User Profile

I sometimes like that King has softened as the years go by. He's an incredible writer, so he can do pretty much any genre(though, i haven't read any of his Bachman, so I don't know how he does sci-fi). I like this one a lot, it's like his version of Leaf by Niggle from Tolkien.

This is a tough one to review, and I don't know if the star rating fits. It's certainly an interesting book, and while you read it, it makes a lot of sense, but there is also a lot that doesn't seem to stand. The cover and subtitle indicate that it's going to be an exploration of PTSD from combat, being forced to kill, and the training that requires. That's not really what the book is about.
Mostly, he repeats endlessly, that humans do not like to kill other humans, and have to be trained and conditioned for it. He cites research on firing rates, and how they, pre Vietnam- were in the low 20%. And then after Vietnam, training was more realistic and firing rates went up. That's pretty much the bulk of the book.
There are a few eyebrow raising elements, like him saying that Vietnam was justified by the fall of the Berlin wall(he's a Reagan guy, no doubt). He decries communism, glosses over American atrocities, goes on and on about videogames, celebrates the militarization of police, and also calls close range killing(as in hand to hand) the sexual range. Which is a very strange thing.
And, on top of it all, he now trains police to be behave as if in a war zone and be more effective killers.

All in all, it is nice to believe that we have a very deep resistance to killing each other, but I don't know if that is borne out by reality and history.

Sucks. There was so much clumsy 'religious people are stupid and unenlightened' stuff in it, that it felt like satire. Like, it was written by a religious person trying to make atheists look dumb. And the terrible dialogue didn't do the book any favors.

It's good. Not the best thing he's ever written, and not as good as Joyland, but King doesn't ever really disappoint.

This is one of those weird books where it's very, very good, but it's hard to say that I it. It's a rough read, especially when you tell yourself that it's all true, and it's not just a piece of crime fiction. And, he doesn't really sugar coat the relationships between the police and the community, and he doesn't really excuse the incidents of police brutality. He also gives a good glimpse into the political workings of law enforcement and legalities, which definitely can illuminate a lot of the current problems with our legal system.

I think the only real issue I have with it is that there are so many characters that sometimes it can be hard to keep track of them all.

It was decent. I can definitely see why teenage goth chicks of the 90s would devour this like a starving wolf. The story itself isn't terribly engaging, so it's mostly hanging out with ultra 90s twinky dudes who smoke weed a lot. But it has terrifically strong appeal for its target audience, and that's pretty cool.

Huh. Well, it's certainly a Joe R. Lansdale story. Not much of a Batman one, though. And, actually, the most interesting parts are the ones without him, so take that as you will. Weird. So, if you want to read it, read it as a Lansdale book that occasionally has a Batman-like character show up.

Holy jeez, THE MIST is good. It's very oppressive, though, and kind of exhausting, just how bleak and grim it is. By far the best story in the collection, and the most famous. And, I will say, young Stephen King was a much harder writer than old Stephen King. I wouldn't exactly say he's softened, but he seems to write with a little more compassion than he used to.

Holy jeez, this sucked. Six books and thousands of pages in, and I've decided that I'm done with this series. This one has all the same problems as the previous, and at a similar page count. The only positive is that there is less Nynaeve this time. But it's still loaded with endless MEN ARE WOOLHEADED AND STUBBORN AND NEED TO BE CONTROLLED and WOMEN ARE CRAZY AND CAPRICIOUS AND NOT TO BE UNDERSTOOD and RAND/PERRIN/MAT IS THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS GIRLS and every single character is a relentless shitty bitch.

Just miserable stuff. The women are always sniffing, smoothing skirts, and judging how much titty meat someone has on display, and Rand is always crying that one of the insane bloodthirsty murder maniacs from the desert might somehow die, but only if it's a woman. Basically, the entire book, as well as the previous, is one giant annoying battle of the sexes type thing. I don't know if Robert Jordan had hella issues with chicks or something, but it does make one wonder when there are basically two female characters.

1. Firebrand who does what she wants. Short-tempered and imperious, will not hesitate to put you in your place. Possessive. Somehow hot. Knows everything and sneers at everyone all the time and quivers with rage constantly, possibly while smoothing skirts or sniffing. Obsessed with necklines.

2. Plump

It's really just exhausting, and I realize that I have books I'd much rather spend my time on.

Also, 'stout Two Rivers woolen dress'

Another excellent offering from Mister King. There isn't a hell of a lot of supernatural stuff in this one, though there is some. Very likeable characters and, just plain an enjoyable read. I wasn't 100% thrilled with the identity of the killer, but at a short 215 pages or so, you can smash through it in a single day.

Solid stuff. If you've seen the SNL Californian's skit, you might get a chuckle out of how specific the author gets about the various roads and routes the characters take.

Another solid collection. The only one I didn't like was the last story, and I have a few problems with If It Bleeds, but the first two stories are totally top notch.

It's not my favorite collection of his stories. But, it is cool seeing the origins of a number of famous horror films, like Children of the Corn and the awesome(shut up) Maximum Overdrive.