Customer Reviews

The Lost Work Of Stephen King: A Guide to Unpublished Manuscripts, Story Fragments, Alternative Versions, and Oddities

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

SHORT: Fans only, I'd say. For them it may be essential, although the writing style is probably offputting for some. LONG: I found this book quite entertaining due to its contents. (Remember that the "complete" SK encyclopedia by the same author a couple of years back was largely confined to fiction.) Spignesi traces many items in the King universe that are obscure and difficult (impossible in some cases) to obtain. If you want to read about rare newspaper appearances, juvenilia, crosswords, and the like (i.e., if you're a die-hard King fanatic like me), you'll probably want to buy this book - although Tyson Blue covered a fair amount of the rare stuff until 1989 in his UNSEEN KING (starmont). I have to say, though, that I find Spignesi's style of writing, like that of Blue earlier, a little off-putting. It is clear that he is enthusiastic about King and his work, ephemeral as some of the pieces discussed in this book may sometimes be. But there is a line, I think, between unobtrusive and still informative prose (like that of Winter and Collings, who write a carefully measured prose but are still fun to read) and a style that may at best be described as chatty and informal, at worst as annoying fannish hyperbole. The more's the pity since this book could have been so much more - if you're looking for critical discussions that go beyond the superficial, I guess you better stick with the many works of Collings. With a subject matter like this it's inevitable that some customers may be disappointed not to actually get to read some of these "oddities," but with the help of the internet it is possible to collect rare King texts, at least, on a beer budget. And then there is, of course, the BOMC collection SECRET WINDOWS, where you might start to gather a couple of rare pieces. All in all, I'd rank it 3 out of 5.

This book does not contain any complete work by Stephen King, but it explores many texts or other works that are little known and that are at times difficult to find. It sums up the texts, works, stories, etc, gives the starting line and at times the punch line, analyzes these works and evaluates the chances one may have to get them. Some of these works are nowadays more readily available than said in the book. It is the case of « L.T.'s Theory of Pets » that has been published in an audio cassette version as read by Stephen King himself in London in 1998 (Stephen King Live !, 1999) or of « Lunch at the Gotham Café » read by the author and published in the form of a CD audiobook (Blood and Smoke, 2000). This book gives some insight on how Stephen King works by exemplifying working or alternative versions of some books we know, and by also covering some rare pieces that show how adventurous and compulsive a writer he may be. I particularly appreciate the column he has in The Maine Campus from february 1969 to may 1970. A must, in other words, for the students of Stephen King's works, the Stephen King literate and the Stephen King lovers. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

Stephen Spignesi worte the Stephen King Encylopedia, a book I still read a couple of times a month. He knows his subject and is rather talented as a writer himself. If you've seen the encyclopedia then you've read excerpts of King's immature work. This book concentrates on the lost works : the material King did as a raw kid (This isn't a put down. King's youthful stuff shows that even then he had gift)but don't forget that this is all material that he chose not to publsih or stuck in a drawer somewhere.

The Lost Work is really for totally devoted fans, the people who will buy anything that has King's name on it or in it. The rest of us probably won't be as enamored.

Don't be mislead, this is signed by the editor and staff, not Mr. King. In addition, it is a low quality publication with very poor print quality. Don't get me wrong, if you're a fan of Stephen King, especially works like "Danse Macabre", then this is probably a must have. It also makes a good conversation piece or book club discussion material. But if you're a fan of his stories and are looking for something to read and enjoy, then you would fare better with one of his short story collections.

Of all the works I have collected by/on/about King, this is one of the best documentations of his early, unpublished work! Thank You, Amazon!

This Limited Edition is Definitely For King Fans!

When I learned that this is the only complete edition of this book I decided to order it. Especially since it features a lot more information in this edition than the trade hardcover. I wish I had found this one before I bought the trade. But hey, as a King fan I needed both anyway! I especially like the way the book is in a red binding with gold foil impressions on the cover of Stephen King, and the reproductions of some of his rare and unpublished work on the endpapers. It's signed by the editor and contributors too. I discovered work here by Mr. King that I now know I won't see anywhere else. Although it's paraphrased, it's very descriptive content by Mr. Spignesi gives me an idea about work I otherwise would never get the chance to see. I really enjoyed it.

I have been trying to order this from Amazon since October 2005. Twice now they have delayed and delayed the delivery for months only to finally cancel the order. They clearly do not have access to this book.

A very interesting book. I am rereading now actually