@@LienesLibrary You are beautiful. I could marry you. Ontopic - You noticed good that the book is not good but you were too shy not mentioning it. Its not scary at all. Pet Sematary has weak dialogue and poor action. The flow is not good. I get the people like atmosphere but in general it should be twice shorter, same like Insomnia and Bag of Bones - just too long. His best work is "Needful things " and "Salems lot" This books are not scary at all, but are great books. If you wanna book with impact read "Night in Zagreb" by Adam Medvidović. Thats a hidden gem. Then make a video review on it, and then I will decide will I marry you. Based on review.
My first Stephen King book was The Girl who loved Tom Gordon. Absolutely loved it and it's not very well known and pretty underrated. That book scared the crap out of me, made me cheer and made me cry. Loved it.
the windego possessing those who return from the dead yielding the unearthing of dark secrets and shameful behavior doesn't play as cheesy or corny.. In my humble opinion :)
I don't know.. I liked seeing that Luis destroyed his entire life and fed the burial ground in order for a chance to see his son again... Kinda drove the message home for me
once you have a child...read this book again.....it hits you way differently..i read it once as a child at 13 and once at 30...and I could barely hang on at 30..its the darkest and heart wrenching thing I never related to as a young teen.
Why would you want it to end on a cliff hanger right before Louis steals Gage's body though? Would it be satisfying to read a 500 pages book just to end on that? I feel like the actual ending Is amazing, it's so dark and it ends showing the endless cycle of the micmac curse with Louis passing the knowledge of the cemetary to Masterton with the exact words Jud said to him, I don't know, I think it's perfect. I agree though in the part where Louis goes to the micmac cemetary to bury Gage, it's kinda cringe when he sees the face in the sky and whatever that was, but the ending Is cool.
If you read ‘Pet Sematary’ & then read ‘11/22/63’ right after-probability is high that Stephen King could become your favorite writer-after seeing his ability to expand genre’s would astound you.
I Started with the Dark Tower on Audiobile, and from there listened to 20 other of his books. Besides The Dark Tower, the best four would be The Stand, The Mist, Under the Dome, and "IT" IT is the most terrifying thing I've ever read.
i bought the same book today, and i'm nervous about the size of the book and how he writes so smart like. and i feel like my brain won't comprehend it all, but i decided to take it upon myself to buy this book and read it after the book i'm reading right now.
This was my second dive into SK. I read the Institute before. It was okay. I just agree so much with what you said about the ending. The reason why I read this book and not another one was because several people through both twitter and youtube had said that they really loved the ending and that SK hit the mark. But I was disappointed. It's fine for the cat to come back because then we have some answers. But the kid... it made Louis seem dumb. Like, the cat is clearly not right in the head. How did he expect his son to turn out? I understand that grief makes people do foolish things but come on. It definitely should have ended with us not knowing whether or not Louis actually goes through with it.
The whole point is that Louis made his dumb decision because of the influence/power of the Micmac burial ground. Its power caused a bunch of stuff to happen and got inside Louis's head. Think of all the stuff Jud says to him about that.
Other King books you should check out is 'Salem's Lot, and The Shining. The latter, sadly was saddled with a quick cop out ending. There is also "It"....this one has a thousand pages and yet I was able to finish it, that was how good it was. Most other King novels like Needful Things and the extended version of The Stand just run of steam and I lost interest.
The old movie is from 1989 and is believed to be the better incarnation of the two. There was a remake that was done about four or five years ago that wasn't very good. Not only that but the Ramones preformed the title song for the film, which is also titled Pet Sematary and featured it was featured not only on the film's soundtrack, but also on their album Brain Drain . The Green Mile, CuJo, Stand By Me, Insomnia, Carrie, Misery, Dolores Calibourne and Christine are also other films from Stephen King's works.
IT was scary but Salem's Lot (unromantic, scary ass Vamps) - OMG! That book made me put it down at times. IF you want to be afraid reading, go for that one. Seriously, I still think about some of the scenes when I am alone and creeped out. That being said, King is all over the place with books. 11/22/63 (F'ed up, high stakes Time Travel) actually made me tear up at the end. Very good book, the Hulu Series cut corners but didn't too to badly adapting it. Just heard you talk about the end. Stephen King sucks at endings. Honestly. You will rarely get a payoff.
@@LienesLibrary Liene, honestly, if SL doesn't scare you - King won't ever scare you. And though I was thoroughly scared out of my wits, King rarely does that in his books. The Shining to me is more creepy than scary but for you it might be different. Reading The Shining, I dismissed the supernatural as a slow decent into madness, yada, yada - yawn. The vamps in this book are no f'ing joke, no trick of the light, they ARE vampires and they want to suck your ass dry. A lot of his books (including this one) speak to the evil in us all but this book throws some stuff in that will have you checking your windows before bed. Seriously.
I haven't read Stephen King before either, but I don't know if I could do this one. I watched the spoilers because I don't really mind them and I generally stay away from books about people losing their children because it hits too close for me and isn't fun anymore.
