[QuickTidal]

Slow Ben, on 17 October 2012 - 10:03 PM, said:

amphibian, on 17 October 2012 - 09:48 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 17 October 2012 - 04:44 PM, said:

Yes?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that moniker...but probably.

Pretty fit upper body, really wide/chubby hips and legs. The Ghost Whisperer show NEVER filmed her below the waist, or if they did full body shots, they did it from a distance so you couldn't tell. She wasn't fat, but she wasn't the classic knockout TV and film loves to display either.

A high counter or table hides that and you might be really attracted to the upper half, but be a little taken aback at the lower half, hence the "Behind the Counter Girl/Boy" phenomenon.

I learned something new today.

Ha! Me too. Thanks for the definition Amph. Um, yeah I think she still qualifies for that title.

[Tiste Simeon]

Always love catching up with this thread, but I seriously don't have as much time to read so much as you lot! (Especially QT, what are you on 4 books a week or something??)

Anyways my current Mass Effect playing is still giving me a hankering for some epic space opera - I would quite like to reread the Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton (despite the fairly poor ending the entire series was excellent!) or some Iain M. Banks - I have a few books of his that I haven't read yet and as far as I am concerned, he hasn't put a foot wrong yet. Incidentally someone - possibly Morgoth - said a couple of pages back that he enjoyed his newest book but wasn't up there with his best. What, in your opinion, is/are his best? For me, at the moment, it would have to be Use of Weapons or Player of Games... Really looking forward to reading some more of his... at some point...

HOWEVER - I started reading Stephen King's The Stand a while back, and I am still on it. Flipping heck, it is a slow burner. I want to enjoy it, I really do. I love the concept (pretty much love anything with the term "post apocalyptic" somewhere in the description) but I am nearly half way through and not much has really happened. I mean, sure 99% of the worlds population has died, and a group of survivors seem to be getting close to meet up and there is a scary dude out there who is some kind of supernatural monster, but really? It took 600 pages to get to that point! Most of the characters don't even know that they will (presumably) soon be fighting the scary dude... I would like a bit of pace to appear somewhere soon. This is my first Stephen King book I have ever read and I am beginning to be put off. I am sticking with it for now because there is just enough to keep me interested, and I hate not finishing a book... But considering I read it just after finishing the Dresden series as it stands and I really want to be reading some Banks/Hamilton, I'm not enjoying it as much as I probably would have done normally...

[worry]

The Stand is huge (and I personally kinda loved it) but I'm not sure it's the best King to start on. Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, and The Dead Zone are pretty much the starter pack. And nowhere near as long as The Stand, which along with IT, are his monsters.

This post has been edited by worrywort: 18 October 2012 - 10:46 PM

[Baco Xtath]

Just finished "the Breach", holy shitballs that was fun. Thank you, Abyss. On to "Ghost Country."

Edit: and already have "Deep Sky" to pick up for the chain-read.

This post has been edited by Baco Xtath: 19 October 2012 - 01:42 AM

[Tiste Simeon]

Briar King, on 18 October 2012 - 10:55 PM, said:

TS if you want a good Space Opera go pick up The Expanse books by the duo James S A Corey.

Thanks man but I may wait for that one til the 3rd comes out. It's hard enough waiting for new Dresden & Malazan without adding another wait to my list...

worrywort, on 18 October 2012 - 10:43 PM, said:

The Stand is huge (and I personally kinda loved it) but I'm not sure it's the best King to start on. Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, and The Dead Zone are pretty much the starter pack. And nowhere near as long as The Stand, which along with IT, are his monsters.

Worth sticking with though?

This post has been edited by Tiste Simeon: 19 October 2012 - 03:29 PM

[Overactive Imagination]

The Stand was kind of disappointing imo. You haven't even gotten to the longest and most tedious part yet. I found the first half good, before everyone met up, but then after that it really started to drag.

That book definitely should not be 1,300 pages or whatever it is.

Not sure why it's one of King's most popular books.

The Gunslinger is my favorite King book.

[Abyss]

Interestingly while the current 'long version' is considered the proper one, the original widely released version of King's THE STAND was shorter by almost a third.
Having read both versions twice, i think that there was a lot of great material that was added back by the extended version but also a lot of padding.

For its time it was a fascinating world-wide disease apocalypse god vs the devil survivor semi-horror story with a cast of thousands. It's less original now that the world is wiped out by god, zombies, vampires and/or bunnies every other week or so in current fiction, but King was way ahead of the trend when THE STAND was a big deal (twice).


On the reading front i had started Farnsworth's RED WHITE AND BLOOD but needed something to read while my e-reader was charging and now PRINCE OF THORNS hooked me, pun intended.

[Orlion]

The Stand... how to describe it? I found it an enjoyable read, if quite a bit... unsatisfying. You'll know what I mean when you finish. You'll also want to know that that is pretty much the Stephen King trademark. Enjoyable but not necessarily good. IMHO, I liked The Long Walk the best, and his more down-to-earth fiction tends to be a lot better as well.

