Stephen King

Pet Sematary (2019 Film): Stephen King’s Terrifying Novel Comes to Life

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Horror movies are a dime a dozen these days. A quick scan of any movie database will confirm this. Currently, Jordan Peele’s Us is taking the box office by storm, and later this year we’re going to get several more horror blockbusters including the second half of Stephen King’s IT, a modern Chucky, and a film adaptation of Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. For whatever reason, audiences have proven time and again that they love to be scared. Horror is somewhat of a niche market in both books and film, but it always manages to sustain itself with a few yearly gems, and this year’s spate isn’t likely to be an exception.

Whenever a Stephen King film gets the Hollywood treatment, it’s a boon to the industry for a multitude of reasons. King films, while they aren’t all box-office darlings, inherently have an audience in the fans of his work. The King name has transcended the world of fiction and become a pop culture touchstone; love him or hate him, it’s impossible to deny the impact he’s had on the arts over the last 45 years.  Horror fans flock to theaters for his films, and those who normally pass on the blood and guts make exceptions to see the characters they love brought to life. In rare cases, a King story is so beloved that it gets multiple adaptations. 2019’s Pet Sematary is an adaptation of the 1983 novel, but it’s also a remake of the 1989 film of the same name. The new version is a relatively true-to-source retelling, but modernized. What results is a truly scary film that benefits greatly from 21st century cinematography, but doesn’t do enough to set itself apart from other contemporary horror. It’s terrific, as far as book-to-movie adaptations go–however, fans of horror movies in general who are looking for this one to stand out in a crowd may leave underwhelmed. Continue reading →

The Twelve by Justin Cronin: A Gripping and Masterful Sequel Done Right

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Conventional book wisdom would have readers believe two things: 1) The book is always better than the movie, and 2) A sequel cannot be better than the book from which it stems. Obviously, there are some exceptions, but adages like these don’t develop from thin air–they’re based in something, whether it’s hundreds of anecdotes or thousands of online ratings. It often feels edgy to say that a sequel is better–and, most times, this simply isn’t the case. Once the novelty of a new world wears off, the difficulty of sustaining reader interest intensifies substantially, and many writers resort to gimmicks and cheap tricks to warrant revisiting a story’s characters again. Every so often, though, a sequel comes along that not only enhances enjoyment of the first book, but improves upon the flaws from the first story in nearly every conceivable way. The Twelve by Justin Cronin is one such tome– it masterfully continues the story where The Passage left off, hooking readers with its nonlinear narrative and indelible characters, and it does so in a much shorter timeframe. The Twelve is 200 pages thinner than its predecessor, forcing the story to move at a breakneck pace that whips readers along for the ride. Not a second is wasted, and every narrative move pays dividends by the story’s end. Everything that made the first book so memorable is still present and in the forefront–it’s just better on this second go around. Continue reading →

2018: Year in Review

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To call 2018 a milestone year for me would be doing it a disservice. A lot of big things happened to yours truly, the biggest of those being my graduation from Butler University in May. It’s an odd feeling to spend four years of your life away from home and then have to return to it indefinitely as the minutiae of adult life begins to take hold, but that’s what I ended up doing. I moved back in with Mom & Pops (thanks, dudes, for not kicking me out by the way–I owe ya one) and I took a job at a bookstore. Fitting, right? Well, as of January 7th, I started a new job, and I’m loving it. Technically a 2019 thing, but I was hired at the tail end of last year so it counts as a change.

A lot of my 2018 was spent searching–searching for a career, searching for my next workout plan, searching for my next pet project. I started a baseball-writing website that has since been abandoned. I flip-flopped back and forth on whether or not I wanted to re-start my fitness brand. I accepted a job writing for a film website and to this day still haven’t seen single penny of compensation for my work. I DID finally decide I wanted to spend the rest of my life talking about books, but I won’t get into the Youtube channel for which I made videos for about a month and a half before scrapping that project, too. For every big thing that happened, there were three that flopped and fizzled.

