Needfull Things finished!

[svensegers99]

as you all can see I finished Needfull Things and OMG what a book!
Good from beginning to end,no drags,no hard parts,just a reallyreally good book!
Again some "links" to other books when he uses The Talisman and I think the part where he talks about the dog is about Cujo?

Nothing else to say,great book!:eek2:

[ladyraven]

so glad you enjoyed it...what book are you gonna start next?

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Yup, a great book, and it is indeed Cujo.

If you haven't read it/them can I suggest The Dark Half for the earlier story of Alan Pangborn, and the story The Sundog in Four Past Midnight for the backstory on Pops Merrill?

Long days and pleasant nights

[bopropadop]

Hi,

Yup, a great book, and it is indeed Cujo.

If you haven't read it/them can I suggest The Dark Half for the earlier story of Alan Pangborn, and the story The Sundog in Four Past Midnight for the backstory on Pops Merrill?

Long days and pleasant nights


AWJS - Congratulations on finishing Needful Things!

Also, there was a reading group for Needful Things several months ago. You might want to check out the group in the social forums, see what others had to say, and add a thought or two of your own if you'd like. You can find it by clicking on Community in the menu bar, selecting Social Groups and searching for Needful Things.

[scotts_girl]

yes it is one off my favs glad you enjoyed it

[Danivan]

I loved this one too, Mr. Gaunt is just so evil. Evil for the sake of being evil. Classic!

[svensegers99]

so glad you enjoyed it...what book are you gonna start next?

next will be the talisman and after that cujo,these two and NT I got for my last birthday:blush:

I notice there are a lot of stories with the same characters which is cool.
Guess you could combine all the books in one big story:biggrin2:
In the end I will read them all,I just need time:grinning:

[JohnDalglish]

next will be the talisman and after that cujo

I notice there are a lot of stories with the same characters which is cool.
Guess you could combine all the books in one big story:biggrin2:
:

Hi,

Indeed, there's a theory that Sai King has only written one story, in many volumes.

Enjoy The Talisman (you will) and may I respectfully suggest you read Black House immediately after it for exactly the reasons you've mentioned?

Long days and pleasant nights

[Srbo]

next will be the talisman and after that cujo,these two and NT I got for my last birthday:blush:

I notice there are a lot of stories with the same characters which is cool.
Guess you could combine all the books in one big story:biggrin2:
In the end I will read them all,I just need time:grinning:

NT is a great book.

As for the connections:


http://www.stephenking.com/darktower/connections.html

[sidthekid27]

One of my favorites. Leland Gaunt- a name that's been on my mind recently. Not sure why.

Hmmmm.... :oo:

[blunthead]

next will be the talisman and after that cujo,these two and NT I got for my last birthday:blush:

I notice there are a lot of stories with the same characters which is cool.
Guess you could combine all the books in one big story:biggrin2:
In the end I will read them all,I just need time:grinning:You need time?! Slacker! Just kidding.

[Sintify]

I haven't read this book yet, although I have it on my shelf, rescued it from a flea market (hardcover) for a quarter. I have heard mixed reviews and I guess that is why I am holding off on it.

[Leland]

Needfull Things was (I think) the first Stephen King book I ever read and have re-read it a few times now. Sintify - I know there are mixed reviews but once you start it you will not put it down very easily, it was enough to put me on the road to reading his other works :smile2:

[karend3]

Yes it was Cujo as it is Castle Rock and it is Alan Pangborn. I loved the book but I felt they kept some of the best stories out of the movie, like the two women fighting over Elvis Presley and of course Ace Merrill is never mentioned.

[blunthead]

My interest in the novel Needful Things began with the movie, which impressed me. It may be true that when I saw it, I wasn't even aware that it was based on a sK book, because I became a fan of his years later.

The story is very unique and ingenious, and, not surprisingly, written very well. It's certainly a page-turner, and is highly recommended.

[thymeoperator]

i'm not sure if i'm remembering correctly but i saw the film of NT before the book, maybe 8 years ago, and only just read the book a couple months ago - in the film didn't polly take off the charm and get wracked with hideous pain and end up crawling on the floor trying to get the charm back? because that terrified me! so i was expecting it in the book, but instead she took it off and realised the pain wasn't actually as bad as she'd been building it up to be in her mind - and i wound up thinking that was still more powerful. i particularly related to her all throughout that book since i have tourette's syndrome and sometimes i feel like i'd sell my soul to get rid of the pain but equally know, for many medical reasons, it wouldn't actually be worth it. her character really moved me, and inspired me.

