I'm really enjoying the show.
Generally I try to wait 6 months or so between a book and its movie/ TV adaptation but I'm enjoying it enough that I want to start the book.
Is the show close enough to the book to lessen my enjoyment? Usually I prefer adaptations to be really close to their books but I think, read and watched concurrently, it might be a problem.
Without spoiling, this series is sticking very close to the book...I'd say it's about 80% faithful to King's novel. They've tweaked a few things with some of the characters and embellished some, but pretty much it's a close adaptation.
I'd advise finish watching the show, and afterwards if you want some deeper insights into the characters, specifically their internal thoughts and motivations, then check out the novel.
Thank you!
If the two are close, I usually have a 6 month rule to avoid spoiling my enjoyment of both.
I am very eager with this one so I will probably cave at 4 months.
It's a pretty faithful adaptation so far. The only big difference is an extra character has been added for some reason and of course other characters have been reduced.
I would recommend reading the trilogy if you like the show and the first book.
I'm already planning on the trilogy... I just hadn't started it yet.
I think I am definitely going to wait until after the show ends, aim for 4 months. I am in a King mood so I have The Stand to reread, Dr. Sleep, and miscellaneous others. That should get my mind away from Mr. Mercedes enough to hit the novel somewhat ready to look at it with new eyes.
The super gigantic uncut version of The Stand?
shareYup. Just finished It to boot.
shareHow many bottles of eye drops did you need? Have you read any Joe Hill? He's King's son and a good author in his own right.
shareI read on Epub with a less eye punishing color or on audiobook and, I forgot to mention, the above was after re-reading the Dark Tower saga. I have migraines so will swap between epub and audiobook copies. I've become good at finding my place between the two.
I've heard of Joe Hill but not read any of his work. What book would you recommend as a first Joe Hill read?
I'm a voracious reader but I must admit I have never tried audio books. Do you listen in car or at home or where? Even more embarrassing (sort of) I'm old school i.e. the printed page with covers and stuff. Part of why I have yet to try ebooks is the amazing library system in my state.
Most every library in my state are connected online and I can search for and have books or dvds or cd's even graphic novels sent from any library to the library of my choice which is about 5 miles from my home. It's probably not that rare but compared to when I was a kid it's amazing. Comic books and seemingly millions of books to choose from? I would have been in literary heaven back in the day.
You might want to try 20th Century Ghosts from Joe Hill first. It's a collection of short stories and most are good to very good. If you prefer to start with a novel I recommend either Heart Shaped Box or NOS4A2. Enjoy.
I prefer holding a book in my hands, it feels good, I love the smell, the whole shebang. Courtesy of unkind aging, its easier to read on Epub. I also live outside a small village in Michigan, a bit of a drive away from any library.
I had to do a couple hours wait 2 hours drive away, did it in a library out there. Sat reading on my Kindle. Mannnnnnn I miss libraries.
When I listen to audiobooks, its at home or, if I don't have the epub, home or if I'm waiting somewhere. I concentrate too much to do so when driving. Audiobooks make migraines less boring... sit in the dark with a damp washcloth over your eyes, and are still able to read.
Doing a quick look at those Joe Hills, they look up my alley. Thank you!
Edit... woot! Courtesy of a horror loving friend, I'll have Heart Shaped Box and NOS4A2 tomorrow (epubs). Edit again... Noice! I'll have 20th Century Ghosts (audio) in a couple of days. One of the benefits of epubs and audios.
That's awesome. Post back and let me know if you liked them.
shareGlad to hear from another Stand re-reader. I've read the original book 3 times, and the expanded edition once, too. My last re-read of it was about 5 years ago...I was happy to find it still holds up as being King's best novel, imo.
Have you heard about the proposed remake that's been off and on for about a decade? I'm thinking with the success "It" that it may go forward now. I'm not sure how I feel about this because I don't think the story can be covered in a single film (not successfully anyway), and if the first film tanks at the box-office we won't get the concluding chapters. Ideally, it should be made as a mini-series for pay cable, like HBO or Showtime.
This was my 1st reading of The Stand expanded (only 2 readings before that of the first version) and was also happy that it's held up so well. I really can't say which is my favorite King novel because it depends on my mood. Today, its the Dark Tower saga, if I had to pick one from the saga, it'd be Wolves. Tomorrow, it might be a different book. It is often The Stand... it hits my sweet spot on so many levels.