I ve read about 40 Kings books pet semetety might be much for the start but forget about the books Watch these 2 movies ASAP Green Mile The Shawshenk redemption
The young people of today don't get scared by the things other generations did. That is just the way it has always been. I am a GenZ, and I read Pet Sematary when it first came out, and it was damn scary. It gave me nightmares, and it scared all of friends too. But, that was back then. It was an amazing time, long ago, when books and movies could actually terrify you. Unfortunately, today, young people just don't scare anymore.
PET SEMATARY is my second favorite King novel (behind IT). However, I feel that the best one to start with is 'SALEM'S LOT. It's one of his scarier books and it deals with some of the small town horror aspect of many of King's books without being 1,000+ pages long. It's a medium-sized novel that ties in with THE DARK TOWER and it combines the haunted house and vampire sub-genres of horror. That said, I do not consider King a horror writer. King is my favorite author but I would argue that he isn't a very good horror writer. That said, there are some examples of very effective horror in his bibliography but, generally speaking, his most recent works are more literary while some of his older works are more thriller. At the very least, he shouldn't be labeled as a horror writer, in my opinion. THE STAND is a dark fantasy drama that takes place in a post-apocalyptic America. THE DEAD ZONE is an epic sci-fi thriller. The same could be said about FIRESTARTER. THE TOMMYKNOCKERS is an alien invasion epic. THE TALISMAN is an epic fantasy novel on par with LORD OF THE RINGS while THE EYES OF THE DRAGON is a staight up medieval fantasy that could be marketed towards young readers. GERALD'S GAME, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, ROSE MADDER, and INSOMNIA are fantasy novels with feminist themes while BAG OF BONES and LISEY'S STORY are gothic romances. And of course THE DARK TOWER is a science fantasy epic. The Bill Hodges trilogy is a series of detective crime novels. His novel, THE COLORADO KID (the basis of the TV show, HAVEN) is a literary novel about how some mysteries are never solved. Hell, even his upcoming novel, LATER (to be released next spring) is a crime novel set to be published by Hard Case Crime. My point is, he has a very wide range and it is unfair that he is typed as a horror writer. He hasn't written straight up horror in decades.
I’m getting Salem’s lot on Xmas but my first was Carrie( I have only read Christine and Carrie). I’m reading pet sematary right now but next I plan to read either the stand or Salem’s lot next.
“I don’t want to be buried...in a pet semetary” my mom dragged me to see the original movie when I was like 7, lol. Glad you’re jumping into King. Dark Tower is my 2nd favorite series (behind First Law, but honestly only by a hair) and I hope one day you check it out. It’s insanely bold. Do not watch the movie though. Man I wish a competent studio had rights to his work. I’ve read a lot of King, but it’s hard for me to recommend a truly scary book. I think I’m too desensitized. Although blasphemously I refuse to read The Shining because I love the movie too much (#1 horror movie all time imo). For general King recommendations though I’d go: The Stand, It, Insomnia, 11/22/63, Misery (outside of the Dark Tower obviously). If you ever start DT, be warned that the first book is basically 100% atmosphere and it takes the 2nd and 3rd books especially for it to really kick into gear. There’s a great real life story around King and his writing of the DT as well, but I’ve droned on enough. Great analysis as always.
Liene's Library The Dark Tower series which I honestly haven’t read myself yet has crossovers and references to Kings other stories/characters. I hear the following are not necessary but may be worth reading before hand: ‘The Stand’, ‘IT’, ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ and ‘Salem’s Lot’ (even others) I also heard ‘Insomnia’ may be worth reading after TDT.
Definitely horrific for a novel. Better than The Shining IMO, which is another novel of his that people claim to be his scariest book. He has a ton of good books.
I finished this book 2 days ago. SPOILERS AHEAD:::::::: Your idea for end is so interesting. The epilogue was good though, and exactly what you are talking about. I gotta say the zombie kid stabbing people was about 6 pages of this 350+ page book though; and the stuff he says was scary! Did you find the Timmy Baterman part creepy? I did. But like you implied, the book is about Louis's decent into madness!!
I've read 3 SK books so far, Pet Sematary was one of my favs. Definitely not scary at all, but because it deals with death and resurrection, it's certainly dark.
@@LienesLibrary I felt the same way after... with how much people hype up the horror aspect, I thought it would have left me shaking and peeking around every corner after I finished lol. I hope there does exist a SK book that will give me that feeling, because I'm lowkey a masochist.
I agree that the human aspects were the most horrifying part over the Sematary itself. I believe that was the purpose of it. Life can be a literal hell
Read The Shining or Carrie next. They are both crazy horrific. Pet Sematary was the first King book I read, too. I read it in the wake of the death of a loved one, and what I got out of it was this: that you can spend all your time wishing they could come back - running all these crazy scenarios through your head about how it might happen - but in the end, death changes you, and nothing is the same after dealing with it. It helped me grieve and to let go of that longing. The horror in this book is definitely the question, "how far would you go to get them back?" and it's something every grieving person thinks of, at least once. One thing King does immensely well is showing the slow descent into madness - how it doesn't necessarily happen all at once, but one thing piles upon another, until you find yourself speeding downhill and unable to stop it anymore. The Shining is a fantastic example of that. I'd love to hear what you think of that one!
