I just finished Stephen King’s brand new gargantuan opus Under the Dome ... and boy are my arms tired. Kidding, but at nearly 1,100 pages this is his third longest (heaviest) book, behind IT and the revised version of The Stand. It is also an unbelievably quick read -- I did it in just under two weeks. All of the old book critic clichés come to mind here: a gripping, unrelenting, fast-paced page turner that will keep you up until the wee hours ...But all those descriptors are spot-on. Thi...
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Stephen King's new epic-sized novel Under the Dome won't be released until November 10th, 2009 -- just under two weeks away as of this writing -- but that doesn't mean the wheels of the promo machine aren't already spinning. Indeed, the Amazon/Wal-Mart/Target price war (each are offering the $35 novel for under $9.00) has been all over the news.Touted as King's longest work since IT and the revised version of The Stand, Under the Dome (anywhere between 1080 and 1120 pages, depending on whom you...
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After getting a comment from a reader regarding my article King, Kubrick and The Shining, the question was posed: Stephen King says that the Kubrick ending (Jack's 1921 photo) was used in an old Twilight Zone episode. Which episode is he referring to?It took a bit of research, but what I found was startling. The 1960 Twilight Zone episode, The After Hours, stars Anne Francis as a customer in a department store who is looking to buy a gold thimble. What does this have to do with The Shining? ...
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I’ve written at length about my passion for the works of Stephen King -- including his novel (and John Carpenter's film version of) Christine. The tale of a terminally geeky high school student who becomes obsessed with, and ultimately possessed by, a 1958 Plymouth Fury.Well now, in what is sure to cause a rubber-burning squeal of glee from fanboys, comes a 1:18 scale, diecast model of the titular car, complete with working lights, steerable wheels, rubber tires, and detailed interior, exteri...
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Stephen King's short story Morality, released in the July 2009 issue of Esquire, the one featuring supermodel Bar Refaeli on the cover buck naked but for King's prose writ upon her, is now available online.I stumbled on this a few days ago and, as I was in a hurry to get somewhere and didn't have time to read it, I merely glanced at the first paragraph. But King, damn him, sucked me in and I had to finish the story right then.The story regards a married couple struggling in these economic times...
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I’ve reported on this site before that director J.J. Abrams had acquired the film rights to Stephen King’s Dark Tower series -- although, of late, he’s been a bit preoccupied with a little film called Star Trek. While riding the advertising juggernaut of his new Trek film, Abrams was asked by IGN about any news on The Dark Tower front. Check out this short video for the answer.While J.J. has never confirmed that he would direct any of King’s gargantuan 7-part series (which reads like a...
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Earlier this year, Stephen King incurred the wrath of legions of Twilight fans when he made some critical comments about Stephenie Meyer. Mr. King -- THE bestselling author of the 20th century -- has sold an estimated 350 million books over 35 years. His influence on our popular culture is incalculable. In an interview with USA Today, when asked about his influences, and in turn, whom he believes he has influenced, the subject turned to J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, about whom King said:...
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Stephen King’s 1998 novel Bag of Bones is finally headed for the Silver Screen. Rumors of this have flown for a decade now, ever since Bruce Willis bought the film rights not long after its publication, but none ever came to fruition. However, it now looks like this is getting nailed down. Unfamiliar with the book? Which many (including me) consider one of his best. Here’s the jacket copy: Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel, Bag of Bones, is a story of grief and a lost ...
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I've reported on this before, however ...Given the massive success of Marvel Comics' graphic novel treatment of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, it seemed only natural that they would attempt to do the same to his 1978 magnum opus, The Stand.To celebrate (advertise) the completion of the first five-issue story arc, Captain Trips (there will be a total of 6 arcs, 30 issues), and its further publication as a hardback in March, Marvel has made the first issue available through Stephen King's newly...
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If you're familiar with this site, you know of my fondness for Stephen King -- I've written at length about my favorite books, posted oddities, biographies, and successfully plugged outstanding amateur adaptations. So, here we go with another gem I stumbled upon on You Tube.Filmed in 1986, Rob Reiner's Stand By Me, an adaptation of King's novella The Body from Different Seasons, remains one of the best King movies ever made. (Even I've lost count of how many films have been made from this man'...
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Ever since reading Stephen King's Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the opening novella in his 1982 anthology Different Seasons (highest recommendation), it has been one of my favorite stories of all time. Twelve years later, Frank Darabont's 1994 film made me fall in love with it all over again. (Apparently I am not alone in this -- IMDB's list of the top 250 movies as voted by the viewing public, consistently places Shawshank in the Top 3. It is currently #1.)The story of a man given ...
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Short stories have become a lost art. Just ask Stephen King who, in the preface of his five collections, Night Shift (1978), Skeleton Crew (1985), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Everything's Eventual (2002) and his most recent, Just After Sunset (2008), explains what a "fragile craft" short stories are. "One that can be forgotten if it isn't used almost constantly." King has also explained that often after finishing a long novel, he will have just enough gas left in the tank (or residue a...
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After only a few months, I have gathered a rather large and eclectic number of posts regarding "world's bestselling novelist" Stephen King -- everything from Biography specials to novel exposés to newsworthy obscurities. I would be proud if this site became (among other things) a sought-after reference place for this modern-day Dickens.In keeping with this tradition, I now offer another couple of rarities: two interviews with Charlie Rose, one from 1993 (when King was promoting Nightmares and ...
