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description= reading and reviewing all of Stephen King s works of fiction;
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Text of the page (random words):
at exposes the horror of addiction but eventually providing a deeply satisfying sense of closure by showing the redemption to be had through the process of recovery the shining is resolved with danny and wendy barely escaping the hotel with their lives intact this is a relief for the reader albeit an empty sort of relief because we know that this remarkable child has been robbed of his innocence and is not likely to live happily ever after doctor sleep does indeed show the reader that this character sustained a seemingly insurmountable amount of emotional trauma and that his life has not been a happy one since that season spent at the overlook however it does allow the reader to experience the difficult but ultimately rewarding path to recovery and redemption while the shining demonstrates the damaging impact of alcoholism on the family unit essentially condemning it doctor sleep shows the reader that there is hope by extolling the healing powers of aa and recovery doctor sleep is a gift giving a truly fitting end to one of king s most iconic and enduring characters there is always hope and this is an important message that king was not yet ready to convey back when the shining was concluded simply put the shining and doctor sleep are two sides of the same consequential coin scary factor 8 10 though not as scary as the shining this is a gripping read an intense battle between good and evil will get your heart racing and will keep you turning pages long into the night fitting closure for one of king s most enduring characters sources king stephen doctor sleep new york scribner a division of simon schuster inc 2013 print posted in uncategorized tagged book review books doctor sleep entertainment fiction fun horror jack torrance reading reviews stephen king the shining thriller wplongform writing 4 comments salem s lot 1975 posted on january 21 2014 by smash teaser ben mears has returned to jerusalem s lot a place that he remembers vividly from his childhood ben hopes that his journey back to salem s lot and specifically to visit the infamous old marsten house which has spent decades in unoccupied ruin will provide him with the inspiration he needs to complete his next novel however ben s hopes are quickly deflated when he learns that the house has recently been purchased by a mysterious duo of antiques dealers soon after their arrival to salem s lot and incidentally ben s strange and scary things start to happen ben begins to suspect that something is amiss with the men who purchased the marsten house that perhaps they ve come to salem s lot to prey on the unsuspecting townsfolk but his pursuit of the truth may just unveil something far more sinister than he s expecting now what ben now it s occupied he burst out and beat a fist into his palm i m not in control of the situation a little boy has disappeared and i don t know what to make of it it could have nothing to do with that house but i don t believe it the last four words came out in measured lengths ghosts spirits not necessarily maybe just some harmless guy who admired the house when he was a kid and bought it and became possessed king 183 noteworthy characters ben mears a writer who has recently moved back to salem s lot to complete his latest novel and make peace with the demons in his past susan norton a young woman who admires ben s writing she begins a romantic relationship with him soon after he arrives in salem s lot matt burke a high school teacher who becomes quick friends with ben and aids in the investigation of the new residents living in the marsten house mark petrie a brave young boy who loves monster movies and has his own suspicions about the possible evil lurking in the marsten house father callahan the local priest who likes his drink he grapples with his faith and the difficulties of being a spiritual leader in modern times kurt barlow the mysteriously absent half of the duo that purchases the marsten house who is later revealed to be a vampire richard straker barlow s aid and partner in the ostensible antique business he is able to conduct their business during the daytime plot setting ben mears is a moderately famous writer and he has decided to return to a town he remembers from his childhood he hopes that he can perhaps rent out the creepy and long ago abandoned marsten house on the outskirts of town to find inspiration for his next novel unfortunately ben is surprised to find that the house has been purchased while passing through town ben meets a beautiful young woman named susan who happens to be a fan of his writing he immediately begins a romantic relationship with her and decides to stay in salem s lot to continue his dalliance with her and work on his novel opting to use the marsten house for inspiration from afar shortly after ben and the mysterious new owners of the marsten house arrive in salem s lot strange and frightening things start to happen two little boys take a shortcut through the woods at night and one of them goes missing the other is found suffering extreme anemia and taken to the hospital immediately for care but passes away despite the efforts of the hospital staff to get him into a seemingly stable condition other people in town start succumbing to an inexplicable illness those afflicted suffer weariness during the day an aversion to sunlight loss of appetite and adopt strikingly pale complexions the mysterious new owners of the marsten house are revealed to be a vampire and his dastardly accomplice ben and susan eventually team up with others who have reason to believe similarly and wish to eliminate these evil newcomers as well they find willing assistance to rid the town of this perceived evil from a high school teacher a clever pre teen and the town priest together they will try to defeat the vampire that has descended upon salem s lot and hope to rid the town of him forever most gripping moments ralphie and danny glick s disappearance in the woods the workman s experience making a delivery into the cellar of the marsten house matt s fight to ward off his friend mike who was recently turned vampire mark and susan s stealthy exploration of the marsten house and subsequent capture mark s daring escape and brave confrontation with straker father callahan s struggle to save mark from barlow after his parents are murdered the search for barlow and the life and death battle that follows once he s found some king isms connections story is set in a small maine town jerusalem s lot a character who writes for a living ben a character who teaches english for a living matt a prequel called jerusalem s lot and a sequel called one for the road are short stories in the night shift collection father callahan also appears in the dark tower series in the dark tower v wolves of the calla the dark tower vi song of susannah and the dark tower vii the dark tower barlow is featured as a vampire in the dark tower series as well thoughts reflections salem s lot is a vastly entertaining read one that relies on a traditionally evil archetype the vampire to inspire the reader s fear the pacing is rapid with the perspective quickly shifting from character to character and the chapters often end at highly suspenseful moments the way in which it is written keeps the reader wanting more it is a unique story even though the overall concept has been utilized many times before in plenty of other stories and