I definitely felt the representation of grief and slow spiral into madness were the strengths of this book and I'm really looking forward to reading The Shining next! I love when books speak to you on a personal level at just the right time, nothing beats that
I grew up watching the 1989 movie adaption before I had a chance to read the book when I was a little older, and I honestly still think the original movie gave me perfect expectations of the book because it's still my favourite King novel and adaptation. I don't recommend the 2019 movie, they changed a lot from the book and I was so disappointed in it, I think it's absolute trash - regardless of the cast, the movie is awful. I would absolutely love to watch a video comparing the original movie to the book though with your opinions, that would be super interesting!
I read Pet Sematary pretty diagonally because I just do not care for zombies :D The ending was pretty good though, just that "Darling." In a scraping voice. Read The Shining next, and keep me posted with your thoughts while you're reading - it's one of my favourite books ever :) It's again a very good character study. Also, if you wanna watch Kubrick's film after you read the book - keep in mind that they're very loosely connected, and the film is a masterpiece all on its own. King didn't like it.
I know nothing about the book or the movie except that it's King/Kubrick, has Jack Nicholson, and is scary 😂 I will update you on my totally unprejudiced experience 👌
I have never read a Stephen King book ever however tomorrow I will be reading The Shining cuz I am participating in The Stephen King buddy Readalong from tomorrow until next December of 2020. I mainly read Mystery Thrillers. Love your thoughts.
I remember the couple of books I read when I was a kid scaring me (like 11, 12), but the ones I read when I was closer to adulthood came off more creepy than scary. And that creepiness carried over even into one of his Fantasy-esque novels I checked out too (I think it was called the Dragon's Eye or some shit). The only bothersome trait about his writing was the unevenness with his descriptions at times. He would epically describe a setting, but then would be light AF on how an important character would look. Still, I want to check out his books again this coming year.
It was eye of the dragon and he wrote that book because his kids wanted to be able to read something of his and at their age he wouldn't let them so he wrote that book. I do see your point about how he doesn't describe main characters that will but it was mainly in his earlier books that he did this because he wanted the reader to visualize what they wanted the character to look like but he really grew as a writer from his earlier years especially after he got off the cocaine and alcohol but he's still one of my favorite authors for his character development in his later writing
@@85transamlover That's good to hear. I'm not the best read in King, but it was something I dimly recall from the 5 books of his I read. And as I've gotten older, I really only care for some basic descriptions of people now unless something about their appearance is really needed for the plot; just to make them stick out in your memory.
@@osoisko1933 if you do decide to pick up another Stephen King I would recommend the Institute it's his newest book and I really think you would enjoy it not only does he lay out the surroundings very well but he also describes the people extremely well and everything has to do with everything in this book as well
Mine was the shining, I wanna read carrie but Im sticking to people going insane l, ghosts, zombies (pet sematary) and clowns. Maby i’ll try it one day
This is my favourite Stephen King book. My child was the same age as Gage when I read it, and it terrified me. It terrified me because of the sense loss, and how the main characters deal with that, not so much the zombie or Zelda stuff. I think being a parent you can relate more to the anxieties and fears from the main characters around grief and loss.
Wow I was so happy to see you read a king book. I would love to hear your opinion on 11/22/63. I think it is his best book. I do love king. And the dark Tower series. Great video to you are the best booktuber. In me personally opinion. Lots of love
This is true I can actually say this is the one author I own every book he's ever written and I was also going to tell you that I really think it's amazing that you reply back to almost everyone's comments that really sets you apart and you're awesome people can actually have conversations with a booktuber
@@85transamlover daaang that's a lot of books! I think I'd need a whole new bookcase to accommodate the entire King backlog.... and thank you, I do my best to reply - after all, starting a conversation (imo) is kind of the whole point
@@LienesLibrary I was sitting here thinking about it and I think that Christine Cujo and Needful Things are about the scariest books he's got the rest of them or more scary on how he gets in your mind and describes things and plays with your emotions he's really good at it I did suggest 11 22 63 it is not a horror book by no means but I think it's one of the best things he's ever written and I think the ending is just amazing it is one of my top three favorite endings for books to me
Pet Cemetery 🙃👍👻🎃🇺🇸🍕 PNW WASHINGTON State Born n Raised 🎃👻 Happy Halloween 2021 ✌️🙃👻 Soooooo ,,, WHERE DID THE BAD BAD KITTY GO 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🎃👻👻🎃😘😘 Sincerely 👽🛸
I’ve just finished this book last nite (hive mind woooo! 😬) & I have to say that I totally agree with your breakdown of this novel. I too didn’t like the matter-of-fact way the haunting & supernatural stuff was dealt with & would’ve preferred more ambiguity. It seemed a little hokey at times too. That said; the humanity & the grief aspects absolutely got me right in the fucking heart! (& as a dad myself, I think it hit me much harder than I actually expected it to) I already knew what was going to happen to Gage because I saw the 1980’s film when I was at college, but the way it was written, especially when they were flying the kite together & he realised how much he loved his son & then knowing what’s to come . . . that was heartbreaking stuff. It’s certainly not a scary story, but like you say; it’s very dark! The writing (internal monologues etc) reminds me a lot of the way the Shining is written & so I think you should probably go to the ‘Overlook Hotel’ next on your journey thru King’s multiverse. I like the way the towns of Derry & Bangor are referenced in Pet Sematary - it gels this book to his other works. (Derry is where IT takes place & Bangor is a recurring town in his works too). I’d also give Misery a shot as Annie Wilkes is easily King’s scariest creation in my opinion.
