tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post2863397681901831993..comments2023-12-18T23:20:31.042-06:00Comments on Scriblerus Club: The Outsider (2018)PrisonerNumber6http://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-83686200587003629582019-10-28T13:46:16.170-05:002019-10-28T13:46:16.170-05:00(1) A Young Person's Guide to King sounds like...(1) A Young Person's Guide to King sounds like one of those ideas that makes perfect sense, even if you occasionally stop and wonder when the a Young Person is ready for a lot of King's stuff.<br /><br />Still, the basic idea is sound. My own choices besides "Skeleton Key" and "The Outsider" would be to follow it up with stuff like "The Body" or "Cycle of the Werewolf". From there, you could go on to something like "Salem's Lot", and the reader could reasonably go on from there.<br /><br />(2) Al I was thinking of was desert landscapes that looked haunted. I couldn't form a better image idea in my head than that, really. Still, happy to oblige, and glad it did the trick.<br /><br />(3) Preferably directed by Roger Corman, with commentary track by the MST3K gang.<br /><br />(4) I think when an author can raise that number of questions it's usually a good thing. I hadn't thought about it from a Trek angle, though now that you mention it, it is an intriguing approach. I always tend to approach things from a more symbolic level. In that sense its always about forgotten aspects of either the mind or the culture at large.<br /><br />(5) I think part of the reason this novel works is that he managed to find what could be called the right way into his material. I think "Revival" is another one where this same thing has happened.<br /><br />ChrisC PrisonerNumber6https://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-45563454694389360482019-10-27T23:06:05.790-05:002019-10-27T23:06:05.790-05:00(1) SKELETON CREW is a good suggestion for King en...(1) SKELETON CREW is a good suggestion for King entryways, but I'm intrigued by your nominating this one. And you're right, too! I hadn't considered this but having considered it - and before I even get into your post, just typing this up having chewed the matter over for a few minutes - I really do think this makes a very suitable Young Person's Guide to King. I'd even say, "Read THE OUTSIDER, then DUMA KEY, then FULL DARK, NO STARS. You're on your own from there."<br /><br />(2) That cactus photo you posted under the Coben section is perfect. Without even reading any context that'd have reminded me of THE OUTSIDER. I can't even explain why, just a mood.<br /><br />(3) How I wish MEXICAN WRESTLING WOMEN MEET THE MONSTER was a real film.<br /><br />(4) The doppelganger theme has fascinated me since having to read THE SECRET SHARER by Joseph Conrad in high school. Probably even before that, but that represents an intellectual understanding of it all, at least as literature is concerned. For teh first time I had it locked into criteria I could evaluate beyond a vague idea. I kind of want to know more about the doppelganger here; is he a "The Man trap" sort of creature, the last of his race? A boy, a girl? I don't mean I wish King had answered these, only that he set up something interesting I had more follow-up questions about. <br /><br />(5) If this is King on autopilot, I wish he'd just cruise in a circle and let the plane fly while he cranks a few more of these out. No problem by me. B McMolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02706178983936146307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-15429349948027515402019-10-27T15:23:55.018-05:002019-10-27T15:23:55.018-05:00For my part, I was just thinking of easy access to...For my part, I was just thinking of easy access to first timers. Like I say, most will go with whatever book gets them hooked. Granted, there may be something in what you say about the sequels not being the best place to start.<br /><br />To give a good example, one of the first books I tried to tackle was "Needful Things". It sounded interesting, yet nothing was clicking for me, so I gave it up and never came back to it till just recently. That may be a case is point.<br /><br />(2) I have to admit that luck, as well as the attention span of pop-culture, really has been on King's side.<br /><br />(3) I note what you say about "Sustaining that level" of excellence. I do wonder if that's a case of the popular perception of the writer being used against him by critics in some fashion. Who knows?<br /><br />ChrisCPrisonerNumber6https://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-28534625757042736822019-10-27T14:20:48.054-05:002019-10-27T14:20:48.054-05:00(1) I'd guess that the question "what St...(1) I'd guess that the question "what Stephen King book should I start with?" varies wildly depending on who's asking the question. "Skeleton Crew" would be a good one for most people, I think. Really, though, just about every King book would be good for somebody; maybe excepting some of the sequels, although even some of those would work nicely. Fun to consider, that's for sure.<br /><br />(2) "I am now going to make a claim that can be taken as either scandalous or else just puzzling, depending on whoever is reading. My claim is that as far as this same general public is concerned, that's about all there is to King, or at least that handful of books and films is all there is that really matters." -- There's probably something to that. However, ask the same general public to name six different works by pretty much ANY author, and how many will they come up with? I think King is doing pretty well if he can get to six.<br /><br />(3) I'm not 100% sure I agree that "The Outsider" is a shining star among King's late-era output. However, I'm also not sure I disagree, and even if I do, I'm glad that it works that well for others even if it doesn't for me. <br /><br />Personally, I think the claim of King's best years and works being behind him is overblown. I mean, it's probably true -- but only because he had several periods where he was firing off one masterpiece after another, almost on a yearly basis. Sustaining that level of excellence is unlikely, and expecting it is foolish. So for me, the question is not whether his books are still as good as they used to be, but whether they are consistently good. And I think they are. Perhaps a few exceptions -- I'm still not wild about the Bill Hodges trilogy -- here and there, but by my count, King in the new millennium has published a minimum of eighteen good novels, as well as four collections. Are they as great as "Misery" or "The Shining"? No, but they're pretty good in their own right ... "The Outsider" included.Bryant Burnettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01189356171455609865noreply@blogger.com