Cycle of the Werewolf 4th - 5th May 2011

I really haven't got much to say about Cycle of the Werewolf.  I didn't do a great deal for me.  It was alright, but not much more.  A bit of 'owt and nowt' as we Yorkshiremen might say.

It was nice to be able to tick a book off the list in less than an hour, but I'm ready for the next brick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_the_werewolf

http://www.stephenking.com/library/novel/cycle_of_the_werewolf.html

Pet Sematary 26th April - 4th May 2011

Crikey! Now we're getting in to it!  Forget everything I've been saying 
about wondering whether any of his books are going to get under my skin and whether I might be truly frightened by them.  Pet Sematary got right in there and did a number on me.  Brilliant!

I don't know whether it goes without saying or I should have been saying this in every end post for the books, but there are spoilers ahead.

It was one of those books that you just want to recoil from and put down because you know how bad things are going to get and by not reading it, perhaps it won't happen.  A natural and childish instinct I'm sure; and somewhat nonsensical in the context of reading a book, but it was there. 
But, at the same time, there's no way you can put it down because you're deep in there and can't rest until you get to the end.  It was like when you're watching a film and you're willing the characters not to go somewhere/do something, knowing full well how inevitable (and essential) it is that they will/must do it. 

So, what was it about Pet Sematary that disturbed me so much?  For the 
greatest part, it was the horror of your child being run over by a lorry and the thought of losing someone so young. The complete negation of a future of possibilities, hopes and experience is crushing. I look at my own children and never imagine the worst. Where's the stock in those kinds of ruminations? It's fucking bleak, I tell you. One things for sure, the hugs I give them have gone up a notch on the tightness scale.

If that wasn't enough, King goes there and has Louis doing what we beg him, out loud (maybe just in my case), not to.  I sat there thinking there's no way you'd walk that road, but who knows until you've faced that (and of course, if there was such a thing as the supernatural)?

As I said earlier, as the book careered towards the conclusion, I didn't want to go on, to avoid coming face to face with the inevitable. No chance. You don't come this far and miss out on this unhappy ending.

I love that King is unafraid of the unhappy or ambiguous ending. Cliffhangers are so delicious. Some people hate them. That makes me love them all the more. The man has done enough work to be able to sit back and leave it with the reader. Only an unimaginative slob could be dissatisfied with the ending.

Anyway, I've been waiting for this kind of a reaction to the books and am now on fire for the whole endeavour.  I finished this late at night and thought twice about crossing the landing to go to the bathroom before going to bed. It also didn't help that my daughter woke up and began crying, only for visions of Gage to flood in and I'm trembling like a girl at the thought of going in to comfort her. And there was no way I was going downstairs to check the doors were locked. Fuck that. What a fanny?!!

Listening:
Ruth Ruth - Everything
Starkweather - This Sheltering Night

Pet Sematary – 26th April 2011

I’ve high hopes for Pet Sematary, not only from reviews and reader comments of it being the scariest of his books, but also, in the introduction King wrote in 2000, where he calls it his most frightening and he thought he’d gone too far and had to be persuaded to publish it. I haven’t got the book in front of me, so can’t provide the exact quote, but there’s the gist.


It’s safe to say, I’m really looking forward to this one. I’ve already made a start on the first few chapters and am hitting the ground running. Plenty of before bed sessions should get the dreams kick-started. Go on son!

Christine - 30th March – 26th April 2011

This was a new one for me and I wondered from the outset whether I’d be able to really engage with the story of a haunted car. Of course it’s about a lot more than that, particularly the shift from adolescence to adulthood and the inescapability of the past, but the fear factor is embroiled in the car’s supernatural self-driving, vengeful bloodlust and regenerative capabilities and LeBay’s possession of Arnie.

It didn’t really get to me. I got caught up in the build up and final confrontation between Dennis/Leigh/Petunia/Christine, but that’s more a testament to King’s suspenseful writing than submitting to the premise. There was a twinge as well, towards the end when Dennis is lamenting the disintegration of his friend and their friendship that gave the whole book an echo of the feel of The Body, in its part-reminiscence/part lament on adolescence and the loss of innocence.

While it wasn’t a scary book, it was a good read. I'm starting to feel like a bit of a blind apologist for King's works. Perhaps a part of me has auto-programmed to resist just coming out and saying this or that book was shit, as if it would undermine the whole endeavour of reading all of his books. We’ll see. There have definitely been one’s I’ve enjoyed more than others so far, but I wouldn’t say any of them were shit. I’ll probably do a list of favourite to least one of these days. Bet you can’t wait, you shitters.