He's very influential, though. I believe he probably started the character-driven novel trend. The multiplicity of view-points, convoluted plots, all that other jazz that fantasy authors are starting to do nowadays I believe started out with Stephen King.

[Abyss]

Orlion, on 19 October 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

... Stephen King trademark... I liked The Long Walk the best....

i LOVE that story, tho i find it only works because its relatively short.

Quote

He's very influential, though. I believe he probably started the character-driven novel trend. The multiplicity of view-points, convoluted plots, all that other jazz that fantasy authors are starting to do nowadays I believe started out with Stephen King.

I think he was influential, but far less so now than say, between SALEM'S LOT up to WIZARD AND GLASS.

[acesn8s]

Tiste Simeon, on 19 October 2012 - 01:53 PM, said:

Briar King, on 18 October 2012 - 10:55 PM, said:

TS if you want a good Space Opera go pick up The Expanse books by the duo James S A Corey.

Thanks man but I may wait for that one til the 3rd comes out. It's hard enough waiting for new Dresden & Malazan without adding another wait to my list...

worrywort, on 18 October 2012 - 10:43 PM, said:

The Stand is huge (and I personally kinda loved it) but I'm not sure it's the best King to start on. Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, and The Dead Zone are pretty much the starter pack. And nowhere near as long as The Stand, which along with IT, are his monsters.

Worth sticking with though?

I read it a few decades ago. My takeaway. It didn't feel like a 1,000+ page book after I finished (in a good way), but it wasn't this amazing story either. I'm glad I read it, but have no desire to ever do a reread. M - O - O - N, that spells what else ya got on the TBR pile?

[worry]

I found it worth it to finish because I enjoyed reading it. I generally like King's "voice" if you will, whether the cast is sprawling or knocked down to just a few key players (the one big exception, and I've said this before no doubt, being The Tommyknockers, which was just soured and lousy). If you don't enjoy reading it, then I dunno if it's worth finishing. Also I'm not exactly sure which version I read since the cover was ripped off the copy I had, but the length didn't daunt me at all.

Speaking of, I finished Duma Key last night. The horror elements were kinda par for the course, but the characters were enjoyable and it had a nice low key vibe throughout. Very comfort foody.

[Abyss]

I liked his THE DARK HALF, a nicely written bit of subtle horrror from before he dryhumped the 'writer battles the personification of his inner demons' plotline into a flat soggy mess.

And despite its flaws, IT was very entertaining.

[Defiance]

I really enjoyed The Stand and It. For anyone who ends up reading them, be sure that you really enjoy King's voice as well as a lot of character development. Both books are hardly action-packed, so if you don't find the characters interesting they're probably not worth sticking with.

One thing I'm not so big on is the climax of either book. The Stand had its moments, but I felt that It was a big letdown at the end.

After finishing The Dark Tower, those were the two King books I picked up next. I guess I'm ambitious. I've read a handful of others since then, and I have quite a few more on my shelf that I'll get to some day.

[Mentalist]

Finished The Light of the Burning Shadows , the second volume of the Iron Elves series.

Cannot for th elife of me remember why I dind't like vol 1 so much the first time I read it. Nothing exceptional , but it's a n interesting series that's got some cool dynamics going and had some strong characters (and others who were not so good).

not sure what to read next, probably Forge of Darkness

[Traveller]

Ha, just read my first King book in years, visit thread, and the last few posts are about King books.

I've just finished 'Black House'. Hell, I only just noticed that there was a sequel to 'The Talisman', which I last read years ago, so i had to get it.

I thought it was a pretty good book overall, and great as a sequel. The grown-up version of Jack Sawyer is totally believable, and the way the Territories are slowly re-introduced was done really nicely.

I might have to go back to 'The Dark Tower' series now... I read the first three or four, but got a bit fed up with it before. King's writing annoys me a bit as well sometimes, as he has a habit of including rhymes or phrases that get repeated again and again, and get irritating. That and the constant references to American singers, songs, and sportsman that I have never heard of, so can't appreciate his comparisons.

Anyhoo, the Black House was pretty fun in a gruesome sort of way... the serial killer is just too horribly realistic, and the links to the Talisman and the Dark Tower are nice touches. Kind of hints at another Territories book too, although I'll probably not notice it for another ten years.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 20 October 2012 - 09:55 PM

[Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast]

Just about to start The Hydrogen Sonata...

[Use Of Weapons]

Just finished _The Hydrogen Sonata_ last night. Loved it.

[Ukjent]

Wow, that was quick. Currently I'm reading Trudi Canavans The rogue, but it goes slow since the studies takes up most of my times these days.

[Baco Xtath]

Finished Ghost Country. Immediately on to Deep Sky. This series just makes me go "Oh, hell yeah." When Fringe ends after this season, Tangent really needs to be created to take its place.

[Abyss]

Baco Xtath, on 22 October 2012 - 01:54 PM, said:

.... When Fringe ends after this season, Tangent really needs to be created to take its place.

No network has enough money to produce that many explosions.