Horror Aficionados discussion

Maybe readers don't like The Mist because (view spoiler)[ it just sort of ends. There's never really much of an explanation. And the fate of father and his son is left unanswered. Although, I don't think the end of the movie is too different from the novella... (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[ In the novella the father does look at the gun at the end and seems to decide if it comes down to the monsters getting his son he would end it quickly... (hide spoiler)]

Charlene, I'm with you. I loved both endings and didn't think the novella "just ended" at all. (view spoiler)[I thought that if it comes down to it, the father would choose the least horrifying way for his son to die. But it's been a while since I read it. (hide spoiler)]

If The Mask was your only Koontz book, I would try another, especially if you liked it until the end. It isn't one of his best books.
You should try Hideaway or Phantoms.

And I agree. I love The Mist. I do like the end of the novella best though (view spoiler)[ I like that in the novella there is no escape. In the movie, they took the basic idea but twisted it in a way that changed it. It was very memorable though, and I admire the director for sticking to his guns and not changing how he wanted the movie to end. (hide spoiler)]

Tressa wrote: "Charlene, I'm with you. I loved both endings and didn't think the novella "just ended" at all. [spoilers removed]"

I didn't think so either. (view spoiler)[ To me, (IIRC), they were on their own and the outlook wasn't good and there was the hint that the dad would end it for both of them if necessary. That's not an "it just ended" ending for me. It's more of a "what do you think happened" type of ending.
Regarding the movie, first off it was an AWESOME ending for everyone who had read the book and thought that was the way the movie would end too. NOT. Secondly, to find out that it was all over immediately after the shooting made it that much worse, IMO. (hide spoiler)]
I love shit like that! :)

Charlene wrote: "I love shit like that! :)..."

*chuckle* You're evil, Charlene, and I like that!

I like how the reader of the story (view spoiler)[got that surprise ending. We all thought we knew how it ended, but we did not. I kind of remember the book ending on a hopeful note, so that you just assumed that perhaps the government (bwahahah!) would come together, exterminate the monsters, and somehow patch the country back together. If not, then I had faith that the father would end it HIS way, KWIM? So you're just supposed to use your own imagination there and think what you want to think...or what you have to think to make yourself feel better. (hide spoiler)]

I like how the movie was a surprise to everyone who watched it but the thing I didn't like about it was the whole (view spoiler)[ government comes in to save the day thing. I thought the book ended on a less hopeful note than the movie did. Yes, the boy died, and yes, the father killed him and that's a terrible ending. But I assume that the military stops the threat from going further. With the book's ending, I got the feeling that there was no stopping or outrunning it. And I do think that the father would end up killing his son in that circumstance too. (hide spoiler)]

How about "The Road" ? I hated the ending to that too.

I can see where you get that, Traci, since the book doesn't (view spoiler)[show us the military coming to save the day. But King leaves us with that ending where the father hears "Hartford" on the radio, which is a scenario included in a lot of dystopian stories where the survivors have a place to travel to in order to meet up with others and feel safe and continue to fight for the civilization of humans. On the other hand, even though we see the military in the movie, we have no idea what happens to civilization after that. Were they able to overcome the monsters? How many are out there? (hide spoiler)]

I am too chickenshit to read The Road.

Tressa, pfft..you've read way worse than The Road.

It was an easy, quick read and to be honest, I don't know what all the hoopla is about. I mean it was okay, and it had an unusual way of telling the story, but other than that...humph.

I read The Mist before I had my son. I don't know, some passages of The Road I saw about the vulnerability of the father and son when I flipped through it just made me put it down and not touch it again.

I can understand what Tressa is saying.

I have opted out of books in advance that deal with murders or violence involving kids because I just find the subject disturbing. For me it is not disturbing like scary or nightmare inducing. More like depressing. I remember watching The Titanic and the scene where the mom is telling fairy tales to her kids to distract them as the water comes up in the room and all I could think of is all the kids that really died on that ship and it depressed me.

This week, I started a book by John Saul (won't say which one) that was obviously progressing toward the murder of an infant and thought of my little grand-daughter running around the house and opted out.

Call me a wimp, I guess. I just didn't want to read about that.

I just don't enjoy dystopian fiction because some of this could come true. Not afraid of monsters, but am afraid of man.

the stand

the cellar and the turn of the screw so far this month.

Hannibal by Thomas Harris.

As much as I enjoyed The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon by the same author, I totally disliked the ending to Hannibal.

I have not read another Harris book since then and did not see the movie of the same name. Terrible ending.

Addy wrote: "For me it was Mist by the King, of course. I hated that ending! I was like, "No!!!!" And then thought about it for days."

It definitely left me wanting more but I'll definitely take how the book ended over how they ended the movie.

anuier wrote: "the cellar and the turn of the screw so far this month."

Why were you disappointed in the ending of Turn of the Screw? Are you interpreting the story as being true as told or that it was all the sick fantasy of a murderous, psychotic repressed old maid governess?

At the mountains of madness... I won't say much because I can't hide my spoilers, but you don't even get to the good stuff until the ending and then it so disappointing. Uh, but the shunned house and the dreams in the witches house were awesome.

One thing is clear: everyone has there own perceptions of what makes a great ending and what doesn't. Anuier didn't care for the Turn of the Screw... I thought it was devastating (by that I mean it really impacted me). Thank heavens for individual tastes...without them we'd never have book discussions. Great posts.

the whole story was a bore. if I didn't see the innocents I might have enjoyed it.

Goon By Edward Lee has an awful ending .

a scanner darkly ended to soon, would of been nice to read further on. it was getting better and better then it does

The Scream by Skipp and Spector. I loved it up until the end...let's just say it is a bit of an anticlimax when our heroes are barely involved in the...climax.

