chabot@amber.DEC (l s chabot) (01/16/85)
And in FORTRAN: King .neq. Faulkner Terminally bored in O'Hare (which has some of the worst book selections of major airports I've seen--for good ones try Philadelphia or SF), I finally found a copy of Karl Wagner's anthology of the year's best horror and I bought it since it had some reputable names: Jane Yolen, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, and others. Okay, the first story is by King, and the anthologist describes it as demonstrating that King too has capabilities as a regionalist just like those big Southern writers. Okay, so the story takes place in Maine, a place with which King is familiar. Okay: isn't naming your main character "Quentin" just a little *too* much. Okay, so I'm a snob! !! But, but, Faulkner was better at horror without involving anything as fantastic as an old man mysteriously filled with motor oil and a piston: watching Quentin Compson buy flat irons and otherwise prepare to walk into the Charles River; Sutpen's life repeatedly destroyed by his racism, finally resulting in his bloody murder by his hired hand; the former soldier on a trip to visit the scenes from the war where he went crazy and shot his companions and was twice decorated for being the only survivor; the old woman who'd slept for years next to the corpse of the lover she poisoned. Faulkner knew horror. Maybe this King story would scare not-too-bright kids or something, I don't know. L S Chabot UUCP: ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot ARPA: ...chabot%amber.DEC@decwrl.ARPA USFail: DEC, MR03-1/K20, 2 Iron Way, Marlborough, MA 01752
boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (01/25/85)
> From: dec-amber!chabot (L S Chabot) > Terminally bored in O'Hare... I finally found > a copy of Karl Wagner's anthology of the year's best horror and I bought it > since it had some reputable names: Jane Yolen, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, and > others. Okay, the first story is by King, and the anthologist describes it > as demonstrating that King too has capabilities as a regionalist just like > those big Southern writers. Okay, so the story takes place in Maine, a place > with which King is familiar. Okay: isn't naming your main character > "Quentin" just a little *too* much. > > Okay, so I'm a snob! !! But, but, Faulkner was better at horror without > involving anything as fantastic as an old man mysteriously filled with motor > oil and a piston: watching Quentin Compson buy flat irons and otherwise > prepare to walk into the Charles River; Sutpen's life repeatedly destroyed by > his racism, finally resulting in his bloody murder by his hired hand; the > former soldier on a trip to visit the scenes from the war where he went crazy > and shot his companions and was twice decorated for being the only survivor; > the old woman who'd slept for years next to the corpse of the lover she > poisoned. > > Faulkner knew horror. Maybe this King story would scare not-too-bright kids > or something, I don't know. Well, as much of a King fan as I am, I can't argue in favor of this particular story. It was a pretty poor example of King's abilities (though not his worst story by any stretch). Hell, I don't think that much of King's short fiction in general; he's much better at longer lengths. One of his best short stories is "Do the Dead Sing?", which appeared in YANKEE (as did "Uncle Otto's Truck"). Next time you're over the house, remind me and I'll loan it to you. And by the way, did you notice my name in Wagner's introduction to that book? --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA