Dolan's Cadillac

Just finished Dolan's Cadillac-- wow! A very intense, fantastic read. Long enough it felt like a Novella more than a short story. Revenge pure and simple. I really liked the fact that the details are light and easy while the revenge is thick and heavy. Reminds me of the Tell Tale Heart -- as I'm sure it's supposed to. Absolutely brilliantly executed.

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King allows the reader time to deeply inhale the sweet taste of revenge. He isn't afraid to tell the story! When King comes up with a plot that good, I have to admire his restraint in not creating an entire novel. But he let the story tell itself.

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The trap Robinson builds is complicated enough, I found myself wanting a drawing. seriously -- i can picture this, until you add pavement and so on.

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The story is set to be a movie released in December of 09. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963965/

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Check out Lilja's library for a review of the film. Since I haven't seen the movie, all I can say is, "Uhhh, I liked the trailer.":

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http://www.liljas-library.com/showreview.php?id=207

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Dolan's Cadillac was orginally printed as a five part series in Stephen King's newsletter Castle Rock. from February 1985 to June 1985. See stephen J. Spingensi's: the Complete stpehen King, p.506-507

Under The Dome Proof Copy

Lilja's library has posted the UK proof copy of Under The Dome. http://www.liljas-library.com/ Check out his notes on the book, the picture below is from liljas library.

Dreamatcher

Dreamcatcher was written after Stephen King's accident in which he was bedrdden for an extended period of time. He wrote the book by hand! That's impressive. He's said that writing by hand got him closer to the language, the words, than he'd been in a long time.

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Dreamcatcher starts out very strong. The characters are great! But the middle begins to sag but it picks ups stream again the book races toward the end. Maybe a better way to say it is that for such a good beginning, the rest of the novel is uneven. It certainly -- certainly! -- has great moments (SSDA). The beginning is strong enough to carry the rest of the book and forgive the faults found as the novel moves on. And the end is strong enough to cause one to forget what didn't work. Bluntly: I liked it and would consider it one of my top 10 favorites.

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My wife and I first tried reading Dreamcatcher on audio. we were listening to it in the car, but got so hooked that we pulled out a tape recorder (yes, tapes!) and listened in the house. But we lost interest as the story moved to a military battle. The idea of four guys in a cabin was interesting, but as the novel opened up, it was hard to connect with the new characters. Most recently I read it again on audio, from the local library. Funny thing, they don't give you as many audio renewals as they would for a book. . . but I never read an audio book as quickly. I had to keep returning to the library begging for mercy "please let me finish this, I only have four more hours to go. . ."

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The novel reminds me of IT and Stand by Me. King addresses this in the special features of the movie. Not only is it a Derry novel, like IT, but it is the story of children who suffer something tramatic and must then face their childhood monsters as adults. Also, the way the children stand up for Duddits reminds me of the children in IT standing up for Ben.

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I've seen reviews that compare Dreamcatcher to Tommyknockers -- it is not! The book "moves" better than Tommyknockers, is paced nicely and the characters are simply better. Dreamcatcher is a much more focused novel. The only real similarity is that both are Science Fiction. Bret M. Funk wrote, "And as a whole, the story lacked King's usual power, leaving me satisfied, but not necessarily wanting more." http://www.sffworld.com/book/1275.html I think the book is much stronger than that.

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On King's website, one fan wrote: "Extraterrestrial invasion feels so cliche by now" But that's what's exciting when King takes on an issue. He uses cliche's we know well, but brings them home. In fact in this case the cliche is right in our bathroom! it's not V or Earth v. Flying Saucers. . . it feels like it could be any of us. Same thing that happened with Salem's Lot. Imagine someone saying, "Vampires are so cliche." Yes, they are! But King brought them to modern America. Same with Zombies, clowns, flu strains and good old fashioned ghost! King's ability is to bring the cliche into our world. We don't have to imagine castles in Europe in Salem's Lot's case, it's right here! That's why I think the books strongest points are when it's dealing with the guys in the cabin (and subsequent chase as they head to Duds).