oh man I totally forgot about the King-verse until reading your comment just now - I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open so I can grasp how all the stories fit together! Back to PS, the kite flying scene was really beautiful and reminded me of the reasons I find watching Finding Neverland so emotional - all the scenes with the kids playing in the park with their mother when you know their mom is going to die and leave them orphaned 😭 Overall, the specificity of King's character portraits, the tiny nuances and quirks that less competent authors don't think of or feel are irrelevant and so don't include them, those truly make a person a unique individual and lend the story credulity and relatability. that's what I love about Gaiman and, so far, that's what I'm loving about King 👌
Liene's Library yeah that’s definitely one of King’s (and Gaiman’s) major strengths. They know how to build an individual & give that character a believable personality. I also think Pullman is good at this too (I’m beginning the first ‘Book of Dust’ novel tonite). You know you’re dealing with a professional writer when he/she can make the reader feel for the characters & do it so subtly that you don’t even realise that you feel anything until something terrible happens to them. I liked PS a lot & I’m so glad that I’ve finally read it but I always find King’s work a little weighty & melancholic so tend to only manage one a year. What are you reading next?
Liene's Library hahaha - yep, hive mind has gotten well out of hand!🤪 They’re good books tho aren’t they? I’m watching ‘His Dark Materials’ on BBC so I got the urge to start this newer series on audible (I only reread Northern Lights etc earlier this year so probably too soon to read them again). Michael Sheen does the narration & he’s brilliant!💪
Thank you for sharing your. Opinion = 👍✌️👻 It’s agoood feeling that others are AWARE of THEIR SURROUNDINGS 🎃 You wanna REALLY PISS YOUR PANTIES SCARED if TRUE FRIENDLY Booooo 👻 Sincerely 👽🛸
I'm glad you liked your first experience with Stephen King! I think you're right about the ending, and that it would have been better with more ambiguity. The shining is an obvious next choice as you've said. If you like a good character dive it will be right up your alley. The Green Mile is another excellent character-driven one to read as well. IT always scared me the most of Stephen King's works and would also make a good next read of his. Oh, I would definitely watch a book-movie comparison done by you!
The 1989 movie is worlds better than that sorry remake and the novel is a lot better than the 1989 movie, although the screenplay for the 1989 movie was written by King himself.
![Stephen King- Interview (Pet Sematary) - 3/27/89 [Reelin' In The Years Archive]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dphiqKjB4eY/mqdefault.jpg)
Pet Semetary was my first King novel and to this day it’s the one of his novels that scared me the most.
it didn't "scare" me, but it definitely left an impression
@@LienesLibrary You are beautiful. I could marry you.
Ontopic - You noticed good that the book is not good but you were too shy not mentioning it. Its not scary at all. Pet Sematary has weak dialogue and poor action. The flow is not good. I get the people like atmosphere but in general it should be twice shorter, same like Insomnia and Bag of Bones - just too long. His best work is "Needful things " and "Salems lot" This books are not scary at all, but are great books.
If you wanna book with impact read "Night in Zagreb" by Adam Medvidović. Thats a hidden gem. Then make a video review on it, and then I will decide will I marry you. Based on review.
@@Kevinakletva find God
@@blodiaaa6990 wy do you say tat?
My first Stephen King book was The Girl who loved Tom Gordon. Absolutely loved it and it's not very well known and pretty underrated. That book scared the crap out of me, made me cheer and made me cry. Loved it.
The ending of the Mist movie is awesome.
It's not a scare book, it's a book about what grief can make a person do.
the windego possessing those who return from the dead yielding the unearthing of dark secrets and shameful behavior doesn't play as cheesy or corny.. In my humble opinion :)
I don't know.. I liked seeing that Luis destroyed his entire life and fed the burial ground in order for a chance to see his son again... Kinda drove the message home for me
once you have a child...read this book again.....it hits you way differently..i read it once as a child at 13 and once at 30...and I could barely hang on at 30..its the darkest and heart wrenching thing I never related to as a young teen.
Why would you want it to end on a cliff hanger right before Louis steals Gage's body though? Would it be satisfying to read a 500 pages book just to end on that?
I feel like the actual ending Is amazing, it's so dark and it ends showing the endless cycle of the micmac curse with Louis passing the knowledge of the cemetary to Masterton with the exact words Jud said to him, I don't know, I think it's perfect.
I agree though in the part where Louis goes to the micmac cemetary to bury Gage, it's kinda cringe when he sees the face in the sky and whatever that was, but the ending Is cool.
