Aptly Named

I'm talking about the King -- Stephen King to be precise.  I think if you're a Stephen King fan, you're all in.  There's no middle ground. Love him or diss him.  I happen to be a genre fan.  No Nobel prize winning Alice Munro for this girl (but good on ya, Alice -- nice to see a Canadian honoured).  I've tried reading Munro.  Just don't get it. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way about King.  In the past critics called him a hack but I say, "hack away, Steve."  Oh sure, he's written a few dogs.  When your body of work numbers fifty books and growing, there's bound to be a couple that don't grab you. (I mean, Lisey's Story?  Even for Steve that one was just weird.)

I was introduced to King when I read The Shining all those many years ago.  It was a perfectly sunny afternoon in my perfectly safe little apartment and it scared the crap out of me.  I had to call my roommate to come and be in the room with me.  But it was the beginning of my love affair with his writing.  I went back and read his two novels published before The Shining -- Carrie and 'Salem's Lot -- and never looked back.

I've just finished Doctor Sleep, the "sequel" to The Shining.  Those are some high expectations to fill for fans.  And he succeeded to the nth degree.  Fabulous read.  I had planned to go back and reread The Shining before reading Doctor Sleep but found out I didn't have to.  It all came flooding back. Mrs. Massey in room 217...REDRUM...worthless pups need to take their medicine...Shudder.

I love how he slips in little things that make you sit up and say..."Cool."  Like at the bottom of page 273.  I'm not giving anything away here by telling you that Doctor John has an appointment with a girl named Frederika Bimmel.  She's never mentioned again, doesn't figure into the story, but you read that and nod and smile.  A little shout-out from Mr. King to Mr. Harris -- so he's a fan of Silence of the Lambs.  Like I said -- "Cool."

So just what is it that I love so much about his writing?  First off is his voice.  There's no mistaking it, no disguising it.  It makes reading him effortless and it draws you in, like he's just sitting there telling you the story.  (Never deprive yourself of reading his introductions or author's notes.  That's when he really talks to you, Constant Reader.)  And his characters.  He can bring a character to life, even a secondary one, in a few short lines.  No long drawn out descriptions.  No endless back story.  He creates living, breathing, three dimensional people with a few perfectly selected details or snips of dialogue.  That's talent, people.

But there are two things wrong with reading a Stephen King book.  Number one is when it ends.  Even though I can't wait to read one, I'm always bummed when I turn that last page.  And number two -- it's hard to pick up another book afterwards.

Because everything else just pales in comparison.