Nice...King has a way with the apocalypse

Uncle B I hope your right, Cell was the first King Book I have read in years since the Gunslinger, and a couple of others I can’t remember the names right off. Cell starts out like gangbusters, then the ending falls flat same with The Mist, (Book on Tape) brilliant, premise, execution then his ending has you thinking WTF?
Also has anybody noticed he has a real issue with religion?

@donc48, who says, "Also has anybody noticed he has a real issue with religion?"

No, just religious nutjobs, who are mentally unstable, weak-minded people and make great horror villains. Actually, if you read The Stand and some of his other works, you get the impression that King is actually very religious himself. Perhaps some hardcore fan knows better and will correct me.

King portrays every religious person in his stories as a nutjob ala "The Mist". Worse, he does so in a preachy, juvenile manner. I lost all respect for him when he insulted servicemembers like myself accusing us of an inability to read. This is his quote...

"I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got, the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that. It's, it's not as bright. So, that's my little commercial for that."

King, himself, is a narcissistic lunatic who's stories have gotten worse as the years pass. His final sin was writing himself into the gunslinger series. It really is kind of pathetic.

You have to be pretty ignorant to think King hates god/faith, which is what I assume you meant by religion. A great example for you to read is Desperation, the whole story is faith driven, God competing against a lesser god, aka demon. Most of his books (not all) have a spiritual component to them with the good guys usually triumphing over the bad. The Stand is another good example where it is God vs. the Devil and the hand of god (literally) actually plays a large part in the story. He actually has a problem with fanaticism and dogma, which is where reading comprehension comes in to play. I'm looking at you Pete. Bad dog is on the right track.

"He actually has a problem with fanaticism and dogma, which is where reading comprehension comes in to play. I'm looking at you Pete."

So, read the rest of Pete's post, Mr. "Lookin at You."

Sheesh, fanatics are silly.

Please Tommy Boy, no one said that. He OBVIOUSLY has a problem with Christian religion, not God. Generic spiritualism he's fine with, of course. He just hates organized Christianity, or as you say, fanaticism and dogma. I bet he doesn't have a problem with fanatical devout Buddhists, or Hindus. It's pure hypocrisy, his writings.

Pete was right. His earlier works were far superior. He's unfortunately become more of a creed spouting Kool-aid drinker recently. I miss his actual study of horror and how people reacted to it on a personal level, and societal. Now he's just lambasting certain sections of society. You watch, he'll do EXACTLY the same thing in this new book. It's a shame, really.

Skinstripper, both of the examples I mentioned, Desperation and the Stand, both dealt with the Christian God as the character of light in the stories and the purveyor of miracles. I wasn't equating "organized Christianity" with fanaticism and dogma and I don't think that King does this either. However, I will agree that King does focus more on the shortcomings of the practice of modern Christianity more than other religions. That may come from the fact that he grew up and lives in a predominately Christian nation, it would influence your writing as well. Also, I do agree that his work has gone far downhill in the past few years.

Well, I don't think the problem here is my reading comprehension as you so eloquently insinuated in an insulting way. My problem with King is, as I said before, his narcissistic bent. It has ruined his more current works. The novels and shorts he wrote in the past bare little resemblance to his more current creations. He has become, in my view, "bitter". Especially towards Christians only now in a more general sense. It will come through in his new film in spades, I assure you.
Since, obviously my reading comprehension is terrible and I lack the intelligence to fully realize what a masterful storyteller King is. That is because, as he stated, I am in the military. I probably don't have a degree. I am lookin' at you too Tommy Boy. Wait, what does that even mean?
Sheesh, indeed.

As a big King fan (since the 70's) I'm afraid this is a rip-off. Not of Simpsons The Movie but of a novel by Robert R McCammon titled 'Stinger'. Published in the 80's.

Wow, so many weird directions in this argument, where to begin?

First, if you have a problem with King because you think he's narcissistic, that has nothing to do with how he perceives religion.

Second, the statement by Skinstripper, "He just hates organized Christianity, or as you say, fanaticism and dogma," makes no sense. King obviously does not like religious nutjobs because, well, they're obnoxious, unstable, dangerous people who use religion as a cover for being obnoxious, unstable and dangerous. That has nothing to do with organized Christianity or Christians in general, which is an entirely different thing than people who hijack it for their own purposes. Do not confuse Christians with people who pretend to be Christians and then you won't make the mistake of thinking King does.

The reason you don't see menacing, wackjob fundamentalist Buddhists in King's story is probably because King doesn't live in China. He lives in the U.S., where there are plenty of dopes who are exactly the kind of dangerous, unstable and obnoxious characters he writes into his stories.

As far as King talking about the Army, he wasn't disparaging the military, obviously. He was disparaging illiteracy and its effect on limiting your options in life. If you join the Army and you're gung ho to do that for a living, then good for you. If you join the Army because you didn't learn the basics in school and you have to join the Army because you have no other decent prospects, then you're an idiot. If you want to be sensitive and get upset over what he said and "shoot the messenger," then knock yourself out, but you're being dishonest.

All that being said, I think King's later stuff is terrible. His early stuff is very good, and The Stand, to me, is one of the greatest, enduring works of modern literature, but after a while he started to parody himself, and I honestly can't stand him anymore.

Stephen king should direct all films based on his works.

He is a brilliant director!
He is a brilliant director!
He is a brilliant director!

All hail the king!

That jerk who accidentally hit king with his car is so lucky he didn't kill him. Because then he would have tragically had a mysterious accident.

Stephen king is a national treasure as far as I am concerned.

I'm gonna have to go out on a limb here and risk eggs and tomatoes and say that The Mist was a truly great horror/PA movie. The end is a real *ss kicker, too.

Stephen King is not a National Treasure, He is a "Universal Treasure". I'm Australian, and the National Treasure tag is somewhat limited, and an insult. He is the ONE person (and I do not mean this figuratively or in any way flippantly) that is he was not here, it would be a tragedy of cosmic proportions. Not just a localised Earth tragedy, or even less, and "American" tragedy. I am a misantrhrope, and can not think of any one person other than King that the world would be worse off without.

Get over it mate, he writes books, he doesnt cure cancer. Having said that, I like quite a lot of what he has written.. The Stand, and The Dark Tower(s) are in my top ten. (since we are on king (and the stand) why was the "RF" initials for the bad guy/devil a constant.

As to similarities between "the dome" and other works...
I have been trying to recall the name of the story that "under the dome" reminds me of.
I have just found my copy of Grof Conklins' "The Golden Age of Science Fiction".

The story is called "The Lanson Screen" by Arthur Leo Zagat. It concerns a matter screen erected around Manhatton. It is only supposed to be active for 10 minutes. The screens creator, Lanson, dies whilst the screen is functioning, Nobody inside the dome, can turn it off. Two generations later amother scientist concocts a way to enter the dome, where he finds the diary of one of those stuck inside. it is later read on the televised news.