Maine – Tony's Horror Corner

Review Time: “Storm of the Century”

Stephen King’s screenplay “Storm of the Century” was my 71st and final book by the master of the macabre. It’s a bittersweet feeling, but with a few short stories remaining and “Elevation” coming late October, I’m not done yet! Anyway, check out my review for “Storm of the Century.”

Released in 1999, Stephen King wrote the “Storm of the Century” screenplay for a television movie. The film was released in three parts, totaling over four hours of air time. The book was interesting for sure, but I felt like the screenplay style hindered what it could have been. The film was exactly as you’d expect after reading the book.

The residents of Little Tall Island off the coast of Maine (of course) are battening down the hatches and preparing for what the news is referring to as the storm of the century (go figure). While this is happening, a mysterious man shows up and kills an innocent old woman.

Side note: You may recognize Little Tall Island. It was the setting for “Dolores Claiborne” and the short story “Home Delivery.” Dolores is mentioned a couple times by the residents in “Storm of the Century.”

Anyway, this mysterious man is Andre Linoge. He ends up being like a lame version of everyone’s favorite King baddy: Randall Flagg. Linoge gets himself arrested by island constable, and the main character of the story, Mike Anderson.

Anderson is in charge of keeping the citizens calm and making sure everyone is safe during this storm, but now he must also deal with a murderous stranger. The storm escalates to its title and all the residents of Little Tall Island end up taking refuge in the town hall building. Meanwhile Mike and a few others stand guard outside of the island’s one cell where Linoge is being held.

From his cell, Linoge uses some sort of psychic abilities and sorcery to cause chaos. I wont go much further into details to avoid spoilers, but some of the events Linoge causes are quite intense, especially the ultimatum at the end.

“This is a cash-and-carry world, pay as you go. Sometimes you only have to pay a little, but mostly it’s a lot. And once in a while it’s all you have. ” – Mike Anderson

This review is shorter because the book itself wasn’t long. The screenplay, coming in at 376 pages, is hard to go over without spoiling and it read much faster than that page count suggests. You can watch the movie and honestly probably enjoy it more. Like I said before, this story isn’t bad, and the end is even a little heartbreaking, but I would have liked it much more if it were in novel form.

Overall, “Storm of the Century” wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t King’s best work.

3 out of 5

Review Time: “Bag of Bones”

“Bag of Bones” was my 66th Stephen King novel and it was a good one (as usual). The tagline: “A haunted love story” is a next to perfect description. Read below for my review, and don’t worry, there are no spoilers ahead.

“The most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones”

Quick synopsis: Mike Noonan, a famous author, is still grieving four years after the sudden death of his wife and decides to leave his current home in Derry (you may recognize that town name) and stay at his lake house on Dark Score Lake in TR-90, near Castle Rock (more towns you may recognize).

Mike hopes the move will get him past his current writers block and also help him along the grieving process. While staying in the lake house Mike gets wrapped up in a custody battle and discovers there are some angry spirits on the lake and in his house.

One of my favorite parts of this novel was the way King had the spirits communicating with Mike through the magnets on his refrigerator.

Stephen King released this 529-page Gothic beauty in 1998. “Bag of Bones” was the first book King released after leaving Viking and signing a deal with Scribner to be his new publisher.

I really enjoyed this one. There were some scenes that were genuinely terrifying, and a moment or two even brought out tears. The last 100 pages were incredible, they flew by.

The novel was paced very well, with a great start. it did have a somewhat jumbled middle though and was maybe a tad slow during some of the custody battle bits, but overall it was fine and all the middle jumble came to a head and shot from a cannon, creating the fire of the last 100 pages.

“Bag of Bones” was adapted into a TV mini-series in 2011 coming in at a little over two and a half hours long. It was very boring. Could have easily cut an hour out and it would have been better.

Pierce Brosnan portrayed Mike Noonan and he did fine. He had the look of Mike down, but Pierce is just so cheesy. The whole movie was cheesy.

The film caught the essence of the novel, but it was definitely just okay. The ratings say just that: 34% “Liked It” on Rotten Tomatoes and it received a 5.8 out of 10 on IMDb. I give the movie a 5 out of 10 myself.

In the end, I definitely recommend reading this gothic romance novel, but the movie is totally skippable. I give the book a:

4 out of 5

Review Time: “’Salem’s Lot”

I reread Stephen King’s second novel, “’Salem’s Lot,” and I am very glad I did. Here’s my review of my second trip to the Lot:

Talk about a creepy novel. I read “’Salem’s Lot” for the first time four years ago. At the time, it was my 4^thKing novel. I am on #64 (“Rose Madder”) now, so yeah, it was time to reread King’s classic Vampire tale and wow, am I glad I did.

“’Salem’s Lot” was the second novel King ever published. Released in 1975, this chilling 439 page novel tells the story of writer Ben Mears returning to his childhood hometown, Jerusalem’s Lot, looking for inspiration for his next novel.

While there, he learns two strangers have purchased the haunted Marsten House overlooking the town. Strange things start to happen around the Lot; dogs hang from funeral fences, people get sick and others go missing.

Ben falls in love with Susan Norton, befriends a Doctor: Jimmy Cody, a teacher: Matt Burke, a priest: Father Donald Callahan, and a young boy: Mark Petrie. Together they witness the destruction of their little Maine town and decide to fight back.

As usual, King’s characters are superb. Ben Mears is an excellent protagonist, and the amazing antagonist combo of Barlow and Straker are cunning and chilling.

Susan is a strong character although if King rewrote this book today, I’m sure he would do a better job making readers feel attached to her.

Matt Burke is possibly one of the most underrated and underappreciated characters King has ever written.

Dr. Jimmy Cody turns into a very likable and strong character, but King waited until over halfway through to bring Cody to the novel’s center.

Callahan is awesome. He’s a priest at the local Catholic Church in the Lot, and he ends up being a very brave and awesome character. *Spoiler* Callahan also makes an appearance in another King series. *End Spoiler*

Mark Petrie is a great character too. King has shown an uncanny ability to write strong younger characters, and Mark was truly the first of many.

King wrote an excellent Vampire tale here, and the slow burn he applies to readers throughout the novel’s entirety is incredible.

This is probably one of King’s scariest novels to date just by pure creepiness and suspense. You’ll be rocking goosebumps the whole time reading it.

The way King makes his constant readers feel like they are citizens of the town is amazing. He writes from the perspective of the entire Lot at times, giving quick glimpses into everyone’s lives; the good, the bad, the ugly, the innocent, and the sinister.

“’Salem’s Lot” has been adapted into two, three-hour TV movies. One in 1979 and another in 2004. Neither do the book justice (as expected), but they are both worth watching for different reasons.