Rose Madder. Great first 3/4, ending was insanely bad

Under The Dome, I'm not a huge King fan but I did enjoy this book I just felt the ending didn't match the rest of the story.

I had no idea how King could end Under the Dome, and I was expecting to hate it, but I really liked it.

I hated how Let's Go Play At The Adams' ended, but it was fitting and made the book just that much more horrible.

I can't think of too many specific endings I was disappointed in, unless I would have preferred happier endings, which most horror stories don't deserve, IMO.

But I am not and never have been a fan of those generic horror book endings where the ragtag group of townsfolk or whoever bands together and kills the beast/monster/vampire/werewolf with some charm or chant or whatever. Those are so mainstream and lame.

King's biggest problem is that he gets literary diarrhea for 500 pages, then , when his brain is empty, slaps an ending on the whole thing.
It's like running a marathon....into a brick wall.

Wow Jon..when you put it like that it makes it seem like King can't write. Or that we know he can just not for the many pages to which he does.

Jon Recluse wrote: "King's biggest problem is that he gets literary diarrhea for 500 pages, then , when his brain is empty, slaps an ending on the whole thing.
It's like running a marathon....into a brick wall."

The Regulators ends with literal diarrhea.

Justin wrote: "Wow Jon..when you put it like that it makes it seem like King can't write. Or that we know he can just not for the many pages to which he does."

He can write.
He just doesn't know how to stop.

Jon Recluse wrote: "King's biggest problem is that he gets literary diarrhea for 500 pages, then , when his brain is empty, slaps an ending on the whole thing.
It's like running a marathon....into a brick wall."

This.

Gregor wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "King's biggest problem is that he gets literary diarrhea for 500 pages, then , when his brain is empty, slaps an ending on the whole thing.
It's like running a marathon....into ..."

The Regulators and Cell were the last two SK books I read. Both left me cursing.

I hated the ending of 1990 version of the Stand. Of course, I hated 99% of the restoration/updatings King made to the superior orginal.

And I thought the ending of Cell was one of his best endings.

Squire wrote: "I hated the ending of 1990 version of the Stand. Of course, I hated 99% of the restoration/updatings King made to the superior orginal.

And I thought the ending of Cell was one of his best endings."

I wish I would have read the cut of The Stand that was released originally.

A soap opera with snot.

Squire wrote: "

And I thought the ending of Cell was one of his best endings."

It was the levitating that did for me, rather than the 'actual' ending.

David wrote: "As much as I greatly admire the writing of Stephen King, the endings of both IT and Tommyknockers sucked. The ending of Under The Dome disappointed too.

Actually, IT gets my vote as the worst WTF!..."

I always found one of King's weaknesses to be endings. He's great with some things - like most writers - but they all have weaknesses and I think this is his. I didn't like a lot of the ending of IT, and I also disliked the ending half of the Shining.

Traci L. wrote: "My biggest problem with the ending of It was, [spoilers removed]"

I really hated it too. I can get them being gone the first half, but the second it just feels like they all get cheated IMO

For me it was The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom. From the blurb the book sounds so promising, and I did enjoy reading it, except for the ending. There was so much the author had hinted at and written throughout this book that was not explained or tied up at the end. The ending became a bit chaotic, like he didn't really know where it was going himself before hastily slapping 'The End' on it. It's a shame as it had the makings of a good book, but the ending seriously let it down!

Hannibal also gets my vote.

Chris wrote: "I can understand what Tressa is saying.

I have opted out of books in advance that deal with murders or violence involving kids because I just find the subject disturbing. For me it is not distu..."

If that was your first Saul book I would not bother with others. He strikes me as an author that uses the deaths of children for shock value.
I agree on IT, I love the book but the Spoiler gangbang (perfectly described) was just weird. And it was presented as being a sweet first time. Ew. Spoiler
Sorry, can't remember how to do spoiler tags.
The most recent I wasn't crazy about was Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Just a cheat in my opinion and a cheap play for emotion.

Donna wrote: "Misty wrote: "2 books jump out of me on this subject. Under The Dome was a good book and I was deep in it, then the ending just fizzled. It was like he wanted to throw any ending in there and get i..."

Amen to this. It often feels like SK just gets up of a morning, and decides he's had enough of telling 'this' particular story. That man has written so many good books, but some of his endings... meh!

I think I'm like one of five people in the world who actually loved the ending of Hannibal

I love Stephen King, but I frequently do not love his endings. Hated the ending of It. For 800 pages, I was enthralled then I got to the end and thought I read all of that for THIS. Ditto Dreamcatcher which I thought had an awful ending. Under the Dome was also a clunker, but better than I expected.

Michael wrote: "I love Stephen King, but I frequently do not love his endings. Hated the ending of It. For 800 pages, I was enthralled then I got to the end and thought I read all of that for THIS. Ditto Dreamcatc..."

In Dreamcatcher I had no idea what the heck was even happening at the end. I know a lot of people don't like the ending to Shutter Island but I thought it was pretty good.

Michael wrote: "I love Stephen King, but I frequently do not love his endings. Hated the ending of It. For 800 pages, I was enthralled then I got to the end and thought I read all of that for THIS. Ditto Dreamcatc..."

I agree, endings are his weakness. I hated IT's ending as well too.

The Dark Tower series had the worst ending I've ever read. It made me feel like everything that happened from book one on was completely pointless.

The House of Lost Souls by F.G. Cottam had a pretty lame ending. Talk about a deus-ex machina. While I also really liked Hell House by Richard Matheson I thou get the ending was...weak at best.