From a Buick 8 is a story about possessed cars and this not the first theme in King´s works. Well-known novel Christine is also about car 1958 Plymouth Fury which was a maniacal killer. But now this rage is in the Buick 8.
The only difference is that the Buick 8 does not kill its victims. It acts as a strange vortex with teeth. But one cannot find these teeth.
This story contains flashbacks and present day events like in Dolores Claiborne but it is clear when the author asks readers to change time frames in From a Buick 8. But in comparison with Delores Claiborne, From a Buick 8 does not have a lyrically addictive character.
When the story has a description of some mystical energy of the Buick 8, it also concentrates on the personnel of Troop D and the son of the dead member of Troop D, Ned Wilcox. Ned´s father is killed by a drunk driver and after this incident he starts to visit the officers and the members of the Troop D tell about mystical Buick 8.
When Ned gets enough information, he connects the death of the father with this car. He wants to find out all the truth about the Buick 8 and he goes into the shed where the Buick 8 has been hold and he climbs in it. The resolution of the story is in this moment and the readers may be a little bit confused. From a Buick 8 attracts the readers´ attention and the characters of the story are interesting but the end of this story may be cold for some readers.
You may wonder why the majority of films based on the works of Stephen King fail. Well, maybe because of the internal conflict in the novels. It is not difficult to write about such problems but it is difficult to film it. And mostly internal conflict is metaphorical and spoken dialogues are in minds of the characters. That is why it is difficult to show such state of the hero in the film.
Dreamcatcher belongs to these works and contains the internal conflict of the main characters. This novel is like Gerald´s Game and Rose Madder with interesting internal conflicts and the characters reaction to it.
In comparison with other writers of horror Dreamcatcher belongs to another story of alien invasion. But four friends have brought something cerebral to the story.
Joe, Henry, Pete and Gary meet each other in their old place, in the woods of Maine, and understand that excursion will be not like the others. These four men battle more than just some childhood memories. They are used as weapons in the alien invasion and it turns onto the child´s play.
The internal conflict is successfully taken by King in the world and human psyche uses it and the main characters use their mind to win the alien invaders. King describes the mind as a battlefield and then he turns the concept of invasion into the successful play for the readers.
The readers may catch a likeness of Dreamcatcher with the novel It. But in comparison with that novel new topics of childhood memories, growing up and male bonding can be found in Dreamcatcher.
Everything´s Eventual includes 14 stories or as they are called dark tales. It is one of the other collections such as Skeleton Crew and Nightmares & Dreamscapes.
These 14 stories are web published work of Stephen King and are included to the audio collection Blood & Smoke.
Each story contains everything what a real fan of horrors need. These are desperation, horror, and little hope. The fans of the author will be pleased reading these stories because they take into account the concepts from the other, earlier, works.
The main character of Everything´s Eventual is Dinky Earnshaw who is met later in the Dark Tower series. He gets new job. He has an ability to draw causing suicide of a person. This is a gift which Dinky does not like but the other use it for themselves. He works on a person and he does not know all plans of this persons. Dinky is just doing his job and he gets a house, a car, money and other luxurious things. He does not put any questions. But the fans who read Needful Things of King understand that there´s no such thing as a free lunch and everything has its own price. And the reader is right.
Everything´s Eventual has something mundane, life circumstances like in L.T.´s Theory of Pets. There is an idea to give pets as a gift and this event make leave the characters in a horrible predicament.
Everything´s Eventual is a classic work of the author and gives some connection with the other works of King. These tales are really dark but they are mused at the same time. You will not stop until you read all pages of the stories and you will not miss any of them.
Needful things takes place in Castle Rock and it is another story in the fictional town. The stories The Dark Half and The Dead Zone describe the small town in Maine which is taken by evil. Evil has affected a small number of people but in Needful Things the whole town is in the balance.
In the town a new shop opens and from this moment the interesting things begin. The shop is called “Needful Things” which is very curious for people in the town. Visiting the shop people see only one thing which they should have. This can be a tin horse racing set which helps to predict the winner of the races or baseball card of Mickey Mantle which is autographed. A reader may fear instead of the characters who do not feel it.
A man Leland Gaunt runs this shop and he makes a sign in the shop “Caveat Emptor”, Buyer Beware. But nobody pays attention to this sign which is not so good for the characters.
People of Castle Rock like this shop very much but Sheriff Alan Pangborn does not. He suspects that Leland lies. Leland uses the powers to set the inhabitants against each other. And Sheriff understands that he has a deal with a devil.
