maybe it was more difficult to associate with the people in Desperation, because they weren't acting how I expected them to after reading Regulators.

Good input from all. I love to hear different perspectives.

[Girlystevedave]

wasn't that keen with all the "god stuff" in desperation.

I think that was actually one of the things I liked so much about the story. :orely:
That was one of my complaints about the movie: That the whole David/God relationship was pretty much removed.

[Jean]

one of the many reasons why I love Desperation immeasurably more is that most things that happen there happen inside human souls, while The Regulators is just too much fuss: ran, shot, fell, jumped, bled etc. Bears hate action. Bears like it slow and creepy.

[stone, rose, unfound door]

Desperation. Hands down. No comparison.

I read Desperation first and I agree with Jean totally on this one: No comparison. It's using the same characters but that's all these novels have in common.

[The Old Fella]

I read The Regulators first and, say sorry, I do not much care for it at all. It was very interesting to read these two books and to watch events play out (almost as if watching the same thing happen but on two different levels of the Tower, if you kennit), but I much preferred the story told in Desperation to the one told in The Regulators.

[stone, rose, unfound door]

wasn't that keen with all the "god stuff" in desperation.

I think that was actually one of the things I liked so much about the story. :orely:

Ditto here. And the part in the prison was so much more frightening since you didn't know who was going next. For me, that made it one of the creepiest books King has written.

[flaggwalkstheline]

I thought that the way TV was presented as a kind of god in the regulators was WAY creepy

[John_and_Yoko]

I voted for The Regulators.

Both were creepy, but for me anyway, The Regulators wins if for no other reason than its ending. Just so heartwarming....

Desperation's ending didn't do that for me.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Read both books as soon as they came out some 10-12 years ago. Have not read either since, so my memory of the plots is fuzzy. I do remember being completely dissapointed with The Regulators. I remember it being kinda silly that japanamation on acid

[John_and_Yoko]

Read both books as soon as they came out some 10-12 years ago. Have not read either since, so my memory of the plots is fuzzy. I do remember being completely dissapointed with The Regulators. I remember it being kinda silly that japanamation on acid

Um...I think that was kind of the point....

I think he was satirizing Saturday morning kiddie fare of the time....

[flaggwalkstheline]

exactly i was a kid when that book was written so by the time i read it i was like 15, and it was a blatant spoof on power-rangers which just made it even creepier to a kid who'd grown up with such fare

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Read both books as soon as they came out some 10-12 years ago. Have not read either since, so my memory of the plots is fuzzy. I do remember being completely dissapointed with The Regulators. I remember it being kinda silly that japanamation on acid

Um...I think that was kind of the point....

I think he was satirizing Saturday morning kiddie fare of the time....

I guess that is why I didn't really care for it. I never have been a big fan of satire. Not even good satire like SNL (shrugs)
Also, I was past my Saturday morning cartoons period by the time I read this. Now that you mention it though, it was totally Power Rangers. Though I abhor power rangers.....and pokemon.......ughhhh.... (shivers)

[flaggwalkstheline]

Well I for one think that Sai Bachmans' head on collision between power rangers and the excorcist worked horrifyingly well

[jayson]

Well I for one think that Sai Bachmans' head on collision between power trangers and the excorcist worked horrifyingly well

I agree. I loved The Regulators, especially the concept of

the adversaries being generated out of the imagination of a child.

[ladykatherine]

I read Desperation first and just finished the Regulators.
I definitely enjoyed The Regulators much more than Desperation.
The Regulators just moved more quickly and was, well, more compelling to read. There were all those pieces with the letters/diary entries/etc that made the story seem encompassing, and not just a little problem in suburbia. The blur between reality and illusion is one of my favorite ideas to toy around with, and it definitely captured my attention better than Desperation's story line. Although it was a great novel too, it read like a straight story/thought and lacked any real fascination from me, though it did scare me more than the Regulators. I don't think fear was enough to keep me completely wound up in Desperation's world.

