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Does Stephen King write any good books any more?

alfaniner

Penultimate Amazing
alfaniner
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I just finished Stephen King's book Cell, which I picked up on sort of a whim to kill some time while eating lunch. (spoilers of sorts ahead)

I can't recall the last book of his I read, but I know I have read several of them and enjoyed them for the most part. But this one really pissed me off for all the time I invested in it and then it has an inconclusive ending. It's about some sort of pulse sent over cell phones that make people go crazy. That's the premise, but it has no explanation. He spends most of the book describing in minute detail about the travels the characters go through. People don't talk like they do in real life, and there is a whiz kid who seems to have figured out everything on his own.

The worst thing was the final chapter -- it's at the point where the main character does the thing he's been planning to do for most of the book, and after all this you're dying to find out the results. And it just ends before that information is given -- one more sentence saying so would have been satisfying. Oh, there's more left in the book -- it's a one-chapter preview for another book! I thought the story was actually going to be concluded and got blindsided by the extra but totally unrelated pages.

I have heard that there is a book/series where he actually says to the reader "Stop reading now, as the ending is lousy." Well, Mr. King, with all the time you put into writing a story, and the effort and money I put into reading it, the least you could do is provide me with a decent conclusion. I think I will stop reading now. Your stuff, anyway.

:mad:
 
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alfaniner said:
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I have heard that there is a book/series where he actually says to the reader "Stop reading now, as the ending is lousy." Well, Mr. King, with all the time you put into writing a story, and the effort and money I put into reading it, the least you could do is provide me with a decent conclusion. I think I will stop reading now. Your stuff, anyway.

:mad:
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Yeah, that's his Dark Tower series. The last book warns of that before you get to the end.

And from what I could tell of your post, I was way more :mad: at the ending of that series than you were of this, if you can imagine that.
 
I'm not one of his "Constant Readers."
I'm selective, and Cell didn't motivate me to read in the least.

I was quite satisfied with his recent short story collection, Just After Sunset.
 
I've not read anything by King since Insomnia because he REALLY pissed me off buy turning the end of what had been a good story into an advertisement for the Gunslinger books.
 
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tomwaits said:
I loved the ending of the Dark Tower. There I said it.
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I've come to terms with the ending. :D

I've read close to all of his books over the years. But when he writes a stinker...boy, does he write a stinker (I'm talking to you Dreamcatcher)
 
He has been saying for awhile now that he's not the writer he used to be.
 
I liked the ending of both. I thought Cell was fun and silly.

The dark tower had the perfect ending for it. It's exactly what it should have been.
 
I had pretty much the same impression. The book itself was pretty good, and I liked the transition from straight "apocalyptic doom" to the emerging "intelligence" of the affected.

But the ending....
 
For those who didn't like the ending of Dark Tower or Cell, for which books of steven king did you like the ending?
 
I have also read most of King's novels. I thought the ending of the Dark Tower series was appropriate. I did not like either Cell or Dreamcatcher. To me, Cell seemed like a bad movie script (you have scrappy teen taken in by tough guy, whiz kid who knows it all, and unexplained technological phenomena driving people crazy). Also, King gives a nod to I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, which I think is a great novella (and I didn't like the latest attempt to make that story into a movie).

I generally enjoy King's selections of short stories better than his novels, and I don't think King is nowhere near as awful as Dean Koontz.

I think the most frustrating story I have read by King is The Colorado Kid, where King attempts to write a hard-boiled detective novel. The reason it is frustrating is because there is no solution to the mystery, and King basically tells you to not try to solve the mystery because it cannot be solved. King uses the novel as a tool to enforce his belief that a good mystery should be enjoyable in its own merits, regardless of the presence of a solution. I disagree with this to a point. A good mystery is enjoyable because of the illusion that it can be solved, regardless of whether or not the solution is possible or true. I think this is one reason why people like Agatha Christie novels, conspiracy theories, and paranormal phenomena. People want to come up with a solution, even if the solution does not mesh with reality.
 
I know I'm going to be slammed for this, but I don't think he's written anything decent since Carrie was published.
 
I'm pretty much with you LL, he's one of those authors I put ion the "editor proof" list, meaning they become so successful that no publisher will put in place a good strong editor and support the editor for fear of losing the author. And it is very rare that a author doesn't need a good editor.
 
LibraryLady said:
I know I'm going to be slammed for this, but I don't think he's written anything decent since Carrie was published.
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I am a litle more forgiving. Salem's Lot was interesting, as was Christine, and his Backman Novel, Long Walk. I would say by Pet Sematary it was all over :(
 
I think most King novels are a good read for the first few chapters, then at some point they get boring and pointless. He's written a lot of really good short stories though.
 
joobz said:
For those who didn't like the ending of Dark Tower or Cell, for which books of steven king did you like the ending?
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The Shining I read when I was about 17, and loved everything about it.
 
Skeptic Guy said:
Salem's Lot was a good one, IMO.
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While good, Salem's Lot is not his best book. However, it is an amazing example of what a storytelling genius can do with a plot that has zero original elements.

Oh, and the turning point in Stephen King's writing career comes about two thirds into The Dark Half. The beginning is vintage King, but from there on he just runs out of steam and things get weird instead of scary. And a book or two after inventing weird, he invented boring.
 
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