The people of Castle Rock begin to argue with each other, and Polly, girlfriend of Sheriff, falls into Leland hands and Sheriff tries to save her and the whole town because he does not fall under the spell of Leland.
Needful Thins shows the dark side of the town in America. The story deepens into the souls of its inhabitants. The author describes the inability to resist a strong desire.
Every famous writer receives constant and similar questions almost every day. And Stephen King is not an exception. These are the questions where do you find the ideas for the story? Why did you become a writer? Is it difficult to write?
Finally after years of hard working King provides the answers to these eternal questions. These answers are a good example of excellent fiction for the other writers. Stephen King creates autobiography story On Writing. Earlier King has opened the horror genre for readers and On Writing is an access for readers into King´s world.
This story is partially autobiography and partially the guide for the writers. The author describes how he became a writer, his merits and demerits. Stephen King gives the possibility to the reader to have a look into his life.
The story contains all part of the life: the drugs, the missed deadline and depression. The author tells the story with passion and as if the world is going crazy with the Superflu like in The Stand. But there is no remorse in his voice, he understands that all his lows make the story sweeter and give the greater payoff.
The author does not even been irritated when it comes about all his personal failures in this story. He says that if you do not have enough time for reading, you do not have time for writing. A reader will realize how King keeps his word.
On Writing does not have the recipe of the successful writer. It has wisdom words and a reader who wants to find a secret of writing and being famous novelist will be disappointed. But the majority of readers will enjoy it and appreciate brevity and the honesty of the author.
The Dark Tower is the most desired work of Stephen King for fans waited for it about a quarter of a century. The author started the series in 1982 and the first story was The Gunslinger. And the final story has the same name The Dark Tower which brings the series to the end. The story has absorbed all the talent of these works of the author.
In the Song of Susannah Father Callahan, Jake Chambers and Susannah was left within the confines of the Dixie Pig because Mia controlled the body of Susannah to give birth. And this child appeared a biological one of Roland of Gilead and Susannah Dean as well as genes of the main villain the Crimson King.
Mia has separated from Susannah and turned into a human form and she gives birth to a child who then turns into a multi-legged spider and starts to cannibalize the mother. This child tries to kill the rest inhabitants of the Dixie Pig until Susannah wounds this spider form by shooting and hurting one of the legs.
The novel and the characters come to the end and these characters are ticked off like ninepins which are knocked about by the bowling ball.
Maybe the fans of King´s works will be a little bit confused and disappointed reading the final ending of the series which have more questions than answers and solutions of the series. And there may be complaints that the readers were cheated. But the other may argue that the conclusion was the only way that the series turned out lights.
King´s end is open and he will not reopen the last chapter and conclusion of the tale of Roland. Even the author notifies the readers to close the novel before the end as if King is not sure of his conclusion.
Nevertheless The Dark Tower finishes all series which have went through twenty years of its making and have a great success.
After reading The Dark Half by Stephen King, it is worth thinking about, whether this novel was a farewell to Richard Bachman, King´s pen name, or not. The novel does not have an image of Richard Bachman; however, it is dedicated to him indeed. Comparing The Regulators by Bachman and Desperation by King, you should concern, whether King really struggles with the alter ego within pages of novel.
The Dark Half is one of the best novels of Stephen King. It is a story about a writer, Thad Beaumont. After medical examination, a tumor was detected within his brain and he goes into surgical procedure. Tumor was remains of not completely absorbed twin during prenatal development. Reading the novel suggests that this is a psychotic diary of King´s creative life. Events described in the novel occur in a city of Ludlow, those who read King´s Pet Sematary find this story is very familiar.
Novels written by Thad have a partial success. However, he writes the stories under his pen name George Stark that have truly prominence. The shocking and violent novels written under his pen name are swallowed up by the readership. When it is learned that Thad Beaumont is Stark, he and his wife decide to organize a fake funeral for the apparently unreal Stark. However, Thad has not a hunch that George Stark is alive and is ready to combat to preserve his existence.
Thad and Stark´s DNA and appearance coincide completely. The same literary method King practices in other stories Secret Window and Secret Garden in Four Past Midnight. Therefore, when Stark goes on a murdering everyone, he perceives, is responsible for his “death”, Thad is under suspicion. Contrasting Mort Rainey of Secret Window, Secret Garden, and Thad understands that Stark is a threat to his career and his life. He decides to stop Stark once for all.
