This is also in the King afterword on the Holly audiobook.Originally Posted by Ari_Racing
This is also in the King afterword on the Holly audiobook.
This is the first King book I have not purchased the day of release since the early eighties when I started reading King. I am tired of the political commentary, but that has been going on for a while. I am more tired of the sub-par books from King. The last great one he had was 11/22/63 and that was 17 books ago. I have found other excellent authors that I would rather spend time reading, than wasting my time reading another so-so book from King. This is the end for me in reading King. It saddens me because I have spent my whole adult life reading him, but I have finally reached a point that it is not worth it to bother buying and reading Stephen King.
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I haven't purchased an SK book since Finders Keepers. Instead I snag a copy from the library. If the story were to resonate after reading I would consider buying but at this stage I'm looking to downsize so a book by any author, let alone SK, would have to knock me out before I would be willing to buy it.This is the first King book I have not purchased the day of release since the early eighties when I started reading King. I am tired of the political commentary, but that has been going on for a while. I am more tired of the sub-par books from King. The last great one he had was 11/22/63 and that was 17 books ago. I have found other excellent authors that I would rather spend time reading, than wasting my time reading another so-so book from King. This is the end for me in reading King. It saddens me because I have spent my whole adult life reading him, but I have finally reached a point that it is not worth it to bother buying and reading Stephen King.
At the moment, there is only one review on Amazon Canada. It's a 5-star review, of course, and it goes like this:
"Stephen King's Books Are Great
Reviewed in Canada on September 6, 2023
I'm patiently waiting for the delivery of this book. I hope it will arrive today."
Sounds legit.
Snippet from NPR review:
"King has never been shy about his politics, but Holly is one of his most political novels to date, and it'll' surely anger all the right people."
This won't stop me from reading it (just picked it up from the library) but it will definitely have me on skimming alert. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's less the politics than the timing. We're still in the middle of the mess SK is revisiting and for my taste it's too soon for a screed from him. That said this is why I'll will read it:
Also from the NPR review...
"While Holly is brutal and gripping and King did many things right with the story, Holly is the heart of the narrative. Her growth from a shy, muttering mess in Mr. Mercedes to the smart, strong, smoking, slightly better, and much richer woman we see in Holly is tremendous. It's also a testament to King's talents as a writer and a stark reminder of what can happen when writers allow the magic that inhabits their characters to blossom unimpeded by their original plans for them."
The only book I've ever bought the day it came out was the 8th book of the DT series, because I wanted to know how it ended before it got spoiled for me.
Every other book I own I've picked up used somewhere or received it as a gift.
Hearts are tough, she said, most times hearts don't break, and I'm sure that's right . . . but what about then? What about who we were then? What about hearts in Atlantis?
I was surprised Amazon delivered mine yesterday. One thing I have learned from all this is I need to read 11/22/63.
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The bit about Mambo #5 was a mis-remember on King's part. He was writing the final three Dark Tower books when he had that on repeat. I mentioned it in The Road to the Dark Tower.
Author of The Road to the Dark Tower, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences and The Dark Tower Companion. Co-editor with Stephen King of the anthology Flight or Fright.
I don't know if you've had the experience I've had recently, which is many positive mentions of 11/22/63 in otherwise Holly-specific conversations (I also haven't gotten around to 11/22/63).
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
I've always bough King books the day the were released. Have been pre-ordering on Amazon ever since that was a thing, as far as I recall. Don't plan to stop until the books stop.
I would still be religiously doing the release day thing if my non-reading life hadn't mostly derailed my reading life in the mid-90s, then buying books at all became pretty spotty. I would like to get back to it (especially since I plan to eventually read everything from King if I live long enough), but I have so many other books that take priority etc.
Release day book purchases were very fun back when it meant going to a bookstore (not that I don't love Amazon); I remember buying all 6 Green Mile parts, 6 months in a row - that was cool.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
As past threads have shown, board member top 10 lists are diverse. So for what it's worth, 11/22/63 is third nestled just behind The Dead Zone with both looking enviously at 'Salem's Lot perched on the top of my list.I don't know if you've had the experience I've had recently, which is many positive mentions of 11/22/63 in otherwise Holly-specific conversations (I also haven't gotten around to 11/22/63).
When 11/22/63 came out, I wrote down a prediction of how most of the plot would go (I was feeling pessimistic about what King would do with it) - now I just have to find that note.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Any impressions so far? I just hit the halfway mark and it's just ok. I'll start to get lost in the story, and then Stephen King will snap his fingers obnoxiously and get me to roll my eyes. The villains are really compelling though, and I feel like the main conflict has real promise. So far it's hovering around 7/10 for me
So I tried real hard to find something that I agreed with in the book. And I did! Holly's reflection about Netflix movies being weirdly mediocre. They are strangely soulless when compared to older movies.
That's correct. Now he is blaming Trump for writing a bad book. If you dislike it, that's because you are obviously a Trump supporting racist. Not because he has become a terrible author.This is the difference: not King's politics, but this confrontational approach - stepping out in front of a novel's release to draw a line in the sand and mock his ideological opponents - which is of much more recent vintage.
Those who pretend (and it is pretending) that nothing has changed - hey, King has always been this way - can't be taken seriously.
Are you deliberately trying to use a strawman here? Because that is a blatant misrepresentation of what King said.
He didn’t even say that if you dislike the book you’re a Trump supporter or racist. He said there would be people who give the book 1 star solely because of the politics. Which is true. On release day there were numerous 1-star reviews from people who didn’t even finish the book but were throwing tantrums over the Trump diss. The same exact thing happened with Elevation.
