Customer Reviews

The Stephen King Universe

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Pennywise does live, after all.

I've had an occasional argument with people over my theory that King is working on a meganovel that will ultimately tie his previous works together.

As support, I called attention to a brief mention in "Dreamcatcher" of Pennywise the Clown, the central villain of that King classic, "It." It is waved off, as just one of the mentions King makes of characters from previous works.

Now don't get me wrong; ordinarily I'm all for turning the other cheek.

Except... I'm right.

"The Stephen King Universe" is not so much a companion piece to King's writings as it is an examination of the links between his fiction. "Universe" operates on the theory that King is working on a meganovel that will ultimately tie his previous works together, using the penultimate King tale, "The Dark Tower" series.

Wiater and company uncover connections between books that you'd never suspect existed (Cujo may pop up in "Needful Things," while a character in "Misery" may have known someone from "It" as a child, to name just two).

Everything (novel, short story, screen adaptation, e-book) before "Dreamcatcher" is examined in depth, while the histories of popular King towns like Derry, `salem's Lot and Castle Rock are written out in a grand fashion. A character mention here, a throwaway line there - they take on more meaning in "Universe."

The authors of the book also compile nifty thumbnail sketches of key characters in the novels. From "It":

IT (aka MR. BOB GRAY, PENNYWISE THE CLOWN): "...In 1958, It is confronted and defeated by a group of small children calling themselves the Losers Club... In 1985, It is apparently killed by the Losers Club, now adults. It may still be alive, however."

The whole book is a must-have for King fans, and those interested in looking more closely at his works. The authors' obvious enthusiasm for the author shines through, and is contagious. It's the kind of in-depth examination typically reserved for that which is consider a literary classic. The only difference is that this is something everyone can enjoy.

And if you're still not convinced that the Ultimate Stephen King Novel is on the way, consider this quote from the Man himself about "Dark Tower" heroic gunslinger Roland, which appears on the back cover of "Universe":

"I am coming to understand that Roland's world actually contains all the others of my making."

Stanley Wiater, Christopher Golden, Hank Wagner are quite overwhelmed with their entreprise : to describe the Universe of Stephen King's fiction. But they do a marvelous job at it, even if some purists may find some mistakes, contradictions, etc. Each entry gives you a general presentation of the work, then a presentation of the characters and finally eventual adaptations to the screen.

They also include in their work (which is not an encyclopedia) the works that were only produced for the screen, like The Golden Years and Cat's Eye

They try, everytime it is possible to connect the characters, places , situations and artifacts from one book to the others. That is where the purists find some mistakes or misleading elements. But, as far as I know it is the first time such a book is published in such a format, in such length, hence in such usefulness, not only for Stephen King fans or addicts, but also for those who consider Stephen King's multimedia fiction as a social, cultural, and even political phenomenon that has to be studied in depth, in its plots, in its style, in its cross references. And it is not a simple compilation if not piling up of raw data, as so many other attempts amount to. No reference given here by me.

Let me regret one thing though : the sources are not given, and that is a shortcoming. Stephen King always or nearly always works from a « model », a starting block that is a prompter : a film, a book, a situation (from the news for instance), and it would be interesting to show how on some themes he does not distanciate himself from the general principles of the model (Vampires are beasts that have to be destroyed, except in the long short-story « Popsy » where the vampire is actually a justice-maker and with a family structure behind : grandfather and grandson), to show too how on some themes, like Extraterrestrials, he takes a stand between two models and chooses the urban paranoid one : destroy them to the last. Where are the Encounters of the Third Type ? I will regret, for example too, that they do not study the rock and roll quotations in Christine. They are the reference used by King and they are meaningful and significant.

A last remark : works are not in chronological order, neither of their actual writing nor of their publishing. This is also a handicap for those who want to understand the evolution of King's art and influence.

An essential book nevertheless.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Being a casual King fan, I picked up this volume to help me understand his work. It revealed to me many things I did not know. I have read "Insomnia," and I had become aware that it was intimately associated with the DARK TOWER series (which I haven't read) and "IT" (which I have).

And I was aware that quite a few of King's books all came to a head in "Needful Things," which references "The Library Policemen."

But I wasn't aware that all the books cross-pollinated like this, nor that the DARK TOWER series was the linchpin of King's entire library of work. Until now.

Wiater, Golden and Wagner do an excellent job showing you all the unseen connections. (Although I found one they missed--one of the doctors in "FIRESTARTER" shares a name with Patrick Hockstetter, a boy from "IT.")

Now I will definitely pick up more of King's books, and eagerly await the promised final battle novel. Will we be seeing many of our old favorite heroes in a final struggle against an army of darkness led by Randall Flagg, It, Leland Gaunt, and Tak?

Only time will tell...

