DNF 30%

I simply couldn't finish it. Years ago, I read The Tommyknockers. At that time, I remember thinking it was an overly long and meandering piece of drivel. However, as I've become more tolerant of King's verbose works in recent years, I decided to give it another try.

But what I really should have done was read the quote by King himself from Rolling Stone. It basically sums up the whole situation. He said, "I mean, The Tommyknockers is an awful book. That was the last one I wrote before I cleaned up my act. And I’ve thought about it a lot lately and said to myself, “There’s really a good book in here, underneath all the sort of spurious energy that cocaine provides, and I ought to go back.” The book is about 700 pages long, and I’m thinking, “There’s probably a good 350 - page novel in there.”

This whole thing reads like someone who was completely off their head on drugs published a book without bothering to edit it first. And I guess that might very well be exactly what happened. It's a real disappointment, especially considering King's otherwise impressive body of work.

“Late last night and the night before, Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door.”

The Tommyknockers is a wild and unpredictable ride that takes the reader on a journey full of insanity and mystery. From the very beginning, I was both intrigued and overwhelmed by the story. I wanted to get off so many times, but the sheer madness of it all had me holding on tightly until the very end.

Bobbi Anderson's discovery of a buried flying saucer behind her house sets off a chain of events that lead to some truly strange and wonderful (and sometimes painful) experiences. The pacing of the book is a bit uneven, with some parts flying by and others dragging on with unnecessary descriptions and conspiracy theories. However, there are also some really great moments in the story, especially when King focuses on the small town of Haven and its inhabitants.

The ending of the book was, in my opinion, fantastic. The final section was the strongest, and King managed to tie up all the loose ends in a satisfying way. There were also some really fun Easter eggs throughout the book, which added an extra layer of enjoyment for me. However, as I was writing this review and thinking back over the story, I realized that I was still a bit confused about some of the details. Maybe a reread would help, but for now, I'm going to give this one 2.5 stars.

Thanks to @skipbassman for the great buddy read! It was definitely an experience, and I'm glad we had each other to share it with.

Pronto reseña!

This phrase immediately catches our attention. It implies a quick review or assessment.

Perhaps it's used in a context where time is of the essence, and a rapid evaluation is needed.

It could be for a product, a service, a book, or any other item that requires a judgment.

The word "pronto" emphasizes the speed at which the review should be done.

It gives a sense of urgency and importance.

Maybe the person using this phrase is in a hurry to make a decision based on the review.

Or perhaps they want to share their thoughts quickly with others.

In any case, "Pronto reseña!" indicates that a speedy evaluation is即将到来.

It leaves us wondering what will be reviewed and what the outcome will be.

Will it be a positive or negative review?

Only time will tell as we await the "pronto reseña".

Let's face it. Stephen King can't write science fiction.

I'm truly not even certain why King even had the thought that Tommyknockers needed to be penned. It is abysmal science fiction and is in no way equivalent to his horror works. It fails to dazzle and doesn't shine with any particular luster. The most favorable thing I can state about it is that it doesn't have a rabid Saint Bernard as a feature.

Update: I might have to modify that initial sentence. King's 11-23-63 has demonstrated that he is capable of writing effective science fiction, at least within the speculative history sub-genre. However, I still hold a strong dislike for The Tommyknockers. It seems that King's foray into science fiction with Tommyknockers was a misstep, while 11-23-63 shows a glimmer of hope that he can master certain aspects of the genre. But overall, my opinion of The Tommyknockers remains unchanged.

We find ourselves in Haven, a fictional town located in New England. While walking in the woods behind her house, Roberta Anderson, known to her friends as Bobbi, a western writer, stumbles upon a metal object protruding from the ground. The woman begins to dig, ignoring the warnings of her inner voice, which sometimes sounds like her grandfather's, and also the barks of her faithful and now old dog Peter.

Because if at first Bobbi digs cautiously, then she will do it with increasing frenzy, until she forgets to eat and sleep. That piece of metal is part of an enormous spaceship buried for millions of years, which still emits energy. We are talking about a novel by Stephen King, so you can also understand that the energy can only be negative.

I was a bit worried when I started reading "The Tommyknockers" both because the reviews around were not very high and because I read complaints (from fans, I imagine) about the fact that King had written a science fiction novel when he should have limited himself to horror. Let me tell you: what nerve! (I don't know what stops me from saying worse).