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One note on the movie: Jason Lee's portrayal of the Beaver was nothing like what I had imagined in the book! I pictured a big bumbeling guy, and in Lee we got something of a nerdy character.

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Bookcovers: http://www.stephenkingshop.com/covers/Dreamcatcher.htm
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Movie link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285531/

The Green Mile

Just finished watching the Green Mile with my wife; both of us had wet eyes. I kept saying to her, "This is a good movie!" She got annoyed with that comment, but it really was a good movie.

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For a long time I've felt like it might be best to skip King movies and just read the books. The movies never "add up." However, having collected all the first editions I can get my hands on for the budget I have, I decided this Summer to collect the movies. Of course, they have no value, but since I am pretty unfamiliar with them I thought I might give them a try.

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The Green Mile is a favorite novel, so I came with low expectations for the movie. Kind of a sigh as I put the disk in: OKay, let's see what they screw up. But I think the movie was even better. Can that be? It can! The actors really made it happen.

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King released the book in installments, like Dicken's did his books. I remember the excitement of waiting for each segment; then getting behind and thinking: Fine, I'll just wait for the novel to come out all at once. It is powerful in both forms (print and screen).

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The movie does a good job of keeping the Hanks character in every scene. This is important because Hanks is telling the story (the book is also first person). Sometimes I get annoyed at movies where someone is telling a story, but I the viewer am given information or scenes they were not privy to.

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Frank Darabont directed this film, along with other King titles The Mist and The Shawshank Redemption. The movie is pretty loaded with well known names, but the real magic is with Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. The scene of Coffey's execution is powerful. The Guards are in tears as they surround their friend at his death. They seem to stand in such a way as to block his seeing the viewers who hate him.

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Connections to Christianity are unavoidable. As with the book, the links between John Coffey and Jesus Christ (J.C.) are noticeable.

• Both are healers.
• Both know mens hearts.
• Both are killed by the state, though innocent.
• Both die as their executioners admit their innocence.
• Both must take carry another persons pain in order to heal them. With Coffey, he must bear their sickness for a period of time. With Chist he bore our sins.
• Both are of a mistreated race for their time. Christ a first century Jew, Coffey a black during the depression.

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Book covers: http://www.stephenkingshop.com/covers/TheGreenMile.htm

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Movie Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120689/

Under The Dome Collector's Set

Simon and schuster is offering Under The Dome Collectors Set for $75.00. A collectors set, according to Simon and Schuster, comes with

• a stamped slip case
• color illustrations
• a ribbon bookmarker
• trading cards of the characters. (Trading cards sounds like a nice thing to have when dealing with a massive book!)

It is listed at 1,088 pages, which surprises me since I expected it to be longer than The Stand.
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http://books.simonandschuster.com/Under-the-Dome-Collector

Needful Things the Movie

In 1993 Stephen Spielberg gave us Jurassic Park; John Grisham's novel The Firm was successfully translated to film along with his novel The Pelican Brief. Sleepless in Seattle, Groundhog Day, Cool Runnings, Dave, Indecent Proposal, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Good Son, Tombstone were all released in 1993. And so was Needful Things, a movie based on Stephen King's novel.

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My six year old daughter and I watched Needful Things last night. I had seen it before, but couldn't remember much. I have read the book several times and love it. It is a long, carefully woven tale build on characters. It is King at his best! I love it.

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As I'm watching the movie, I find myself thinking: Something isn't working here. And it's not the typical complaining that the movie isn't exactly like the book -- of course they had to combine characters and make changes. But at a deeper level, the story doesn't work on screen; at least not in this presentation. Te back of the DVD box sorts a quote from Jef Craig (who?) of Sixty Second Preview (huh? do they make these companies up for the back of boxes?) who wrote, "The best Stephen King Film ever!" I guess he missed Carrie, Green Mile, and Stand by Me.