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WORDSLINGER'S NOTE: I've been a bit lax of late in regards to posting. Sorry about that. I've been otherwise occupied in editing the manuscript and getting it ready for ... you know what? Let's just see how this plays out -- some verrrrry interesting things are a'brew. Meanwhile, how about another Halloween related post?By the early 80s, Stephen King was already a brand name author -- due in no small part to the cinematic kick start Brian DePalma gave him in 1976 with his adaptation of Carri...
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I wrote earlier about a young Canadian filmmaker, Matthieu Ratthe, and his demo trailer of The Talisman -- the 1984 Stephen King and Peter Straub collaboration. (Some huge sites, like USAToday.com and AintItCoolNews, took note of this blog and also wrote up about it.) Film rights were purchased by Steven Spielberg around the time of publication, but so far, every attempt at bringing this to the screen (big or small) has failed. Ratthe's video was an attempt to get Spielberg and Co's attention...
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Countless films have been adapted from the work of Stephen King. Many are great (The Shining, Misery, The Dead Zone, The Shawshank Redemption) others are horrible (Children of the Corn, and its countless video sequels, Firestarter, Graveyard Shift, etc ...)King's work for television has also been a mixed bag. I loved the miniseries versions of Salem's Lot, The Stand and IT, even though none could compare to their source material. Battleground was another small-screen winner. I hated The Lang...
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Marvel Comics -- which is already having a banner year, to put it mildly -- is continuing its unlikely-but-extremely cool relationship with "the world's bestselling author" Stephen King. Having had a massive success adapting King's Dark Tower series to comic book form (the first series arc, Gunslinger Born is now available as a graphic novel, the second series, The Long Road Home finishes its five issue arc today), Marvel is now hard at work turning King's arguably-most-popular work, The Stand,...
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In 1984, two of America's most popular authors, Stephen King and Peter Straub, collaborated on what was anticipated to be "the greatest horror novel of all time": The Talisman. Critical reception was mixed, due in no small part to the fact the book - despite the reputations of its creators - was not a horror story. It was, in fact, a coming of age fantasy involving a young boy on a grand quest.From the FlapJack Sawyer, twelve years old, is about to begin a most fantastic journey - an exalting,...
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In summer 2006, TNT produced a limited-run anthology series entitled, Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. Despite the title, the 8-episode run featured adaptations from three different King short story collections, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Everything's Eventual, and Night Shift.Ratings were not spectacular (it was summertime, what'd they expect?), but this show has found an audience on DVD.While the show was undeniably well produced, it was ultimately a mixed ba...
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After pulling out all the stops for his 1986 monster of a novel, IT, Stephen King went in the opposite direction for his next book. While IT is epic, sprawling and supernatural, Misery is small, claustrophobic and strictly human.Misery tells the now familiar tale of romance novelist Paul Sheldon's winter of discontent (to put it mildly), at the hands of his "number one fan" -- a crazed nurse named Annie Wilkes who rescues him from a car wreck in a freezing storm, brings him home, nurses him bac...
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After publishing four hugely successful novels in the seventies, Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, The Shining and The Stand, Stephen King left many fans wondering how he could possibly top that last one -- The Stand was one epic apocalyptic beast of a novel, widely considered to be one of his best. And yet, the novel which did succeed that one, The Dead Zone, showed a new maturity for a writer who was still not out of his twenties.Perhaps knowing he could not outdo the literary grandeur of The Stand, King...
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Elsewhere on this site, I have sung the praises of Stephen King. I will not rehash such here, save to say ...This man, the world's best-selling novelist, had a profound impact on me as a young man. My passion for reading, enthusiasm for writing, and love of tales of supernatural suspense, was initially sparked by King. (Even the name I chose for this blog, The Wordslinger, is a term I first heard coined in King's The Dark Tower series. I'm not the first person to utilize this moniker, but as...
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When it comes to adapting Stephen King for the Silver Screen, there are only a handful of directors who have tried, and succeeded, more than once. Rob Reiner is two for two, after making Stand By Me and Misery. Mick Garris has directed no less than six films based on King, Sleepwalkers, The Stand, The Shining, Quicksilver Highway, Riding The Bullet, and Desperation. And then there's ...FRANK DARABONTSince the early-80s, Stephen King has offered student filmmakers a "dollar deal." He will sel...
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I was 13-years-old when I read The Shining. After years of enjoying comic books and short stories, it was the first novel I ever read. To say its impact on me was profound is a gross understatement. Coming from a past with verbal, emotional, physical and religious abuse (to name only a few), it was the first time I realized my deplorable situation was not unique -- there were people in the world, writers, who empathized with my situation. People who understood that ... sometimes parents go c...
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Given the fact that Stephen King is my favorite writer (with all the King movie banners I use on this site, that's probably not a big surprise), some might imagine it would be hard for me to write an unbiased review of a King novel. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do own all of his books in hardback (over fifty of them!), but that doesn't mean I think every one is a masterpiece. My personal top ten list (in chronological order):Salem's LotThe ShiningThe StandThe Dead ZoneDifferent ...
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