I can no longer read these criticisms, which have nothing constructive. Why can't this blessed author write what he wants? Why is he attacked every time he strays from horror? It seems, among other things, that the criticisms are made regardless of the product. I wonder if these people really read the books they criticize or if, because it's not a horror, they start to criticize.

Now, it's true that a Stephen King book may not be to everyone's taste; some of his books didn't even appeal to me; opinions are subjective, for goodness sake. But with "The Tommyknockers" I really don't understand how it can be criticized. Why, you may be asking yourselves. Because the book is constructed in the typical way that King constructs his books, especially his big ones.

We first have a book divided into parts.

In the first part, "The Ship in the Earth", we get to know Bobbi and her faithful dog, and we already like this woman, and also her dog, of course. Here Bobbi discovers a piece of the spaceship, and here things start to get serious. But it doesn't end there, because in this first part we also meet Gard, Bobbi's best friend, lover, poet, almost always drunk, accused of having shot his wife and who very easily loses his patience when talking to someone who is in favor of nuclear energy. An unpleasant person? No. Exactly no. Let's say damned imperfect. That imperfect person that we like, despite everything.

In the second part, "Stories of Haven", we will read exactly this: the stories of some inhabitants of Haven, some more important than others. Among all, Ruth's stands out, whom we will love, like all the inhabitants of Haven, oh yes, and for whom, of course, we will suffer.

In the third part we meet the Tommyknockers, at least this is the name that Gard uses thinking of these creatures, which are nothing more than the inhabitants of Haven under the influence of the malevolent air of the spaceship and who have started to mutate, losing their human side. The name of these creatures actually comes from an old nursery rhyme:

"Last night late,

the Tommyknockers, the Tommyknockers,

they knocked and today still.

I would like to go out, but I don't know if I can,

because of the fear they put on me!"

And finally, the epilogue cannot be missing, where the last threads are pulled.

Now, if any of you have read any other King novel, doesn't this already seem like his classic construction to you? Just for this we could deduce that the novel is valid, because many of his best books were constructed in exactly this way. And if a thing works once, twice, three times, why shouldn't it work a fourth time? Because we have a science fiction book instead of a horror book? Come on, let's be serious! I understand if the criticisms were: "I can no longer stand King's books constructed in this way", well okay, your complaints would all fit in this case.

But let's get back to the book.

In your opinion, in an 800-page brick, could King omit various citations to his own books or books by other authors? Obviously not. As for his own books, "The Dark Tower" couldn't be missing: King talks about Ka and then, I don't know if it's a coincidence, but with this author I believe that nothing is a coincidence, to indicate the sun he used the words 'red eye'.

In a dialogue, the story of John Smith, the protagonist of "The Dead Zone", is mentioned.

The Alhambra, the all-black hotel from "The Talisman", is talked about, and on the beach Gard meets a nice boy named Jack (the same name as the protagonist of the just mentioned book).

A boy from Haven at a certain point, in the grip of hallucinations, has the impression of:

[…] seeing a clown grinning and peeking out from a manhole. A clown with shiny silver dollars for eyes and a bunch of balloons whose strings he held in his white-gloved hand.

Another character, Ev, very important in the book, will hear giggles coming from the pipes. And it's unnecessary to specify that Derry is not very far from Haven.

The scene from the movie "The Shining", taken from the author's同名 book, in which Jack hacks down the bathroom door with an ax, is also cited.

Regarding the ending, without spoiling it for you, a government installation in Virginia is talked about. Here there are two inaccuracies: it is said that it had once been razed to the ground by a boy, when in reality it was a girl; and that it was called the Shop: the English name was maintained (exactly the time when they should have changed it) when in "The Firestarter" (this is the book to which King refers) it was always called The Shop.

And then King also puts himself in, and of course it's not the first time this happens. Ev, talking about Bobbi, says:

[…] she wrote good western stories in which there was something to sink your teeth into with pleasure, good solid stories without all those invented monsters and all those swear words of the books that that guy from Bangor wrote, for example.

I also marked other things. For the millionth time King cites "The Wizard of Oz" and "Tom Sawyer". And then, as I told you at the beginning, with Gard there is a lot of talk about nuclear energy. In particular, the man is strongly opposed and here it is already noted how it reflects the ideas of Stephen King himself. Let's think that "The Tommyknockers" was published in 1987 and just the year before there had been the disaster at Chernobyl. King often uses his books to talk about and address current and uncomfortable topics, and once again he does it with another of his works.

Let's come to us. I will try to sum up and be brief because when I talk about a Stephen King book, most of the time I behave just like him: I lose the gift of synthesis along the way.