If you read ‘Pet Sematary’ & then read ‘11/22/63’ right after-probability is high that Stephen King could become your favorite writer-after seeing his ability to expand genre’s would astound you.
I Started with the Dark Tower on Audiobile, and from there listened to 20 other of his books. Besides The Dark Tower, the best four would be The Stand, The Mist, Under the Dome, and "IT" IT is the most terrifying thing I've ever read.
Definitely read The Shining but also The Mist
i bought the same book today, and i'm nervous about the size of the book and how he writes so smart like. and i feel like my brain won't comprehend it all, but i decided to take it upon myself to buy this book and read it after the book i'm reading right now.
hope you enjoy!
This was my second dive into SK. I read the Institute before. It was okay. I just agree so much with what you said about the ending. The reason why I read this book and not another one was because several people through both twitter and youtube had said that they really loved the ending and that SK hit the mark. But I was disappointed. It's fine for the cat to come back because then we have some answers. But the kid... it made Louis seem dumb. Like, the cat is clearly not right in the head. How did he expect his son to turn out? I understand that grief makes people do foolish things but come on. It definitely should have ended with us not knowing whether or not Louis actually goes through with it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one - maybe when I suggest this book I'll tell people to stop before the end 😂
The whole point is that Louis made his dumb decision because of the influence/power of the Micmac burial ground. Its power caused a bunch of stuff to happen and got inside Louis's head. Think of all the stuff Jud says to him about that.
I’d love to see a comparison between the Pet Sematary movies and the book since it’s my favorite Stephen King book!
The only Stephen king books I’ve read so far are Carrie, and Christine. Carrie was my first and I absolutely loved it.
Other King books you should check out is 'Salem's Lot, and The Shining. The latter, sadly was saddled with a quick cop out ending. There is also "It"....this one has a thousand pages and yet I was able to finish it, that was how good it was. Most other King novels like Needful Things and the extended version of The Stand just run of steam and I lost interest.
The old movie is from 1989 and is believed to be the better incarnation of the two. There was a remake that was done about four or five years ago that wasn't very good. Not only that but the Ramones preformed the title song for the film, which is also titled Pet Sematary and featured it was featured not only on the film's soundtrack, but also on their album Brain Drain . The Green Mile, CuJo, Stand By Me, Insomnia, Carrie, Misery, Dolores Calibourne and Christine are also other films from Stephen King's works.
IT was scary but Salem's Lot (unromantic, scary ass Vamps) - OMG! That book made me put it down at times. IF you want to be afraid reading, go for that one. Seriously, I still think about some of the scenes when I am alone and creeped out. That being said, King is all over the place with books. 11/22/63 (F'ed up, high stakes Time Travel) actually made me tear up at the end. Very good book, the Hulu Series cut corners but didn't too to badly adapting it. Just heard you talk about the end. Stephen King sucks at endings. Honestly. You will rarely get a payoff.
for such a prolific writer its sad that his endings have such a bad rep - Salem's Lot has me interested now...
@@LienesLibrary Liene, honestly, if SL doesn't scare you - King won't ever scare you. And though I was thoroughly scared out of my wits, King rarely does that in his books. The Shining to me is more creepy than scary but for you it might be different. Reading The Shining, I dismissed the supernatural as a slow decent into madness, yada, yada - yawn. The vamps in this book are no f'ing joke, no trick of the light, they ARE vampires and they want to suck your ass dry. A lot of his books (including this one) speak to the evil in us all but this book throws some stuff in that will have you checking your windows before bed. Seriously.
@@LienesLibrary I've never read a bad ending yet, just endings people don't want.
What book do you think is actually scary?
I haven't read Stephen King before either, but I don't know if I could do this one. I watched the spoilers because I don't really mind them and I generally stay away from books about people losing their children because it hits too close for me and isn't fun anymore.
that's the main reason, I think, King felt this book was too dark to publish - it hits closest to home for him too 😢
I ve read about 40 Kings books pet semetety might be much for the start but forget about the books
Watch these 2 movies ASAP
Green Mile
The Shawshenk redemption
I really enjoyed Hearts In Atlantis as well. The movie only covers a small portion of the book, but it made for a great movie in my opinion.
@@mlmattin what do you mean? Are the books related each other?
The young people of today don't get scared by the things other generations did. That is just the way it has always been. I am a GenZ, and I read Pet Sematary when it first came out, and it was damn scary. It gave me nightmares, and it scared all of friends too. But, that was back then. It was an amazing time, long ago, when books and movies could actually terrify you. Unfortunately, today, young people just don't scare anymore.
I finished it yesterday and it scared the crap out of me
My first Stephen King book was Joyland! It was very unique compared to his other books (at least compared to the ones I have read.)