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There is a lot of build up to a pretty unclimatic ending. Lots of explosions, but no real effort to explain what's happening. Worse, the ending. Instead of Polly batteling a spider or any of the other one on one fights that take place, we get a drawn out version of the town fight. This scene was fun in the book -- a whole town goes to war. But on the screen, they managed to make this a sleeper. How? Too much talking! Lots and lots of speeches. Gosh, I was starting to think I was watching meet the press. Gaunt has a speech, Pangborn has a speech -- and so on. Anyone head into a story thinking: Gee, I hope there's a good speech at the end! Maybe even a sermon!

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Ed Harris and Max Sidow do their best to pull this off, but the script doesn't give their haracters room to act. The idea that Gaunt (Sidow) is the devil himself is very overplayed. Instead of hinting that this might be the head demon -- we have to be told over and over again! Gaunt's appearing in unexpected places is annoing also. Insead of Polly being left to fight the spider, Gaunt appears and seems to attempt to seduce her. The character of Leon Gaunt is not scary! Well played, but as the movie progresses, he is so over-used in each scene that he isn't the least bit frightening. "Ah," you say as Gaunt appears in a scene, "It's the old shop keeper, I'll bet another speech is on the way!" And you would be right.

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At the end of the film my daughter said, "Dad, movies usually try to teach you a lesson." Sigh. Now I was ready for my 6 year old to throw rocks and this. Fine. Okay, I said, but this movie didn't have a lesson, did it? "It had a lesson. It was trying to say that people are more important than things."

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It is funny how hard the movie tries to present Castle Rock as a "pleasant little town." Can anyone say -- Cujo? Dark Half?

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Oops:

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imdb.com writes: "One man buys a first edition, signed copy of "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. In later scenes, he and the little girl who stole it refer to the title as "Huck Finn" by Mark Twain. In the video and DVD release, his words are dubbed over to correct the mistake. On the television broadcast, the mistake was not corrected. This is an audio mismatch and a continuity error, depending on which version you saw."

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Clue's You've Bought A Bad Movie:

• Not many quotes on the box praising the movie.
• No commentary on special features. Translation: No one wants to be associated with this movie!
• Only extra thing offered "original theatrical trailer."
• A 2 DVD set or "special edition" doesn't exist.

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107665/

Stephen King Goes To The Movies

By the excited tone of things on the world wide web -- I was interested that there was a new book about Stephen King movies coming out. I already had some books about his movies, but a new one is always welcome. I saw the note on Betts and several other places. Then I was at Walmart with my daughter -- limited cash -- and there it was! Not a big bulky hardcover but a simple paperback written by Stephen King himself. Now here is where I goofed; I was in a hurry, and I didn't look inside. Nope! Anything written by king about his movies, I will read!

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I got home to discover that I had bought something that had virtually NO new King matereal. Sigh. Each of the five selected stories for the book, which had been made into movies, were newly introduced by King. The movies included:

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• The Shawshank Redemption
  
• 1408


• Children of the Corn


• The Mangler
  
• Low Men In Yellow Coats.
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One excited website stated: "This collection features new commentary and introductions to all of these stories in a treasure-trove of movie trivia." The introductions are interesting (King doesn't write bad ones), but not interesting enough to sell the entire book. And let's face it, who's going to buy this book -- King fans. People who already have these stories. Someone will say, "Well, now you have them all in once place." So. . .! Low Men belongs with the collection is was orginally published with. Bottom line: Not much unique here. Would rather have a book by King about his own works, rather than simply a few new introductions.

Pet Sematary examiner.com

examiner.com has a pretty good article on Pet Sematary's movie adaptation. I've been reading Pet Sematary while on vacation and certainly think it is one of King's strongest novels.

