A lot of his early list is kind of so-so to me. IIRC (and it's been some years ago) the book that really got me into King was Firestarter. I read The Stand shortly after that and was hooked. Carrie was a so-so for me, too, although the characterization was good, in a brutally honest kind of way. (Comes as no surprise that King taught in high school, does it?)
I never got into The Dark Tower series, either, and I did try. Nor did I like the sequel to The Talisman, and that really disappointed me.
I recommend the ones I mentioned earlier that were my favorites (obviously). There's also Dolores Claiborne, which is far more interesting as a book than as a movie. And please, for the love of Pete, don't bother with the miniseries of The Stand; there might be worse picks for the character of Fran than Molly Ringwald, but I'm not sure how many there could be. Must admit, though, they did a good job picking Gary Sinise as Stu.
'It' is another you might like. Definitely horror, and I'm not utterly thrilled about the character of Bev, to be honest, but it's an interesting concept. The Dark Half had its moments, but again, I probably liked the concept more than the story itself.
The Green Mile and The Eyes of The Dragon (which is a total departure from his usual stuff, being almost traditional fantasy, but very well done) were among my favorites also. Actually, IMO, The Green Mile is well worth seeing as a movie, too - one of the few that lived up to the book, and that's rare for me to say. Also, Misery and The Shining. Both were made into movies (as many of his books have been), and both were very well done, but the books were still a bit better. That said, Kathy Bates was perfect as Annie Wilkes in Misery and Jack Nicholson was incredible as Jack Torrance in The Shining.
Coincidentally, a friend just lent me the miniseries 'Stephen King's Rose Red', and I'm about to start watching it while doing mindless chores. I figured it was perfect for setting a Halloween mood, and besides, it has Matt Keeslar in it!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-10-31 01:14 pm (UTC)I never got into The Dark Tower series, either, and I did try. Nor did I like the sequel to The Talisman, and that really disappointed me.
I recommend the ones I mentioned earlier that were my favorites (obviously). There's also Dolores Claiborne, which is far more interesting as a book than as a movie. And please, for the love of Pete, don't bother with the miniseries of The Stand; there might be worse picks for the character of Fran than Molly Ringwald, but I'm not sure how many there could be. Must admit, though, they did a good job picking Gary Sinise as Stu.
'It' is another you might like. Definitely horror, and I'm not utterly thrilled about the character of Bev, to be honest, but it's an interesting concept. The Dark Half had its moments, but again, I probably liked the concept more than the story itself.
The Green Mile and The Eyes of The Dragon (which is a total departure from his usual stuff, being almost traditional fantasy, but very well done) were among my favorites also. Actually, IMO, The Green Mile is well worth seeing as a movie, too - one of the few that lived up to the book, and that's rare for me to say. Also, Misery and The Shining. Both were made into movies (as many of his books have been), and both were very well done, but the books were still a bit better. That said, Kathy Bates was perfect as Annie Wilkes in Misery and Jack Nicholson was incredible as Jack Torrance in The Shining.
Coincidentally, a friend just lent me the miniseries 'Stephen King's Rose Red', and I'm about to start watching it while doing mindless chores. I figured it was perfect for setting a Halloween mood, and besides, it has Matt Keeslar in it!