No comments about Blaze, 7 cassettes [Unabridged Library Edition].

5 comments about Thinner Audio.

1. Steven King originally wrote Thinner under the pen name of Richard Bachman. The Bachman pen name was used as an outlet for King's darker side and this book fits right in with that theme. Billy Halleck has accidentally run down an old gypsy woman who was crossing the street. When he judge and sheriff whitewash the whole thing and Halleck gets off without so much as a warning, the old woman's father takes matters into his own hands, laying a curse on all three of them. Halleck's curse is "Thinner" and the overweight man begins to shed pounds no matter how much he eats. The curse continues to waste him away as he struggles to find the gypsy band and get the old man to remove the curse. When a mobster friend of Halleck's comes into the picture, things really start to heat up.
   
   Thinner is an interesting book because the subject matter is fairly grim, and gets more so as the book progresses. At the same time, there's a type of gallows humor that is laugh-out-loud funny at times. This is one of King's shorter novels and the pace moves along nicely as a result. The main character is Halleck but his gangster friend, Richard Ginelli, steals the show. He's funny, larger than life, and very entertaining. Halleck isn't perfect but I did empathize with him and couldn't help pulling for him to get out from under the curse.
   
   This is one of the more enjoyable King books that I've read, and I would recommend it to just about anyone. The ending is what one could call offbeat, so you have to be okay with just taking an enjoyable ride and not worrying too much about the destination.



2. overall, I really liked this book. it's much better than the movie because it's got a lot more characters and there's much more suspense offered in the book.



3. "Thinner" is the most "King-like" of the Richard Bachman books. It's a fast-paced, horrific roller-coaster ride through a nightmare worse than any Atkins or Weight Watchers diet craze. Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, winks at the reader by having the characters comment that what's happening is "like out of a Stephen King novel." It's a fun but gruesome book that will keep you up for a night or two.



4. I thought this was a good book. I don't think it drags on like people say, although im the kind of person that likes details after details. I haven't read many Stephen King books so I can't really judge it based on others(which seems to be what reviewers are doing).
   
   "A lot of guys don't believe what they are seeing, especially if it gets in the way of what they think or believe"(Page 220)
   
   So for the story, its very good, and a very original idea. After running over an old lady from a gypsy group, her creepy father places a curse on the man who did it, as well as others who help him get out of surving time in jail. The curse gradually makes him thinner day after day no matter how much his body takes in. People begin to look in wonder at the man who was, before, overweight, and now thin as a stick. Problem is who will believe that a gypsy put a curse on him and help him get revenge on the evil gypsies before he thins himself to death? Read the book and find out.



5. I thought this was a well written book overall. It gets wordy at times through the book but not to bad. I really think the ending suited the orginal crime it came back to him one way or another and instead of live life without his wife and daughter he made the choice to die with them. Even the italian thug who helps billy gets what he deserved in the end. I watched the movie along time before I read the book and let me tell you the book is so much better in my opinion.

5 comments about The Regulators.

1. Ever since King has been going "politically correct" his writing has suffered. I've lost interest in his work since he became a political hack and, even then, he doesn't fact check on what he writes. Apparently according to him guns are evil, Christians are bad, and anyone who listens to talk radio or country music is a cretin. A 30-06 will not knock you down when you shoot it. Nonsense. He should have stuck to writing instead of politics.



2. While Desperation is a sprawling and sometimes hard-to-digest tome of King's, The Regulators represents the flipside in more ways than the obvious. The novel moves along at a pretty steady pace and allows the reader to become immersed in the story, and even though Tak is mentioned fairly often, it does not work to the detriment of the plot.
   
   Fans of Dreamcatcher or Cujo may be pulled in by the story, which takes place over a very short span, considering the breadth of some of his other works. It takes place, ostensibly, over the course of the afternoon. A very, very, very event-filled afternoon.
   
   At one point the book takes on an oddly Dark-Tower-ish feel, with the landscape and villains shifting and changing toward the absurd. I can't help but think the MotoKops are the Power Rangers, and thinking of them during the more violent scenes was unsettling.
   
   Overall, though, The Regulators is one of Stephen King's better 90's works. Definitely better and more optimistic than Desperation. Good for those who are fans of Stephen King or surreal fiction, but not recommended for those just getting into his large body of works.



3. I have not yet read Desperation, but am going to soon seeing as how everyone says it's better than this novel. I happened to like this one though. I thought it was clever how he wrote the action as it was happening in the present progressive tense, yet reverted to the present perfect and simple past tense when the characters began interacting. While the novel was action packed, I disagree with some of the reviews that the characters weren't developed. Perhaps some of them weren't, but the ones who drove the story were. I think that a lot of people didn't like the book because it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to. Not every story can have a happy ending. I still grew to care about the characters and what happened to them. There was a lot of gore, but I felt he wanted to describe everything that was happening in horrid detail and just what Tak was capable of. All in all, I thought it was a good read.



4. The lesser evil twin of "Desperation," a novel I deeply enjoyed in spite of the bad rap it gets from other King fans. Since both novels are steeped in the same mythos, right down to the cast of heroes and villains, they're best enjoyed in close succession. "Desperation" should probably be read first; this novel, although compelling enough in its own right, depends heavily on its twin brother for the unsettling poignancy King's readers expect.
   
   With that said..."Tak!"



5. I think this King satirizing his own writing style.
   
   All of the things for which the haters criticize him are in this book: gore, ultra-violence, pop references, TV sensibility, shallow characterizations and literally 2D stage sets are here on display.
   
   It's a blast watching King flatten and toy with his own style.
   
   After reading The Regulators, the companion novel Desperation shows what King's full writing is capable of evoking. Together they create a wonderful juxtaposition of styles.
   
   Reading The Regulators and Desperation back to back offers a commentary on two very different perspectives of horror story writing that is entertaining and illuminating.