The 1979 “’Salem’s Lot” was a very creepy film, a great horror movie itself, but overall a poor adaptation of the novel. The movie eliminated a lot of the characters and changed Matt’s name to Jason *(this pisses me off a lot more than it should, but COME ON why do that?? What is the reasoning for that??)*… sorry, rant over.

Anyway, the movie also turned Barlow into some weird, bald, blue creature which is just… wrong… creepy… but wrong. This movie gave us an awful Callahan which was lame too.

Overall the 1979 movie was creepy and definitely captured the atmosphere of the book, but the changes left me disappointed, so I give it a 6 out of 10.

The 2004 “’Salem’s Lot” stuck to the book a lot better than the original. Rob Lowe was an excellent Ben Mears in appearance only, and this movie actually kept Matt’s name (hallelujah). They did, however, change the beginning and ending which both weren’t great in the movie but were in the book (surprise surprise), so why change it you know?

We got a much better, more true Barlow and Callahan in the 2004 movie, but it was actually pretty boring at times and I never felt bored reading the novel, so there was definitely a disconnect somewhere. Overall it was a decent adaptation but a cheesy and boring film so I gave it a 6 out of 10 also.

Anyway, back to the important matter here; the incredible novel:

I absolutely loved King’s take on vampires and the slow burn was the perfect way to write it. He even wrote prequel and sequel short stories to “’Salem’s Lot” in his 1977 collection of short stories, “Night Shift.” “Jerusalem’s Lot” tells the tale of the Lot’s haunted past while “One for the Road” tells readers a story only a few months after the events of “’Salem’s Lot.”

I have “’Salem’s Lot” ranked 7^th in my Stephen King rankings, and the reread only solidified that position. This is truly a masterpiece and I highly recommend everyone check it out.

5 out of 5

Ranking Stephen King’s Work

Stephen King is the author of more than 70 books in a little over 40 years. His stories reach into almost every genre you can think of and they are all truly works of art. I have read 63 so far (I’ll post another ranking once I’ve finished them all) and I truly love all of them. I haven’t read anything by King that I would consider bad, but some are just much better than others.
Below, I ranked the books I have read. Feel free to leave comments at the end, and if you disagree with me, tell me why, I’m open for discussion. So, without further ado, here we go:

63: “Charlie The Choo Choo” – 20 pages; 2016; 3/5

This is King’s children’s story found within the pages of “The Dark Tower” series. He wrote this under the name Beryl Evans. The story is good and the art by Ned Dameron is better, but having read most of it in “The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands” already, the standalone story seems a bit pointless.

62: “The Dark Man” – 76 pages; 2013; 3/5

King wrote this poem when he was very young, and it is disturbing, but honestly the illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne are better than the poem. This is the basis for Randall Flagg though, so it is pretty cool.

61: “Roadwork” – 204 pages; 1981; 3/5

“Roadwork” is a Richard Bachman (King’s pseudonym) book about a man attempting to deal with the eventual loss of his home due to the construction of an overpass. The novel is sad but boring and I struggled to get through it. There were some interesting bits, but overall its just alright.

60: “The Running Man” – 159 pages; 1982; 3/5

“The Running Man,” another Bachman book, is about a man who enters in a life or death game show. It was a very interesting concept and honestly it wasn’t horrible, but it just wasn’t good. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would and it could have been a lot better.

59: “Blaze” – 260 pages; 2007; 3/5

Yet another Bachman book (they’re not all bad I promise). This one is about a mentally challenged man who kidnaps a wealthy family’s baby for ransom. It was a bit like “Of Mice and Men,” but not nearly as good. This one did make me cry at one point, but overall it was dull.

58: “Dreamcatcher” – 617 pages; 2001; 3/5

Shit weasel aliens. Pretty much the most memorable part of this one for me. There were some aspects that hit your feels, and a return to Derry was nice too, but I couldn’t get into this one. I know a lot of people really enjoy it, but it just wasn’t for me.

57: “From a Buick 8” – 351 pages; 2002; 3/5

Very cool concept about a car that is a portal to another dimension, but the whole thing is told in flashbacks until the very end. While each flashback was cool, the surrounding parts were so dull and aside from a few, most of the flashbacks were disappointing too. There were a couple tear-jerk moments but in the end, it fell flat.

56: “Sleeping Beauties” – 700 pages; 2017; 3/5

King wrote this giant with his youngest son Owen. Before reading this, I was so excited. All the women around the world become covered in a sort of cocoon when they fall asleep, and they won’t wake up. Trying to open the cocoon results in violence. Sounds cool right? Well, it was… but it was also boring and so drawn out. The Kings got too artsy and didn’t focus enough on the good stuff. There were some awesome parts, but the boring outweighed the good.

55: “Full Dark, No Stars” – 386 pages; 2010; 3/5

“Full Dark, No Stars” is a collection of four novellas: “1922,” “Big Driver,” “Fair Extension,” and “A Good Marriage.” This collection wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. “1922” was the only real highlight and it was very good. “Big Driver” was just weird and very reminiscent of the movie “I Spit on Your Grave.” “Fair Extension” was cool but needed more. It felt too quick. In “A Good Marriage,” King writes about a very strong woman, but the story is just okay, and it is a little lengthy and slow.

54: “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” – 219 pages; 1999; 3/5

A story about a little girl who gets lost in the woods of New England. This is a creepy tale and especially real but there is really only so much King could do with the subject matter. It wasn’t a bad story by any means and I did really enjoy it, but it was quick and ultimately not super exciting.

53: “Cell” – 350 pages; 2006; 3/5

A cellphone signals turns everyone who is on them into a zombie. This story was cool and started out with a huge punch, one so good you expect that the whole time… but no. The middle events of this novel are too quick. It could have been a lot better.

52: “The Colorado Kid” – 178 pages; 2005; 3/5

I actually really enjoyed this one. An aspiring journalist listens to two old newspaper editors tell her the story of an unsolved death. The story was intriguing but a bit slow and the ending leaves you with no answers. I liked it but would have liked it more if we had come to a resolution of sorts.

51: “Cycle of the Werewolf” – 127 pages; 1985; 4/5

This is a quick graphic novel about a werewolf terrorizing a town for a year. The story is creepy and a good mystery, but I wanted more. The illustrations by the late Berni Wrightson are amazing. King should turn this into a novel because the concept and story are there waiting to be expanded.

50: “Skeleton Crew” – 566 pages; 1985; 3/5

This is a collection of 22 short stories. The collection is good but has a lot of stories I just couldn’t get into. There are a few like “The Mist,” “The Jaunt,” and “Survivor Type,” that are amazing, but in the end, the duds outweigh the studs, forcing “Skeleton Crew” to fall down the rankings.

49: “The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole” – 307 pages; 2012; 4/5

“Dark Tower” 4.5. This story is about Roland telling the Ka-Tet a story from his youth where he tells a young boy a fairy tale. Its storyception… a story within a story within a story. I enjoyed this little tale (tales) though. It was tightly written, and the stories were interesting. This one falls just because everything else above it is better.