movies featuring villainous vampires king takes this concept that of a vampire moving into a creepy old house and only a handful of people in town suspect that something is amiss with the new resident and completely revitalizes it king s ability to create original stories with unique premises and concepts is one of the main reasons that his readers are so enamoured with him whether it s mystery science fiction fantasy or horror king is able to present his readers with stories that are founded on ideas and concepts that are perpetually startling in their originality writers are imaginative by nature and it has been an absolute pleasure getting acquainted with king s imagination over the course of these readings but it was an uncommon delight to read along while he used a less imaginative premise to upend some of the most cliched tropes of horror here in salem s lot the idea of a vampire taking up residence in a small town and a couple of unlikely heroes trying to take him down is not one of king s most inventive stories one could even go so far as to call it unoriginal but with an impressive flex of his literary muscles king transcends this tired premise with his remarkable characters jarring story arcs and seemingly predictable scenarios that become unpredictable so suddenly that one fears whiplash the romantic entanglement between ben and susan is a perfect example of how king lulls the reader into a false sense of security and then trounces them with shock their relationship initially feels easy and relatable to the reader almost seeming to promise the reader from the very beginning that the hero will get the girl and they will eventually overcome this monstrous obstacle to find the happiness that seems inevitably owed to them when that rug is so marvellously ripped out from underneath the reader long before the ending king s triumph over the reader s need for predicability is both palpable and exciting the hero doesn t get the girl and doesn t even get the this close chance of saving her either susan s fate is sealed long before ben is even given the opportunity to save her and it is delightfully nasty shock from the master of horror that this reader is still savouring scary factor 8 10 a consuming rapidly paced read that houses an abundance of thrilling moments you ll find some good scares that will stick with you long after the story ends sources king stephen salem s lot new york anchor books a division of random house inc 1975 print posted in uncategorized tagged salem s lot action adventure books death entertainment fiction fun horror reading reviews stephen king thriller vampires wplongform 11 comments just after sunset 2008 posted on december 23 2013 by smash teaser just after sunset is a compilation of thirteen unique short stories from stephen king the stories all encompass a wide variety of scares some are creepy some are packed with adrenaline and others will make you feel downright grossed out but in true stephen king fashion each story will leave you wanting more king also provides a captivating introduction to preface the reading experience as well as some insight about the inspiration behind each story for afterwards this is a quick yet engrossing read and it proves that a good scare can be found in the most mundane places plot setting the stories included in this compilation are as follows willa a strange tale about what happens during the interim between life and death the gingerbread girl a gripping struggle between a grieving mother and a psychopathic killer harvey s dream a spooky look at how commonplace illness affects all of our lives rest stop a daring tale of standing up for those that cannot stand up for themselves stationary bike a bizarre outing that tackles health healthy lifestyle isolation and the repetitious nature of exercising the things they left behind an emotionally charged take on the survivor s guilt felt by many after the devastating events of 9 11 graduation afternoon a startling story about how small our petty troubles really are in the larger scheme of it all n a disturbing story about the debilitating nature of mental illnesses like ocd the cat from hell a murderous cat on a rampage against any and all who oppose its wicked will the new york times at special bargain rates a glimpse into the grief of a recent widow mute an unlikely encounter with a hitchhiker results in a revenge fantasy come true ayana a curious tale about miracles and the afterlife a very tight place a claustrophobic nightmare this is a story about revenge and the triumph of the human spirit in its most desperate hour most gripping moments the entire second half of the gingerbread girl had me at the edge of my seat in n the sections that included the psychologist s notes on an odd case of a patient suffering extreme ocd was quite creepy mute veered off into a direction i hadn t anticipated and it held my rapt attention the whole way through the imagery used throughout a very tight place made my stomach churn it was a sickening and wonderful way to end the compilation some king isms connections a reference to the fictional town of chester s mill from under the dome is featured in n a newspaper article written by julia shumway from under the dome is featured in n the fictional town of derry the prominent setting for it is referenced in the story mute the fictional town castle rock a setting used in many of king s other stories is referenced in n thoughts reflections stephen king is unparalleled in his ability to bring entertainment to any story be it short medium long or tremendous in length although the task of entertaining the reader is arguably more daunting in shorter prose a writer of short fiction doesn t have the luxury of time that one is afforded when writing a novel the novelist can use their skills to build momentum slowly taking advantage of character fleshing digressions and anecdotes a writer of short fiction has to wield their skill much more deftly perhaps favouring certain literary devices such as imagery personification symbolism etc more than others while the short fiction writer is more limited in their ability to craft a story that is bursting with multiple characters and all of their intermingling struggles there remains limitless potential to create something pithy and rife with meaning despite these perceived drawbacks to the condensed format many of the stories that king has written for this collection have a stronger emotional impact on the reader due to the concise nature of the telling many of these stories have ambiguous endings leaving the reader with unresolved curiosities the experience of thinking about what was read and the ability to reread the story in the same sitting while keeping those thoughts close to the forefront of one s mind is something that cannot be done in quite the same manner with a novel the persistent need for a satisfactory ending for characters that one has invested a great deal of time in does not exist in such a cloying capacity here short fiction does not hamper the reader s overall enjoyment of a story with superimposed visions of how something should end to achieve the utmost satisfaction once the final page has been turned although he is known for his stories of staggering length and ambition king is every bit as talented at crafting a piece of short fiction that leaves a lasting impression on the reader as he is at constructing sweeping epics that emotionally invest his readers at their most core level king is able to take an idea and either build something dense an...
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