Duma Key

iQuestor · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:40 pm Post subject: Duma Key

I used to Love SK! Carrie, The Shining, The Stand, Salem's Lot, Cujo, Firestarter, Children of the Corn, Apt Pupil, all of these, amazing.

I slowed down at TommyKnockers. Great Plot, poor execution. Loved the first Dark Tower, but the others increasingly like .... ungood.

I quit reading King at Insomnia. Too many cheap tricks. Rose Madder, ditto. I was through. So I havent read a lot of his other stuff: The Regulators. Bag of Bones, TGWLTG, etc.

I began again at the Cell. It sucked, a cheap imitation of King, IMHO.

My wife bought me Duma Key, thoughtful as she always is. I didnt want to start it, its a huge book.

I loved it. Its awesome! Though not as brilliant as, say, It, it is a page turner and a return to some of the qualities he used to hold for me. I wont spoiler anything here, but it is a definite gem!!

anyone else read it? Lets talk about it!!
_________________
Becoming Elijah has been released from Calderwood Books!
Korik's Fate
It cannot now be set aside, nor passed on...

Cail · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:45 pm Post subject:

I really enjoyed his last one, Blaze, and I'm looking forward to Duma Key.
_________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________

Mortice Root · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject:

I usually read a lot of King, but haven't gotten around to picking up either Blaze or Duma Key. I may just have to do that now, though.

I agree with Doar's take on Cell. Not one of his better ones. And yeah, Rose Madder, Insomnia ... meh. From the newer stuff, I did quite like Lisey's Story though, and it's been a while, but I remember Bag of Bones being pretty good.
_________________
"The plural of antecdotes is not evidence."
-------------
Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times

Cail · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject:

I liked Insomnia and Cell (even though Cell was incredibly derivative).
_________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________

lucimay · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject:

Cail · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:12 pm Post subject:

I couldn't get past the third page of Lisey's Story.
_________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________

Mortice Root · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:21 pm Post subject:

(...to continue hijacking Doar's thread..... Wink

)

Wow, Cail, all the way to page three in Lisey's Story? Laughing

That's really sticking with it. Very Happy

What did King do (or not do) to get you to quit that quick?

Lucimay, glad to hear that you liked Lisey. That was actually one of my favortie of King's in the last several years (outside of the DT stuff). I thought he did a great job with Lisey's loneliness. And I thought the way that her author husband got his ideas was a pretty interesting concept. All the "bool" stuff did get a little old, though.
_________________
"The plural of antecdotes is not evidence."
-------------
Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times

Cail · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:30 am Post subject:

Heh, it's actually the quickest I've ever given up on a book.

I want to try it again.
_________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________

Mortice Root · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:34 am Post subject:

Hey, I betcha Luci and I could form a support group for you, for your next attempt. We're here for ya, man! Very Happy

_________________
"The plural of antecdotes is not evidence."
-------------
Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times

iQuestor · Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject:

So.... has anyone else read it?
_________________
Becoming Elijah has been released from Calderwood Books!
Korik's Fate
It cannot now be set aside, nor passed on...

lucimay · Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject:

Cail · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject:

OK, read "Duma Key" while I was on vacation.

Best book King's written in a long, long time. Excellent characters and a good story too. Weak in the climax and denouement, but most King books are.
_________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________

iQuestor · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:47 am Post subject:

King has always been terrific in the buildup, and usually the climax is not the best. he doenst end things well, in my opinion. However, DUma is one of his recent best, and I am glad he is back, at least for a while.
_________________
Becoming Elijah has been released from Calderwood Books!
Korik's Fate
It cannot now be set aside, nor passed on...

Endymion9 · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:52 pm Post subject:

I loved Duma Key. Even though 2/3rds of the way through, I looked up and realized...hey nothing has really happened yet, it wasn't boring me. I enjoyed the characters. The ending is a whirlwind. Great stuff.

Blaze I hated. I expected more supernatural elements that might have made it fair to good, instead I thought it was just passable. Only kept listening (audiobook) because King can make the phone book interesting.

Gingerbread Girl (audio) I also was dissappointed. At best, I felt it was King's experiment at trying to do a Richard Laymon story.

Lisey's Story was good not great. I like it better on reflection than I did right after I finished it.

Cell was fantastic. But then I really like post apocalyptic zombie stories.

Mortice Root · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:06 pm Post subject:

I'm about 2/3 of the way through, and I am loving it. This is a fantastic book. I agree, this is easily his best in a long time. (So far, I mean - it may tank near the end - but I doubt it..)

In this book, King managed to make me do something he never has before - have tears of joy in my eyes. Sure, there had been a few times in the past where I had tears from sorrow - (Dark Tower spoiler) most recenlty with

Spoiler:

the death of Eddie in DT7

but this was the first time King got tears of joy from me. The opening sequence at the art show was outstanding. "This is a memory I keep." Wow. Nicely done, Mr King. Smile

_________________
"The plural of antecdotes is not evidence."
-------------
Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times

Cail · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject:

Wireman...

No kidding, from the first couple of words about him, I totally pictured M.C. Gainey.
_________________
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________

lucimay · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 8:04 pm Post subject:

right. yeesh ya'll are makin it sound so good i'm about ready to stop at the bookstore on the way home and get the hardback.
_________________
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies

i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio

a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~

Mortice Root · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:51 pm Post subject:

Cail, totally agree with you. That's Wireman.

I finished the book last night, and was not disappointed. The last 1/3 of the book was just as good as I hoped. What really made this one resonate with me was not so much the tension (King always does that well...) but how real these characters were. Edgar, Pam, Ilse, Elizabeth Eastlake and Wireman were every bit as real to me as Nick Andros, Larry Underwood, Stu Redman and Franny Goldsmith. And that's saying something.
_________________
"The plural of antecdotes is not evidence."
-------------
Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times

Endymion9 · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 2:12 pm Post subject:

lucimay · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject:

okay thats it. someone compares to LARRY??? i'm gettin it TODAY!! Laughing

signed,
seriously huge fan of Larry Underwood!! Big Grin

_________________
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies

i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio

a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~