PET SEMATARY is my second favorite King novel (behind IT). However, I feel that the best one to start with is 'SALEM'S LOT. It's one of his scarier books and it deals with some of the small town horror aspect of many of King's books without being 1,000+ pages long. It's a medium-sized novel that ties in with THE DARK TOWER and it combines the haunted house and vampire sub-genres of horror. That said, I do not consider King a horror writer. King is my favorite author but I would argue that he isn't a very good horror writer. That said, there are some examples of very effective horror in his bibliography but, generally speaking, his most recent works are more literary while some of his older works are more thriller. At the very least, he shouldn't be labeled as a horror writer, in my opinion. THE STAND is a dark fantasy drama that takes place in a post-apocalyptic America. THE DEAD ZONE is an epic sci-fi thriller. The same could be said about FIRESTARTER. THE TOMMYKNOCKERS is an alien invasion epic. THE TALISMAN is an epic fantasy novel on par with LORD OF THE RINGS while THE EYES OF THE DRAGON is a staight up medieval fantasy that could be marketed towards young readers. GERALD'S GAME, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, ROSE MADDER, and INSOMNIA are fantasy novels with feminist themes while BAG OF BONES and LISEY'S STORY are gothic romances. And of course THE DARK TOWER is a science fantasy epic. The Bill Hodges trilogy is a series of detective crime novels. His novel, THE COLORADO KID (the basis of the TV show, HAVEN) is a literary novel about how some mysteries are never solved. Hell, even his upcoming novel, LATER (to be released next spring) is a crime novel set to be published by Hard Case Crime. My point is, he has a very wide range and it is unfair that he is typed as a horror writer. He hasn't written straight up horror in decades.
I’m getting Salem’s lot on Xmas but my first was Carrie( I have only read Christine and Carrie). I’m reading pet sematary right now but next I plan to read either the stand or Salem’s lot next.
DAMN This dude reads. I haven't gotten to Tommyknockers, The Dead Zone, but reading Firestarter.
people get king wrong, he's a very slow drip drip writer about anything other than horror, then he lets rip at the end.
THEE SHINING of Course a MONUMENTAL Stephen King Movie ✌️👍
Sincerely
👽🛸
lmfao when you said he looks creepy I agree!!!
“I don’t want to be buried...in a pet semetary” my mom dragged me to see the original movie when I was like 7, lol.
Glad you’re jumping into King. Dark Tower is my 2nd favorite series (behind First Law, but honestly only by a hair) and I hope one day you check it out. It’s insanely bold. Do not watch the movie though. Man I wish a competent studio had rights to his work.
I’ve read a lot of King, but it’s hard for me to recommend a truly scary book. I think I’m too desensitized. Although blasphemously I refuse to read The Shining because I love the movie too much (#1 horror movie all time imo). For general King recommendations though I’d go: The Stand, It, Insomnia, 11/22/63, Misery (outside of the Dark Tower obviously). If you ever start DT, be warned that the first book is basically 100% atmosphere and it takes the 2nd and 3rd books especially for it to really kick into gear. There’s a great real life story around King and his writing of the DT as well, but I’ve droned on enough. Great analysis as always.
I really do wanna give Dark Tower a shot someday - maybe after The Shining 😁
Liene's Library The Dark Tower series which I honestly haven’t read myself yet has crossovers and references to Kings other stories/characters. I hear the following are not necessary but may be worth reading before hand: ‘The Stand’, ‘IT’, ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ and ‘Salem’s Lot’ (even others) I also heard ‘Insomnia’ may be worth reading after TDT.
Just wondering... How many King books have you read since this video and how many ended with something blowing up, or a building burning down?
Definitely horrific for a novel. Better than The Shining IMO, which is another novel of his that people claim to be his scariest book. He has a ton of good books.
I finished this book 2 days ago. SPOILERS AHEAD:::::::: Your idea for end is so interesting. The epilogue was good though, and exactly what you are talking about. I gotta say the zombie kid stabbing people was about 6 pages of this 350+ page book though; and the stuff he says was scary! Did you find the Timmy Baterman part creepy? I did. But like you implied, the book is about Louis's decent into madness!!
The part where Louis digs the grave of his son and trying no to get caught felt so vivid . Louis said "is this how bill Baterman felt.
Let us know if you're going to read The Shining! So we can read it too before watching the review :)
I'm 99% certain that'll be my next King 😁
So the Death Wish Coffee is how you get thru so many books🤔👍
hahaha truth be told I love Death Wish coffee mugs, but I prefer Bones coffee for drinking 🤫
@@LienesLibrary I will give it a shot
I've read 3 SK books so far, Pet Sematary was one of my favs. Definitely not scary at all, but because it deals with death and resurrection, it's certainly dark.
yeah, hundred percent agree - now I'm ready to be scared 😁
@@LienesLibrary I felt the same way after... with how much people hype up the horror aspect, I thought it would have left me shaking and peeking around every corner after I finished lol. I hope there does exist a SK book that will give me that feeling, because I'm lowkey a masochist.
I agree that the human aspects were the most horrifying part over the Sematary itself. I believe that was the purpose of it. Life can be a literal hell
I haven't read Stephen King yet, meaning to read The Sleeping beauties from so long 🙈.
Try Carrie instead
I felt the same way about ambiguity, especially with Dreamcatcher. SK is more frightening as a human than he would be as a monster. 😁
I love when authors look like they belong in their own books... Pierce Brown, Laini Taylor, Stephen King...
Read The Shining or Carrie next. They are both crazy horrific.
