Peter Straub and Stephen King Style

[michal]

It's funny, when I read Bag of Bones I could literally tell what parts were Stephen King's and which were Peter Straub's.

Being a Constant Reader for so many years I recognize Mr. King's style the way I would my my mother's cooking, but in this book -being written by two writer, is where I felt it most.

Does anyone feel the same?

[Lencho_of_the_Apes]

Michal... is Bag Of Bones really the book you're talking about? SK and PS wrote The Talisman and Black House together, but Bag Of Bones is SK by himself, no collaboration.

We all float down here.

[wally wonder]

didn't have a clue, michal. some suspicions. i'd have to look at my crib sheet to tell you what i thought. i think the mod said on a thread to-do w/this that they tried to mimic each other. but does that mean if in one part rebecca 9was that her name? vilas?0 uses the expression 'me foine bucko' that straub wrote it? and in another, a character exclaims, 'i'm vexed, stephen! intolerably and something or other vexed!' i think they had fun w/it. :y:

[dwalters]

I haven't read much of Peter Straub's work, but I definitely picked up on a few "King-ism's" on my recent re-read of Black House.

One thing I would be very interested to know is if Peter Straub contributed to any of the Dark Tower lingo in this book. When I see things like Ka and mention of Breakers, etc, I just assume that those parts are Sai King's contributions since the Dark Tower is his own creation, but it would be cool to hear that Straub threw around some of those terms himself. Or what would be even more interesting is if Straub, in an effort to mimic King while writing Black House, used an element from one of King's other books and King liked the idea so much he decided to include in the DT series. Something like Mr. Munshun identifying Ted Brautigan as the chief Breaker for instance...

[Lass Chance]

It's funny, when I read Bag of Bones I could literally tell what parts were Stephen King's and which were Peter Straub's.

Being a Constant Reader for so many years I recognize Mr. King's style the way I would my my mother's cooking, but in this book -being written by two writer, is where I felt it most.

Does anyone feel the same?

The biggest diff, to me is...in reading SK, enough of him gets through that we Readers come to know him as a basically sane, happy, very together guy---loving husband, father, a man who remembers his childhood fondly. Clearly his mom loved him. But reading Straub reveals a much different kinda guy. While Sk WRITES about the Dark Side, I get the impression Straub LIVES there. Pretty creepy guy, IMO.

Lass Chance

[GLewman]

I'm reading Black House right now and it is fairly easy to spot two different styles of writing in it. It seems, and I may be wrong, that Peter Straub does more description like he is on the outside looking in. He describes the flying from location to location setting the scenes. SK is more direct and does the characters in the first person. Direct dialogue and bringing the characters to life like what Burn Burn is thinking and developing the relationship between Jack and Henry. It really is like reading two books in one :)

[throne_92]

Peter Straub gave SK the idea to connect Talisman/Black House with the DT. That's why I'm itching to know the main involvement from Jack in the DT books...

[muskrat]

When it talks about baseball and arc sodium lights, it's King.

When it talks about jazz and beer brewing, it's Straub.

Unless they're just trying to mess with me...

[JohnDalglish]

When it talks about baseball and arc sodium lights, it's King.

When it talks about jazz and beer brewing, it's Straub.

Unless they're just trying to mess with me...

Hi,

An' woodchucks, don't forget den pesky woodchucks.

Can't want for Talisman 3.

Long days and pleasant nights

[dsurrett]

I've been through both books twice and can't tell who wrote what, though the overall style seems more like King than Straub. Whoever edited the books did a great job of putting the finishing touches on two seamless tapestries.

[mistyh]

Black House was not one of my favorites, but it was pretty creepy though. Imagine travelling through the toilet! Uhggg! :) I am trying to read KoKo, now - has anyone read this one by Peter Straub? I definitely prefer SK over Straub, I feel like Straub seems to struggle through his books, and sometimes I get lost. It seems like when I catch the groove of reading in one of his books, the flow stops and starts in a different direction. Might be just me, don't know.

[omm poppa mow mow]

Black House was not one of my favorites, but it was pretty creepy though. Imagine travelling through the toilet! Uhggg! :) I am trying to read KoKo, now - has anyone read this one by Peter Straub? I definitely prefer SK over Straub, I feel like Straub seems to struggle through his books, and sometimes I get lost. It seems like when I catch the groove of reading in one of his books, the flow stops and starts in a different direction. Might be just me, don't know.

Yes, I've read Koko and I've reread it once. I think it is a great story, but that is me....crap crap crop crap crap crap crap crop...

something to do w/Thailand, as I recall.

Straub's stories, or the list that I have read, have this mystery-element to them...this question about where someone is...as in Koko...or whether that someone is still there or not....or just what the hail is going on, an element of mystery....and so on and so forth. That helps the story along, seems to me. I've never been disappointed in a Straub story.

Check out his Pork Pie Hat when you get a chance. Great story. There's a pile of others.

[CCRider529]

I am reading 'Lost Boy, Lost Girl' right now by Peter. As I was reading it yesterday, I thought to myself that Stephen, and him are alike in the way they tell a story. But this is the first book I have read just by Peter, so maybe I'm wrong..

[CarrieJo]

I enjoyed The Talisman SO much and am looking forward to reading Black House. I haven't read anything else of Straub's but he's definitely on my list of writer's to read. That being said, I couldn't really tell the difference between who was writing what in The Talisman. We will see what happens with Black House but I'm thinking I'll probably have a better idea of the differences once I read some of Straub's solo work. Which I very much look forward to.

[JohnDalglish]

I enjoyed The Talisman SO much and am looking forward to reading Black House. .

Hi,

You may possibly feel a little initial disappointment with the start of Black House, because it's very different from The Talisman, but after the first, oh, fifty pages or so you'll be right into it, marvellous book IMO.

Can't wait for Talisman 3!

Long days and pleasant nights

[dsurrett]

To me, Straub's work seems more psychological. Not sure if that's the right word, but it's the only one that comes to mind. I've read A Dark Matter and Magic Terror by him. Both are very dark. Magic Terror is a collection of short stories. Wouldn't be a bad place to begin if someone wants to read several styles by the one very good author.

[aliphil]

i thought stepehen king wrote bag of bones on his own????but i have got talisman to read upstairs..god i have go loads to catch up with lol...but if bag of bones was the 2 of them i defo never noticed any difrence in the writing

[Moderator]

Stephen did write Bag of Bones on his own. He wrote The Talisman and Black House with Peter Straub.