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Ben Smith writes: "The film's most highlighting feature is that it is a very simple, organic concept. Taken from King's own experiences of living in the Maine area and having his daughter's cat taken from the dangerous surrounding road, King developed the novel from his own fears and experiences in the Maine country side. With King's always common ingenious twist on everyday life, he takes the Maine country side and turns it into a horror classic yet once again."

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http://www.examiner.com/x-14412-Horror-Movies-Examiner~y2009m7d11-PET-SEMATARY-Sometimes-dead-is-better-in-Mary-Lamberts-notorious-Stephen-King-novel-adaptation

Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe

Check out Brighton Gardner's book, Stephen King, A Face Among The Masters.  The chapter on Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King is great!

Here's a few lines from the book:

Michael Connelly produced an interesting book a few years ago titled In The Shadow Of The Master. It was a collection of Poe’s stories with introductions from famous authors. King provided an introduction to The Tell Tale Heart, and noted that crime writers such as John D. MacDonald and Thomas Harris are what he calls “the children of Poe.”  

What about Stephen King? Is he a child of Poe ? Not quite. King has said that he has been more inspired by other writers. However, the writers he most admired as a young person had been influenced by Poe. Writers like Robert Block, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury are all men who fell under Poe’s spell, and they in turn influenced Stephen King. King has suggested that Poe is more like his twisted grandfather. 

Child or grandchild, the relationship is still pretty close and the genes show. Edgar Allan Poe’s DNA is all over Stephen King’s work. Both Poe and King have an intense interest in the horror genre. In fact, Nick Mamatas, author of Under My Roof, suggested in a 2008 article for The Smart Set that Poe was one of the first authors of modern horror because he was not focused on bringing a moral resolution to the story. Poe was simply interested in letting the story tell itself. This is something King routinely does, emphasizing that the most important thing is for the writer to get out of the way enough to let the story unfold the way it needs to . He does not feel a need to guide the novel toward his own moral compass, but allows the plot and characters unfold naturally in the setting he’s created.

Gardner, Brighton (2014-05-04). Stephen King A Face Among The Masters (Kindle Locations 390-395).  . Kindle Edition. 

Here is a list of the discussions under King and Poe:

Chapter 2: THE GHOST OF EDGAR ALLAN POE

• Twisted Grandpa Poe
• Revenge Is Sweet
• Welcome To The Stand, Mr. Poe

The book is available in both print and kindle at: www.amazon.com

Betts: Where I Want To Go On Vacation

We're off on our Summer vacation. After the birth of a baby and a pretty grueling year of work, it's time for a couple of weeks of work. Where ae we going? To usual haunts. There is a palce I'd love to go -- Betts Book Store.
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It may be best I don't go, since the reality is probably not as cool as how I imagine it. I imagine a place full of every King book as well as stuff I didn't know existed. Just the website is cool! I've certainly given Betts a good chunk of my money, they are the safest place to buy King stuff from. I would never buy a signed item from the internet; Betts is the best place. They're great because they know what they are dealing with.

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Now, just to be clear: Such a vacation would not be fun without a bunch of cash! A whole lot. Maybe 100k. Funny, I don't have any need to meet Mr. King or see his house. . . just visit the official (unofficial?) bookstore. That would be fun! Besides, it would be fun to see the Maine countryside after reading about it all these years.

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http://www.bettsbooks.com/

Best Dark Tower Books

A friend gave me two books: The Stand and The Dark Tower. I started the Dark Tower, The Gunslinger but quickly decided I would do better reading about the end of the world. I ate the Stand up that summer and then difted to new King novels. The Gunslinger would have to wait until I could dig through it with an audio edition. Finally I did read it -- and still didn't get it. "Don't you see," a highschool friend said, "they're in hell." A neat idea, but I was pretty sure that wasn't "it." What was up with this book?

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I remember disappointment as Roland climbed the mountain only for the book to end in a long talk. A long talk! Come on!