[Beamer]

I read Desperation First and it just captivated me... when i read the Regulators I was impressed but the story of Desperation just grabbed me more.... Desperation gets my vote

[fernandito]

Desperation for President! Wooo!!

[jayson]

Desperation for President! Wooo!!

Might as well. We're just about finished with a President who thought he was a Regulator. :P

[razz]

WE'RE THE REGULATORS THAT DEREGULATE
WE'RE THE ANIMATORS THAT DEANIMATE
WE'RE THE PROPAGATORS OF OUR GENOCIDE
BURNING THROUGH THE WORLDS RESOURCES
THEN WE RUN AND HIIIIIDE

WE'RE COOL, IN DENIAL
WE'RE THE CRUEL REGULATORS
SMOKING CIGARO CIGARO CIGAR
COOL, IN DENIAL
WE'RE THE CRUEL REGULATORS
SMOKING CIGARO CIGARO CIGAR

[jayson]

I'd never have thought quoting System of a Down would be an appropriate response, but there you have it. Well played Razz.

[flaggwalkstheline]

I wonder if Serj and Daron r tower-junkies...

[GirlGoneNineteen]

I liked The Regulators a lot more than Desperation.
Maybe living in Vegas (and hating it!) had an influence :rolleyes: but I was absolutely terrified by the mine shaft scene. Claustrophobia, anyone?

[candy]

i prefered regulators as it seemed a little rough around the edges like a lot of the bachman novels, whereas when king writes as himself he is a lot smoother.

in this instance i felt that the story of the regulators and tak needed that roughness to make it more creepy.

and as a childless person, to me there is nothing scarier than the mind of a child

[frik]

The Regulators - definitely!

It's the book I read first. Practically non-stop action - and hard-hitting too.
Then I read Desperation. The first 75 pages or so were awesome - very creepy and unnerving. Then the story came to a crawl and became somewhat boring. :cry:

sk

[divemaster]

Desperation. Hands down. No comparison.

This right here. I don't recall which one I read first as I read both when they came out together. Desperation is one of my King favorites. Easily top 10. The Regulators was just plain horrible. I'll never pick that one back up off the shelf. Bottom 5.

[AIMB]

The Regulators.

I know that Desperation is the better book in my mind, but the heart says Regulators. Poor little Seth. The premise is so ridiculous but I love it.

[19eye-rosecrow-gun]

I read Desperation first and loved it. The Regulators came 2nd, and I just finished it last night. I believe the Regulators to be superior to Desperation. For me, Desperation was too predictable. The Regulators had to be one of the wildest novels I ever read. All the Bachman books are pretty gruesome, but they keep moving; real page turners.

I read Desperation and The Regulators after the Dark Tower series. I believe the Crimson King went mad is because of Tak. I am almost certain of it now.

[candy]

hello 19eye, and welcome to the site.

I agree that the regulators was more of a wild read and more random than desperations.

I think this is why i liked it more as it was told in such a scarey random manner

[19eye-rosecrow-gun]

Hey thank you for your welcoming candy, I really like your avatar and sig. I used to watch that movie all the time when I was a kid (amongst others). The wolf monster (gmork?) used to scare the hell out of me. I think he'd take the American Werewolf in London any day.

When I read Desperation it reminded me of a miniature STAND. Instead of the whole U.S., it happened in a little town. In the end, Tak was destroyed by god's will, kind of like Flagg in The Stand. In the Regulators, nobody had a chance against Tak. People only had one chance to take, and if they screwed that up, they'd have been killed.

Anyhow, I wonder if you guys think the Crimson King got posessed by Tak? I think TCK had been a guardian of the tower but was weakened by its strength, or maybe as a kind of dream catcher, filtering all the bad energy so it couldn't get to the tower itself? I don't know, but I do think Tak posessed him. After all, Tak is red and lives in a world of nothingness. I won't cover all the details but I believe Tak and CK have the same kind of sadistic behavior. Just something to consider.