48: “Thinner” – 282 pages; 1984; 4/5

Another Bachman book. A gypsy curses a man to lose weight. Doesn’t sound like a curse does it? Well it is because the weight loss doesn’t stop. This book was chilling and an interesting idea. It wasn’t overly wordy but the subject matter was a little silly and not a lot happens before the ending (which is great).

47: “Four Past Midnight” – 763 pages; 1990; 4/5

A collection of four novellas: “The Langoliers,” “Secret Window, Secret Garden,” The Library Policeman,” and “The Sun Dog.” All four stories are good but not great. They all have a lot of good things but they all also have their issues and these issues cause this collection to fall.

46: “The Tommyknockers” – 563 pages; 1987; 4/5

This novel is crazy. King said he wrote this novel with bloody tissues hanging from his nostrils after doing too much cocaine… you can tell. The novel is fun and very intricate and intriguing, but it feels disorganized at times and some of the events are just so out there.

45: “The Dark Tower 4: Wizard & Glass” – 781 pages; 1997; 4/5

This book is great, Rolands backstory is truly tragic, but it was too slow at times. This was the one “Dark Tower” novel I had to push through. The beginning and end were great, but the middle build-up is too slow for me and it felt like a huge pause in Roland’s journey to the Tower.

44: “The Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah” – 411 pages; 2004; 4/5

The 6^th volume in the “Dark Tower” series was fast paced and just a set-up for the grand finale. It was good, but at this point in the series, you are just waiting for the end. There wasn’t enough action and it ended too abruptly.

43: “The Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla” – 709 pages; 2003; 4/5

The 5^th “Dark Tower” novel is a good one for sure, but it is a tad slow and another pause of sorts. There was an air of mystery throughout and a certain character from another novel appears and tells us where he has been for the last 30 years, vaulting this novel over “Song” and “Wizard.”

42: “The Eyes of the Dragon” – 326 pages; 1987; 4/5

King wrote us a nice fairy tale here. he switched up his style and it almost feels like a bedtime or campfire story. It is really good, but the writing style makes everything seem light even though a lot of the subject matter was not.

41: “End of Watch” – 429 pages; 2016; 4/5

The finale of the Hodges trilogy was very good, but king didn’t really stick to what made the first two so good. The first two were realistic while in this one, he reverted to the supernatural which normally is great, but just felt out of place in this series. There were still some great events and disturbing scenes and the ending was water-works worthy though.

40: “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” – 495 pages; 2015; 4/5

This collection of 15 short stories is truly impressive. King went modern with a few and they were killer. He even drudged up some older subjects and works and put them in this collection and they were great. The few duds brought “Bazaar” down to 40, but the good ones are what keep it here.

39: “Revival” – 403 pages; 2014; 4/5

The title is the subject matter here and it’s a goodie. “Revival” is deep and sometimes overly religious and bashed religion some too but still a great and sad story. The ending is NUTS.

38: “Gerald’s Game” – 332 pages; 1992; 4/5

A woman is chained to her bed during sexual play when her husband dies. This novel is disturbing as hell. Sometimes it gets a bit uncomfortable, especially during the eclipse of 1963, but I really enjoyed this one. The Space Cowboy is one creepy figure too.

37: “Dolores Claiborne” – 305 pages; 1993; 4/5

King delivers another strong female character. Dolores is a badass. Written like a testimony, this novel is only in Dolores’s voice and its still amazing. King never ceases to amaze.

36: “Gwendy’s Button Box” – 164 pages; 2017; 4/5

This novella, co-written with Richard Chizmar, is the return to Castle Rock. A truly beautifully written novella that is too short. Seriously I finished it in two days, I want more!! The story was great, setting was great, characters were great, but it falls because it deserves a full-length novel.

35: “Finders Keepers” – 431 pages; 2015; 4/5

The second novel in the Hodges Trilogy delivers. I really enjoyed this tale and loved the reminiscent feelings of “Misery.” Falls to its predecessor because Morris Bellamy, as creepy as he is, was no Brady.

34: “Desperation” – 690 pages; 1995; 4/5

I really enjoyed King’s messed up trip to the Nevada desert town of Desperation where we get to meet the creepy and disturbed force, Tak. The aspects of possession and the totally deserted town made this a great and creepy tale. It got preachy at times and the backstory was a bit drawn out, but I still liked this a lot more than I thought I would.

33: “Needful Things” – 690 pages; 1990; 4/5

This was subtitled: The Last Castle Rock Story, and King definitely wrote it with that intention. I really enjoyed the slow build to a MAJOR bang finish. The huge cast of characters got a little confusing at times and the final showdown was super stupid. Other than that, this novel was fantastic and absolutely chaotic (in a good way).

32: “The Talisman” – 646 pages; 1984; 4/5

King teamed up with Peter Straub to write this epic adventure about young Jack Sawyer who is in search of the mythic Talisman to help his dying mother. Concept, story, delivery, characters, setting: killer. All amazing. The antagonist is great and there are even some “Dark Tower” nods too. This only falls so low because it gets drawn out a bit at times.

31: “Black House” – 625 pages; 2001; 4/5

The sequel to “The Talisman,” again written with Peter Straub. The sequel beats out its predecessor because the novel is so dark and disturbing, and I got super excited when all the blatant “Dark Tower” ties were said. The novel falls to 31 because the narration at points is like a flyover. I had to force myself through the first 70 pages, but beyond that… WOW.

30: “The Regulators” – 475 pages; 1996; 4/5

Written as Richard Bachman, this is the sister-novel to “Desperation.” The character names are all the same, but instead of the desert, we’re in perfect suburbia Ohio. Tak is our villain again, but the way he torments the protagonists in “Regulators” is just so damn cool.

29: “Under The Dome” – 1072 pages; 2009; 4/5

King wrote a giant masterpiece here. Drop a semi-permeable dome over a small Maine town and see what happens. Shit hits the fan, as the saying goes. This novel is great in so many ways but falls here because the ending was just… just lame. If King could have put a better finish, this one would be higher.

28: “Firestarter” – 428 pages; 1980; 4/5

I really enjoyed this little chase story about a young girl and her father, both with powers, being chased by a secret government agency, The Shop. This story is intense for the most part and an awesome concept. It falls a bit due to some overly wordy explanations and a middle section that felt like it needed a push.

27: “The Dead Zone” – 426 pages; 1979; 4/5

A man gets into a tragic car accident and is in a coma for five years. When he wakes up he discovers he has precognitive abilities. This novel was intense and extremely well written with great characters and a gripping story. There were some slow bits, but I loved this tragic tale. The politics are a solid aspect of the novel too.

26: “Everything’s Eventual” – 459 pages; 2002; 4/5

This collection of 14 short stories is amazing. There were very few, if any, duds. All 14 were creepy and so good. We even got a mini Roland story and another tale, the title story, was about another “Dark Tower” character.