Listening:
Trap Them - Darker Handcraft
Victims - A Dissident
Chris T-T - Everything
NOFX - Everything
Also had a second crack at Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell and finished it this time.  Is it possible to know and appreciate something is very good and be very impressed by it even if you didn't particularly enjoy it?  Yes? That's OK then.

Christine: 30th March 2011

It's about a haunted car, right?

Different Seasons 20th February - 29th March 2011

17th -26th March The Body

Great stuff. The unforced feel of the storytelling is its greatest strength. Free of the limitations of writing within the usual genre, it's a coming of age story that doesn't try to be anything other than the story.

27th - 29th March The Breathing Method

The thing I liked most about The Breathing Method was its use of mystery. The main story told by the fireplace felt like something of a cheap trick, but everything around the club and its workings was left deliciously to the readers' imagination. I love that level of invitation to be a part of the exposition. Stories are all about telling, but their power to bring you in are their true magic. The unanswered questions set me on fire. In a good way.

I'm almost surprised at how much I've enjoyed reading this collection. A break from type and shorter than usual length. On second thoughts, I shouldn't be too surprised as I generally like short novels most and am not much of a genre hound. Either way, Different Seasons is one of my high points so far.

Different Seasons: Apt Pupil 22nd Febuary - 16th March 2011

I'm feeling like a broken record by starting every entry with whether I've read it before, or seen the film but, in this case, it has some bearing.

Despite knowing I'd definitely read Rita Heyworth and The Body before I can't say for sure whether I'd read Apt Pupil or The Breathing Method before. I'm sure when I saw the Bryan Singer film years ago it all seemed new to me, so I'm guessing I hadn't.

Anyway, the point I'm labouring towards is that, based on the film, I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading Apt Pupil.  Sure, McKellan is always awesome, but it was heavy, close and intense and wasn't a read I expected to much enjoy.

I imagined it to be a book I'd plough through to get to the next, however, I found that I really got into it and is probably the first where the horror of it had a real effect on me.  I think the reason for that is that it is a very real story of very real human horror.  That there's nothing fantastical about the story, in terms of the terrors men (and children) are capable of exacting on each other, is the most affecting aspect of it for me.

I'm already the best part of the way through The Body and it hasn't disappointed. As with rest of the collection the reliance on realism* has been almost refreshing and reassuring. The stories speak for themselves. And I'm listening.

*Of course, realism is one of the most important ingredients of horror, fantastical or otherwise, in that it relies upon our real and universal response of asking ourselves how we would react and feel in such a situation.

Listening:

Trap Them - Darker Handcraft (Christ it's good)
Ben Marwood - Outside There's A Curse
Chris T-T - Love is Not Rescue & 9 Red Songs

Also reading:
Concrete: Book 1 - Depths / Paul Chadwick
Transmetropolitan / Warren Ellis
Preacher / Garth Ennis
Kick Ass / Mark Millar
Blankets / Craig Thompson
Maus / Art Spiegelman

Is it any fucking wonder this is taking me so long.

Different Seasons: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption 20th-22nd February 2011

Yes.

I have this in-built mechanism that spurs me to retract from and deride the hugely popular or generally acclaimed. So it is that my fondness for both this book and the film makes me wonder whether it's just 'too easy' to be consistently blown away by them. I'm quite aware that this thinking is a rank and snobbish affectation of critical acumen which, when displayed by others, makes you want to fill the offenders pockets with sick. In this way, I'm more than happy to say that I love 'Rita Hayworth...'

Tonally, for me, it's King on fire. That conversational, confessional (?) style gets me. I'm sure there's a lot of film-love bias flooding my appreciation of the book, as it's almost impossible to read it without Robbins and Freeman in mind, so I'll pull this gushfest up short and end by saying I loved it.

Different Seasons - 20th February 2011

I've definitely read 'Rita Heyworth...' and 'The Body' before.  Not sure about the other two.  I'm guessing not, though, as 'Apt Pupil' didn't ring any bells when I saw the film.

Seeing as I'm dragging my feet enough with the reading and, subsequently, these posts, I think I'll do a separate post for each story/novella.  Don't hold your breath.

Thanks for reading.

The Gunslinger: Dark Tower I - 14th Jan - 19th February 2011

It pains me more than it probably should to say this, but I didn't care much for The Gunslinger.


I wanted to, but just couldn't get into it. That also goes to explain why a book of a little over 200 pages took more than a month to read. I grew more interested towards the end as the greater adventure was implied but couldn't raise much of an interest in the main character in the first place. I know he was trying his hand at something new, genre-wise and obviously stuck with it, so I'll give him a pass and reserve judgement until the next chapter of the series.


Not a lot more to say.


Currently listening:
Ben Marwood - Outside There's A Curse


and rabidly anticipating the new Trap Them and Victims albums.