[rico567]

I looked at the poll, but did not vote. I've read The Regulators, but not Desperation. I got the former in a box of SK books I paid $7 for, and it wasn't among the books I wanted (which were several of the DT books). When I finally got around to reading it, I thought it had to have been something SK wrote in high school, and put in a closet somewhere, kind of like the original Carrie manuscript, and it got hauled out later after he reached the point commercially where he could publish his grocery list and it would make the NYT Top Ten.

I read The Regulators for a second time recently, under the rubric that every dog gets one bite, and although it worked a bit better on second reading.....not enough. More like "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."

Coming from the author who wrote The Stand and the whole DT epic, it was a poor joke, at best. That's where I am. Since I have read that The Regulators and Desperation are related in some ways, I'm going to have to be convinced -and more than I have so far reading this thread- that I should add it to my shelf....even if Desperation is ahead in the poll 2-1. My opinion of polls may be best summed up by Cornelius Vanderbilt's statement "The public be damned."

[Jean]

rico: in my opinion, there's nothing in common between The Regulators and Desperation, taken as works of literature. The whole approach to the text, the writing, the characters, the story told is so different they might as well have been written by different authors (the one who wrote the Regulators having tried to steal some names and basic concepts from the one who wrote Desperation, but unable to go any further than this). Desperation is firmly sitting in my Top Five King Novels, The Regulators - as firmly - in Bottom Five. Don't let any superficial similarities mislead you, and please please form your own opinion.

Luckily, it won't demand any sacrifice. Reading three first pages of Desperation is enough to convince you that it has only nodding acquaintance with that other novel.

[divemaster]

rico: in my opinion, there's nothing in common between The Regulators and Desperation, taken as works of literature. The whole approach to the text, the writing, the characters, the story told is so different they might as well have been written by different authors (the one who wrote the Regulators having tried to steal some names and basic concepts from the one who wrote Desperation, but unable to go any further than this). Desperation is firmly sitting in my Top Five King Novels, The Regulators - as firmly - in Bottom Five. Don't let any superficial similarities mislead you, and please please form your own opinion.

Luckily, it won't demand any sacrifice. Reading three first pages of Desperation is enough to convince you that it has only nodding acquaintance with that other novel.

rico567, please pay attention to this. Jean is spot-on. I loved Desperation. Top-tier King for sure. The Regulators was crap. "Like a high school reject novel" as you so aptly described.

[Merlin1958]

Read "Desperation" first, but after reading both (and I of course may be subjective here) Desperation somehow felt like the first of a 2 part series. Just a feeling I guess.

However, while I enjoyed and liked "Regulators", "Desperation" seemed to be "Hands Down" the better book.

Just my 3 beans :cowboy: :nana: :cowboy:





P.S.

Just an observation but there sure seem to be are a lot of literary critics "weighing in". LOL J/K folks (or am I? hmmmmm. lol)

[Candice Dionysus]

I'm trying to decide between The Regulators and Desperation. They both sound equally enthralling, and I'm having a hard time picking which I should start reading first. It's begun to bother me, not being able to decide, so I'm posing it to you guys as a question.

Which one would you read first? Or, which do you suggest should be read first? Does it matter?

[John_and_Yoko]

I'm trying to decide between The Regulators and Desperation. They both sound equally enthralling, and I'm having a hard time picking which I should start reading first. It's begun to bother me, not being able to decide, so I'm posing it to you guys as a question.

Which one would you read first? Or, which do you suggest should be read first? Does it matter?

I read Desperation first myself and think that was a good choice, for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact that I liked The Regulators better (especially the ending), I read Desperation right after Rose Madder, and there's a character in the former consistent with the latter.

That's just me, though.

[Candice Dionysus]

If I do that, then I'll have to find my copy of Rose Madder, and read that. Either first, or in between them.