"The Tommyknockers" I really liked a lot and personally I count it among the best books of the author. It kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end and I will tell you that the way things went it even surprised me.

It's unnecessary to specify that once again I started having nightmares from the first day of reading. I dreamed of the Tommyknockers without imagining their face, it was their presence that scared me. I knew they were there, that they were there, in the darkness, ready to come out and suck out my human side; a green light was the only thing that illuminated those nightmares and the only words I remember are these: "No, the Tommyknockers, no. No, please."

How can I not recommend a book that has done this to me?

Another well-written '87 horror novel from Mr. King that could have been scarrier had he wished.

Stephen King is a master of the horror genre, and this particular novel from 1987 is no exception. The story is filled with elements that have the potential to send shivers down the reader's spine.

The characters are well-developed, and the setting is described in vivid detail, creating an atmosphere of unease and anticipation. However, some might argue that King could have taken the horror factor up a notch.

Perhaps he could have added more graphic descriptions or more intense moments of terror. Nevertheless, the novel still manages to hold the reader's attention and keep them on the edge of their seats.

Overall, it earns a solid 7 out of 10 stars for its engaging plot, well-written prose, and ability to create a sense of horror, even if it doesn't quite reach the level of absolute terror that some might have hoped for.

Escalofriante...

This story reminded me of a dream I had years ago. In that dream, my neighbors were hiding a spaceship in their garage. It was such a strange and vivid dream. I could clearly picture the garage, and the spaceship was just sitting there, looking all mysterious. I don't know why they would be hiding a spaceship, but it made for an interesting dream. Maybe it was my subconscious mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe it was a sign of something to come. Who knows? But it's a dream that I still remember to this day, and it always makes me smile when I think about it.

Jajaja.

I still don't understand why no one talks about this great book by King. Its content always makes you eager to continue reading, and the ending leaves you satisfied.

There are many connections with other books, including IT. This adds an extra layer of depth and interest to the story. It's as if King has created a vast universe where all his works are interconnected.

Perhaps one reason why this book may not get as much attention as it deserves is that it's overshadowed by some of King's more famous works. However, that doesn't mean it's any less worthy of being read and discussed.

In fact, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of King's writing or who enjoys a good thriller. It has all the elements that make King's work so great: interesting characters, a captivating plot, and a touch of the supernatural.

The Tommyknockers is a book that often gets a bad rap, but I firmly believe it deserves far more praise than it typically receives. While it may not be completely flawless, it is still an incredibly remarkable novel.

'Insanity is refusing to go down certain paths of speculation even though the logic is there... like a token for the turnstile.'

It presents a gripping and terrifying story of how an ancient alien force, hidden deep within the woods, takes over a small town in Maine. This force awakens the latent abilities of the townspeople and transforms them into something else entirely. The book is filled with an abundance of suspense, horror, humour, and emotion as we closely follow the fates of the townspeople, especially the two main characters: Bobbi Anderson, a writer of Westerns who stumbles upon the spaceship and becomes completely consumed with excavating it; and Jim Gardener, her old friend and lover, an alcoholic poet with a metal plate in his head that safeguards him from the alien influence.

'In that brief movement he could see how it would look coming out of the ground – he could see its shadow rippling slowly over the ground as it came up and out, could hear the unearthly wailing of its hull scraping over the bones of bedrock, could sense everyone in Haven looking this way as it rose into the sky, hot and glittering, a monstrous silver coin slowly heeling over to the horizontal for the first time in millennia, floating soundlessly in the sky, floating free...'

This novel is truly rich, masterfully blending numerous different stories into one huge and captivating narrative. For me, Book Two: Tales of Haven was a standout, and I couldn't help but draw comparisons with Needful Things in the way it linked multiple stories and vividly showed the real consequences of Bobbi's discovery in the woods.

For me, Gardener was the star of the book. He made me chuckle, gasp, and experience several very moving moments. He was a nuanced and imperfect character, grappling with alcoholism and the alien influence, yet also demonstrating great courage and loyalty. I adored his sarcastic remarks and his deep bond with Bobbi. He was a fantastic anti-hero if ever there was one. He also provided a great backdrop of paranoia and scepticism, which further added to the tense and uncertain nature of the events.

'It sounds like a bad ethnic joke. Imagine yourself driving along an American thruway – I-95 or I-70, maybe – and coming up on a sign that says PLEASE CLOSE ALL WINDOWS, TURN OFF ALL VENTILATION ACCESSORIES, AND DRIVE AS FAST AS YOUR CAR WILL GO FOR THE NEXT TWENTY MILES.'