King´s own dreads of writing injecting into a dramatic and dark story make The Dark Half is a true accomplishment for him. It is not the issue here whether things end happily or not. One will be rewarded reading The Dark Half. Nevertheless, the reward might be too far from what one would expect it to be.
On Writing also contains description how many horrors have been made on the basis of King´s fears. King turns to the story about an incident which has happened with his child. His own child has almost had an incident and King could not be silent and he was thinking what would happen if the child had been hit. What would be the life after the incident? What would he do?
He sees pet cemetery and that is the inspiration for the story Pet Sematary. This story is not the only one which tells about animals. Cujo is a horrific novel of 1981 about animal which became mad.
Nut in comparison with Cujo Pet Sematary is beyond maniacal pets. The story Pet Sematary is a lesson of sorrow and death. Neighbor Jud introduces a young father Louis to some ancient graveyard which has some strange powers and there the buried come back again to life. Then their cat has a tragic end and Louis decides to follow the instructions of Jud and he buries their favorite cat in this graveyard.
He does not believe in it until their cat comes back home alive but the cat differs and Louis understands the strange powers of the graveyard. His little son Cage meets tragically with an accident. A truck hits a little boy on the highway near their house. Louis gives way to despair and he buries his son at this ancient graveyard.
As their cat, Cage comes back home. But before his return he was a sweet little boy and now Cage is a demonic child. Louis and Rachel, his wife, cannot stand him and Lois must return his son to the other world, world of death.
This story keeps the reader´s attention till the last words on the page. Pet Semetary is an excellent King´s job and real fans of the horror genre will enjoy it.
It is not surprise to find the novels of Stephen King in audio format. But the first time the author published some works only in audio format. It is known that King liked to record audio book of Bag of Bones and then he released Blood and Smoke only in this format.
Blood and Smoke includes 3 stories “1408”, “In the Deathroom” and “Lunch at the Gotham Café”. These stories have one common feature – smoking. Stephen King has concentrated on this bad habit not for the first time. For example, “Quitters, Inc.” which is in Night Shift collection is a short story about smoking and the smokers were able to see demons when they had nicotine in the blood stream.
The story “Lunch at the Gotham Café” was published at first but then it was added to the audio book. “In the Deathroom” and “1408” were made especially for the audio book. The story “Lunch at the Gotham Café” is weird reminiscent of the Rod Serling stories which belong to the classic Twilight Zone series. Steve Davis, the main character, meets his wife to finalize their divorce. Steve understands that there is something strange in the Gotham Café. Without this strange thing it would not be a real story of King.
The story “1404” corresponds to the classic one. Mike Enslin is a main character who is a writer. He braves to settle in the hotel room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. This room is famous for its suicides, and unlucky and strange circumstances occur with people who assigned this hotel room.
And the main character of the story “In the Deathroom” is Fletcher who experiences his antagonists’ torture and listeners wait for King’s words as the main hero craves for his last cigarette. These stories are a good example of King’s talent and the listeners will never guess the end of the story.
Riding the Bullet has been released in digital form like The Plant. This novella was the first try of publishing in the Internet and now it is included in the collection Everything´s Eventual. Unlike The Plant Riding the Bullet has been made for movie like the other fictional works of the author, for example The Stand and Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
The main character is Alan Parker. He is a college student who must go to his mother after the fatal stroke. It is difficult to call the journey but most likely the destination, and then Riding the Bullet delivers.
Alan concentrates on his destination and his mother, her health state when he arrives there. Thinking of this he does not pay attention to the world around him when he goes to Lewiston, Maine. This journey is not good for him. But for readers it will be interesting.
He faces different drivers during his trip and sometimes these drivers are not so good and pleasant and Alan walks instead of driving. Then he meets ne more driver George Staub. And this name is familiar for Alan, he has came across on the tombstone with this name. This moment turns the story from the tale about young man who wants to go to his dying mother into the tale about young man who struggles with unknown fear.
It turns out that George knows more about life of Alan as for a stranger. George drives to Lewiston and he offers Alan to make a choice. Alan should let him take to the underworld or loss his own mother. Alan faces the emotion which comes into his heart. He is afraid of death and loves his mother. The feeling was strange.
The author has made a classic Twilight Zone which is written by Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson in 50th. However, Riding the Bullet is worth reading and it will keep a reader in suspense until the last page of the story.