I have so many books... I don't know where to put them all - some of them are on the second bookshelf downstairs (the first bookshelf is my mothers bookshelf, and is mostly DVD's, actually), some of them are in a tote here in my room, and the rest of them are in another tote somewhere in the basement. I know it's not up here, so I'll have to check the bookshelf, and if it's not there, then the basement. :wtf:

[candy]

i read desperation before regulators too, i didn't do it for any other reasons than thats the way the books came to me. i did prefer it this way though as i recognised some things in the regulators that are not as 'clear/defined' as they are in desperation,

IMO regulators is the better book, and so this was another reason i was glad to read it last

[Candice Dionysus]

Ah, very interesting. It's good to see other Tower Junkie's opinions on this kind of thing - that's why I came here when I couldn't decide. ^_^

[ManOfWesternesse]

Desperation first.

[Candice Dionysus]

Well, it's clear which one I'm going to be reading first, then. So far it's unanimous. Hehe. :panic:

[pathoftheturtle]

I think you'll find Desperation interesting enough without having read Rose Madder. In fact, it was the latter novel which was more of a chore for me. It was published first, but still, it just might be better to read it later.

I definitely feel that Desperation is the best of these three, myself. I also tend to think that it is usually better to read it after The Regulators, although I'm not entirely sure that these two opinions of mine are completely dependent upon one another.

But, anyway, if you are decided now, and also more or less committed to reading both eventually, then I don't think that it is a real big deal. I just hope that you enjoy them. :)

[Candice Dionysus]

I'm sure I will - so far the only book King wrote that I've had trouble reading is Bag of Bones. For some reason, I just couldn't get into it. I put it down, and never picked it back up. I'll read the whole thing eventually, but I just... I dunno, I'd have to say it's my least favorite right now, because it's the only one I just couldn't read.

[Heather19]

I'd say Desperation. I think it'll make a few things in The Regulators a bit clearer.
Although I did read The Regulators first and loved it so you can really enjoy it either way.

[Candice Dionysus]

Thanks for the input. ^_^

[stone, rose, unfound door]

I think you'll find Desperation interesting enough without having read Rose Madder. In fact, it was the latter novel which was more of a chore for me. It was published first, but still, it just might be better to read it later.

I definitely feel that Desperation is the best of these three, myself. I also tend to think that it is usually better to read it after The Regulators, although I'm not entirely sure that these two opinions of mine are completely dependent upon one another.

But, anyway, if you are decided now, and also more or less committed to reading both eventually, then I don't think that it is a real big deal. I just hope that you enjoy them. :)

I read Desperation first and I reread it after The Regulators and I still think it's the best of the three books that have been mentioned. For once, Path and I agree entirely on something :)
I'm sure you'll like them both so start with the one you grab first!

[Jean]

I definitely feel that Desperation is the best of these three, myself.
So do bears.

Back to the title question, I don't really think the order matters.

In some time, this thread will have to be merged.

[Brainslinger]

Back to the title question, I don't really think the order matters.


I agree. The Regulators and Desperation are twin novels of a sort. They happen in different worlds an can be read in different orders, although Desperation feels to me like it came first. That might just be because I read it first .

Of the two books Desperation is my favourite.

As for Rose Madder, yes they it shares a character with Desperation and as such is set before. However, you don't really need to read it first. The character (who happens to be quite central in this book) is quite minor in Rose Madder, and you can always catch up on his/her background later.

That being said, I really like Rose Madder, even if King himself wasn't keen on it.

[John_and_Yoko]

Back to the title question, I don't really think the order matters.


I agree. The Regulators and Desperation are twin novels of a sort. They happen in different worlds an can be read in different orders, although Desperation feels to me like it came first. That might just be because I read it first .

Of the two books Desperation is my favourite.

As for Rose Madder, yes they it shares a character with Desperation and as such is set before. However, you don't really need to read it first. The character (who happens to be quite central in this book) is quite minor in Rose Madder, and you can always catch up on his/her background later.

That being said, I really like Rose Madder, even if King himself wasn't keen on it.

Actually Desperation was written first.

[Candice Dionysus]

I'm actually reading Desperation right now. I love it.

[JameseyLefebure]

Back to the title question, I don't really think the order matters.


I agree. The Regulators and Desperation are twin novels of a sort. They happen in different worlds an can be read in different orders, although Desperation feels to me like it came first. That might just be because I read it first .

