Which King book did you NOT like??

[RJHubbard53]

You are right about the mini-series. That thing was a real stinker.

has any king mini-series been good? The Stand was "ok", as was IT, but both were kinda lame... and dont get me started on Langoliers...

King books are awesome but rarely translate well to the big screen - with a few exceptions such as Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile - Basically, anything story that has few supernatural elements seems to work...

[Ben Staad]

has any king mini-series been good? The Stand was "ok", as was IT, but both were kinda lame... and dont get me started on Langoliers...

King books are awesome but rarely translate well to the big screen - with a few exceptions such as Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile - Basically, anything story that has few supernatural elements seems to work...

I've always enjoyed watching "The Stand" even though there was certainly room for improvement. In regards to "IT" it was just ok with a few scenes better then average and of course the ending left quite a bit to be desired. One other King made for TV movie I thought was slightly better then ok was "Desperation".

[srboone]

I like "The Shining" miniseries a lot. And not only because it included the hedge animals. While I thought Kubrick was more in touch with the supernatural horror of King's masterpiece, the miniseries was more accessible to a wider audience. The focus on alcoholism was something unexpected, but didn't make the miniseries unenjoyable. The only problem I had with it was it's length. Part of the horror of The Shining is it's unrelenting nature (something Kubrick understood). You can't get that in a 3-part, 6-hour miniseries. It played more like a suspense drama. But a really good one.

I do like revisiting "The Stand" every now and again. But to remake it....sigh...oh well...

[RJK1981]

I definitely like The Shining miniseries, much more than the movie. I couldn't stand the kid and using his finger with the funky voice. I liked the Jack Nicholson role though from the movie though. I still need to watch The Stand, especially since Netflix has it on instant viewing. I liked It, though it wasn't impressive to me (it was also quite old by the time I saw it since I saw it for the first time just a few years ago. There has been others I enjoyed as well, but Tommyknockers just stands out as the worst I can recall seeing, at least I could kinda laugh at things in The Langoliers, even if that wasn't the intended response

[Ben Staad]

I have actually watched The Langoliers a number of times and actually enjoy it in a strange way. The effects are horrifically bad and the acting is (kind of) ok so I'm not really sure if I could pin point why I enjoy watching this. Maybe I just really like the subject matter?

[jester05jk]

I loved IT, to this day it stands up as one of my fave King movies. That and the black and white version of The Mist, it has so much atmosphere. IT is the only miniseries I own of his, the others were just so-so to me.

[RJK1981]

I also really enjoyed Kingdom Hospital, though that wasn't based on his own works

[frik51]

It was boring to read them.

Personally I've never found a book by King boring. It's always a pleasure to listen to his voice. Sometimes he's a bit hoarse, though, but that usually doesn't last very long.

sk

[divemaster]

In order from generally 5th worst down to the bottom of the barrel, for me, are:

5) Dreamcatcher
4) Insomnia
3) The Tommyknockers
2) The Regulators

and

wait for it...

the worst...

1) Gerald's Game

Dreamcatcher just didn't do it for me. Aliens? Shit weasels? Byrus? Army patrols? A mish-mash of half-baked ideas. And it seemed like King was trying to make another Tom Cullen out of the Duddits character and failing.

Insomnia--When reading it, I think things like "this is utterly ridiculous" and comparing the story to something Clive Barker may have written.

My problem with Barker (and with Insomnia) is that there are so many places in the story where the author just seems to pull something out of his ass. Otherwise known as "making it up as you go." I know King lets his stories write themselves, and there is something to be said for that approach (it can be fresh). But this book, more than any other just seemed so, well, random. The eye-rolling factor was high.

The Tommyknockers I am conflicted about. I really like the characters of Bobbie and Gard, but hoo boy the story was no good. I've actually read it twice, mainly to visit the characters again (well, mainly b/c I was stuck at someone's house for a weekend and it was the only book on the shelf I could bring myself to read).

The Regulators was just plain terrible. In fact, I would make it my all-time worst but at least King gets points for trying (referring to his experiment with The Regulators/Desperation dual release. Interestingly enough, I loved Desperation.)

Gerald's Game was just non-engaging. Story was not interesting. Might have worked as a short story, but not as a novel. And unlike most of King's works, I didn't care about any of the characters. She could still be stuck on that bed and I wouldn't care. Epic fail.

[Justin Case]

What a great thread. Of the recent reads I totally loved Duma Key and felt it a real return to form imo - I mention this because I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Needful Things has some really great parts but overall was too rushed in my opinion- it went from a kind of "widescreen" macro to a more "interal / imtimate mico vantage point too fast with little transition. I like Tommyknockers a lot but it may have been the time / age I read it. Of the ones I have not been able to finish yet are Insomnia and Rose Madder.. just couldn't get into them (yet) but it probably had alot to do with when I tried - someone already mentioned how it really depends on the timing and I agree. I am still looking forward to reading Under The Dome - some said they didn't like it - could anyone tell me why? Also need to catch up on Lisey's Story (without having read it, it seems to have similar themes to Bag of Bones but I could be wrong on this)

[folgersnyourcup]

has any king mini-series been good? The Stand was "ok", as was IT, but both were kinda lame... and dont get me started on Langoliers... ...

I REALLY enjoyed Storm of the Century...and found Rose Red to be okay too. But Storm of the Century is definitely one of my favorite miniseries.

[frik51]

I am still looking forward to reading Under The Dome - some said they didn't like it - could anyone tell me why? Also need to catch up on Lisey's Story (without having read it, it seems to have similar themes to Bag of Bones but I could be wrong on this)

I haven't read Under the Dome either, but I've read reactions ranging from one of King's best to one of the worst ever.
If you haven't read Lisey's Story yet, you're missing out on an excellent King. I always find it hard to come up with a top 3, but Lisey's Story is in there. I would not say it's similar -in themes- to Bag of Bones (another favorite); it's a unique book which I couldn't compare to any others King has written.

sk

[Lou Sytsma]

Really liked Lisey's Story. Loved Bag of Bones. Also highly recommend the Bag of Bones audiobook. King does the reading and the music added really adds to the atmosphere of the story. My all time fav audiobook to date.

Never read a King book I never finished. Have to agree with many that put Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher at the bottom of the list.

[the_last_gunslinger]

My problem with Barker (and with Insomnia) is that there are so many places in the story where the author just seems to pull something out of his ass. Otherwise known as "making it up as you go." I know King lets his stories write themselves, and there is something to be said for that approach (it can be fresh). But this book, more than any other just seemed so, well, random. The eye-rolling factor was high.

The ironic thing here is that Stephen King claims that Insomnia and Rose Madder are "stiff, trying too hard novel." He supposedly actually plotted these two out as opposed to allowing them to develop on their own. Strange that Insomnia would seem the most random when he constructed it in the most orderly way possible.

[Rorschach]

Dreamcatcher. Ugh...horrid. Hands down the worst thing King has ever written.