[nomadnyc]

I absolutely love this book. For me, the book just got better and better as it went on. I love the references to some of SK's other work and some other things such as the Lovecraftian names that are written in graphitti.

[Mark R]

I enjoyed this book and got through it in next to no time. I enjoyed it so much that I was desperate to see what the movie version was going to be like.
The movie was well put together but I enjoyed the read a whole lot more. This is one that I will be going back to for sure.

[Sarlinov]

wonderful book, love it. one of the best

terrible movie, the absolute worst.

[terminus]

Finished Needful Things last night after staying up to 2.30am! But it was definately worth it. An excellent read throughout. I loved all the detail to the characters and Mr Gaunt was a perfect villian. He really was just so evil! I especially liked the ending where you know it will just all happen again in another unsuspecting town.

[luckeyskinner]

I have been on a Stephen King kick all summer. It started with a roadtrip to Maine. (Isle Au Haut has the best trails - I highly recommend camping there). While in Bangor, I picked up Needful Things in the Betts Bookstore (dedicated strictly to King books and several tomes on aviation - another recommendation), and I too just finished reading.

I have to say, I take one issue with your post: the good "from beginning to end - " specifically the "to end" - part.

I have to say I LOVED most of the book. It never ceases to amaze me how Stephen King can introduce so many characters and keep my interest in all of them. I don't even have to resort to keeping "character charts" in pencil on the back cover of the book (Anyone else have to read Faulkner in high school?). Usually when an author has so many characters working at once, I lose interest in some and cannot wait to get to the next chapter that features the characters I am interested in. That is not the case with this book. EVERYONE in Castle Rock kept me rapt, especially my favorite, Aunt Evvie. And the images of those tainted treasures - the ratty, rotting fox tail wrapped around Hugh's neck and the bent, paint-chipped metal horses splattered with Myrtle's fresh blood - made my skin crawl.

HOWEVER, what is UP with the last few chapters? Why does Alan suddenly possess magical powers at such a convenient time, when there is nothing supernatural even hinted at regarding his quickness and his adeptness at tricks of the hand? It felt like cheating to me. Surely there was a way that Alan could have mentally defeated or tricked Gaunt without a ray of magical light intervening? (That is also my one beef with The Stand - why the Hand of God?).

Also, I think dialogue gets so corny near the end! "Did I just see that fella's car turn into a wagon and go flying off into the sky?"..."Let's just say there was the biggest going out of business sale you ever saw, only some of us weren't buying."...WHAT?!

It seems like King spent so many hours laboring over hundreds and hundreds of pages, and then, at the end, he was like, "Screw it! Let's just wrap this thing up already!" Anyone else feel this way???

P.S. I would like to say I am only complaining because I like SK's books so much. I have high expectations every time I pick one up. And this one was so good most of the way, the let down at the end was doubly bad. I have the same problem with XFiles. I love the good episodes so much, then the second movie comes out, I have high hopes, I go to see it, and it's like, "WHAT?! NO!!!"

[bopropadop]

HOWEVER, what is UP with the last few chapters? Why does Alan suddenly possess magical powers at such a convenient time, when there is nothing supernatural even hinted at regarding his quickness and his adeptness at tricks of the hand? It felt like cheating to me. Surely there was a way that Alan could have mentally defeated or tricked Gaunt without a ray of magical light intervening? (That is also my one beef with The Stand - why the Hand of God?).

Welcome and thanks for your post!

Complaints are fair and welcome. We're here to discuss things just like this. I think I understand where you're coming from, though I didn't experience the same "disappointment." I tend to look forward to these supernatural endings when ordinary people do extraordinary things or some greater force intervenes. Gives me some hope that we're capable of great things in traumatic times. That's just my two cents.

Hopefully some others will join in the discussion and we'll all benefit from the exchange.

Again, welcome and please enjoy your time here!

[baylorbear2008]

So I finally finished it last night...good book, and I liked the references to The Dark Half and Cujo in the end, however, it did seem like a stretch. Could it be that Gaunt was a minion of The Crimson King and that is why the white light hurt him so? Kind of interesting if you ask me.

[randallFlaggfan1]

Great book. Classic King. I'll be rereading Needful Things sometime this year.

[Scott C]

The last book i read was needful things (awesome cover to cover) and i agree with Bopropadop in that i look forward to the supernatural side to things in SK books...think of how aweful reading would be if everything was based on reality...reading is just the opposite for me..it's my escape from reality!!!