Of the two books Desperation is my favourite.

As for Rose Madder, yes they it shares a character with Desperation and as such is set before. However, you don't really need to read it first. The character (who happens to be quite central in this book) is quite minor in Rose Madder, and you can always catch up on his/her background later.

That being said, I really like Rose Madder, even if King himself wasn't keen on it.

I loved Rose Madder - i actually ranked it quite highly on my favourite S.K books as well!! :( I wonder why he wasn't keen on it - i know a few people on here aren't big fans of it either :(

Jamesey
xxx

[stone, rose, unfound door]

I'm actually reading Desperation right now. I love it.

I just knew you would :) Give us some feedback after you've read them both, just so we know how you felt about them!

[Brainslinger]

[quote=Brainslinger;474495]
I loved Rose Madder - i actually ranked it quite highly on my favourite S.K books as well!! :( I wonder why he wasn't keen on it

I've read King felt he was 'trying too hard' with it. I'm not sure what he means by that. There was stuff that I really didn't understand at the end of the novel... maybe it's that complex stuff he was talking about, or maybe he felt he was trying to be too clever.

I quite like not understanding everything fully though as it gives me something to munch in my mind...

Apart from the mystical other worldly stuff (which was a big bonus for me, I love reading about that) I rather liked the sympathetic way King dealt with the main character though. I don't think the book is without it's faults but it's far from bad.

Um, ok, sorry, this thread wasn't supposed to be about Rose madder was it? Still, for those wanting to read Desperation reading this would be recommended too, simply because it's a good book. It's not prerequisite, and the order doesn't really matter though as I said, but if you're gonna read both anwyay might as well read RM first as it's set first.

[candy]

i enjoyed rose mader, must read it again some time

how goes the book Can?

[Candice Dionysus]

I really like it, so far. :cool:

[pathoftheturtle]

I loved Rose Madder - i actually ranked it quite highly on my favourite S.K books as well!! :( I wonder why he wasn't keen on it

I've read King felt he was 'trying too hard' with it. I'm not sure what he means by that. ...Really? It didn't seem at all contrived to you? I think about, for example -- the way that SK conveniently got rid of her familyNot that there aren't any real life people with worse problems. It just seemed like some clunky writing, if you see what I mean.

[Jean]

Um, ok, sorry, this thread wasn't supposed to be about Rose madder was it?
Very true.

[Sickrose]

I prefer The Regulators which I read first. I just think the beginning bit when the regulators turn up and start laying waste to everything just comes out of the blue and you are just WTF I have read it a couple of times. You are really thrown into the deep end!

[Candice Dionysus]

I'll say! I finished reading Desperation and went right into The Regulators, and I'm just so confused. Hehe. It's awesome, I'm on Chapter two.

I wasn't overly fond of all the God stuff in Desperation, but hey, a good book is a good book either way. I loved it. I'll probably read it again.

[Sickrose]

I wasn't overly fond of all the God stuff in Desperation

I agree, I think that's why I prefer The Regulators. All this talk has made we want to re-read it!

[Candice Dionysus]

I wasn't overly fond of all the God stuff in DesperationI agree, I think that's why I prefer The Regulators. All this talk has made we want to re-read it!

It's not that I had, you know, a problem with it or anything. I just differ in beliefs, so it kind of struck a "ooh, that's not how I would feel" chord.

[pathoftheturtle]

Oh, so that's why people don't dig it. Duh, silly me.

[Brainslinger]

I actually found that side quite interesting. Mind you I come from a Christian background, so that might have had something to do with it.

That wasn't the only thing I preferred over the Regulators though. I think it's because it felt closer to reality to me*. Two people get picked up by a cop... who isn't quite right... and things go downhill from there.

The setting with the spooky town and the critters helped a lot too. It's just so atmospheric while The Regulators is very... wham, bam. Cartoon dudes appear out of nowhere, shoot people, etc. It was an interesting idea though, and I certainly didn't dislike The Regulators, just my preference.