I'm one of the co-authors, so I have nothing but good things to say about the book. Don't take my word for it, however. Publishers Weekly liked the SKU, and so did the Library Journal, among others. But my favorite comments so far come from noted King scholar Stephen J. Spignesi, author of THE COMPLETE STEPHEN KING ENCYCLOPEDIA, THE LOST WORK OF STEPHEN KING, and THE ESSENTIAL STEPHEN KING. I'd like to share them with you.

Stephen Spignesi on the SKU:

A thought occurred to me while reading THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE. It occurred to me that this book might be one of the single most important books about Stephen King ever written.

Why?

Because it not only proceeds from the assumption that King's work is worthy of intensive, comprehensive study, but it also puts his entire body of work within a specific context. It treats his lifetime of writing as a Master's Catalog of Art that can be looked at as a single entity, regardless of the varying degrees of excellence present in individual works. Beginning with the premise that all of King's work is intertwined in an intricate weave of overlapping narrative threads, with the world of the DARK TOWER as the linchpin around which everything else orbits, Wiater, Golden, and Wagner carefully prove their point, in an entertaining, intriguing, and, thoroughly indisputable way.

Is there another 20th/21st century writer whose work is worthy of such deconstruction? Of course...but the names on THAT list are going to be John Irving, Tom Wolfe, Don DeLillo, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Thomas Pynchon, etc., NOT the best-selling "popular" writers that are often mentioned in the same breath as Stephen King and with whom he often shares spots on the best-seller lists.

THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE is as important a book as Douglas Winter's seminal STEPHEN KING: THE ART OF DARKNESS, which paved the way for the rest of us, we Chroniclers of the King. THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE is a major contribution to the field of scholarship about King, and King's fans should be grateful that Stan Wiater, Chris Golden, and Hank Wagner - a truly talented and insightful drawing of the three -- have done the kind of work it took to research and write THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE.

Hank Wagner back again: Be careful Steve, you'll turn our heads!

The authors do a great job of showing the links between the various Stephen King books and giving some insight into Stephen King's worlds. Anyone who is a devoted Stephen King fan should have this book. If you are a fan, you will have noticed that almost all King's books have connections to several other of King's works.

This book will help you remember the links and will also be a helpful resource if you are reading a book King publishes in the future and you think there is a link to an earlier work but can't put your finger on it because this book also provides short synopses and descriptions of the main characters of every book, screenplay and published short story.

This book will also give you a clue about which Stephen King books you must read. However, you have to be careful while reading about a book or story you haven't read yet. This book tells the complete story, including the ending of all the King works. Thus, if you think you might want to read a book after reading the first couple of paragraphs about the book, stop reading the chapter and buy the book. Otherwise, the ending will be spoiled for you.

Finally, for fans of the Dark Tower series, even if they are not yet devoted King readers, or devoted readers of King's non-Dark Tower series this will be a very interesting book. It will show you how King is connecting his works through the Dark Tower series and should get you interested in other King works.

And a postscript: The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is because of a couple of editing errors (e.g., in discussing It, the book mentions at one point that Mike Hanlon lives in Derry still and then at another point, mistakenly says that he lives in Nebraska--which is actually where Ben now lives).

Stephen King is one of the most prolific authors of American 20th-21st century literature, hands down. With approximately 300 million books in print worldwide and more than 30 book titles to his name (to say nothing of screenplays and adaptations), he enjoys a popularity that is unrivaled by any other contemporary author. His books have been made into movies, audio versions, and e-books. As of this writing, there are at least 3 more screenplays in the works and at least that many new novels on the horizon.

What makes Mr. King different from many other authors is how interconnected all his works are. The same characters pop up in different, seemingly unrelated works: the evil Randall Flagg, for example, is a pivotal character in both "The Stand" and "Eyes of the Dragon". Minor characters are constantly turning up and playing bit roles in his fiction.

The main thrust of "The Stephen King Universe" (abbreviated as SKU by the authors themselves) is to explore just how interconnected the works of Mr. King are. They submit that Mr. King envisions more than one reality than just the one we live in (called the "prime reality"), but the gateways between these worlds is starting to break down, allowing people and things to cross over from one to the other. At the heart of this multiverse (multiple universes) is The Dark Tower: the axis on which all other realities (including ours) rotate.

The authors classify the works of Mr. King into different categories, each one of which is examined in depth. For example, "The Dark Tower" discusses the books in that series as well as characters who are drawn in from other works: Ted Brautigan is a renegade Breaker in the book, "Hearts in Atlantis", for example. The fictional town of Derry, Maine, is a common setting for a lot of King's works, including "It" and "The Sun Dog", and stories that take place there are noted in a separate chapter.

Other King fans have noted that this book has some errors in it. Though I've read about 85% of the works of Mr. King, I myself have found this book only helpful and revealing to the SKU, noticing more interconnections in his works than outright errors. The casual King fan or the Constant Reader (King's term for followers and fans) will likely find this book more helpful than not as well.

