Review: Stephen King’s The Stand (Forty Years Old!)

“People who try hard to do the right thing always seem mad.”

It’s World Book Day today! In celebration, I’d like to take you back forty years ago. Stephen King released his first true epic: The Stand. I’ve only managed to read it twice, as the “The Complete And Uncut Edition” I have is 1162 pages! Yes, I’ve re-read King’s IT countless times and that’s about the same size as The Stand. But I came to The Stand a lot later in life than I did IT. IT has a certain nostalgia for me; The Stand has zero nostalgia. So I read it without bias, without a memory of a different time. I’ll approach it again this year, but as it stands, The Stand ranks as one of King’s best novels.

Review: The Running Man (1987) (One Of Us Is In Deep Trouble…)

“Without further ado, it’s time to start running!”

So I see that The Dark Tower has been released on DVD today (in the UK, anyway!). Instead of watching one of the worst reviewed Stephen King film adaptations ever, I went back to an old favourite of mine: The Running Man. It’s thirty years old this year and was adapted from The Running Man by Richard Bachman…who turned out to be a pseudonym of King’s. The funny thing is that the film takes place in 2017. It’s fun to compare and contrast with the future of the 1980s to the reality of today. But is the film as good as I remember? Or have I had my mind decayed by nostalgia for the heyday of 1980s cinema/Arnie? Let’s talk about it…

Halloween Special Review: Stephen King’s Danse Macabre (Waltz With This Book!)

“Why do people want to be horrified…why do people pay to be horrified?”

Who doesn’t love Stephen King? Probably a great number of people, but I’m a lover of Stephen King. He is truly the modern master of horror fiction and understands how to get beneath the reader’s skin and scare the bejesus out of them. I never thought of picking up Danse Macabre before, his non-fiction work about the horror genre (in film, fiction and radio). Yes, I picked up his ‘On Writing,’ but as a budding writer that’s just par for the course. However, I picked up Danse Macabre for a pound from a local charity shop a few weeks ago. If you are a lover of horror, or even just like to dip your toes into the muddy waters once in a while, I insist you pick it up as well. It’s insightful look into what makes horror work is incredible.

Reaction: Stephen King’s IT – First Official Trailer

“When you’re a kid, you think the universe revolves around you”

The First Official Trailer for the big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s IT dropped yesterday. We have seen a film adaptation before of King’s IT, but it was a made for TV movie. It’s average at best, elevated by a creepy performance by Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Without further ado, here’s the trailer:

Review: Stephen King’s ‘IT’ (The Book, Not The Film!)

“Everything down here floats”

I’ve just read Stephen King’s ‘IT’ for about the tenth time. Ever since I laid my hands on it, in a school library at the age of fifteen, I’ve reread it every few years or so. I had been a fan of Stephen King since the age of seven or eight, but had never gotten around to read ‘IT.’ However, I stumbled upon ‘IT’ in the school library. A half-baked memory arose from staying over at my grandparents and watching the TV movie based on the book. I could hear a clown saying something about floating. I remembered showerheads attacking a weedy little kid, a blood bubble bursting in a pipe, and a massive spider. So I immediately picked up the book and began to read it (and, funnily enough, I finished the book in my grandparents house!).