25: “Cujo” – 319 pages; 1981; 4/5

“Cujo” is about… well you know, who doesn’t know? Cujo is a good boy. This novel was surprisingly good for such a simple concept. The terror and realism in this novel make it extra chilling and the way King connects you to the characters makes it extra easy to become invested. That ending turned on the water works.

24: “Mr. Mercedes” – 436 pages; 2014; 4/5

The first novel in the Bill Hodges Trilogy was fantastic. I fell in love with this novel within the first 10 pages. King wrote possibly one of his best villains ever and an amazing hero too. The story was fast paced and kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

23: “Night Shift” – 326 pages; 1977; 4/5

King’s first crack at a short story collection is his best. I think there were only one or two stories I didn’t enjoy. Aside from those, the collection was incredible. We got a prequel to “The Stand” as well as a prequel AND sequel to “Salem’s Lot.” King even managed to make me ball my eyes out with a 12-page story.

22: “Christine” – 471 pages; 1983; 4/5

This haunting coming of age story about a very strange love triangle was a lot better than the concept originally seems. A killer car… must be a joke, right? Oh no, Christine is quite chilling, and it is truly a great read.

21: “The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger” – 231 pages; 1982; 4/5

The start of “The Dark Tower” saga was great. This quick and easy read gets you instantly sucked into the greatest literary series of all time. I was hooked from the famous opening line: “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

20: “Doctor Sleep” – 528 pages; 2013; 5/5

The sequel to “The Shining” was the perfect way to follow up the 1975 novel almost 40 years later. We get to see how Danny is as an adult, can you say nostalgia? This novel was beautiful in every way. King was able to make it original and touch on important aspects from its predecessor.

19: “The Long Walk” – 183 pages; 1979; 5/5

A Bachman book, this story is about a dystopia where teen boys must walk until they drop… and when they drop, they are shot. This novel is dark and suspenseful yet beautiful at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Great characters, great concept, well executed, and some nice twists too.

18: “Carrie” – 199 pages; 1974; 5/5

King’s first novel is a tragic tale about an awkward high school girl who discovers she has telekinetic abilities. This novel is so well written, and the way King subtly hints and mentions the ending throughout the novel was very clever and he still manages to amaze you once you get there.

17: “The Green Mile” – 399 pages; 1996; 5/5

This tragic tale about a man wrongly accused of murder and the guards in charge of watching him while on death row. The guards soon discover this man is very special. Originally released as a serial novel (one part each month for six months), this novel is beautiful. I’m sure you have seen the movie, but trust me, the book is better.

16: “Misery” – 338 pages; 1987; 5/5

Another novel that has an incredible film adaptation. This dark and disturbing novel is every author’s worst nightmare and is guaranteed to give you the creeps. Annie Wilkes “rescues” famous author Paul Sheldon from a car accident. To this day, 4 years later, this book still creeps me out.

15: “Joyland” – 300 pages; 2013; 5/5

This beautiful noir novel is about a college student who spends his summer, and then the following semester, working at an amusement park and attempting to solve a murder at the same time. King wrote this for Hard Case Crime and it is truly a work of art. I personally have never related to a character more than Devin Jones and this novel made me cry like a baby. I’ve said it already, but it is truly beautiful.

14: “The Dark Half” – 431 pages; 1989; 5/5

King wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman for a while, and that was the inspiration for this dark and violent novel. An author’s pseudonym comes to life and is on the hunt for its creator. I tore through this novel. It is fast paced, chilling, violent, and a fun read. People dislike this story because it gets a bit barbaric at times, but that is part of the appeal for me.

13: “Rage” – 124 pages; 1977; 5/5

Probably King’s most controversial novel, “Rage,” written under the Richard Bachman name, is about a boy who kills two teachers and holds a classroom full of students hostage. Understandably, King removed this novel from publication. As screwed up as the concept is, this novel and the story are actually really good. If you can get your hands on it, give it a read.

12: “The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower” – 830 pages; 2004; 5/5

The finale of “The Dark Tower” series was everything a Tower Junkie could have asked for. It was truly an incredible and tragic wrap to an amazing series. Some people complain about the ending, but really it was the only way to end the story and if you look back, King hinted at it pretty early on. I cried multiple times throughout this giant and I loved every word of it.

11: “The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing of the Three” – 399 pages; 1987; 5/5

The second installment in “The Dark Tower” series is where Roland really starts to get his ka-tet together and this is where the saga starts to get really good. The way King described certain aspects of this novel was truly incredible. Also, this is the book where we get to meet my all-time favorite King character: Eddie Dean.

10: “Different Seasons” – 518 pages; 1982; 5/5

A collection of four absolutely beautiful novellas. “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” “Apt Pupil,” “The Body” and “The Breathing Method.” All four of these stories are truly incredible. Three of which have been turned into amazing films, “Shawshank Redemption,” “Stand By Me” and “Apt Pupil.” The realism in these stories make them especially good.

9: “The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands” – 509 pages; 1988; 5/5

The third, and my favorite installment in “The Dark Tower” series is where the journey to the Tower truly starts. The ka-tet is whole, and the journey rolls on. This novel is intense from the beginning and it explains a lot of the background info the first two novels were missing. From start to finish, “The Waste Lands” is a roller coaster.

8: “The Shining” – 447 pages; 1977; 5/5

King’s 3^rd novel is creepy as hell. Jack Torrance, his son and his wife, stay alone in the Overlook Hotel in Sidewinder, Colorado during the winter months to take care of the place. The hotel is alive with past spirits and its haunting. Seriously this novel is so good. A slow build to a big bang, but the entirety is filled with creepiness that gives you permanent goosebumps.

7: “Salems Lot” – 478 pages; 1975; 5/5

King’s take on vampires is terrifying. He slowly builds the story and makes you feel like you are a part of the little Maine town, then slowly turns the place into Hell. It is truly incredible how subtly he does this and how good it is. Barlow is a great villain and Ben Mears is an awesome protagonist.

6: “11/22/63” – 842 pages; 2011; 5/5

A man goes back in time to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The research, time and effort King put into this one is truly admirable, and it shows throughout the story. With such a singular topic, he somehow managed to add other plot developments that made the story roll along at a perfect pace. This is a masterpiece… much like the next 5 novels you will see.

5: “Insomnia” – 787 pages; 1994; 5/5

This giant novel is pretty much a “Dark Tower” novel that takes place in Derry and has a lot of “IT” mentions. It is truly a work of art. King went all in on this one and I absolutely adored it. I cried like a little baby at the end… no shame. Read my review to see how much I loved this one.