I did find some of the writing a bit disorganized, however, and if I have a complaint it is that, and not any factual confusion on the part of the authors. Their writing often veers around from poetical to technical, and a paragraph eloquently discussing the world of the Tower might be followed up by a paragraph dense with references to characters and events from a short story in "Skeleton Crew." This makes for some confusing reading, making one feel like they're casually discussing the underpinnings of a different universe, only to be hammered with bit characters from a story 15 years ago. It's interesting to note that they're all related-- "Hearts in Atlantis" was published three years after the last Dark Tower book, but there is clearly a connection there-- but the authors sometimes seem more interested in making every connection between every different book, even if it's attached by gossamer threads, than they are in truly exploring and theorizing on the different universes of Mr. King.

Prior to reading this work, I was deeply impressed with Mr. King and had noticed only a few, obvious connections between works (the above-mentioned "Hearts..." being one). Having read The SKU, I now notice so many MORE connections and am more impressed than ever with Mr. King's mind.

The SKU is a worthwhile book, then, but I fear quite a few folk will find it frustrating or lacking, either in fact or in style. Still, it's worth a glance through while you're waiting for the next work of Mr. King to come out.

Stanley Wiater, Christopher Golden, and Hank Wagner successfully collaborate in The Stephen King Universe to present the first examination of the totality of Stephen King's fiction to the reading public in general, and students of King's literary style in particular. Here examined are all the ways in which King's plots and characters, conflicts and themes intertwine in his short stories and novels. A definitive, comprehensive and accessible reference, The Stephen King Universe also includes the movies, teleplays, and television miniseries that King has authored. This impressive and seminal work is a "must" for the legions of Stephen King fans, as well as 20th Century American literary scholarship.

Contrary to many of the other reviews, and regardless to the fact that I'm only giving this book three stars, "The Stephen King Universe" isn't a complete waste. The biggest problem I'm already having with the book, unfortunately, is that it's already becoming a bit dated and by this time next year (when the next two Dark Tower books are on the shelf) it will surely need updating. The authors may have jumped the gun a little bit to get the book out on the market, and I can understand the motivation.

Since this book was released before Black House, the sequel to Talisman, there is a lot of useful information left out. Black House revealed lots of background on the Dark Tower, the Crimson King, The Breakers and a whole slew of stuff integral to the King universe. You can tell the authors have their own ideas about where the series is going, but to me, Black House was the most important book to the Dark Tower series outside the Dark Tower books themselves.

Stangely enough, I'm probably one of the few people out there that was looking for a book exactly like this, so I'm not disappointed. Having read most of King's books, I was interested in having a handy reference, and now I've got one. I avoid reading any of the synopsis for books I haven't read yet, and for those of you who feel cheated because you read the synopsis before the book: what were you thinking?

The book is far from perfect and far from an encyclopedia. It's more of a thesis that attempts to tie all of King's books into his Dark Tower series in whcih King himself admits is sort of all inclusive. Sometimes it works, someties it doesn't. I would have liked a cyclopedia type section for something other than just characters though, especially for the Dark Tower section, which seems surprisingly thin considering the wealth of information in the books themselves. Outside of making connections to the other books, the authors seem oblivious to lots of details that I would find important, and if I had the patience, foresight and time to make something like this myself, I would have done it a bit differently.

Having said that, this is the best third party source on the King Universe outside of the books themselves, and it does fill a niche. I think about ten years from now we can expect a vast librabry of similar books like the many Tolkien cyclopedias and guides (maybe even a "Roland Lives" trend?). Hopefully when the series is completed in a few years, the authors will go back and create an updated version to include all the new books. If and when they do this they can fix some of the continuity errors, expound where needed and create the ultimate reference which, as of this writing, does not yet exist.

I was excited to read this book being a fan for years and years and I was interested in learning of all the connections, some I was aware of and many I was not. However, there were some errors, and as I believe someone else mentioned, if you haven't read the books, the endings are all revealed, all though somewhat simplified. This was the fundamental problem with the whole book, it read like a high school book report. What I did enjoy about the book was that it made mention of many stories I had read but forgot about and I plan on rereading most of them.

In his dozens of books, Stephen King has created a world like none other. Every book and every story are linked together to create a unifying world like none other in the world of fiction. Now, in the book The Stephen King Universe, three talented authors have collected all of King's work and have tried to show the link that ties them to one another.

The book is great as a reference manual on King's novel and stories. Every book receives a brief synopsis with a description of the major characters as well as a film synopsis/analysis if it applies.

Unfortunately, the book does have a few errors (like saying the the Black house - the next Talisman book - is actually the next Dark Tower Novel) but the book is mostly complete in describing the ties and links between the novels and films. Anyone who wants to learn more about the amazing world King has created should get this book. I enjoyed reading it and I'll keep it close whenever I'm reading a King novel.