Pet Sematary was the first King book I read, too. I read it in the wake of the death of a loved one, and what I got out of it was this: that you can spend all your time wishing they could come back - running all these crazy scenarios through your head about how it might happen - but in the end, death changes you, and nothing is the same after dealing with it. It helped me grieve and to let go of that longing. The horror in this book is definitely the question, "how far would you go to get them back?" and it's something every grieving person thinks of, at least once.
One thing King does immensely well is showing the slow descent into madness - how it doesn't necessarily happen all at once, but one thing piles upon another, until you find yourself speeding downhill and unable to stop it anymore. The Shining is a fantastic example of that. I'd love to hear what you think of that one!
I definitely felt the representation of grief and slow spiral into madness were the strengths of this book and I'm really looking forward to reading The Shining next!
I love when books speak to you on a personal level at just the right time, nothing beats that
I grew up watching the 1989 movie adaption before I had a chance to read the book when I was a little older, and I honestly still think the original movie gave me perfect expectations of the book because it's still my favourite King novel and adaptation. I don't recommend the 2019 movie, they changed a lot from the book and I was so disappointed in it, I think it's absolute trash - regardless of the cast, the movie is awful. I would absolutely love to watch a video comparing the original movie to the book though with your opinions, that would be super interesting!
I read Pet Sematary pretty diagonally because I just do not care for zombies :D The ending was pretty good though, just that "Darling." In a scraping voice. Read The Shining next, and keep me posted with your thoughts while you're reading - it's one of my favourite books ever :) It's again a very good character study. Also, if you wanna watch Kubrick's film after you read the book - keep in mind that they're very loosely connected, and the film is a masterpiece all on its own. King didn't like it.
I know nothing about the book or the movie except that it's King/Kubrick, has Jack Nicholson, and is scary 😂 I will update you on my totally unprejudiced experience 👌
@@LienesLibrary yasssss
I have never read a Stephen King book ever however tomorrow I will be reading The Shining cuz I am participating in The Stephen King buddy Readalong from tomorrow until next December of 2020. I mainly read Mystery Thrillers. Love your thoughts.
oh my! starting with The Shining - you'll have to let me know if it's really all that scary.....
Liene's Library Not really
I remember the couple of books I read when I was a kid scaring me (like 11, 12), but the ones I read when I was closer to adulthood came off more creepy than scary. And that creepiness carried over even into one of his Fantasy-esque novels I checked out too (I think it was called the Dragon's Eye or some shit). The only bothersome trait about his writing was the unevenness with his descriptions at times. He would epically describe a setting, but then would be light AF on how an important character would look. Still, I want to check out his books again this coming year.
when I was younger I thought of him as 'that hack who writes all those bad TV things' but I've obviously come to realize that's far from the truth
@@LienesLibrary Thank the gods Castle Rock isn't as bad as those. That's 80s and 90s nostalgia we don't need. lol
It was eye of the dragon and he wrote that book because his kids wanted to be able to read something of his and at their age he wouldn't let them so he wrote that book. I do see your point about how he doesn't describe main characters that will but it was mainly in his earlier books that he did this because he wanted the reader to visualize what they wanted the character to look like but he really grew as a writer from his earlier years especially after he got off the cocaine and alcohol but he's still one of my favorite authors for his character development in his later writing
@@85transamlover That's good to hear. I'm not the best read in King, but it was something I dimly recall from the 5 books of his I read. And as I've gotten older, I really only care for some basic descriptions of people now unless something about their appearance is really needed for the plot; just to make them stick out in your memory.
@@osoisko1933 if you do decide to pick up another Stephen King I would recommend the Institute it's his newest book and I really think you would enjoy it not only does he lay out the surroundings very well but he also describes the people extremely well and everything has to do with everything in this book as well
Your first SK should always be Carrie
Mine was the shining, I wanna read carrie but Im sticking to people going insane l, ghosts, zombies (pet sematary) and clowns. Maby i’ll try it one day
jeje no one in this gen would find that book scary, may people from the late 80s and 90s....
This is my favourite Stephen King book. My child was the same age as Gage when I read it, and it terrified me. It terrified me because of the sense loss, and how the main characters deal with that, not so much the zombie or Zelda stuff. I think being a parent you can relate more to the anxieties and fears from the main characters around grief and loss.
You should definitely do a book to movie video.
haha maybe I will....🙃
Wow I was so happy to see you read a king book. I would love to hear your opinion on 11/22/63. I think it is his best book. I do love king. And the dark Tower series. Great video to you are the best booktuber. In me personally opinion. Lots of love
so many King books to get through! 🤪
This is true I can actually say this is the one author I own every book he's ever written and I was also going to tell you that I really think it's amazing that you reply back to almost everyone's comments that really sets you apart and you're awesome people can actually have conversations with a booktuber
@@85transamlover daaang that's a lot of books! I think I'd need a whole new bookcase to accommodate the entire King backlog....
and thank you, I do my best to reply - after all, starting a conversation (imo) is kind of the whole point
@@LienesLibrary I was sitting here thinking about it and I think that Christine Cujo and Needful Things are about the scariest books he's got the rest of them or more scary on how he gets in your mind and describes things and plays with your emotions he's really good at it I did suggest 11 22 63 it is not a horror book by no means but I think it's one of the best things he's ever written and I think the ending is just amazing it is one of my top three favorite endings for books to me
PNW WASHINGTON 👍👻✌️🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEN to Each n All🌏
Sincerely
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I want to reread this one. I read it more than 10 years ago.