4: “Duma Key” – 609 pages; 2008; 5/5

Okay, this novel is amazing. After reading this I really felt like it made me a better person. Following along with Edgar Freemantle as he slowly reinvents himself was truly heartwarming. The way King slowly and easily inserts creepy and mysterious elements were amazing. Another tear jerker, “Duma Key” is one of those books that leaves a lasting impression.

3: “The Stand” – 1153 pages; 1978; 5/5

King’s longest and most epic novel is… well its EPIC. A virus known as Captain Tripps wipes out most of the population and the remaining people are split into two factions. A good vs evil story sprawled out across over 1000 pages of pure awesomeness. We are also introduced to the ultimate King bad-guy, Randall Flagg. This book has everything. The page count may seem daunting, but its worth it.

2: “IT” – 1138 pages; 1986; 5/5

King’s scariest novel to date, about a shape-shifting clown who terrorized a group of kids in Derry Maine is an amazing story. This group of kids, The Losers Club, stand up to the entity as kids and again as adults. The way King writes this novel, jumping from 1958 to 1986 is masterful. Not only is this story amazing, but it will scare the crap out of you too.

1: “Pet Sematary” – 374 pages; 1983; 5/5

A seemingly perfect family moves into a new house and behind their new home, lies an ancient Indian burial ground where if the dead are buried there, they will come back. This novel is terrifying, beautiful, tragic, and amazing all wrapped into one. This is the perfect novel. The five previously mentioned novels have everything, and this one has everything… but better. I truly love this novel. It moved me in ways I didn’t think previously possible.

As a whole, “The Dark Tower” series belong here, at #1, but because I did each novel individually, its not. It is truly the greatest literary series ever created. “The Dark Tower” is known as King’s magnum opus and the center of his storybook universe.

Anyway, if you made it here, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading my opinions and I hope you agree, but if you don’t, that’s fine, everyone feels differently, everyone sees things and interprets things differently. That is the true beauty of books. Again, thanks for reading and leave some comments!

Review Time: “Dolores Claiborne”

I finished my 63rd Stephen King novel in only three days. Here is my review for the beautiful testimonial novel “Dolores Claiborne:”

“A person can always find something to be grateful for, no matter how dark things get.” – Dolores Claiborne.

Dolores Claiborne lives on Little Tall Island in Maine with her husband Joe and three children, Selena, Joe Jr. and Pete. Dolores is a housemaid and caretaker for the wealthy Vera Donovan.

Dolores has worked for Vera for a long time, but at the start of the novel, we learn Vera has fallen down the steps of her home and died. Dolores has been accused of murder.

This 305-page novel released in 1992, takes place mostly in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s with some bits in the 1990’s.

The novel was adapted into a film in 1995 starring Kathy Bates as Dolores. Kathy also portrayed another strong (yet psycho) woman in the adaptation of King’s novel “Misery.”

The film was very good. There were some major differences from the novel, but nothing that took away from the overall story.

Kathy bates was a PERFECT Dolores Claiborne. I love Kathy in everything she does, and both King adaptations I’ve seen her in, she has absolutely nailed. Jennifer Jason Leigh played adult Selena and she did a great job too.

Overall the movie was good and gives readers a nice visual for the novel. I’d recommend checking it out. (After you read the book though!)

Back to the novel:

“Dolores Claiborne” is written like a testimony. Dolores Claiborne’s testimony to prove her innocence. The first 301 pages are written in what almost feels like one breath. No chapters and no real pauses or stopping points. Its Dolores talking, and members of the Little Tall Police Department listening and recording.

The last four pages are clippings from newspapers describing events as an epilogue to Dolores’s story.

The narration may seem weird or almost boring, and it did take me a few pages to get into it, but I quickly came to appreciate it. I mean REALLY appreciate it. King was able to write his usual vivid descriptions and amazing characters but all through Dolores.

Not only were the descriptions and characters amazing, but the story was incredible as well.

!!!!!SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

The testimony is split into thirds. The first third is about Dolores’s time taking care of Vera, who at this point is an old woman that frequently soils herself and has horrible nightmares and visions of dust bunnies preparing to attack her.

The second third is about Dolores’s life with her abusive, selfish, drunk husband Joe St. George. In this section of the testimony, Dolores confesses and describes how she killed him.

Dolores Claiborne is a certified badass.

She grew up fighting and working hard for everything. She married Joe straight out of high school and had three children with him. After marriage she learned Joe wasn’t the pretty-boy she had thought.

One night, Joe hit Dolores across the back extra hard and she decided she’d had enough of that and broke a creamer jar over his head… Joe never hit her again.

The hitting stopped, but Joe began to manipulate their daughter Selena and started to force himself on her. Dolores finally saw the signs just before it was too late and again stood up to Joe and got him to stop.

Joe went behind Dolores’s back and took the money from the college accounts of all three children and transferred it to an account in his name only. Dolores learned of his thievery and decided she’d had enough of Joe St. George… period.

“Sometimes, an accident can be an unhappy woman’s best friend.” – Vera Donovan

She plotted to kill him and kill him she did. Her plan occurred and succeeded on July 20^th, 1963, the night of the full solar eclipse. The same eclipse another King character experiences on her father’s lap in the 1991 novel “Gerald’s Game.”

“Gerald’s Game” is another great and disturbing novel with a strong female lead. It was adapted into a very good movie on Netflix in 2017 by director Mike Flanagan. Flanagan recently signed on to direct the film adaptation of “Doctor Sleep,” King’s sequel to “The Shining.”

Sorry, I got side-tracked again, back to Dolores:

Dolores has visions of this character, this little girl named Jessie, during the eclipse. King masterfully and very subtly ties in the two novels together through overlapping themes and the eclipse.

After the death of Joe, Dolores is freed, but she loses the love and trust of her daughter.

In the last third of the novel, Dolores tells the story of the day Vera died and how she was pegged as a murderer even though she was innocent. The similarities between Vera and Dolores and the secrets each has lived with add some nice little twists during the novel’s conclusion.

The novel was short and easy to read but beautiful. Like I said earlier, Dolores Claiborne is a certified badass. King knows how to write strong female characters and showed it here.

I actually really enjoyed the testimonial narration and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this novel. I highly recommend you check it out.

“In the end, it’s the bitches of the world who abide… and as for the dust bunnies: frig ya!” – Dolores Claiborne.

4 out of 5

Review Time: “Cell”

“Cell” was my 62nd Stephen King novel. It was quick and pretty interesting but didn’t have enough to make it great for me.

A signal known as The Pulse is released through all cellphones into the brains of everyone who uses them. This signal drives the victims insane, making them primal.

“Cell” was released in 2006. This 350-page novel is King’s unique twist on zombies. As usual, King weaves in a very intriguing story with some incredible characters as well as an extremely creepy villain, Raggedy Man.

This novel had a very fun, very exciting start. Lots of gore, lots of action, lots of suspense.