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I would have given up on the series -- truly -- but for the Drawing of the Three. Something called me back to the Dark Tower series. Was it King's own energy for this? Did I sense that something both dark and wonderful was going to happen in these books? The weight of the first book lifted in Drawing of the Three, and King's joyful story telling style returned. I loved it as Roland popped between world's through doors. There he was one moment in the world I knew, and then dropping back to another era in America. It was great when Eddie hid his drugs in Roland's world. The gangsters, the doors, the woman in the wheelchair. . . oh, and those things that attacked Roland on the beach (did-a-chick) were all great! Maybe, I considered, this series wasn't destined to be a total flop. I still didn't get it, but it made a connection.

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The Wastelands reminded me very much of Star Trek's "The Search For Spock." Only, this was: The Search For Jake. Sorry, it just seemed that King wanted to redeem himself on this one and help Roland not look so bad. Again, there was bouncing between worlds, a fight with a huge bear, encounter a Nazi airplane, Randall Flagg -- and then the true plot twisting begins! The Tick Tock Man, Blane -- it's the kind of book that as you read it you think: Wow, this is good! But to be honest, the storyline isn't so unique it sticks to you. I would have to read it a fourth or fifth time to really nail down all the details. But I remember it was complicated and did very much progress the story.

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And then. . . Mr. King stopped writing the Dark Tower for a while. I went off to College, got a job, got married. . . and then Wizard and Glass came out. I was really excited about this one but I just couldn't make it. I'm almost ashamed of that, but I just couldn't. There was true joy in realizing that for a brief period of time they were moving through the world of the Stand. But then, as things dipped into a back-story, I drifted off. My wife read the book and loved it. "Ruby slippers," she told me, "it's got all kinds of ties to the Wizard of Oz." Uh-huh! So that's supposed to tempt me? I'll just wait for the next book and read the argument, I decided. (This was before the internet really superly took off).

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Right. . . wait for the next book. Years dripped by, but there was no next book. And the way the series had been going, it kind of seemed okay to me.

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Then Mr. King had a bad car accident, got run over by a drunk -- and it looked like the Dark Tower was going to be a bust. Surely publishers wouldn't just let it die, they would do what publishers did with V.C. Andrews, just hire someone who writes like the author. But who writes like Stephen King?

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Thankfully Stephen King did not die. In fact, he came out of recovery and handed his fans a wonderful gift called: "Dreamcatcher." And soon there was an anouncement from King: He would finish all three remaining books one after another.

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The return to Roland's world was well worth it! I loved Wolves of the Calla! The idea of a town standing up for itself was indeed a page turner. The characters were developed, the plot moved, and even the old west feel, which hadn't really been present since The Gun Slinger, was back. I loved the final fight scene as plates whirred through the air and the gunslingers took their stand along with the townspeople. Brilliantly executed! It was the kind of book that made me shout outloud, "YEAH!" For once Roland wasn't just focused on his stupid tower, but was being what a gunslinger ought to be: A warrior for the oppressed. I loved it.

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Right on the heels of this came Song of Susannah. Tightly written, if not sometiems confusing it certainly had its moments. The gunslinger meets Stephen King?! Three Stephen Kings! Nice. And, it all happens in a single day. It took me a while to realize that small point.

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King concluded the series with massive novel The Dark Tower. In it we find redemption for a certain priest and new obsticals along the path. To be honest, I was in such a hurry to get to the Dark Tower, I found myself zoning out as plot rolled by. That, and I was delayed when my wife had a car accident and totalled the car -- which had my Dark Tower CD's. But at last I had to finish. As the magic day came, King gave fair notice: Don't feel obligated to read on. Make up your own ending. Yeah, right! I paid good money for this! "You're not going to like it," my wife warned. What does she know! Well, turns out she knows a lot. What?! The world is coming apart, only the dark tower can save everything -- and it ends where it began?

