Michael Corvin

Did anyone ever pick up Sleeping Beauties
I've been working on my gaming pile so reading is taking a back seat for a bit.

I loved Revival. Great characters, great journey and an amazing ending.

Rival11

So I finished Doctor Sleep and thought it was just ok, way too cheesy at times and like said over in movie talk, there was absolutely no reason for it to be almost 700 pages long.

I'm reading Pet Semetary now and just bought End of Watch last night because of the excerpt that was included with Doctor Sleep.

Rival11

Oh also finished reading the Shining as well - that might be my new all time favorite (have to go back and read Salem's Lot again though as that is my current fav) - I actually got creeped out a couple times reading it and just thought it was solid overall - pretty shocked the movie didn't grab more from the novel.

Rival11

Read what it was about, didn't really interest me but who know, one day I might give it a shot.

collven

Curious what you think of Pet Sematary. One of my favorites. I think you'll like End of Watch.

clappj

Just making sure, but do you realize "End of Watch" is the third in a trilogy of books? Bill Hodges Trilogy: Mr. Mercedes; Finders Keepers; End of Watch.

collven

SK released a new free short story called "Laurie" on his website at stephenking.com .

DaveNinja

I just finished Revival. I thought it was pretty good. I liked it a lot more than Gerald's Game (the king book i read before it)

I'll be starting Pet Semetary today

tonyc3742

I finished End of Watch recently.
I liked it less than Mr Mercedes and Finders Keepers, though I still enjoyed it. I really liked the interplay and relationship between the 'good guys'.
Main reason I didn't like it was the


I'm reading Bazaar of Bad Dreams now. I just finished the story about Trusute (or whatever his name was.) So about 1/4 of the way through the book.
It's an eclectic collection so far both in terms of topic and depth.

I definitely want to reread the Bachman Books. I think King said they're out of print and will remain that way, at least Rage won't be reprinted. (Semi related note, I think I saw The Running Man is back on a streaming service. I love both the book and the movie, though they are about as different as different could be.) I would absolutely watch a The Long Walk movie.

Jason Bovberg

Book collector here. Went to pick up THE OUTSIDER yesterday, right when my local independent bookstore opened its doors, and was annoyed to find that all of the copies they got were 2nd printings. Same story at the B&N down the street. I had to go to Target (!) to find a 1st printing.

So if you care about that kind of thing, there's a caution for you.

99% of the time, I can count on getting a 1st printing on Day 1, but this must have been a case when the publisher ordered a second printing based on higher-than-expected preorder demand. I'm still curious how Target would get 1st printings ahead of B&N and independent stores, though. Luck of the draw?

Eddie W

King is the reason I originally got a Kindle. I just don't have the energy to lug around a 576 page book for the time it takes to read it.

I am finding The Outsider intriguing though. First time I've read a King book completely blind & have no idea where this story is going.

Michael Corvin

Yep, I have every King novel in hardcover (and multiple copies of some) but I think I'm finally done. When I decide to get Sleeping Beauties or The Outsider, I think I'm just gonna pick it up on my Nook.

The Antipodean

I've just started the Outsider and enjoying it. Sleeping Beauties was oddly disappointing for me for some reason, maybe it was the son's influence but it dragged for me way more than King usually does.

Enlightened_Oaf

Castle Rock, Mr. Mercedes, It sequel, My Pretty Pony, Doctor Sleep, etc. all coming VERY soon! I'm going to burst!!

thematahara

Finished The Outsider yesterday. I went into it totally blind, not even a summary and I think that really added to my enjoyment of it.

Nothing mind blowing, but it was a fun quick read, tone and pacing wise, it felt a bit like Doctor Sleep. I actually think the book could stand to be a bit longer, as there are some interesting ideas/scenarios in here that could have been expanded on, or possibly led to a new series.

Big tie in to the Bill Hodges trilogy, which I unfortunately bailed on half way through Mr Mercedes. It didnt hinder my enjoyment, not really knowing all the references, but if you enjoy that series, I imagine it would add a bit to this one.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and I thought the ending was handled pretty well.

movieking

I'm much like you, had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I did read the Bill Hodges trilogy luckily, otherwise I probably wouldn't have understood the book as well since there's a major character crossover.

Minor spoilers:



And don't read The Outsider if you haven't read the Bill Hodges trilogy but plan to - there are a ton of spoilers about that whole series in this book to establish the background of the crossover character.

brainee

I recently finished The Outsider too (and wrote a mini-review in the "What are you reading?" thread). I gave it 4/5 on goodreads. movieking is absolutely on the money warning about spoilers for those who haven't read the Bill Hodges trilogy. Fortunately I read those books. But unfortunately for those that didn't, you get hit with gigantic spoilers. King could've introduced the cross-over character sufficiently without giving away the endings to all three books.

Unlike thematahara, I thought this book could've lost nothing with story development and plot with trimming 100+ pages. But I think I get what they're saying. Despite the length, the lore and history of the outsider was somewhat scant. I was left wanting more from that side of the story (while I could've done with less redundant chapters, like all the eyewitnesses and interviews saying the same thing).

jpcamb

Not to mention King still has no idea how to finish a book properly for the most part. The last 20 or so pages of the book were tripe and I think the book was too anticlimactic.

collven

I really liked The Outsider. Just finished it last weekend. I thought worked well in the book and appreciated the inclusion of the character.

Nick Danger

I read Salem's Lot. I liked it too.

I liked the Americanization of the characters. Bram Stoker kept the workmen who delivered the Dracula crates firmly offstage. A main character said, "I talked to the workmen and learned this . . ." Stephen King gives the workmen characters of their own and describes what they went through.

From what I read in this forum, my next King book should be It.

story

I'm re-reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft right now on King-read, unabridged audio. It's a ritual I do every August and am now playing catch-up. This book is such a serious part of my creativity and attitude toward my work that in looking back, I've been feeling more swamped and less creative than usual this September, while now I'm feeling rather energized. I do believe it has something to do with annually, intentionally, enjoying this book.

mhg83

Do you participate in NANOWRIMO?

story

I have but not since my career shift a few years ago, it is a bad time of year for me to do that. I tried it at a different time but theres something about being in the national zeitgeist of what's going on that's what made NaNoWriMo so fun!

Rival11

I can answer this now that I finished reading it a little bit back - definitely a bit too long but probably his most well written book (not saying his best material, I'm saying out of all his books that I read, it's probably the most well written). This is the novel I would recommend to newcomers of King - very easy to read and it's just damn good.

Rival11

I knew it was part of a trilogy but DID NOT know it was the third book so thanks for schooling me.