The middle of “Cell” was a bit dry for me. It had a lot of explanations that played in later, but the actual events flew by almost too quickly. King, usually a very descriptive writer, decided to give an almost synopsis-like depiction of the characters journey from place to place.

The main character and main protagonist, Clay Riddell, a striving comic artist, was leaving a meeting in Boston where his artwork for a comic called “The Dark Wanderer” (sound familiar?) was just purchased, when The Pulse happened.

Clay does not own a cellphone. He makes friends and quickly gets out of Boston and heads north in search of his son.

Clay is easy to love. He is humorous, smart, and determined. The friends he makes along the way are great too. Specifically, Jordan. Like I said, King is great with characters.

“Cell” had plenty of moments where King would slow it down and spend some time in one area, and those moments were always awesome. Gaiten Academy, where we meet Jordan, being a personal highlight for me.

Jordan is a loyal and extremely smart young boy attending Gaiten Academy. He also didn’t own a cellphone but is a computer genius of sorts. Jordan’s character quickly became a favorite of mine due to his strength, courage, and brains. His theories on the phone crazies prove to be very useful and important.

Gaiten is also where we first see the creepy torn up leader of the phone crazies: Raggedy Man.

King does what everyone knows he’s good at: describing someone who will haunt you. Raggedy Man is that someone. He is a phone crazy but seems more aware. His physical description alone is creepy as hell, but some of his actions really made his scenes scary.

The end though… WOW. King packed a HUGE punch. The whole Kashwak scene was just INSANE! Talk about going out with a bang. The last few pages could have been done differently, but overall, I actually sort of liked the cliff-hanger.

“Cell” was adapted into a movie, starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, released in 2016. I watched it shortly after finishing the novel…

I wasted 97 minutes of my life.

Within the first five minutes of the film I was already angered. Changing small details that didn’t need to be changed, the effects were poor for a 21^st century movie, and the acting was Cheetoh’s level cheesy.

Don’t waste your time on the movie but do read the book. The book is at least cool.

“Cell” was pretty good, it just wasn’t great. I talked to a few people who follow my Stephen King Instagram page and discussed my issues. The last 100 pages or so made it better for me.

It felt like “The Stand’s” little cousin, but not nearly as good. There were a few “Dark Tower” nods that made me smile but the novel probably could have used another 100 pages and it would have been great.

This does seem to be a novel that people either love or hate, so read it and find out for yourself.

In the end, I give “Cell” a 3 out of 5, but it is a high 3… would probably be about a 7 out of 10 if we’re getting technical.

3 Out Of 5

Review Time: “Insomnia”

WOW “Insomnia” was my 61st Stephen King book and it’s the first one I am writing an official review for. So, here goes nothing:

READ THIS NOVEL

There, review done. Just kidding. Seriously though, read it. Preferably after you’ve read “IT” and “The Dark Tower” series.

“Insomnia” takes place in the fictional Maine town of Derry, where “IT” is set. “Insomnia” has a lot of references to the 1986 novel and it’s also pretty much a “Dark Tower” novel without having “The Dark Tower” in the title.

“In some ways – a lot of ways, actually – Derry wasn’t like other places.”

This novel quickly, slid itself into my top 5 King books (I will make a post about my King rankings soon). The “IT” and “Dark Tower” references alone made this an above average King book, but those weren’t even the half of it. After finishing, and wiping the tears off my face, I stared at my ceiling for a good ten minutes just digesting it.

Needless to say, I didn’t pick up my next read, “Cell,” until after a few days, and I still can’t stop thinking about “Insomnia.” The last time I had to do that with a King novel was after the “The Dark Tower” series finale.

“Insomnia” left me speechless. The book had EVERYTHING. King was like a witch throwing ingredients into a cauldron. He threw in a dash of horror, a little fantasy, a bit of drama, some politics, a touch of violence, a lot of emotion, a triple dose of excitement, and a whole lot of suspense. As usual, the characters and descriptions were superb.

This 787-page giant hit shelves in 1993. 787 pages seems like a lot, and there are a few instances where King seems to drone on or dialogue just crawls, but in all honesty, every word is necessary. Throughout the entire novel I never found myself anywhere close to boredom.

Quick synopsis: Ralph Roberts, the 70-year-old protagonist of the novel, begins to suffer from insomnia following the death of his wife. Ralph begins to see auras surrounding his neighbors. Little does he know these auras have a deeper meaning and they’re not just pretty colors

!!!!!!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!

Alright, here’s where the real review comes in *insert sly smile emoji here.*
Like I said before, I can imagine King just pulling snippets from every genre and every book he has written and sprinkling pieces into “Insomnia.” Okay, maybe not every book, but a few of them.

King made me cry within the first 100 pages describing the death of, Ralph’s, wife, even though we as readers had little to no interaction with her. Seriously how does he do it? Pretty sure I cried three times throughout this novel, so we’re not done with the water works yet.

Later Ralph has a confrontation with a neighbor who is spouting nonsense about colors, little bald doctors and the Crimson King… YEAH, THE CRIMSON FREAKING KING!

Ralph starts suffering from insomnia and begins seeing auras (colors) around people. He soon discovers these colors correspond to moods or intentions. Each aura has what Ralph describes as a balloon string, attached to the head.

The descriptions King puts into Ralph’s visions are so vivid. I absolutely loved reading these. Some people who weren’t fans of the novel describe them as acid trips. Now, I’ve never done acid so I wouldn’t know, but I found these visions to be very cool and honestly beautiful.

Ralph sees three little bald guys (doctors) and had a lengthy 45+ page discussion with two of them. He names the doctors after the three Fates in Greek Mythology. Clotho and Lachesis, who serve The Purpose, and Atropos, who serves The Random.

The Purpose is where everyone has a designated time of death and Clotho and Lachesis will show up, cut your balloon string and send you to your death peacefully. Atropos on the other hand, slices the string and you die in some sort of random act of violence, tragedy or accident: The Random.

“We are all bound together by the Purpose. That’s ka-tet, which means one made of many.”

The Crimson King has been working on Ralph’s neighbor for years and influenced him to go against the Purpose and Random and fly a plane, with a bomb inside, into the Derry Civic Center where a pro-women’s rights activist is speaking to a crowd of 2000+.

King sprinkles in large amounts of pro/anti-abortion and pro/anti-women’s rights political arguments throughout “Insomnia.” The politics are often cited as an area of complaint for some, but to me, they made the novel feel grounded and real.

Anyway, the Crimson King doesn’t care about pro or anti-women’s rights. He cares about a 4-year-old boy who got dragged to the convention center with his mother. This boy is Patrick Danville. Patrick is destined to save the life of a man trying to get into the Dark Tower.

For “Dark Tower” fans, this is the same Patrick Danville from the 7th “Dark Tower”, and the man he is destined to save? Yeah, that’s Roland. Crazy right? I mean I was absolutely mind-blown.

