thehefner | The Kiss 'o Death! That's All I Need!

I got my Mom into Stephen King's DARK TOWER, which she just finished last week. She's been listening to the whole saga on tape, really getting into it, and at some part in the final book, she had to pull off to the side of the road and sob. She couldn't even go back to work for a half hour till she calmed down and stopped looking so puffy from crying. Now she's absolutely dying for me to finish reading it (I have the last two left to go!) so we can talk about it.

But first, I need to finish ENDER'S GAME. Because it's seemingly everybody's favorite novel of all time, or pretty well up there. Did everyone but me of my generation read it in high school or something? Well, it's pretty good, but I'm halfway in, and it's not, like, monumental or anything. It's better than Orson Scott Card's ULTIMATE IRON MAN, in any case.

It's always hard coming into something that's crazy hyped. Like, every third day someone else on LJ seems to be raving about THE PRESTIGE, and at this point, it had really be something bloody special by the time I finally do see it.

Ah well. Thanks to

fiveseconddelay, I have now mastered the perfect Manhattan. I now know the difference between a Bart Simpson Manhattan and a "Legs" Manhattan, if you know what I mean. I think I may have found my signature Heffie drink! I may well need one after I do mass auditions for Actor's Center tomorrow in, oh, nine hours from now.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Metalocalypse Theme

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

swimpenguin.livejournal.com

I haven't read Ender's Game either. That apparently makes my status as a fantasy/sci fi fan utterly negated, nevermind the years of reading nothing but Tolkien, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Neil Gaiman, and giving Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time a shot (stopped midway through the fourth book.)

From:

eliyes.livejournal.com

I have never and will never read Ender's Game. It looks boring as hell by my tastes. :/

From:

tompurdue.livejournal.com

Funny thing is that if it hasn't grabbed you by halfway through, it's not going to. I actually thought it ended kind of weak. Oh, you might as well finish it at this point, just because it's a quick read and there are a few good bits coming up, but there's nothing that's going to change your mind.
It's essentially ideas-driven and plot-driven rather than character driven. If you don't go for his particular ideas or the way he tells them, then it's not for you.

It is Card's best work, and in many ways radically different from anything else he ever wrote. It's almost as though he was channeling somebody else, but I wouldn't take the conspiracy theory too far: thematically it's definitely him.

But it's definitely good for you to have read it, just because it puts you on the same page as essentially every other sci-fi reader. It's necessary background, even if your tastes run elsewhere.

From:

charisma18.livejournal.com

Hahahahahahaha!

You haven't finished Dark Tower yet, which means you still have yet to endure the torment of the human soul that Book 7 will put you through.

Hahahahahahaha!

Loved this series, by the way. This is without a doubt King's magnum opus. In many ways, I think, the more I read King's other novels, the more I become convinced that every book that Stephen King ever wrote was in some way just an extension of the Dark Tower.

From:

thehefner.livejournal.com

I posted this below, but I figured I should post it for you as well. In case you didn't already know it was on its way, finally.

title or description

DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #1 (of 7)
Written by PETER DAVID & ROBIN FURTH
Art and Cover by JAE LEE & RICHARD ISANOVE
Sketch Variant Cover by JAE LEE
Variant Cover by JOE QUESADA
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King’s Roland—an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland’s past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times Best-seller Peter David, this series delves deep into Roland’s origins—the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world, while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels. Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature!
48 PGS./CARDSTOCK COVER/Parental Advisory …$3.99
©2007 Stephen King. All rights reserved.

Two words, buddy. Jericho Hill.

From:

charisma18.livejournal.com

Dude, thanks very much for that! I was completely unaware. Please let me know when it's slated to come out, Mr. Comic Book Store man, I don't want to miss that.

From:

little-dinosaur.livejournal.com

I read it when I was twelve or thirteen and I don't remember it at all. I don't recall hating it, but there's nothing particularly delightful that sticks out in my mind.
I haven't seen "The Prestige". Wolverine and Batman have had better fights.

From:

mirthical.livejournal.com

Admittedly, there is a lot of Card's work out there that's very, for lack of a better term, meh. I don't think Ender's Game is, but the rest of that four-book arc gets to that point quickly.

I would be intrigued by your reaction to a slightly less well-known book of his, called Treason, or the older edition, A Planet Called Treason. Again, it's not so much character-driven as idea-driven, because that's largely how he writes this kind of fiction.

And if you're a nerd about colonial/revolutionary era American history, you might give his Alvin Maker series a whirl. The first book in that series is called Seventh Son. I enjoyed it to the point that I went back and learned about the historical people and events he referenced (or co-opted, in many cases) in those books.

But I can't say that Card is one of my favorite authors. He's a second- or third-stringer in my book.

From:

kwsapphire.livejournal.com

I only read Ender's Game when Will gave it to me, which puts it at less than 2 years ago.

I liked the book, but it wasn't really life changing until I read the end. After that, I was hooked, and read everything else in the Ender and Bean series. The other three books in the Ender series (Xenocide, Speaker for the Dead and Children of the Mind) are very thought provoking. All of the Bean books are political, and helped me put today's events into perspective. I have a list of all of the books in the series here (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1E94QVSFUI84L/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go/102-0942424-7813722). I do own them all, but the list is there for anyone who wants to know what books are in the series.

Of course, it's just a matter of opinion. And I don't consider anyone less geeky for having not read it, again I didnt read it until somewhat recently. I just love the whole series.

From:

testopolis.livejournal.com

oh my freaking god,
The Dark Tower Series is AWESOME.
(I can't believe I've actually finished something that awesome before you have!)

and yeah, have fun with Book 7. =P That's all I'll say.