I read Misery by Stephen King this year and didn’t really enjoy it.
did Misery make you.... miserable? 😂
rasaslase /Liene Reads/ yeah I wasn’t all that big on misery either
You must have seen The Shining, Shawshank Redemption, or Stand By Me.
I've seen Shawshank, but that's it
Green mile
Pet Cemetery 🙃👍👻🎃🇺🇸🍕 PNW WASHINGTON State Born n Raised 🎃👻
Happy Halloween 2021 ✌️🙃👻
Soooooo ,,, WHERE DID THE BAD BAD KITTY GO 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🎃👻👻🎃😘😘
Sincerely
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I’ve just finished this book last nite (hive mind woooo! 😬) & I have to say that I totally agree with your breakdown of this novel. I too didn’t like the matter-of-fact way the haunting & supernatural stuff was dealt with & would’ve preferred more ambiguity. It seemed a little hokey at times too. That said; the humanity & the grief aspects absolutely got me right in the fucking heart! (& as a dad myself, I think it hit me much harder than I actually expected it to) I already knew what was going to happen to Gage because I saw the 1980’s film when I was at college, but the way it was written, especially when they were flying the kite together & he realised how much he loved his son & then knowing what’s to come . . . that was heartbreaking stuff. It’s certainly not a scary story, but like you say; it’s very dark!
The writing (internal monologues etc) reminds me a lot of the way the Shining is written & so I think you should probably go to the ‘Overlook Hotel’ next on your journey thru King’s multiverse. I like the way the towns of Derry & Bangor are referenced in Pet Sematary - it gels this book to his other works. (Derry is where IT takes place & Bangor is a recurring town in his works too).
I’d also give Misery a shot as Annie Wilkes is easily King’s scariest creation in my opinion.
oh man I totally forgot about the King-verse until reading your comment just now - I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open so I can grasp how all the stories fit together!
Back to PS, the kite flying scene was really beautiful and reminded me of the reasons I find watching Finding Neverland so emotional - all the scenes with the kids playing in the park with their mother when you know their mom is going to die and leave them orphaned 😭 Overall, the specificity of King's character portraits, the tiny nuances and quirks that less competent authors don't think of or feel are irrelevant and so don't include them, those truly make a person a unique individual and lend the story credulity and relatability. that's what I love about Gaiman and, so far, that's what I'm loving about King 👌
Liene's Library yeah that’s definitely one of King’s (and Gaiman’s) major strengths. They know how to build an individual & give that character a believable personality. I also think Pullman is good at this too (I’m beginning the first ‘Book of Dust’ novel tonite). You know you’re dealing with a professional writer when he/she can make the reader feel for the characters & do it so subtly that you don’t even realise that you feel anything until something terrible happens to them. I liked PS a lot & I’m so glad that I’ve finally read it but I always find King’s work a little weighty & melancholic so tend to only manage one a year. What are you reading next?
@@riggers1977 bahaha I just finished The Subtle Knife - this hive mind thing is getting out of hand
Liene's Library hahaha - yep, hive mind has gotten well out of hand!🤪
They’re good books tho aren’t they? I’m watching ‘His Dark Materials’ on BBC so I got the urge to start this newer series on audible (I only reread Northern Lights etc earlier this year so probably too soon to read them again). Michael Sheen does the narration & he’s brilliant!💪
@@riggers1977 so far I'm quite underwhelmed with the series - unpopular opinion but I prefer the cast in the old movie adaptation 🤫
Its a real goodbook
Thank you for sharing your. Opinion = 👍✌️👻
It’s agoood feeling that others are AWARE of THEIR SURROUNDINGS 🎃
You wanna REALLY PISS YOUR PANTIES SCARED if TRUE FRIENDLY Booooo 👻
Sincerely 👽🛸
Ok .. let me ask you... What is scary to you?? What novels are scary to you?? Just curious??
NOW I WANT TO PLAY WITH YYYUUUOOO ,,
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Sincerely
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I'm glad you liked your first experience with Stephen King! I think you're right about the ending, and that it would have been better with more ambiguity. The shining is an obvious next choice as you've said. If you like a good character dive it will be right up your alley. The Green Mile is another excellent character-driven one to read as well. IT always scared me the most of Stephen King's works and would also make a good next read of his. Oh, I would definitely watch a book-movie comparison done by you!
I think The Shining is for sure up next.... I've heard the Pet Sematary movie is terrible so we'll see 😂
The 1989 movie is worlds better than that sorry remake and the novel is a lot better than the 1989 movie, although the screenplay for the 1989 movie was written by King himself.
My first king was sleeping beauties it was ok I guess
Kings a great storyteller...But the quality of his writing.?..Opening pages of Chapter 1..is pure amateurish..it's amazingly bad