*That's not to say that all the stories I like have to be close to the real world. I some high fantasy work for example.

[Candice Dionysus]

I'm actually really liking the cartoon-y violence of The Regulators. The stark, realistic approach in Desperation was great, but so is the seemingly senseless, child-like quality of The Regulators. They're like yin and yang, they fit together well. Though I must say I was confused at the beginning, because it was all the same... But not at all.

[Kronz]

I read Desperation right when it came out and thought it was pretty exciting, even 13 years later I remember it very vividly. Five years later I read The Regulators and liked it even more. The surreal alternate Earth angle was really great, the book felt like it could have been a nightmare of a character in Desperation. That's probably why I liked it more, because I'd read it second and was getting lots of deja vu even five years between reading the two books.

One thing though, I don't think throwing this under the Bachman name makes any sense at all. Aside from Thinner all of RB's books are very black and white, non-supernatural, non-dreamlike King. It is no surprise that Thinner blew King's cover, it couldn't be more King in its voice if it tried! Regulators has a very 90s King feel to it, nothing like a real Bachman book. When I read Blaze a while ago, it felt much more correctly labeled as Bachman even if it seemed glaringly updated and re-written.

[candy]

Just finished my re-read of these two books/

I was tickled by the use of the same characters but in completley different circumstances. I was a little afraid i would get confused by the two different realms but i needn't have worried.
After finishing both, i still think Regulators is the better story, there is more a fight for Tak than in deperation where it all seems a little staid (compared) and the whole God thing was annoying too, not because it was a God plot but because God didn't actually do anything. For me personally i would have been mega happy if it had been the turtle steering things.

I have a couple of questions about Regulators.

Firstly, why do we think Seth saved Audrey? and not his own family, i understand he was younger then and not as powerful, but i would have thought if he was going to choose a time to 'haunt' it would have been a time where his family where around??

secondly, do you think they are alive? but in another realm - still living as it where? if this is so why have they not aged/ are they stuck in a loop, never getting older? or are they dead? For me the loop idea creates more of a nightmare situation than the whole Tak thing

[Darkthoughts]

My thoughts were that Tak had more control over Seth at the start, or that Seth was too scared to fight back at first. As for where Seth and Audrey ended up, it seems a bit like the other New York/when that Eddie and Jake end up in or maybe even someplace like The Territories. So basically, I think they're on a different level of the Tower and when they were spotted at Mohonk like in the examples at the end, they were really being seen because they'd come through a hidden highway or had maybe flipped for a while.

[candy]

i like that:rose:

[Darkthoughts]

Me too, I thought they deserved something good.

[kluker]

I loved them both. Read Desperation first then watched the movie for it. Then I read Regulators and I highly enjoyed that one much more then I did Desperation.

[candy]

i love your Av Katie:rose:

[sgc1999]

the names of the two books are blocked out so the thread didnt answer my questions. Which book do i read first and why?
Sorry just getting around to these two.

[Dan]

You can read in any order. They have elements that crossover, but do not rely on the other. Of course you probably are aware that there are similar characters in both books, but again they do not follow as a first and sequel.

[sgc1999]

thanks. I was wondering if there were more ah ha moments if you read one to the other in a certain direction?

[Merlin1958]

You can read in any order. They have elements that crossover, but do not rely on the other. Of course you probably are aware that there are similar characters in both books, but again they do not follow as a first and sequel.

You're absolutely correct, good sir. However, FWIW I read Desperation first (purely by chance) and therefore always had the impression that The Regulator's was the "Alternate Universe" compared to the reality of Desperation. I have no real evidence or theory to back that up, just a hunch I suppose. For some reason Desperation always fely like the "Reality" to me that's all. JMHO

[jhanic]

I agree, Bill. Regulators always had a "dream/nightmare" feel to it, while Desperation seemed more "real" to me.

John

[pathoftheturtle]

Well, yeah; if Desperation isn't the main book, then how come that is not the one credited to Richard Bachman?