The Gunslinger - Dark Tower I - 14th Jan 2011

I haven't read any of the Dark Tower series before.  I'm looking forward to cracking on with this bad boy.

The Running Man - 30 Dec 2010 - 13 Jan 2011

Outstanding! For a number of reasons. First and foremost is that it's nothing like the film. Yes, I know the book came first and I should be saying the film is nothing like the book...


However, my chronology is all messed up. As a kid, I definitely saw the film first, then read the book. The thing is, I may as well have been reading it for the first time, this time around as hardly any of it seemed familiar.

Anyway, to business; I loved the book. Loved it. It reeks of the same jilted nihilism as Roadwork and the world it evokes is much closer to the dystopian classics than the jingoistic, wronged lone justice-seekers of the eighties, typified by Schwarzenegger and Stallone.

The humanity of it, opposed to the brute murder and one-liners of the film, and the inevitability of our living in such a world in the not too distant future have made this book something of a surprise high-rater. Buzzing.

It struck me the other day when talking to my mum, and then considering her, my dad and mother-in-law's literary and televisual preoccupation with crime drama how their outlooks differ to mine. My mum and mother-in-law watch CSI and Law and Order like bastards. My dad and mum can't get enough of Michael Connelly (I'll admit I've read 6/7 of his books and was well into them). I think this speaks of a knowledge and understanding that we live in shit-horrible times where the wicked run amok, but there are always the forces of good battling away and proving victorious against the forces of evil. I suppose that's the vein tapped by comic book superheroes too. Plus the fascist cop element.

For me, it's just pure fucking desolation and any payoff comes from opening your eyes further than the average bear and seeing the world for what it is and realising things like popular entertainment, culture and faith in the powers (whether temporal or celestial) are only distractions from how utterly and crushingly bereft of hope we are. Jesus, that's depressing. It's like earning your place in an elite club where you get to eat these amazing, handmade gourmet chocolates. Except they taste of turd. All self-serving feelings of superiority hang by a thread when faced with such a bitter reward.

Our fascination with dystopian works is a bit weird. Whether they're indictments of the current state or portents of how bollocks it's bound to get, you don't get points for seeing it that way and those that do see it don't seem to be prepared or making preparations for it.

Anyway, the book is great and pisses on the film. That said I have a fondness for the film and, seeing as I bought it for £3 a few months ago, I'll be watching it again, any day now.

The Running Man - 30th December 2010

So, I'm going with the contraversial (to someone, somewhere) move of reading two books concurrently. I think The Running Man was published before Danse Macabre anyway, so I'm only realigning the axis.

I read The Running Man as a kid but only really remember the film. I don't think I've seen it since I was a kid, probably younger than its 18 certificate, but it's all there. My lasting impression is equal parts awesome and cheesy shit. I picked it on DVD a while ago for a couple of quid so, once I've read it, I'll see whether I can still stomach Arnie.

As for Danse Macabre I haven't got too far. While King's writing is anything but dry, the book takes a degree of concentration and application that can be difficult to maintain when there are two pre-schoolers charging about and you're perpetually knackered. Whatever.

It also doesn't help that I've just ripped through Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell books. Naughty boy. Time to get back on task.

Danse Macabre - 28th November

It's probably clear to you from previous blog posts, that I don't know the first thing about horror, past or present.  While I know this isn't a definitive history, insight or exploration, it should raise my knowledge about its current realm of 'fuck all'.

Cujo 6th-26th November

Awesome. It's the first one that's really got under my skin and gripped me with the threat and terror of the story.

The thing that stood out most of all for me was the relationships. I'm guessing King let a lot of himself out in this one. It gives the impression of having been written by a parent who is wont to analyse not only their position as parent and their relationship with the child and spouse but also their own parents. Much of the book is tied to these familial relations and, as a parent of young children, it was an easy identifier.

As for my fear of dogs, it hasn't done anything to exacerbate it. After all, it's only a story.  If anything, it has made me question and analyse it. I can easily identify where my fear originated and see why I've never overcome it. Perhaps, for my own wellness of mind, it's time I properly addressed my phobia.

Cujo - interim thoughts

I read on wikipedia that King was shit-faced when he wrote it and, in fact, barely remembers writing it. Surely confirmation bias, but I think that comes across. You can tell he's a bit loose and wild and, while the word is beginning to grate on me, there's a rawness to the writing. It's a bit like the filter is pulled back and the 'off the cuff' is blazing through. There being no chapters, just one irrepressible narrative is the plainest evidence. The way he's talking about the infidelity must resonate with our married brethren. We're good lads who would never roam, but the fear of your spouse doing so is as terrifying as a rabid dog. Whether it was something our boy went through, or not, I don't know but I think he's got the feelings and reaction down.
I know it doesn't have a lot to do with the effect of the horror, but I'm loving this book so far.

