root@decwrl.UUCP (01/10/84)
From: akov68::boyajian
Mary:
I wish I had read the earlier message about Stephen King's recent books,
but I haven't found too many problems with them. Outside of CARRIE (which was
his first, so it's excusable) and FIRESTARTER (which seemed to be just a re-
doing of other things, most notable John Farris' THE FURY), I've enjoyed all
of his novels, my favorite being THE DEAD ZONE.
I think that PET SEMATARY (the spelling is correct -- is meant to be a
child's phonetic spelling) is one of his better books, but I'm not sure how
much I can recommend it. It's a very disturbing and disquieting novel, and
the atmosphere of dread and menace is enough to give you chills if you read it
at night and/or while you're alone. If you're a real hard-core King fan, I urge
you to read it; if otherwise, be warned!
re: THE DARK TOWER: I read this last year and can recommend it highly.
It's quite a bit different from his usual, horror fiction. If you're an art
fan, it's worth getting just for the Michael Whelan color plates.
re: CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF: I have this, but haven't read it yet. The illus-
trations, by Berni Wrightson (probably the best horror artist alive -- or maybe
even dead) are masterful.
For anyone who's interested, Don Grant, publisher of THE DARK TOWER and
the limited, signed edition of CHRISTINE (which has a marvelous wraparound
jacket) is going to do, sometime this spring, a limited edition of THE TALISMAN,
the collaboration by King and Peter Straub, due from Berkley-Putnam. Don
Grant's address is:
Donald M. Grant, Publisher
West Kingston, RI 02892
Two other books I just read that I would recommend for people who like a
different sort of horror novel are the latest books by George R. R. Martin:
FEVRE DREAM (now out in pb from Pocket books) and THE ARMAGEDDON RAG (just out
in hc).
---jayembee
Jerry Boyajian @ DEC, Maynard
decvax!decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian