Round-Tripper Reviews

Well...I guess this is as good of a title as any for now.

I'm going to blast several VERY short reviews here in a row.  The first doesn't fit with the others...but...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1  Part one?  That sounds cocky.  Like they're OH SO SURE it will succeed and...wait.   What.  :-)  Oh yeah.

In all seriousness this movie was EXACTLY what I needed it to be.  It was awesome.  The changes made the transfer of mediums stronger.  It was very emotional.  It was amazing, and a great way to start to end the story.  I cried a lot, and sobbed at one scene.  Great job. Easily a home run.

Now...for the rest.  As almost everyone knows for a year and a half now I have been going through the process of reading the audiobooks for everyone of Stephen King's (fiction) book's in order.  I'll add in the non-fiction later.  Anyway...I'm going to give my brief thoughts on all of them I have read so far.  I'm excluding the short story collections pretty much, as there are too many stories.  I may do each of them in separate blogs later.  There will be the book title, year it was published, and an R if this is a re-read for me, F if it was a first time.

There could be spoilers-you've been warned.

Carrie (1974-R)
SK started strong here and opened with an amazing story.  It is well written and just an amazing story.  A home run.

'Salem's Lot (1975-R)
'Salem's Lot is good.  The movies for it are not.  I was originally going to watch all of the movies as I read all of the books, and stopped here.  Regardless the book is well done...just not one of his absolute best (which still means it is better than 90% of the books written).  A triple.

Rage (as Richard Bachman -1977-R)
Rage is a very good story...but it lost something to me between the first and second reading.  Add in that the book is no longer in publication because of Columbine, and this one is hard to find.  It's a good story.  A triple.

The Shining (1977-R)
Better than either movie adaption, although I think the mini-series the better of the two.  Regardless, the book is great.  It really builds suspense. A home run.

The Stand (original/edited-1978-F)
I had read the uncut, but not the original, so this was SORT OF the first first time for me. There are a few stories different people hold up as Stephen King's masterpieces.  The Stand is one.  There's a good reason.  It is one of the best stories written in the past 100 years.  While the uncut is better, this one is still a home run.

The Dead Zone (1979-F)
I REALLY liked the Dead Zone...until the last third of the book.  SK rushed the last (and possibly most crucial) part of the story after taking plenty of time with the rest.  It was like there was a page limit and he just cut the ending portion.  It really hurts what could have been a great book.  A double.

The Long Walk (Bachman-1979-R)
I remembered loving The Long Walk.  I re-read it.  I still love it.  A well told story.  Great story!  A Home run!

Firestarter (1980-F)
I had previously read the first chapter of this book and stopped.  Reading it...wow.  Great story.  I really enjoyed it and wanted to push through.  Another non-happy ending, which SK does so well.  A Triple.

Cujo (1981-R)
I didn't really remember Cujo that well.  I was a lot younger when I read it.  (8th grade?  9th?)  It has some amazing parts...just not one of my favorites.  Having read this last year may also hurt it, but I'd say it's a double.

Roadwork (Bachman-1981-F)
This was a great story.  The Bachman Books are mostly very well done.  I really enjoyed this book.  It was the equivalent of a popcorn flick to me.   It was a good one where I wanted to see what happened next.  A triple.

Different Seasons (1982-R/F)
There are four stories here, but they aren't short stories.  They will be short reviews, however.  :-)  Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption comes in with a triple. For the psychological effect, Apt Pupil hits a home run. The Body gets a double for me...it just missed the mark.  The Breathing Method freaked me out, and gets a home run for it.

The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger (1982-R)
The Dark Tower series is an amazing series.  It is really SK's work of art.  And this kicks it off.  I hate westerns...and this series SEEMS to be that from the start.  It's not...and it is amazing.  A home run.

The Running Man (Bachman-1982-F)
I avoided this because I had heard bad things about the movie.  The book...wow.  This was an awesome story.  Surprisingly good.  A triple.  Really close to going out of the park.

Christine (1983-R)
I always really loved Christine...but at the same time it is never one of my favorites.  It's very well done...but there is something missing for me.  However, it's still a triple.

Cycle of the Werewolf (1983-R)
Was this intended to be a children's story???  If so, it is a weak pop-up to the pitcher.  If not (and it wasn't...it was going to be written as a calendar but was too long, from what I read) it is a strike-out.  Horrible.

Pet Semetary (1983-R)
He didn't want to publish this story because of how freaky it is.  It's amazing.  It's also scary...and I don't scare easily from books.  A Home run.

The Talisman (w/ Peter Straub-1984-F)
I never had a desire to read this book.  If I hadn't dedicated myself to reading all of the books in order I probably would have skipped it.  Wow was I wrong.  This book is amazing, and introduces one of my favorite SK characters (Wolf).  A home run.

Thinner (Bachman-1984-R)
I said earlier the Bachman books are mostly good.  This is really the reason for the mostly.  I didn't really enjoy this the first time...and only marginally more the second.  A single.

It (1986-R)
I always said my favorite books were The Princess Bride and It.  At least before HP7 jumped in to join them.  I always refused to reread It however, because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my memories.  It did...in a big way.  I love this book.  A Grand Slam.

Eyes of the Dragon (1987-R)
I read the book when I was really young (again...maybe 8th or 9th grade) and didn't remember it...I just remembered kind-of liking it.  I started rereading it, and was bored at first.  Then I got into the story, and this is easily one of my favorites.  Really well done.  A home run.

Misery (1987-R)
This book caused me problems as it was messed up and I had to get a new copy.  I did, and it was awesome.  Very well done.  A Triple.

The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987-R)
The series is amazing.  I like parts of this book a lot, and parts just a little.  I think the problem is in the whole series I never made a connection with Detta/Odetta/Susannah (that's one character) and so her part drags this book down to a Triple.

The Tommyknockers (1987-F)
I'm not sure why I never read this...but I'm kind of glad I had not.  Otherwise I would have had to read it a second time for this...and once is enough.  It's slow.  You don't make a connection with any characters.  The only two I felt anything for were a dog and a characters younger brother...both of which were barely in the book.  It wasn't bad and the last third was good...it just wasn't my cup of tea.  For that, I'll give this book a single.

The Dark Half (1989-R)
Yes, another SK book about a writer.  You write what you know...right?  Well done...nothing special.  A double for not being as good as I remembered.

Four Past Midnight (1989-R)
Again, four novellas.  I just finished the second of two.  So, quick reviews of those two. The Langoliers is another good popcorn story, and gets a triple for it.  Secret Window, Secret Garden is the story of a writer who has an evil side that murders people he knows and threatens to take over his life.  Didn't I just READ The Dark Half (which is the same story).  This one is actually done a lot better, and will get a triple for it.

That's all for now.  I'm sure more will come.