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Post by dem bones on Mar 18, 2009 14:58:10 GMT
Stephen King - Danse Macabre: The Anatomy of Horror (Futura, 1982) Forenote: October 4, 1957, and an Invitation to Dance Tales of the Hook Tales of the Tarot An Annoying Autobiographical Pause Radio and the Set of Reality The Modern American Horror Movie - Text and Subtext The Horror Movie as Junk Food The Glass Teat, or, This Monster Was Brought To You By Gainesburgers Horror Fiction The Last Waltz: Horror and Morality, Horror And Magic
Afterword Appendix I: The Films Appendix II: The Books IndexBlurb: DANSE MACABRE is a unique combination of fantasy and autobiography, of classic horror writing honed to an unforgettable edge; an analysis of horror, terror and the supernatural in films, television and books by the bestselling master of the genre — Stephen King Ranging across the whole spectrum of horror in popular culture and going back to the seminal classics of Count Dracula and Frankenstein, Stephen King describes his ideas on how horror works at many levels, and how he brings it to bear in his own inimitable novels."It's easy enough - perhaps too easy - to memorialize the dead. This book is for six great writers of the macabre who are still alive. Robert Bloch, Jorge Luis Borges, Ray Bradbury, Frank Belknap Long, Donald Wandrei, Manly Wade Wellman"- King's dedication, Danse Macabre. If I've ever come across a critique of the horror/ fantasy genre in all its manifestations quite like King's, then i must have done so on auto-pilot as i sure don't remember it. He rambles. He reminisces. He clowns. He takes us dowsing in the wood with his kindly Uncle Clayt. He meanders all over the map like the most ill-disciplined Vault threads (also known as our 'best' ones). As such, Danse Macabre is almost a magazine; you can read it cover to cover if that's your fancy, but it works just as well if you dip in and out where you want, leave it alone for days, return, pick up some place else. Comes the day you realise you've read the entire thing, just not in the order it was presented. It's probably fair to assume that his fans would have preferred the next big blockbuster Stephen King novel, and Danse Macabre might just be the Stephen King book with appeal for people who are too snobbish ("I couldn't possibly read anything the "common man" reads because I am a superior being"), lazy ("I've got Salems Lot on DVD, why bother reading it?"), simply lack the stamina to tackle his epics (guilty, your honour. Have you seen the size of The Stand and It?), indifferent, or just plain don't like his fiction. The chapter on horror literature is typical of the whole, glorious sprawling mess. It's a celebration of his favourite novels and shorts by Peter Straub, Shirley Jackson, Jack Finney, Ramsey Campbell, James Herbert, Anne Rivers Siddon, Richard Matheson, Ira Levin, Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury, but he's as like to drag in everyone and everything from Robert Aickman to The Incredible Hulk, Seabury Quinn to Anarchy In The UK, Jehovah's Witness newsletter The Watchtower to the Ramones, his beloved E.C. comics to Joyce Carol Oates, The Sucking Pit to the Jonestown Massacre. And I love him for it. He's also an astute commentator on horror trends and those insufferably up themselves pseudo-academics who make up their minds about an author they've never read just 'cause he or she actually manages to sell to "ordinary" people rather than remain the exclusive property of Demi-Gods like themselves. Here's King on James Herbert, a comment that actually broke the Bethnal Green messiah to the US. "It's true that he is held in remarkably low esteem by writers in the genre of both sides of the Atlantic; when I've mentioned his name in the past, noses have automatically wrinkled (it's little like ringing a bell in order to watch conditioned dogs salivate), but enquire more closely, you find that remarkably few people in the field have actually read Herbert – and the fact is that James Herbert is probably the best writer of pulp horror to come along since the death of Robert E. Howard and I believe that Conan's creator would have responded to Herbert's work with immediate enthusiasm ... " So, if you've never read King and don't intend checking out his novels, the next time you see a Danse Macabre hanging around at a car boot sale for a quid or so, why not give it a chance? Just be warned. His enthusiasm is contagious and you might even get to like him.