I've heard that they are thinking of redoing The Stand and, unless its a mini-series on HBO or something like it, I hope they don't. While I liked the new It and am happy that its doing so well because It'll increase interest in other books, I was less impressed than I expected. This guy http://tinyurl.com/y9eg2z2z] ... summed it up nicely. That's a link to a comment on one of my posts here.
Also, Dark Tower was... bad.
I'm hoping that It's success will overshadow DT's failure and bring some decent adaptations.
I can hardly wait to see Gerald's Game. Before I knew they were filming it, if you'd asked me what one S. King book can't be filmed, I'd have said "Gerald's Game".
I can't comment on The Dark Tower movie because I haven't seen it, and I haven't read any of the DT books except for about a hundred pages of the first novel, which I disliked and quit reading (I'm not a fan of Fantasy literature).
I forgot about the adaptation of Gerald's Game...I thought that would never be made into a film, either (two-thirds of it is all interior monologue by the main character, not really "cinematic" to be sure). I don't have Netflix streaming, so I have no clue when I'll get around to seeing it.
But here's something interesting on the King front... I was curious about G'sG so I went over to IMDumB to see what was up with it, and they had the following posted on the news section:
"Stephen King's The Stand and Salem's Lot Are Getting Reboots
17 hours ago | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »
It's a great time to be a Stephen King fan. The wild success of It has brought a renewed interest in the author's work, which means we are bound to be getting some new adaptations of his beloved stories in the near future. There are quite a few King projects already in development, but what else could we see in the next couple of years? According to King, it looks like The Stand and Salem's Lot are up next.
The 70-year-old author spoke with Vulture recently and talked a bit about what may be coming down the pipeline. Adaptations of Gerald's Game and 1922 are coming to Netflix very soon, but Stephen King says that some of his bigger, more recognizable stories, are possibly going to get new adaptations soon. The Stand is, once again, possibly going to be done as a TV series and Salem's Lot may finally be made as a proper movie"
Take that for what it's worth since there are those old qualifiers of "possibly" and "may be", but still, it's good to hear that at least The Stand is once again being considered as a mini-series instead of a movie. And it would be nice if someone would FINALLY make a good adaptation of Salem's Lot.
Season 2 has gone completely off the book. Disappointing
shareYeah, it did. It was pretty faithful to the book until about halfway through the season, then it starting veering away from King's version. I kind of sensed something was up when they introduced a wife for the Brain Doctor experimenting on Brady and softened his character at the expense of hers. The climactic episode really dropped the ball by having the whole thing conclude in a courtroom trial, too (that's totally due to David Kelly's control of this show--someone forgot to remind him he's not writing for Ally McBeal anymore). I thought it was actually a stronger season than the first...until they messed around with the finish. I guess the cast and crew didn't want to spend a couple of weeks out in the woods to shoot a climax like it was in King's novel.
shareWhat were the major differences from the book?
i was kinda disappointed that Brady developed a conscience. It was unexpected sure, but what were they thinking trying to make him human only to have him get killed.
You just nailed what the major difference was--in the book Brady remains evil. He also never regains the use of his body, but becomes adept at taking over others (like he did with the orderly) and then at the end he "dies" but his consciousness takes over the brain surgeon and there's a showdown between him and Bill at the doctor's cabin in the woods.
shareThat sounds better. I have another question that may have been explained better in the book.
The zap it tablets that Brady uses as a door to enter people. How exactly does that work? Like what's the connection between the zap its and Brady? Why that device?
Just some hoo-hah King made up to give Brady a conduit into usurping other people's bodies as hosts. It was out-moded technology that supposedly worked in conjuction with the drug Dr. Brain was surreptitiously shooting up Brady with (that's another difference, too--only the doctor knew what was going on with Brady) and the two ingredients combined to boost Brady's brain power of controlling others. The last book of the trilogy that this second season of MM was based on is the only book of the three that brings in made-up sci-fi stuff into the story...fantastical elements that were gratefully absent in the first two books.
shareI agree, the book was much better than season 2, I can't even finish it, got bored after episode 4.
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