A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face.
My Collection
There is no doubt that just as many favorable reviews are due to King's anti-Trump hatred. In addition, publishers plant many false favorable reviews and King has a lot of lifelong fans who post favorable reviews before ever reading the book. King doesn't complain that these favorable reviews are the product of Biden supporters. Why would he even care about unfavorable reviews from individuals? He has never made such comments before. He clearly knows the book is a clunker and he is insecure about it. So Trump supporters are responsible.Are you deliberately trying to use a strawman here? Because that is a blatant misrepresentation of what King said.
He didn’t even say that if you dislike the book you’re a Trump supporter or racist. He said there would be people who give the book 1 star solely because of the politics. Which is true. On release day there were numerous 1-star reviews from people who didn’t even finish the book but were throwing tantrums over the Trump diss. The same exact thing happened with Elevation.
You basing this off anything specific (I.E. the publisher planting "false favorable reviews") or is this another "King is to blame for illegal immigrants and the homeless" scenario?
Yes, he has. He knew people wouldn't like the Dark Tower ending, remember? He didn't blame it on politics because he knew the story would be controversial for other reasons. He just said "It's the right ending and the only one I got".
If the book received mixed to negative reviews across the board or if it bombed in sales and he then blamed it because of Trump, that would be one thing. 'Holly' though has generally been well-received outside of the Trump fanboys and antivaxxers. He has no reason to be "insecure" because by all margins the book is a success. He's just pointing out something that anyone could predict.
A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face.
My Collection
Was everyone aware that the US edition glows in the dark? I skimmed this thread but didn't see any comments on it, other than someone pointing out that the windows were "interesting" - though it is very possible I simply missed a comment where it was noted.
It's very cool! Nice little touch. If you have a UV blacklight, you can "charge" the glow in the dark elements before taking them into a dark place or hitting the lights to see them quite easily.
This really made me laugh. Do you really believe someone would post a positive review of a book because it mocks trumpists?There is no doubt that just as many favorable reviews are due to King's anti-Trump hatred. In addition, publishers plant many false favorable reviews and King has a lot of lifelong fans who post favorable reviews before ever reading the book. King doesn't complain that these favorable reviews are the product of Biden supporters. Why would he even care about unfavorable reviews from individuals? He has never made such comments before. He clearly knows the book is a clunker and he is insecure about it. So Trump supporters are responsible.Are you deliberately trying to use a strawman here? Because that is a blatant misrepresentation of what King said.
He didn’t even say that if you dislike the book you’re a Trump supporter or racist. He said there would be people who give the book 1 star solely because of the politics. Which is true. On release day there were numerous 1-star reviews from people who didn’t even finish the book but were throwing tantrums over the Trump diss. The same exact thing happened with Elevation.Some people would say you're projecting what you'd do...
I liked the book a lot, I think King had a lot of fun writing it and not only because of the politics but also because of the winks related to the Harrises. It's a dark novel with a great pace.
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Ari, YES. Thank you for articulating that.
That's interesting, I'll have to test it out. Mine's in the bookcase and it doesn't get a lot of sunlight so I don't know if it'll work.
You don't believe that there are people who dislike Trump? LOL. If King received a few negative reviews because of his anti-Trump bias, it is reasonable to believe he received some positive reviews from the Trump haters. After all, Biden received the most votes in US history. More than JFK, Reagan, FDR, Obama or any candidate for president. He is wildly popular! People love him. Right? Right? Right? That is what you were told.This really made me laugh. Do you really believe someone would post a positive review of a book because it mocks trumpists?There is no doubt that just as many favorable reviews are due to King's anti-Trump hatred. In addition, publishers plant many false favorable reviews and King has a lot of lifelong fans who post favorable reviews before ever reading the book. King doesn't complain that these favorable reviews are the product of Biden supporters. Why would he even care about unfavorable reviews from individuals? He has never made such comments before. He clearly knows the book is a clunker and he is insecure about it. So Trump supporters are responsible.Are you deliberately trying to use a strawman here? Because that is a blatant misrepresentation of what King said.
He didn’t even say that if you dislike the book you’re a Trump supporter or racist. He said there would be people who give the book 1 star solely because of the politics. Which is true. On release day there were numerous 1-star reviews from people who didn’t even finish the book but were throwing tantrums over the Trump diss. The same exact thing happened with Elevation.
I liked the book a lot, I think King had a lot of fun writing it and not only because of the politics but also because of the winks related to the Harrises. It's a dark novel with a great pace.
Again, I never said that King is responsible for illegal aliens and the homeless. Why do you repeat that lie? King is an author. Not a politician. What I said and then repeated in response to your previous mischaracterization is that King would not tolerate the presence of homeless or illegal aliens in his neighborhood. Any such person would be arrested within minutes. It's King who said that Trump supporters would post negative reviews. If you disagree with him, take it up with King. Just don't show up in his neighborhood unless you want to be arrested.You basing this off anything specific (I.E. the publisher planting "false favorable reviews") or is this another "King is to blame for illegal immigrants and the homeless" scenario?
Yes, he has. He knew people wouldn't like the Dark Tower ending, remember? He didn't blame it on politics because he knew the story would be controversial for other reasons. He just said "It's the right ending and the only one I got".
If the book received mixed to negative reviews across the board or if it bombed in sales and he then blamed it because of Trump, that would be one thing. 'Holly' though has generally been well-received outside of the Trump fanboys and antivaxxers. He has no reason to be "insecure" because by all margins the book is a success. He's just pointing out something that anyone could predict.
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