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So, here's my question: If the series ends where it began, if I read it again, will it still end there? Is that where it goes everytime, or just this time?

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It was an enjoyable journey. Far better than Lord of the Rings in my opinion. And, easily the best two in the series were Drawing of the Three, which re-engaged me in the series, and Wolves of the Calla, which again re-engaged me in Roland's quest. Of course, the journey is not over. This time you can take the journey via comic book. I'm not taking that journey, so please, anyone want to tell me if it comes out any different?.

http://www.thedarktower.com/

http://www.stephenking.com/darktower/

Bad Bookcovers

I've read a lot about Stephen King, and I've read my share of complaining. Just want to mention thing under the heading of complaining and then I'll be quiet. Well, I won't -- but I'll feel better after I say this:

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Sometimes I think the publisher must be insane to slap some of the covers they do on King books. Almost makes me want to go British just to get the better book coves. I'm talking artwork here, not quality or anything else.

A few eamples:

Insomnia:
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I'm glad we nailed down who wrote it. Did someone actually work long hours thinking up this cover art? Is this art? Okay, here's the deal: The book cover makes me sleepy. . . so how can it be about INSOMNIA?!

Carrie:
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Okay, one question: Did anyone read the book before putting that face on the cover of Carrie?

Just After Sunset:

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A certain well known King bookstore had a note up that said, "Hopefully this is not the final cover." (Or something like that). Only to quietly disappear when the book was actually published What makes anyone think that this cover will sell books?

The Running Man:

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I don't get it. What does a hand holding a glowing ball have to do with the Running Man?

The Tommyknockers:

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This wasn't just a cover. . . it came in Gold or White. Come on, how cool is that?!! Okay, truth be told, it's not a cool cover. The British edition is much nicer.

The Talisman:

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Oh boy! Now we can put TWO guys names on the front of the book and use up ALL the space!

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Now, how is this cover all that different from Insomnia?

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I also don't understand the cover for: The Dark Half, Dance Macabre and Night Shift.

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May I ask: Do publishers think that maybe Stephen King fans need to be told they are buying a Stephen King book? Does the name really need to be in Atomic Bomb Headline font? Could we maybe spare five or six inches for a picture? Please?!

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Maybe publishers think King fans are unaware of when a new book is coming out, so they have to print it real big on the cover. I wonder if book covers had anything to do with sales.

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Someone will say: "Well, for short stories, the best thing to do is just put the name out there because there is no theme." Okay. . . then how come Night Shift got a cooler cover when it went to paperback? The hand with eyes on it is creepy. . . way better than the brilliant "white with nothing on it" look of the hardcover.

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Okay, I'm done. Thank you for your attention.

Seriously, that's the price?

The wonderful thing about Amazon and ebay is they create a woldwide bookstore. No more long drives hoping to find the right thing. Driving to Bettes isn't even an option when you live next to the Pacific. But sometimes I'll see a price on a King item, and I think: "For real?"

Here's the interesting thing: Some people think that anything -- everything -- with "Stephen King" on it is: 1. Collectable. 2. Valuable. 3. Worth a billion dollars. In fact, a sign of a true amature is someone who either charges too much or pays too much for King items.

In our town there is a small used bookstore that has a Stephen King section. I bought a copy of Thinner (book club, no "King" evidence on it) for $5. But if you want a bookclub edition of The Shining, that will be $1,000. Yes, that is three zeros! This guy is selling bookclub editions for sometiems double and triple what they go for on Amazon.

Here's some of my findings on amazon:

Duma Key, signed -- $400.
Desperation, signed -- $1,300
Desperaton, 1st ed -- $149.99 (of course, other first editions of this book are 27.95)

These are actually poor examples. I guess signed bumps the price up, but there is such a gap in what a signed item might go for. First editions, unless really early books, aren't hard to get a hold of. The only book my wife cringed at when I put down the money was for a first edition of Wizard and Glass. But it wasn't that much -- in the world of book collecting.

