I am interested in reading that series. Matt does not since his uncle told him how it ended. I have never been overfond of King's novels. There are some exceptions, but by and large, I am usually disappointed by his lame, cliche, or Deus ex Machina contrivances. Dreamcatcher was the last King novel I read and it was pretty okay. I stuck with it all the way through and didn't hate the friend who "made me" read it. Not that into aliens, is all. But he did a bang-up job with the plausibility. And in true King fashion, my favoite character dies in the early chapters. *sigh* His real talent that is totally underappreciated is his short story work. I mean talk about pithy, well-written, on-point, chilling, and visceral work!! Some misses, as always, but more hits that are homeruns than not.
But I would like to hear in more concrete detail what sorts of things he does that a "lesser writer" would get lynched for? Is it because of King's talent or fame that makes it worthy?
I do not know how the series ends, don't tell me. But I have been told, and it seems accurate so far, that The Dark Tower is one work (works, technically...) where King avoids our friendly god in the machine. There are things in the series which seem like deus ex machinae, but which are actually just functions of the series' internal mythology. He doesn't bother to explain them, but they do work fairly well--he isn't having the hand of god come down and blow up a city or anything.
As for the thing about lesser writers, I mean in terms of talent. King's actual storytelling and word-play are really very good, and his characterization is actually quite impressive; it's his plot-flow that is often problematic.
Concrete examples (MINOR SPOILERS!): The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass (Books III and IV) feature a psychotic robot train who is addicted to riddles. The way in which the main characters win a riddling contest with the train (the reasons for the contest I won't get into) works, it really does, and I
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His real talent that is totally underappreciated is his short story work. I mean talk about pithy, well-written, on-point, chilling, and visceral work!! Some misses, as always, but more hits that are homeruns than not.
But I would like to hear in more concrete detail what sorts of things he does that a "lesser writer" would get lynched for? Is it because of King's talent or fame that makes it worthy?
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I do not know how the series ends, don't tell me. But I have been told, and it seems accurate so far, that The Dark Tower is one work (works, technically...) where King avoids our friendly god in the machine. There are things in the series which seem like deus ex machinae, but which are actually just functions of the series' internal mythology. He doesn't bother to explain them, but they do work fairly well--he isn't having the hand of god come down and blow up a city or anything.
As for the thing about lesser writers, I mean in terms of talent. King's actual storytelling and word-play are really very good, and his characterization is actually quite impressive; it's his plot-flow that is often problematic.
Concrete examples (MINOR SPOILERS!): The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass (Books III and IV) feature a psychotic robot train who is addicted to riddles. The way in which the main characters win a riddling contest with the train (the reasons for the contest I won't get into) works, it really does, and I ( ... )
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