The book delves into themes of addiction, creativity, identity, and power, as well as the perils of technology and nuclear war. It also pays homage to many classic works of science fiction and horror, such as The War of the Worlds, The Thing, and The Twilight Zone.

'It looked like the surface of a harsh, dead world. The gray earth was dry and cold; cracks gaped like dead reptilian mouths. They went zigzagging away in every direction. Overhead was a sky blacker than jewelers’ velvet, and a billion stars screamed down – they were brighter than the stars anyone on the surface of the earth had ever seen, because the place Hilly was looking at with the wide, horrified eye of his imagination was almost or totally airless.'

The Tommyknockers is a splendid and inventive work of fiction that will keep you completely engrossed and horrified until the very end.

Well, this is truly one of those rather mediocre 'King' moments for me.

'The TommyKnockers' appears to have a rather mixed bag of reviews on here. Many of the ratings seem to be right in the middle, and that's precisely where I find myself. It wasn't exactly spellbinding, nor did I have an absolute love affair with it. However, there were indeed some interesting chapters within this book that contained some rather wild characters whom I actually enjoyed reading about. I just don't think that Sci-fi 'King' is really for me, at least not this particular one.

I thought that the novel got off to an extremely promising start. We learn about Bobbi Anderson going for a walk in the woods. While she is there, she stumbles upon some metal that is sticking out from the ground. Due to Bobbi's natural curiosity, she begins to dig this up. And by doing so, she inadvertently lays a curse over the town of Haven, in Maine.

As the novel progresses, we get to meet Gardner, and various other interesting and somewhat vibrant characters. And this is all quite grand and wonderful, until the plot unfortunately turns into a rather confusing mess. King switches the narration rather frequently, which made my reading experience rather irritating and certainly not as enjoyable as it could have been. I had to reread certain parts in order to keep track of what was actually happening. And considering that this book is quite a hefty tome, one can easily imagine the amount of time that this took. I truly think that if just over a hundred pages were re-edited, this book would have read a whole lot smoother.

However, I must state that there were indeed a couple of classic King scenes in here. One such scene was that cocktail party with Gardner as our lead. That was some truly mind-blowingly crazy scene! It was as if King was on a roll, and I had the feeling that as he was writing it, he was writing with pure anger. It was pretty damn wonderful, and that is the King that I enjoy the most.

I think that this book had a few engrossing chapters in it, but the jumpy narrative left me rather frustrated and feeling rather cold. But if one happens to love both sci-fi and King, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try.

Stephen King's "The Tommyknockers" is a book that shows both promise and flaws. The story follows Bobbi Anderson, a writer who discovers a buried flying saucer while walking in the woods with her dog. Her friend Jim Gardner, a poet with a drinking problem and a hatred of nuclear power, gets involved in the excavation. As the ship is unearthed, its influence spreads, causing the townspeople to have strange physical and mental changes.

King himself admits that the book was written under the influence of cocaine, and it shows. The writing is often disjointed and filled with tangents that lead nowhere. There are also several continuity errors and logical inconsistencies in the plot. For example, the way the Tommyknockers transform people is never clearly explained, and there is a major error in the climax involving the sling used to lower Gardner and Bobbi into the excavation pit.

Despite these flaws, there are some interesting ideas and characters in the book. The concept of an ancient alien ship buried beneath a small town isintriguing, and Gardner is a well-developed character with a complex backstory. However, these elements are overshadowed by the book's many problems.

In conclusion, "The Tommyknockers" is a disappointing read. While it has some redeeming qualities, it is ultimately let down by its sloppy writing and inconsistent plot. It's a shame, because there is the potential for a great book hidden beneath all the flaws.

Maybe King should have gone back and rewritten it like he said he wanted to.

This particular work has a rather mixed reputation. Stephen King himself has even said that it is a bad novel.

It seems to be all over the place, lacking a clear and cohesive structure. Personally, I didn't feel that the science fiction elements were executed well at all. Perhaps it's because I've been reading a lot of excellent science fiction lately, which has set a high standard for me.

However, there are a few aspects that I do sort of like. The main character, Gard, has some redeeming qualities, and the town in which the story takes place also has a certain charm. But unfortunately, there wasn't much else for me to really get behind.

I don't think I would recommend this book to just anyone. Unless you are a die-hard fan of Stephen King and are determined to read everything he has written, I would probably suggest skipping this one. There are many other great science fiction novels out there that are much more值得 reading.