However, 2018 saw the revamp of this website and a reinvigorated personal interest in reading. I read (probably) the widest array of authors since I began to track such things, and I developed the barebones for a format for my reviews. This post is not going to be a book review, but will be a review, of sorts. Goodreads.com does this neat little thing where they summarize your reading year, and I figured we’d take a quick look at mine. I’ll give paragraph-length reviews of the books I ended the year with but didn’t have the time to officially talk about, and I’ll wrap everything up by discussing my expectations for 2019. Continue reading →

Elevation by Stephen King: Lightweight, Political, and Meh

Eric Michel Book review, Books, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

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We’re at the tail end of October, so it’s only fitting that the most prolific writer of scary stories this world has ever seen should have a new novel out. Stephen King has graced us with a second book this year, and just in time for us to read in between trips to the door to give candy to trick-or-treaters. The book is called Elevation, and there’s a good chance you’ll finish it before the final goblins show up on your porch for last call–it stands in at a whopping 146 pages, and even that amount is only made feasible due to the small physical dimensions. As others have said, this “novel” would probably have been better served in a collection of novellas a la Different Seasons, but beggars can’t be choosers, and we should just be happy King gave us something new to sink our teeth into–if you can call it that. You know, cause the book is short.  Continue reading →

Review: Stephen King’s IT (The 2017 Movie)

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It_(2017)_poster

 

Well, I floated. And not like the rubber ducky in the bathtub, but more like that sensation you get when the dentist gives you too much of the good stuff before a procedure. I floated right into my seat, high on life, and I didn’t come down for two hours and 15 minutes. I was like the red balloon we saw in the trailer, like that butterfly Mohammed Ali was always talking about.

If you haven’t caught on with all my lame figurative language, I’m basically being annoying about the fact that I saw IT in theaters on Saturday. Though it was technically the third night for the show, you’d have thought we were at a midnight premiere or something. I mean this literally when I say it was packed; every seat except for one was filled. (I know that because somehow that seat was next to my brother; I don’t know if we smelled that night or what, but I’m not complaining.) The theater attendants were checking tickets each time you stepped in and out of the theater door. This is something I’ve never experienced, but I get that they were probably just trying to keep out movie hoppers and underage high schoolers. A friend of mine who works at a movie theater told me they sold out twice on opening night; suffice it to say this movie was a pretty big deal.

If you read what I published last week about IT, the novel, you’ll know that the story has a very special place in my heart. I went into this movie expecting great–maybe even momentous– things. I was acutely conscious to the fact that I might have overhyped the film so much in my head that I’d hate it– so much so that I was prematurely. prepared to do so. I knew my expectations were too high, but I couldn’t shake them. I’d been waiting for this film for years, and damn it, it had better be good. When I watched the final credits roll, it was like having a weight lifted from my shoulders. It was over. The film was over, and they didn’t butcher my favorite book. Not only did they not butcher it, but they managed to create something that was pretty faithful to its roots, while handling any creative liberties with poise. I walked out of the theater satisfied and clamoring for the eventual sequel. Sure, there were some things I didn’t like, but they were vastly outnumbered by the ones I did. IT isn’t a perfect movie, but it’s one you won’t want to miss. Here’s why: Continue reading →

Review: Stephen King’s IT (The Novel)

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I was in seventh grade the first time my mom took me to the used bookstore that opened up in our small, farming town. It was owned and operated by one of the librarians in our city, who also happened to be a family friend. I struggle to remember the storefront now, but I’ll never forget the name of the store, because I thought it was freaking brilliant. The store was called Shabby Pages, and it was at Shabby Pages where 13-year-old me stumbled into the world of Stephen King.

I had to beg my mother for the entire time we were in there, but I walked out of that store with a used copy of Everything’s Eventual, a story collection King published in 2002. I devoured the book the following week while I was camping on vacation, and an implacable love for the works of the most renowned author of the last 50 years was born. Later in that same week, I purchased 13 more of his books at a flea market.

Among these 13 new treasures was a 1,000 page behemoth with a one-word title. IT. The book’s cover featured a bare skull with blue stars in the eye hollows, an instantly recognizable red clown nose, and red lines coming from the side of the skull that reminded me of an American flag on a breezy day. All of this was on a black background with King’s name plastered across the top along with the phrase “#1 Bestseller” which is synonymous with his work.

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Here’s my actual copy of IT– old, wet book smell and all. I can’t bring myself to part with it because it holds so much sentimental value.

I had tons of books to choose from, but I picked IT because I remembered my older cousins telling me a story when I was younger about a movie where a clown kills people and only kids can see it happening. After a quick Google search, I was able to confirm that I had the exact same story in print form. I quickly found a quiet spot alone and began reading.