Little Patrick sits inside the civic center drawing a picture while the activist is speaking. His picture is of Roland outside the Dark Tower with the Crimson King at the top. I can’t even express how excited I was reading that passage. OH MY GOD.

“His name is Roland, Mama. I dream about him, sometimes. Him’s a King, too.” – Patrick Danville.

Before the Civic Center we get a mini adventure into the depths of Derry through a little cave at the base of a tree: Atropos’ lair. Here we see a maze of all the trophies he collects from those he kills, one of which is little Gage Creed’s shoe… yeah I got a bit misty reading that passage.

Anyway, Ralph redirects the plane saving Patrick and defeating the Crimson King… for now. Ralph marries his neighbor and they live happily for a few more years… until Ralph gets hit by a car while saving a little girl. COME ON, KING, WHY?!?!?! Yeah, I bawled. I mean cried my freakin’ eyes out.

Sorry this review got a little lengthy but “Insomnia” is THAT good. All I want to do is talk about it, and I hope when you read it, you’ll feel the same way. King is incredible and once again delivers a beauty.

5 out of 5

Stephen King’s poem “The Bone Church” to be adapted for TV

The next few years are shaping up to be pretty exciting for Stephen King fans after the rights to his narrative poem “The Bone Church,” were picked up by Cedar Park Entertainment. It looks like we’ll be seeing King’s name on our TVs or computer screens once again.

“If you want to hear, buy me another drink. …There were thirty-two of us went into that greensore, Thirty days in the green and only three who rose above it.”

Chris Long and David Ayer, founders of Cedar Park Entertainment, acquired the rights to Stephen King’s narrative poem “The Bone Church.” Long and Ayer plan to turn the eight-page poem into a TV series.

Chris Long is no stranger to King’s work. He was an executive producer on Audience Network’s adaptation of “Mr. Mercedes.” Long was programming chief at Audience for 18 years but left to form Cedar Park with Ayer.

David Ayer is best known for his work directing the DC comics film “Suicide Squad” as well as the hit Netflix movie “Bright.” After “Bright’s” success, Ayer signed a deal with Netflix to direct and write “Bright 2.”

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Stephen King wrote “The Bone Church” in the 1960s but didn’t publish it until 2009 in “Playboy Magazine.” The poem was later revised and republished in his 2015 short story collection “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.”

“The Bone Church” is a tale of a drunk man telling a story about when he and 31 other explorers trekked into the jungle in search of the mythic Bone Church. Throughout the story, the narrator asks for more drinks and describes the deaths of every traveler except himself and two others. For the mathematically challenged, that’s 29 deaths.

As a poem, “The Bone Church,” is a different read but the style doesn’t take away from the creepy nature of the tale. This eight-page poem is guaranteed to give you chills. It is just one of 20 short stories in the “Bazaar of Bad Dreams” anthology. Other notable stories include:

“Ur” about a mysterious pink Kindle that contains books, newspapers, and other written works from other dimensions, and the future. This tale even has some connections to King’s magnum opus, “The Dark Tower.”
“Obits” is another good one about a young man who discovers he can kill people by writing their obituaries prematurely.
In “Mile 81” a young boy explores an abandoned rest stop and discovers a car that eats people. Sounds silly, I know, but it has little hints of King’s other car related novels, “Christine” and “From a Buick 8.”

Almost every story in “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” is a hit and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some others getting their own adaptations soon.

“The Bone Church” joins a long list of King stories set to hit TV screens or movies theaters:

“Castle Rock” debuts this summer.
“IT” part one was a huge success in September 2017. Part two begins filming this summer.
In January, Mike Flanagan, director of the adaptation of King’s novel “Gerald’s Game,” signed on to adapt “Doctor Sleep,” the sequel to King’s famous novel “The Shining.”
“Mr. Mercedes” season one was a huge hit. Season two began filming in February.
The rights to a re-adaptation of King’s famous novel (and my personal favorite) “Pet Sematary” were picked up by Paramount in December 2017. The new movie is slated for an April 19, 2019 release.
Last, but certainly not least, following the film’s flop in the summer of 2017, “The Dark Tower” will be rebooted for TV thanks to Amazon.

In case I lost you up there, here is a list of the novels and short stories. These should get you ready for the adaptations out currently and all the hopefully amazing movies and TV shows we will see in the coming years!

“The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” (2015) (495 pages) (Collection of short stories)
- “The Bone Church” (8 pages) (no release date for TV show yet)
“IT” (1986) (1138 pages) (TV movie 1990) (film 2017, part one. 2019, part two)
“Gerald’s Game” (1992) (332 pages) (film 2017)
“Mr Mercedes” (2014) (436 pages) (TV show 2017)
- “Finders Keepers” (2015) (431 pages) (season 2 of Mr. Mercedes set for 2019)
- “End of Watch” (2016) (429 pages)
“The Shining” (1977) (447 pages) (Film 1980) (TV movie 1997)
“Doctor Sleep” (2013) (529 pages) (presumable 2019 or 2020 release)
“Pet Sematary” (1983) (374 pages) (film 1989) (remake 2019)
“The Dark Tower” (series of 8 novels) (1981-2004) (over 4000 pages) (film 2017) (TV show coming soon on Amazon)

You should know by now what I am about to say: read the books before seeing the movies or watching the shows! I know there is a lot of material listed there, but you can do it. Some were listed in previous posts anyway, so you should have a head start… right?

“Castle Rock;” King Fans Most Anticipated Show and How You Can Be Ready For It

The new Hulu series from J.J. Abrams, Castle Rock, based off the world and ideas of Stephen King, is set for release this summer. Here’s how you can get ready for one of 2018’s most anticipated shows.

Most of Stephen King‘s stories are set in Maine, where he grew up and currently lives. Many of these stories take place in the fictional town of Castle Rock. This summer, director J.J. Abrams is releasing a ten-episode television series on Hulu based on King’s haunted town.

The show, titled “Castle Rock” (of course), is set to release this summer but no exact date has been announced yet (COME ON MAN). There is a lot of mystery surrounding the show, especially since it isn’t based off one of King’s novels, but rather his haunted city, his ideas and his world.

Constant Readers (for those that don’t know, this is the nickname King gave to his readers), are chomping at the bit to get any-and-all information they can about “Castle Rock” before its release. The theories surrounding the show’s possible events and story line are endless.

After viewing the trailers and checking the cast on IMDb a lot of King fans will recognize familiar names and faces.

Sissy Spacek is known in the King-world as the original “Carrie” from the 1976 adaptation of his very first novel by the same name. Spacek was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for her performance. In “Castle Rock,” she plays Ruth Deaver, the adopted mother of main character Henry Deaver, played by Andre Holland.

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Actor Scott Glenn is portraying every King fans favorite cop, Alan Pangborn. In King’s novels, “The Dark Half” and “Needful Things,” Pangborn was sheriff of the Castle Rock Police Department, but in the show, he looks to be a bit older and (most likely) retired.

