I read (actually listened to) Stephen Kings book 11/22/63. I try to avoid any information about the book before I read it, so time traveling came as a surprise. Book was interesting all the way but "mandatory romance" was really clumsy. I have to say that King did a bad job at the sex scenes. Usually King doesn't have to many cliches but this book especially romance had lots of them Other than that very enjoyable. What do you think?
... are we reading the same Stephen King? The Stephen King I know throws out cliches like a child throwing around confetti. I've not read the entirety of this book I must admit, I've read some of it and it seemed like it was the better of King's output in recent years. I like King more when he's not pigeon-holing himself as 'horror writer' (and to be fair, so does Stephen King himself), but I can't help shake the cynical suspicion the characters are going to be pretty decently painted but the ending is going to be a load of wank. Most King books are like that to be honest. So I will read 11/22/63, eventually, and I will try and approach it with an open mind, but I'll be very surprised if I'm wrong.
I thought 11/22/63 was terrific - right up there with King's best work. His take on time travel was fascinating. The sex must not have made much of an impression, since I don't remember it.
The more important question to me is why are most of King's protagonists white, male writers who like a stiff drink. There is 'write what you know' and then there is 'entrapped by what you know'. The first half is entertaining enough, the second half is among the worst things I've ever read.
I'm pleased I happened to spot this thread. I bought 11/22/63 last week, but I haven't read it yet. I'm glad to have seen opinions from people who have read it, because the people I know 'in real life' who own the book haven't read it yet, either! I'm relatively new to Stephen King's books (that is, I own quite a lot, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet). So far, though, I think I agree with the people who have said they prefer King when he's not pigeon-holed into horror.
I thought it was a fantastic read. It was a page-turner from the start, and the ending really tugged on my heart strings. The only I problem I had with the book is that the final climax, wasn't all that climatic, which I've heard is an ongoing problem with King's writing. Still, there were plenty of sub-climaxes (or whatever the proper term is) that I thought were really well done. The chapters involving the main character dealing with the janitor's history were particularly good.