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Post by killercrab on Mar 18, 2009 16:15:39 GMT
I've got this with a different cover . I bought it back in the day and loved it. I think I tried to read it front to back but ended up with sorties on chapters! I'm still wont to pull it out even now missus. I've a ton of King books - Salem's Lot probably remains my favourite - though Thinner is a great novella under the Bachman moniker. Watched a documentary interview with him a year back - fascinating mind - sad that his eyesight is failing . First time I read PET SEMETERY I couldn't finish it - threw it away in fact I felt it so horrrific an idea. Later bought the book again in New York ( not name dropping honest) and it helped me keep my mind off some terrible air turbulance on the way home. A cathartic book in many ways to me. I think when Clive Barker came along alot of horror fans disregarded King in favour of the new flavour - but King remains brilliantly readable at the least and oft times extremely memorable . He fused pop culture and horror for a new audience much like Herbert was doing over here when nobody else had the key.
Excellent post !
ade
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Post by allthingshorror on Mar 18, 2009 18:30:35 GMT
Not got that much respect for this book - it's okay - but he does jump on the weighty bandwagon and slags off Plan 9 from Outer Space You would have thought with his backround of loving those EC comics - he would have had a little bit more of an appreciative eye for the most amazing little film on the planet.
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Post by mattofthespurs on Mar 19, 2009 8:27:10 GMT
Marvellous description Dem, spot on. I love this book and a quick mosey on over to my bookshelves confirm this as I have no fewer than 6 copies of the book.
This is one of my most read King books (along with "On Writing", "Hearts Of Atlantis" and "The Shining") and it's the book that put me on to several authors when I first read it in 1981 like Bradbury, Bloch, and the EC comics.
It would definately be one of my desert island books.
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Post by mattofthespurs on Mar 19, 2009 8:30:03 GMT
IFirst time I read PET SEMETERY I couldn't finish it - threw it away in fact I felt it so horrrific an idea. I felt the same way about Dan Simmons "Song Of Kali". I did finish SoK but after reading the last page I threw it across the room. It chilled me to my marrow. I think Simmons tackles, and makes a better fist, of a child in danger than King but as usual King hits all the right notes at the right time. Whilst Simmons provoked disgust from me King brought out a sympathy for the characters instead.
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Post by mattofthespurs on Mar 19, 2009 8:31:40 GMT
Not got that much respect for this book - it's okay - but he does jump on the weighty bandwagon and slags off Plan 9 from Outer Space You would have thought with his backround of loving those EC comics - he would have had a little bit more of an appreciative eye for the most amazing little film on the planet. To be fair to King he was slagging of "Plan 9" a fair while before it became such a joke in the late 80's and early 90's.
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Post by glodfinger on Jul 30, 2009 23:22:09 GMT
It's a good book, although my personal gripe is the fact that he slagged off KOLCHAK-THE NIGHT STALKER series. Still, as another fan of the show has said 'Who am I to argue with the creator of MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE?'
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Post by killercrab on Jul 31, 2009 1:51:08 GMT
Count me in as a Karl Kolchak series fan! Were any novels published to tie into the series - seems like a no brainer to me? I remember seeing Dark Shadows novels.
KC
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Post by glodfinger on Jul 31, 2009 18:44:43 GMT
The original Jeff Rice novel THE NIGHT STALKER was published to tie in with the series. Rice also adapted Richard Matheson's follow up, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, into a book. A couple of years ago Moonstone Books brought out an anthology of original Kolchak short stories called KOLCHAK : THE NIGHT STALKER CASEBOOK. I've not read the latter, although I've read some good reviews. One of the stories is written by the chap who did the 25th Anniversary Companion book.
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Post by Johnlprobert on Aug 1, 2009 20:52:12 GMT
The Night Stalker antho from a couple of years ago is excellent! Hard bitten noirish but fun horror detective stories that I thought were better than many episodes of the show!
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