I usually advise reading The Regulators first, just because it's not as good. If you can handle that, reminding yourself that the next one will be better.

[Dan]

The Regulators has more of a Bachman style. That is why it is credited to Bachman. I highly doubt that King wrote both books, decided which he liked better and credited Bachman with the other.

[sgc1999]

tons of food for thought. You guys are awesome, thanks.

[pathoftheturtle]

I highly doubt that King wrote both books, decided which he liked better and credited Bachman with the other.Why do you highly doubt that? You know how it feels when you write fiction? It makes sense to me that you especially care about what you especially liked writing.

[Dan]

I highly doubt that King wrote both books, decided which he liked better and credited Bachman with the other.Why do you highly doubt that? You know how it feels when you write fiction? It makes sense to me that you especially care about what you especially liked writing.

I don't know first hand, of course, it's just my opinion. After reading the forward to the Bachman Books, I get the sense that King liked Bachman and didn't feel one was "better" than the other, just different. In my statement I simply meant that I believe that King wrote Desperation in his style and wrote The Regulators in Bachman's style, and knew going in what he was going to produce.

[pathoftheturtle]

Well, yeah; I just said that crediting The Regulators to Richard Bachman indicated that it was not "the main book," not that Stephen King necessarily thinks that it is not as good. I only said that Desperation is the better book later in that post because, whether he knows it or not, and whether y'all do or not, that happens to be true.

[Dan]

I agree that Desperation is the better book.

[mattgreenbean]

I read both back to back, Regulators first, and I have always reminisced on that one more than Desperation. The reason why is probably because it reminded me of my favorite Twilight Zone. The one where there's a boy who can send people out to the field with his mind when he became mad at them. I also enjoyed that they were confined to the street; I can envision being in a suburb better than being in a desert.

They're both due for a reread though.

[LizzyDeschain]

Super old thread, but gotta comment. Desperation was actually the first King book I read, and after that I couldn't stop! It's also the only book I currently have autographed by SK (my father arranged that for me - SK comes into his place of work pretty often and they've spoken a number of times...so jealous).

I didn't read The Regulators until years after I read Desperation. I did like it, it creeped me out almost as much as Desperation, but I still prefer Desperation. I like the story a bit more, but I'm probably also just biased :lol: My only complaint is the botched TV movie that came out awhile back. I feel like they could have done both Desperation and The Regulators in the form of two actual full movies (or more) and they would have done well. I did like Ron Perlman as Entragian, though.

[Jon]

I found Desperation more engaging. It sparked my imagination quite a bit more than The Regulators.

[mae]

Here is The Losers Club podcast series on the two novels:


https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-losers-club-a-stephen-king-podcast/episode/desperation-pt-1-81769824
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-losers-club-a-stephen-king-podcast/episode/desperation-pt-2-81963362
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-losers-club-a-stephen-king-podcast/episode/the-regulators-82510876
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-losers-club-a-stephen-king-podcast/episode/the-ties-that-bind-desperation-and-the-regulators-82698525

[Hunchback Jack]

I like both ... but prefer The Regulators.

Desperation was bigger, more epic, but sloppier. I don't recall much about it, honestly, but at the time I remember that it felt like King didn't know where to go with it, and kept writing until he found his way again. The Regulators was tighter, and had more drive. Some of the ideas are a little strange - even silly - but when considering a reread I'd go with Regulators first.

I think I've said before here that I think it was a mistake to publish them at the same time as "linked" novels - or to read them that way. I read them back-to-back when they came out, and was too distracted by having the same characters in both, and with looking for connections between the two novels when there were none, really. I've since reread both separately, and enjoyed them both more.

HBJ

[fernandito]

Even after all this time, Desperation is still my favorite non-Tower King book. It does so many things well - atmosphere, dread, creepiness. The Regulators was a fun read but was just too silly at times, Desperation is just on another level.

[Iwritecode]

I'm pretty sure I've read both books multiple times but Desperation was soo much better than Regulators. I don't know if it was the fact that I read Desperation first or not but the characters seemed to "fit" better in that novel.