Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 11:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 11:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
bada wrote:I've been holding off reading it because of Joey. I don't want to bother reading 1100 pages if it sucks at the end. I'm torn.
I don't mind rocky or bad endings if the journey is good. The problem I have with IT is that the journey isn't worth the terrible ending. There are great scenes in IT. But it's bloated and drunken and not as scary as it should be. King has written so many better books. Just watch the old TV mini-series. It's actually better than the book. You get the gist and you save yourself the truly uncomfortable (not in a good way) and absurd ending.
Bad endings are fine if they follow great journeys. Look elsewhere.
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
There you go, bada. We've each stated our case. I guess you'll have to just decide for yourself. If you read it, I hope you enjoy it. It's not a terrible reading experience. There are great scenes. But I found it lacking and uninspired at the end of the day. If you haven't read 'Salem's Lot or The Stand or Lisey's Story or 11/22/63 or The Dark Tower series or Four Past Midnight or Different Seasons or The Shining or Dolores Claiborne or even Under the Dome, then I'd say get through all of those first. They are far, far more rewarding and interesting.
But plenty of people really like IT and think it's one of his best. This may be one you can't take on faith and have to experience for yourself to see where you stand.
durdencommatyler wrote:There you go, bada. We've each stated our case. I guess you'll have to just decide for yourself. If you read it, I hope you enjoy it. It's not a terrible reading experience. There are great scenes. But I found it lacking and uninspired at the end of the day. If you haven't read 'Salem's Lot or The Stand or Lisey's Story or 11/22/63 or The Dark Tower series or Four Past Midnight or Different Seasons or The Shining or Dolores Claiborne or even Under the Dome, then I'd say get through all of those first. They are far, far more rewarding and interesting.
But plenty of people really like IT and think it's one of his best. This may be one you can't take on faith and have to experience for yourself to see where you stand.
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Late to the party but I think that It is King's masterpiece in the same way Exile is the Stones. A sprawling, Beautiful mess. After IT , I'd go with Salem's Lot, The Stand and The Shining.
I think you can't go wrong with anything from the last nearly ten years. Consistently good stuff but with a much stronger supernatural bent to it than is earlier horror writing.
Think I’m going to try being kind to everyone a chance.
I don't think King as yet to (nor will he probably ever) top 'Salem's Lot. That's a goddamn fantastic book. Like, maybe one of my all time favorites in any genre.
Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 11:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
durdencommatyler wrote:I don't think King as yet to (nor will he probably ever) top 'Salem's Lot. That's a goddamn fantastic book. Like, maybe one of my all time favorites in any genre.
Agreed. There's an elemental quality to it. If it were the only book he ever wrote, he would still sit comfortably in the same discussions as a Lovecraft, Poe, etc.
durdencommatyler wrote:I don't think King as yet to (nor will he probably ever) top 'Salem's Lot. That's a goddamn fantastic book. Like, maybe one of my all time favorites in any genre.
Agreed. There's an elemental quality to it. If it were the only book he ever wrote, he would still sit comfortably in the same discussions as a Lovecraft, Poe, etc.
Absolutely. Well said.
The only book to absolutely scare the shit out of me.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
durdencommatyler wrote:I don't think King as yet to (nor will he probably ever) top 'Salem's Lot. That's a goddamn fantastic book. Like, maybe one of my all time favorites in any genre.
Agreed. There's an elemental quality to it. If it were the only book he ever wrote, he would still sit comfortably in the same discussions as a Lovecraft, Poe, etc.
Absolutely. Well said.
The only book to absolutely scare the shit out of me.
The Mr. Mercedes trilogy is a wild ride. I liked the first one a lot (amazing characters, but then he's always been good at that). The second one was also enjoyable and I liked the way he changed the story up, keeping it grounded. And that's where the third one lost me. I loved how - not to use the word too much, but it fits - grounded the stories were and then he does that. It's not a bad story, it just fits oddly into the narrative.
bune wrote:The Mr. Mercedes trilogy is a wild ride. I liked the first one a lot (amazing characters, but then he's always been good at that). The second one was also enjoyable and I liked the way he changed the story up, keeping it grounded. And that's where the third one lost me. I loved how - not to use the word too much, but it fits - grounded the stories were and then he does that. It's not a bad story, it just fits oddly into the narrative.
The third one was my least favorite of the trilogy. But I had no problem with how it progressed and changed and... shifted. I actually thought that was really cool and fairly ballsy. It worked for me.
Finders Keepers was probably my favorite of the three.
