And then there's the Mandalorian . . . .

[chelseagirl]

So lately life has been work, and finally breaking out of my stuck place on my novel, and not very much fannishness happening.

I have been enjoying Evil, which I started watching for Mike Colter, and the first few episodes were all right, but it's been getting more complicated and interesting as it goes along. And Mike Colter, of course.

And we gave in and signed up for Disney+, and have been watching The Mandalorian. And predictably I am completely obsessed with Baby Yoda .

Also I had never read anything by Stephen King, and I was helping my friend clear out her late brother's apartment and he had everything by King in hardcover, so I took a copy of the The Stand, which I've always meant to read, and of Salem's Lot, because vampires.

Halfway through Salem's Lot, which I started first because it's shorter, my feeling is essentially . . . well, now I've read something by Stephen King? I mean it's . . . fine. It's not making it entirely clear to me why he's such a cultural phenomenon. Note: I have seen things based on things by Stephen King, like Haven and Stand By Me, but I'm not sure those are hardcore King. I watched the last half hour of The Shining and parts of Carrie, because, again, cultural phenomenon. But I have never been drawn towards "Oh, I must read or watch Christine/Cujo/Pet Sematary/etc/etc"

On the other hand, I really enjoyed The Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo, which pressed lots of my buttons like "hah! Secret Societies at Yale doing magic!" and "outsider at college who is kind of a chosen one but also flawed" and "lots of interesting imperfect women characters and one or two potentially crushable guys maybe" and I thought was quite well-written. And also The Spectral City by Leanna Renee Hieber which pressed lots of my different buttons like "19th century NYC!" and "found family" and "slow burn romance". Oddly they were both about women who could see ghosts and thus had a Special Destiny but were very, very different.

Comments

[havocthecat]

I just got myself a copy of Ninth House! You've just made me really glad!

[chelseagirl]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, because that was quite a lot!

[kore]

I REALLY liked it.

[chelseagirl]

Wasn't it great?

[lunabee34]

Yay for getting unstuck in the novel!

[chelseagirl]

Thanks! I'm awake stupidly early as usual and am going to try to get some more done before I get going on Things That Must Be Done.

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

You are up early. I hope you get stuff done.

[kore]

YAY NOVEL

I really liked Ninth House too! I want the sequel _now._

Salem's Lot was very ehh for me. For a newbie, I might rec something like Firestarter or Dead Zone or some other earlier standalone novel. (I totally would not rec Chritsine or Cujo, and Pet Sematary....ehhh.) The Stand is pretty epic! did you get the uncut version?

[chelseagirl]

Yes; I hope she comes out with the sequel quickly! I like the idea that the princess/Eurydice/whatnot figure is male and it'll be a group of women off to the rescue.

On the so many books, so little time theory, I am not tremendously interested in seeking out more. I just thought I'd sample him, and, well, vampires. Which are not so much one of my things anymore, but at one time very much were. One of the Goodreads reviews said it was a very American rewrite of Dracula and I totally see that. It's just hard to invest myself in his characters, at least in this one, or in the miserable little town they live in -- similarly, I cut back on reading literary fiction a few years ago because there's enough misery in the real world already. I dunno -- Alex in The Ninth House has a sordid background and is not all sunshine and rainbows or even very nice sometimes, and yet I found her likable and wanted to spend more time with her. These characters are not making me feel that way.

And yes, Tom had had both editions of The Stand in hardcover, and I took the uncut one.

[kore]

Yes, badass girl gang rescuing the guy! Love it!

....King is a really really American writer, deliberately so. I think I read Salem's Lot once, maybe -- it was just kind of grim and yet also blah. And you're right a lot of the time his characters aren't likable, unless they're the obvious heroes. And even then, they're often deeply flawed and may do terrible things.

I think the updated version is also the one where he tried to update all the prices -- I think he did that TWICE. The original version is set in the seventies and still really reads that way to me!

[ginger_rude]

He is. (very American). And that's, I think, his second novel; not necessarily saying he's a consistently -better- writer since then, but some of his later books aren't quite as much of a downer (ending). Some are, admittedly, worse. I'll say this for him: he's prolific. I have no idea how he writes that much and still has the rest of his life.

[kore]

Yeah, IIRC it was his second novel after Carrie and if there was one word I'd pick for his entire ouevre it might be "uneven." (Also, unlike a lot of my friends, I absolutely can't stand the Dark Tower series.) I really loved Dr Sleep, but not much since then.

[ginger_rude]

I liked the first two or three books of Dark Tower, and then it just got -ridiculous-. He's honestly not that good with cosmic horror, no matter how much he seems to like it. The smaller and more character driven ones are usually his best.

[chelseagirl]

I'm hanging onto the copy of The Stand that I also picked up, but I'm not . . . there's plenty else in the world to read, and he's got enough readers . . . you know?

[ginger_rude]

Definitely.

The Stand isn't one of my favorites, anyway, and even the "short" (!) version is over 9000 pages long. I'm kind of over dystopia, anyway.

Also: King still has shit to work out w/r/t gender and race and sexuality, god knows, but his early stuff is a lot wincier, for the most part. Just from memory, Stand has: Magical Negro; woman mentally thanking men for taking over and being protective again now that dystopia is here; Bury Your Bisexual Woman (at least a decent character); proto-incel, admittedly and properly made a villain, but then he has sex with some seductive woman and oh my god, the ideas about how everything but PIV is just so -kinky- and -perverse- and...Yeah. King.

There are, indeed, other things to read. Lots of them.

[ginger_rude]

cut back on reading literary fiction a few years ago because there's enough misery in the real world already.

Yeah.

It's also often a very disconnected sort of misery, somehow.

[chelseagirl]

The catalog of Yet more ways in which middle class white males do suffer. ;-)

To be fair, sometimes middle class white females. Or rich folks.

[nyctanthes]

I haven't been watching the Mandalorian. But that baby is all over Tumblr and...he is awfully cute.

[chelseagirl]

I am sadly smitten, to the point where my partner was looking at me oddly when I squee'd "Oh look, he's using the Force, awwww!" "Now he's napping, awww!"

[nyctanthes]

Me: I want to show you something!!!! It's SO CUTE!!!!

10 year old daughter: Mom, I don't care about baby yoda.

My six year old son is super into him though, so I feel partially vindicated. :P

[kore]

Wee Babby Yoda kind of looks like an uncanny valley cross between E.T. and Gizmo for me, but I am enjoying seeing all the squee.

[nyctanthes]

For me, Baby Yoda falls on the ugly-cute end of the spectrum. Like baby turtles.

Still cute though. :P

[kore]

....I totally admit I might want a Baby Yoda plushie because BABY YODA PLUSHIE

[chelseagirl]

If it's done well, then I will, too.

[badfalcon]

I have to admit The Stand and Salems Lot are two of my favourite King novels, along with Firestarter. He definitely has his own writing style, and it does get a little... not boring per se but he's not a writer I can mainline books by. His earlier stuff is definitely the best. I love his stories and ideas more than I like his actual writing, and wish it translated to screen better.

[chelseagirl]

He's obviously quite the storyteller, and has his legions of fans. I don't think he'll miss me much among them. ;-)

Also one of my friends who I have every reason to believe once told me that King is really into experimental and avant garde poetry and will sometimes show up to readings and conferences quietly and sit in the back because he doesn't want to call attention to himself. So good on him!