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Loved it, but that character has been a favorite of mine since she first appeared. As much as I enjoy King's books, it was irritating to constantly have to hear about his mask, Covid, and Trump views. I don't remember him ever pushing his personal views in a book to that extent. Nonetheless, l was looking forward to the book and wasn't disappointed.
I am a huge fan of many of his books, but he didn't used to do that. Maybe he just can't help himself because he feels so strongly about these issues, or perhaps he feels unheard so he's putting it in his stories? That's a turn off to me, no matter which side of the "argument" the author is on. Unless I'm reading a book where I know ahead of time that politics and idealogy are part of the genre. Can't we just have good fiction books and creative movies and TV shows anymore without the constant agenda pushing? Geesh, we're trying to read to escape all this madness for awhile...................
I am a huge fan of many of his books, but he didn't used to do that. Maybe he just can't help himself because he feels so strongly about these issues, or perhaps he feels unheard so he's putting it in his stories? That's a turn off to me, no matter which side of the "argument" the author is on. Unless I'm reading a book where I know ahead of time that politics and idealogy are part of the genre. Can't we just have good fiction books and creative movies and TV shows anymore without the constant agenda pushing? Geesh, we're trying to read to escape all this madness for awhile...................
Well put! Another author who took jabs at a certain political party in one of his novels was Wally Lamb.
He lost some fans as a result. I liked his first two novels but his third one was a bomb.
Ironically, I liked SK's novel about trying to stop the Kennedy assassination.
HOLLY definitely improved as it went along. Holly finally came alive as a character, and I really enjoyed the side-story with Barbara. Holly chasing the case was a lot of fun. But ...
I still found the villains rather underwhelming. King has written so many fantastic antagonists over the years (Margaret White, Barlow and Straker, the Overlook Hotel, Greg Stilson, Randall Flagg, Pennywise, Max Devore and Sara Tidwell, Brady Hartsfield). The big baddies in HOLLY were kinda boring. Mean and nasty? Yes. But never intriguing.
And yeah, the constant trumpet blasts about COVID, masking, vaccinations, Trump, yada-yada ... it didn't ruin the story for me. But it was definitely distracting. COVID somehow not only got a mention but got preachy in every chapter.
HOLLY definitely improved as it went along. Holly finally came alive as a character, and I really enjoyed the side-story with Barbara. Holly chasing the case was a lot of fun. But ...
I still found the villains rather underwhelming. King has written so many fantastic antagonists over the years (Margaret White, Barlow and Straker, the Overlook Hotel, Greg Stilson, Randall Flagg, Pennywise, Max Devore and Sara Tidwell, Brady Hartsfield). The big baddies in HOLLY were kinda boring. Mean and nasty? Yes. But never intriguing.
And yeah, the constant trumpet blasts about COVID, masking, vaccinations, Trump, yada-yada ... it didn't ruin the story for me. But it was definitely distracting. COVID somehow not only got a mention but got preachy in every chapter.
Ugh. I didn't read it yet. Not sure if I want to hear him preach about Covid each chapter.
You left out Annie Wilkes! I forget his name but the abusive husband in Rose Madder was a real creep.
Ugh. I didn't read it yet. Not sure if I want to hear him preach about Covid each chapter.
It didn't ruin the story for me at all. But it was definitely distracting. It reminded me a bit of the John Cleese joke:
"How do you know if someone is a vegan?"
"Don't worry. They will tell you. And tell you. And tell you. And tell you. And tell you. And tell you. And tell you. And tell you."
In HOLLY, the joke seems to be, "How do you know if Stephen King supports COVID vaccines and masking and is not a MAGA fan?"
"Don't worry. He'll tell in Chapter 1. And in Chapter 2. And in Chapter 3. And in Chapter 4. And in Chapter 5. And in Chapter 6. And in Chapter 7. Need I go on? Because King does."
Location: Lakewood NJ/Murrells Inlet SC/ N. Naples FL/Swainton NJ
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SK's injection of his political and Covid leanings did not bother me since I pretty much feel the same. Al though I am bummed by his love of the Red Socks.
Remember this is a novel that takes place in the recent past. And Holly is a character who would be on the liberal side of things and paranoid about Covid, especially since her mother recently died of it. The only thing I find personally troubling about her is the smoking. Hope she quits in future novels (much like Harry Bosch did).
A decade from now when the current remaining political mess and the Covid pandemic are just historical footnotes, I believe that readers will not be at all bothered as some current readers seem to be.
SK's injection of his political and Covid leanings did not bother me since I pretty much feel the same. Al though I am bummed by his love of the Red Socks.
Remember this is a novel that takes place in the recent past. And Holly is a character who would be on the liberal side of things and paranoid about Covid, especially since her mother recently died of it. The only thing I find personally troubling about her is the smoking. Hope she quits in future novels (much like Harry Bosch did).
A decade from now when the current remaining political mess and the Covid pandemic are just historical footnotes, I believe that readers will not be at all bothered as some current readers seem to be.
Myself? I am vaccinated and wear a mask in public. Wouldn't vote for Trump if you held a gun to my head. In terms of the politics of this whole mess, honestly I probably agree with Stephen King.
But I still found his constant harping on it in this book to be distracting. King is a great storyteller. He isn't a very good preacher.
I know Stephen King doesn't like a lot of the film adaptations of his books....although he loved Stand By me.
(Books are always better than movies!)
I would say books are usually better than the movies. But not always. And STAND BY ME is one of those exceptions. The original novella is decent. The movie is a classic.
In King territory, I also think DELORES CLAIBORNE the movie was better than the book. Not that the book was bad. I liked it. But the movie was better.
Just got done reading this book. I thought it was ok...not really that great. I think it was because of what everyone has already said. I read to escape the crap in real life that is always on the news. That is why I read Fiction. King should not have kept up the background harping on masks, vacinnations, and covid. It distracted from the story for me.
There are a lot of good authors with good thriller/horror/supernatural story lines that blow this particular King book out of the ballpark.
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I forget his name but the abusive husband in Rose Madder was a real creep.