I wonder sometimes if people look at the other listings for a book in the same condition before they list theirs.

10 Reasons I Read Stephen King

Why Stephen King? There are lots of good authors out there, so why do millions of people return to Stephen King? And how does one author develop such a loyal following? What makes him different than someone like Ken Follett?

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1. King knows how to tell a good story. Sometimes he's "hit or miss" -- but more often than not we get something wonderful (Duma Key) instead of a stinker. So, simply, readers come back to someone they know is good.

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2. Gross out! King isn't afraid of blood, worms, monsters, teeth, barf, and more. Illicit sex is generally a no-no in a King novel, but blood and guts are always in.

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3. No genre laws. How refreshing! King doesn't limit a story by saying: "Now, now, we just can't go there!" So readers are left asking: "Was that a horror novel or a sci-fi or a romance or. . . oh forget it, it wa a good read!"

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4. Interconnectedness. This is important. You have to keep reading because characters you liked in a previous novel might just appear again. Storylines weave together (Geralds Game / Dolores Claiborne. Desperation / The Regulators. Salem's Lot / The Dark Tower.) So King doesn't just write a single novel, he writes his own universe. Garrison Keillor might give us Lake Wobegon, but King gives us entire worlds remade. Can you beat that?

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5. Format. A lot of authors are "print only." Just try getting a CD edition of a Richard Lymon book -- can't do it! Or, you end up with lame abridgements. But King's stuff appears in many accessable formats always unedited. Hardcover, paperback, audio -- if you want the story, it's not hard to find. Every novel is in print. Prefer to listen? Prefer a comic book? Oh, so you don't read? How about a movie? It's all there! Even radio productions.

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6. Shock value. It's always nice to see peoples faces when they come over and see lots and lots and lots of Stephen King books on my gigantic book shelves. They have to ask the obvious, "YOU read Stephen King?" I want to reply, "No! I wouldn't read that trash if you paid me! My friend just brought his entire collection over and I'm keeping it for him."

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7. Volume. King writes faster than most of us read, so there's always more. Pity the poor guy waiting for his next John Grisham book because he's already read everything else Grisham has written. While I may be anxious for Under the Dome to hit a bookstore, I can wittle away time on stuff I haven't really touched yet. And if you get tired of reading King, you can always read about him!

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8. Personable. Typically a King book has an easy tone to it, as if the author is speaking directly to me as I sit in my jammies reading. The narration not only flows, it feels "warm and fuzzy." Sorry, but it is that simple sometimes. When I read Clancy I feel like I'm being spoken to by a teacher -- while King makes me feel like his friend -- Or at least his constant reader.

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This is really pretty simple: I read Stephen King because I like Stephen King -- and when he writes, he makes me feel like he likes me. Of couse, we are political opposites. Religous opposites. Definate economic opposites! But still, he remains likeable. I feel like I met King one day as a teenager while I read the introduction to The Stand Uncut, and then we became good friends while I read the introduction to Night Shift. We've been tight ever sense.

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9. Anticipation. After reading a few books, you come back to King thinking: "What more could this guy have possibly thought of? Can there be more?" And there always is! Oh -- a clown monster, I hadn't thought of that. Or, "gee, now we get a woman tied to a bed while something enters her house, I didn't expect that."

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10. Boldness. Look, Stephen King does stuff no one else would dare to do. People would say it was arrogant to write yourself into your own book (Song), but that didn't stop King! And King is bold enough to write the way he wants to write. When others write as freely as King they are told, "You're breaking the rules. You can't do that." But Mr. King dos that! I think it's bold to start Christine in first person, drop into third, and finish in first. Confusing -- oh yeah! But bold for sure. Rage was pretty bold. King admits that he likes to get under someone's skin.

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I don't finish every novel on the first try. Sorry, Lisey's Story lost me early, but I do come back again and again to Stephen King.