Melanie Lynskey, who played Rachel Wheaton in “Rose Red” (a tv movie King wrote), plays Castle Rock real-estate agent Molly Strand.

Lastly, Bill Skarsgard, an actor returning to the King-verse who many, not just King fans, may know (especially the ladies). Skarsgard is known for his work on the Netflix tv show “Hemlock Grove,” and more recently as the horrifying clown Pennywise in the 2017 adaptation of King’s 1986 novel “IT.”

In “Castle Rock,” Skarsgard plays a death-row inmate at Shawshank Prison (yeah the same Shawshank that was featured in “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”). On IMDb, Skarsgard is cast as “Shawshank Prisoner,” creating even more mystery around the show and his character.

In other news, Skarsgard is set to reprise his role as Pennywise in “IT Part Two,” slated to hit theaters September 6, 2019.

**Side Note: This is not the first time Abrams and King have worked together. Abrams developed a series on Hulu in 2016 based on King’s novel “11/22/63” where a man travels back in time to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. (Another novel I highly recommend once you have gotten through the Castle Rock stories)**

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Now, back to the topic at hand: Some of you may be totally lost, and that’s understandable. You’re probably reading all this like, “’Castle Rock?’ What the heck, how am I supposed to get into a show I know nothing about?” That’s where the following list comes in.

As previously mentioned, “Castle Rock” isn’t based off any of King’s stories exclusively, rather a modern look at how King’s haunted city is doing nowadays. “Castle Rock” will take aspects from a lot of King’s work related to the city, so here is a list of novels and stories set in Castle Rock (many of which have been adapted into movies and shows) that you should get and read to prepare yourself for what looks to be the show of the summer.

“The Dead Zone” (1979) (426 pages) (Film released in 1983 and TV series released in 2002)
“Cujo” (1981) (319 pages) (Film released in 1983)
“The Dark Half” (1989) (412 pages) (Film released in 1993)
“Needful Things” (1991)(690 pages) (Film released in 1993)
- Subtitled “The Last Castle Rock Story” It is EPIC.
“Gwendy’s Button Box” (2017) (164 pages)
- King co-wrote this novella with Richard Chizmar, founder of Cemetery Dance Publications based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Chizmar recently released a novella, “Widow’s Point,” which he co-wrote with his son Billy.
“Elevation” (October 2018) (144 pages)

“Elevation” is set to release October 30, 2018. The novella will be the newest addition to the Castle Rock stories and King’s second literary release of the year after the novel “The Outsider,” hits stores May 22, 2018.

Anyway, enjoy the books and keep checking for more info on the show and updates on anything King-related. As always, feel free to comment with any questions, concerns or whatever else your heart desires!

How the Upcoming Film, “One For The Road,” Can Jump-Start Your Stephen King Collection

An adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, “One For The Road,” finished production in February 2018. Here’s how you can prepare yourself for the upcoming film and begin your very own Stephen King collection.

In 1975, Stephen King released the classic vampire horror novel, “‘Salem’s Lot.” In the novel, an author has to fight an ancient vampire who intends to take over the small fictitious Maine town of Jerusalem’s Lot.

Shortly after, in 1977, King released a collection of short stories, “Night Shift.” Clearly the ideas he had from “‘Salem’s Lot” were still with him because in this collection, two of the short stories, were directly related to the 1975 novel.

The short story “Jerusalem’s Lot” was a prequel to the novel describing the dark past of the haunted town. The short story “One for the Road” was a direct sequel to the novel where we see a family who has been trapped in a snow storm just outside the town, discover they are not alone.

In the 70’s King started allowing student filmmakers to buy the rights to his stories for $1. The filmmakers would make their adaptations and present them to King for approval before showing them at independent film festivals. These are called Dollar Baby films.

On February 6^th, a duo of independent filmmakers Joseph Horning and Curtis Case of CKC Quarterly Productions wrapped up filming of their Dollar Baby adaptation of “One for the Road.” They shot the film in South East Pennsylvania during the huge snowstorm in January.

“One for the Road” is slated for King’s approval viewing sometime in February 2018, and hopefully will be shown at a film festival shortly after. This is just the most recent of many Dollar Baby films.

The most famous Dollar Baby was an adaptation of King’s short story titled “The Woman in the Room” (a short story from “Night Shift”) directed by Frank Darabont. King liked Darabont’s adaptation so much that the two struck a “handshake deal” for Darabont to direct a film version of King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (from the collection “Different Seasons“).

You may have heard of this movie which turned into IMDb’s top rated film of all time: “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Speaking of “Different Seasons”… this is a collection of four short novels (novellas) released in 1982 containing the previously mentioned “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” “Apt Pupil” (adapted into another fairly successful film), “The Body” which was adapted into the well-known movie “Stand By Me” (you’ve seen it, its #192 on IMDb’s top 250), and lastly “The Breathing Method.”

Darabont also went on to adapt King’s novel (another one you may have heard of) “The Green Mile” (the film is #32 on IMDb’s top 250).

So, you may be thinking, “Cool? So what?” Yes, independent films are usually never as good as big Hollywood movies, but every director and producer started somewhere right? They need all the support you can give when they are at this early level, so watch those independent films, and donate to small production companies.

BUT, (yes, there’s a but), read the books first! You know the saying, “the book is always better than the movie.” Well, that saying is almost always true.

Here’s the deal, if you haven’t seen these movies yet, do so ASAP. If you have seen them (or haven’t), get the books!

Plenty of sites such as Amazon, AbeBooks and Ebay as well as stores like Barnes and Noble, offer King’s books at great prices!

Stephen King has had a plethora of his books adapted for the screen, whether that be television or movies. It is definitely worth it to find the books, read them, and collect them. The books not only look amazing, but they ARE amazing.

Start your King collection with the few books mentioned above… its only four, you can do it and once you start collecting and reading them, you will never stop… trust me.

In case you were just skimming through or already forgot which books you need to go get, here’s a list with their film counterparts:

“‘Salems Lot” (478 pages) (1975) – TV movie released in 1978 and a remake in 2004
“Night Shift” (a collection of 20 short stories; many have been adapted) (326 pages) (1977)
- “One For The Road” – film to be released in 2018
- “Children of the Corn” – film released in 1984
- “The Woman in the Room” – film released in 1983
- “Quitters Inc.” and “The Ledge” – both featured in the film “Cats Eye” in 1985
- (And a few others)
“Different Seasons” (Collection of four novellas) (518 pages) (1982)
- “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” – film released as “The Shawshank Redemption” in 1994
- “Apt Pupil” – film released in 1998
- “The Body” – film released as “Stand By Me” in 1986
- “The Breathing Method”
“The Green Mile” (399 pages) (1996) – film released in 1999