Half assed help!!?!!...
Monte, Lisey's Story rocks - I loved it, I'm surprised it gets such a bad press.
Half assed help!!?!!...
Monte, Lisey's Story rocks - I loved it, I'm surprised it gets such a bad press.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
No, its more like...aw bugger it...I can't butter it up
Interesting review of Lisey's Story:
The RestStephen King has written about zombies, vampires and the end of the world. He has imagined a killer car, a killer dog, a killer clown and killer cellphones. But when he really wants to put a scare into you, he brings on his most fearsome monster of all, that quivering mass of ego and insecurity known as ... the writer.
Lisey's Story started out slow, but I put it in my "okay" pile. It turned out to be an interesting story, just not, IMHO, one of his best.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
I liked it In Bag of Bones he dealt with grief from a male point of view, and in Lisey's Story it was from a female point of view. The fragility and vulnerabilities in Lisey's Story were very well woven I think.
"You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think." - Duma Key
zoneseek@thedarktower.com
I've noticed a lot of folk seem to have a problem with slowness in a story. Is this the ADD in Western society..everything needs to be a soundbite or move along quickly? 9 times out of 10 if I hear a complaint about a book from someone who is below 50 its that "its too slow".
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Maybe because the general consensus in writing is that a good story "grabs" the reader and pull him or her in. Blame the English professors.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
We've been corupted
Whether a story grabs and pull someone doesn't necessarily have anything to do with plot being slow at times. I am very involved in a book like Insomnia or Rose Madder that has slow moments, Insomnia's first half of the book is pretty slow, but I'm still deeply immersed in the book.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Agreed, Insomnia did start slow, but as you said, was a good book
No, but if it's slow, and there's not a lot of action, a lot of people tend to equate that with boring.Whether a story grabs and pull someone doesn't necessarily have anything to do with plot being slow at times. I am very involved in a book like Insomnia or Rose Madder that has slow moments, Insomnia's first half of the book is pretty slow, but I'm still deeply immersed in the book
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
Some do, that is true
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
I know what you're saying there Daggers, I'm with CK on this though. For me the lack of plot action didn't equate "boring" because - with Insomnia for example - I loved Ralph's character so much, I was really content just reading about him
And thats one of the reasons I love King so much, his characters are so good, so believable and so likeable/hateable.
The reasons Insomnia is on my worst list have really nothing to do with it being slow. I found the story more interesting towards the end. The pace was fine, I was just not interested in the characters.
It just didn't have the sweaty, wet donkey anus that you were looking for in a book.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Damn, did I tell you that already? Yes, that IS the reason.
I love slow stories. I always prefer a local story (involving 2 or 3 people) where action takes place within a few days to an epic with such disconcerting bridges as "ten years passed". Among my favorite books are Lucky Jim by Amis and Crome Yellow by Huxley, where nothing happens at all; or Dickens novels. The slower the better. Provided it is entertaining, you see.
With me it was just the opposite: I loved the characters and was bored by the story, especially towards the end.Originally Posted by MonteGss
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can and have enjoyed books with a languid pace, but boring is boring-any way you try to put it.
which is, basically, what I was trying to say
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Languid - yeah, thats a good word! Makes me think of a cold beer and a cigarette...but generally on Friday's everything makes me think of a cold beer and a cigarette
In Insomnia in particular I thought the pace was probably quite deliberate. It lent itself to the plot - with the senior citizens gradually becoming more enervated. I also just loved the fact that people over 60 were not just main characters, but heroes in this story. It was a really original concept to me, not something you usually find in popular fiction.
Well, I think Dreamcatcher could be King's worst novel. Yes, maybe TGWLTG is worse, but since Dreamcatcher is longer and more pretentious...