So I noticed and read the thread about the New York Magazine's list of King books in order of not-so-greatness to greatness, and for some reason, I noticed that I tend to lump "Insomnia" and "Rose Madder" together. Not sure why. "Insomnia" is part of the "tie-in-the-Tower" mindset books, whereas "Rose" is part of the female-lead-gets-tossed-around-a-bit cycle (which appears to feature "Gerald's Game" and...uh, that one about the chick in the woods and baseball; I have read neither).
Ahem. Now that I've come to the conclusion that my position on shacking "Rose" up with "Insomnia" is an erroneous one, it is time to forcibly remove them from each other. A messy divorce is in order, and I want to know who comes out on top. I'm not sure why I stuck them together; perhaps I saw a similarity in the way that the books play with a dream world shadowing a waking one, and a way to take very "real" myths and apply them to King's own mythology, and to thrust an average person into such legendary circumstances...although one could make the argument that that refers to half King's output (what was the story with the "long boy?").
(Playing with the mythology line, maybe it's the Greek angle. I can't think of a story aside from those two that pulls such obvious figures--the minotaur and the three fates--from Aegean myth. Oh well.)
There was a time when I probably would have said that "Insomnia" was my favorite, being the manly man that I am I am. But I think that, in hindsight, I prefer the tight mythos that unfolds with "Rose Madder" rather than the flashier, but messier, "Insomnia"; lthough "Insomnia" wins for "ridiculous but catchy and undeniably King line." What could beat "Don't you go visit that pin-sticker man"?
Anyway, what say you? Is one better than the other? Or am I crazy for asking?