Cujo - 6th November

I definitely haven't read Cujo before.

I've a feeling this one's going to put me about. That's because I am scared of dogs. Not all dogs. It's a fear borne of childhood experience, compounded by the fact that I've never really been around dogs since. For a long time, when I was growing up, there was an Alsatian two doors up that was allowed to roam free on the street. Untrained and owned by absolute fucking scrubbers, it was often encouraged to chase us kids on our bikes or to jump up at us while we sat on a high wall. I'm probably exaggerating when I say that for a good few years, I would have to leave the house on full alert for canine attack. It only bit me one time and it was only a nip on the arse and as much a result of my innate fear as its cunthole owners and complete lack of training, but I immediately get the fear when I see a dog on the street.

Some breeds I'm fine with. Well, labradors and anything I could feasibly kick to a safe distance. Please don't get me wrong, I wish no harm on any dog, or any other animal, and know that dangerous dogs are the product of shitty owners. However, I can't help the fact that when I see someone approaching with a dog on a lead, I start judging the dog's strength and potential ferocity versus the owner's strength, grip on the lead and even the durability of the lead itself. Now, if the dog is loose, I'm looking to cross the road, wondering whether I should just turn back, all the while looking for a high fence or wall to climb should it come to that.

I know responsible dog owners are probably shaking their heads, but I can't help it. All that considered, here goes Cujo.

Roadwork - 14th October-6th November 2010

I'll start by saying how much I liked Roadwork. A lot.

The least 'horror' of his books I've read so far, barring Rage, it's the one I've found most affecting. The realisation that your humanity is of mere and fleeting concern to the emergent power brokers and ruling elite is crushing enough. In Bart's case, this came after a lifetime of servitude and labour. For the majority of us, it's the road that lays before us and we at least have the option, however grudgingly, whether to trudge its desolate expanse or break free and cavort in the pasture. We're not, like Bart, faced with looking back at the idea of working for a family run or 'community ethos' company with a vested and nurturing interest in its employees as people, not just a commodity or a profit margin factor becoming an arcane and romantic vestige of the past. I don't know...which is worse? Being dealt a shit hand, knowing the deck is stacked or winning a few hands before the rules of the game are changed and breaking even, never-mind winning, is categorically, no longer on the cards.

While the majority of us would have just eaten the shit sandwich with a nod and a smile, accepting the relocations with barely a grumble, it was nice to see him stand up for himself, no matter how ill-fated and unhinged the execution. I suppose, these days, we'd confine our dissatisfactions to tweets and Facebook updates.

Add in the early death of a son and not only do you have an assassinated past but there's also a strangled future to contend with. To say that, as a parent of young children, I felt this more keenly, is an affront to empathy, but there's something particularly chilling to me about the summary suffocation of such a depth of hopes, dreams and transferred aspirations.

I felt his frustrations, and the breakdown of marriage struck a chord. With six years under our belts, my wife and I know that it's never always plain sailing. The thing is, you've committed to be each other's port in the every inevitable storm and that's not easy either, but it's a mutual arrangement that relies on equal participation. He didn't keep his end of the bargain and paid for it. But he's (just a) man and we're awesome at fucking things up, so he's not wholly undeserving of sympathy.

Anyway, no matter how stunted and poorly thought out my ideas in reaction to the book have come across here, I loved Roadwork.

Roadwork

I started Roadwork on Thursday 14th October 2010.

I'm not going to bother deciding either way whether I've read this bad boy before. I'd like to say yes, but I can't actually say for sure. Voyage of discovery and everything.

I actually read the first dozen pages or so when I mistakenly convinced myself that it came after the Dead Zone and was quickly taken by it. This time for real.

Firestarter 26th Sep - 13th October

So, I went into Firestarter under the impression that I'd read it already. I I don't think I had. It didn't take all that long to realise my error. I was also sure that I'd seen the film. Fuck knows.

I've a feeling I'm allowing the end of Carrie to confuse my addled memory, but still, I can't shake the feeling that I have read it. Once again, fuck knows. I know for sure that I've seen Firestarter 2. The only reason I did watch it was due to it starring Jason London who played Randall 'Pink' Floyd in Linklater's Dazed and Confused - I am clearly a fucking genius, as I've just looked it up and it was actually The Rage: Carrie 2, that he was in. I have, however, definitely seen that. Unsurprisingly, I can't can't remember anything about it. What fucking use am I?

Anyway, yet again, no horror. I really enjoyed it, though, as predictable as it ultimately was, the unfolding of the story was well worth the ride.

I feel a bit sloppy in not having much to say about the book. I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was amazing.