“The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years–if it ever did end–began, so far as I know and can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.”  – IT, Page 1

I didn’t know it then, but I was about to stumble upon my favorite book of all time. Continue reading →

I’m not Actually Very Well-Read, and I Hate Myself For It

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I remember the day my mom told me a family friend of ours was opening up a used bookstore in our hometown.

“It’s called Shabby Pages. It’s going to sell mainly used books, and right now they’re only accepting donations, but I think later on you’ll be able to trade in for store credit.”

This information made seventh-grade Eric pretty happy. Not only could I stop begging my mom to make the 25 minute drive to Barnes and Noble, but I could also get books for hella cheap. At the same time, though, I was a little iffy on the whole thing because I had this aversion to buying used books, specifically paperbacks. If I didn’t put the creases in the spine, the book was no good. I was the only one who could damage my shit.

A couple weeks passed and we visited the store. It wasn’t too big, probably less than a quarter of the size of a typical chain store, but the walls were lined with books. Since the store was just starting out, the owner got her hands on pretty much whatever she could and sold it. As I walked around the store, I saw so many unfamiliar names that I was disappointed. Where was D.J. MacHale (my favorite author at the time, who wrote the ever-so-wonderful Pendragon series)? Dan Gutman? Eoin Colfer? Of course, the reason I didn’t know any names is because up until that point in my life I had been reading YA. That changed before I walked out of the store. Continue reading →

The Top 5: Books I’ve Ever Read

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The topic of this post has changed so much in the last three days that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you my original intentions for it. I know it’s been a while, but I DID actually have something planned between these posts, but it fell through. I was going to post a review of Finders Keepers to follow up on my Mr. Mercedes one, but I was in the midst of writing it and got called into work. I lost all my mojo and didn’t get it done until it was too late to be relevant. (If you guys do want to know my thoughts, leave a comment and I’ll post the review anyway, but otherwise I plan on letting it rot in the draft pile.

The other day, I was screwing around on the Internet when I realized just how long it’d been since my last post. That’s a no-no. So, last night I decided I wanted to do another The Top 5 list. (Way back in the day I posted this, said I’d be doing them quite frequently, and never did.) At first I thought it was going to be my top 5 favorite classic novels. I got halfway through the draft before I realized that I was narrowing the parameters too soon. In the end, (and after much more deliberation that I’m not even going to begin to get into) I decided to go to something very basic. Today, I’ll be taking you through my top 5 favorite books of all time. It’ll set a good foundation for future lists, and it’ll help you learn a little about me and the way I work at the same time.

*Be warned. I’m not what most people would consider “well-read.” I’ve pretty much been reading the same five or so authors since 7th grade. With that said, this list does happen to contain enough variety to keep you interested (I hope). In descending order, here are my Top 5 favorite books of all time. Continue reading →

Review: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

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MrmercedesWow, it’s been a while. A lot longer than I anticipated, actually. In short, a few things have happened since we last talked—rather, I talked at you guys, and you guys skimmed through to the important stuff. For one, my laptop is fixed and ready to go so I no longer have to rely on my family members for some computer time. The other thing is, it’s summer… and I have slept too much of it away. I know I NEED to be productive, so each night I set my alarm for 7:30. That should give me plenty of time to eat breakfast, work out, read my Bible and what not, and be ready to sit down and write by 9:00. The problem is that I’m a teenager, and I have the sleep habits of one. It’s rather difficult for me to say no to an extra 2-3 hours of sleep when I technically don’t have to be doing anything. I haven’t gotten up earlier than 9:30 at all this summer, and I usually sleep till 11. But THAT’S why I haven’t posted as much as I said I would. I know, my priorities are mixed up.

Anyhow, a while back I picked up Stephen King’s newest book, Mr. Mercedes. Those of you that have been with me from the beginning know that I had the ludicrous goal of trying to review 52 books in 52 weeks—that idea has since gone by the wayside. I’m gonna post whatever I want, although I will review anything I read. This book is still new& relevant, so I figured I’d read it and tell you guys if it’s worth your dough. Continue reading →

The Top 5: Authors Who Have Influenced My Writing

Eric Michel The Top 5 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Hey, everyone. You may be shocked to see a post from me in the middle of the week*, but as I said before, I am going to try to be a bit more active on my website. So I did a lot of thinking, and basically I came up with one idea: The Top 5 ____ Continue reading →