The Shining by Stephen King

(pb; 1977: prequel to Doctor Sleep)


From the back cover:

"This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to claim the very souls of the Torrance family. . ."


Review:

Gripping, vivid and emotionally raw-throbbing from the get-go, this is one of my all-time favorite horror reads - and one of King's best novels.

The Shining is worth owning - and re-reading every few years, this last bit something I say about few novels.

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This novel has resulted in two films.

The first film, a theatrical flick, was released stateside on May 23, 1980.

Jack Nicholson played Jack Torrance.  Shelley Duvall played Wendy Torrance.  Danny Lloyd played Danny Torrance.  Scatman Crothers played Dick Hallorann. 

Barry Nelson played Stuart Ullman.  Philip Stone played Delbert Grady.  Joe Turkel played "Lloyd the Bartender".  Lisa and Louise Burns played "Grady's Daughters".  Vivian Kubrick, daughter of the film's director, played an uncredited "Smoking Guest on Ballroom Couch".

Stanley Kubrick directed the film, from a screenplay by Diane Johnson.

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The second film, a television miniseries, aired in three parts, on April 27th and 28th, and May 1st, in 1997.

Steven Weber played John Torrance.  Rebecca De Mornay played Wendy Torrance.  Courtland Mead played Daniel Anthony Torrance.  Will Horneff played Tony.  Melvin Van Peebles played Richard Halloran.

Cynthia Garris played "217 Woman".  Shawnee Smith played a "Waitress".  Sam Raimi played "Gas Station Howie".  Christina Faust played "Screaming Female Ghost".  Richard Christian Matheson played "1st Hitman".  David J. Schow played "1st Ghost in Playhouse".  Preston Sturges Jr. played "2nd Ghost in Playhouse".

Mick Garris directed the miniseries, from a teleplay by source novel author Stephen King.

The Kill Riff, by David J. Schow

(pb; 1988)

From the back cover:

"Lucas Ellington's daughter is dead, trampled by an out-of-control mob at a rock concert turned riot. There was no trial, but Lucas has identified the murderers -- the band, Whip Hand.

"Two of Gabriel Stannard's old bandmates are dead. Whip Hand's former lead singer knows who killed them. Stannard will not be a passive target..."

Review:

Adrenalated, excellent novel, this. The familiar storyline gets a boost from Schow's metal-edgy well-paced writing, characters who ring veracious (that's saying a lot, considering how crazy-violent a few of the characters are), explosive twists, and the underlying message regarding societal and media responsibilities -- a given, considering that this is set in the late-Eighties milieu. (Do yourself a favor, and read Schow's one-paragraph Foreward: it's a smart hoot.)

This is not a tale for the faint-of-heart. The violence and several of the characters are over-the-top and vivid (particularly: Lucas Ellington, the grief-enraged Vietnam-vet father; Gabriel Stannard, the macho rocker who opts to face Ellington, on his terms, not Ellington's; Cannibal Rex [aka, Martin Killough Beecher, Stannard's younger, ferocious, Kerry King-like guitarist]).

The milder, more "normal" characters, who provide balance to this crazed tale, are interesting, too: there's Sertha Valich, Stannard's ex-model live-in lover; Sara, Lucas's doctor, who just might be in love with Lucas; Horus, Stannard's Zen-infused, death-ready bodyguard (he reminded me of Common's character, Sir Ivy, from the movie Smokin' Aces); Cass, an ex-boyfriend-battered young woman who takes shelter with Lucas in his mountain cabin; and Burt Kroeger, Lucas's level-headed friend and PR business partner (who's also a war vet).

Exciting horror/action novel, worth owning -- especially recommended for book worm metalheads.

From The Borderlands: Stories of Terror and Madness edited by Elizabeth E. & Thomas F. Monteleone

(pb; 2003: horror story anthology)


Overall review

Exemplary anthology, originally published as Borderlands 5, with only a few clunkers in the mix. Well worth your time.


Standout stories

1. ) “All Hands” – John R. Platt: Quirky, delightful entry about a man who wakes up with a different pair of hands each day.


2.) “The Growth of Alan Ashley” – Bill Gauthier: Black-humored take on the delusion of “self-improvement” – a strange “growth” on the titular character’s body becomes imbued with increasing, dangerous importance. If this were a film short, I could see this being directed by Eraserhead-era David Lynch, or Videodrome-era David Cronenberg.


3.) “The Goat” – Whitt Pond: Heartbreaking tale about a teenage boy who’s trying to save his supposedly demon-possessed brother from their fellow townspeople.


4.) “The Food Processor” – Michael Canfield: Surrealistic tale about two brothers whose collective desire to build things conflicts with their Father’s desire that they become chefs, like him. Superior, semi-bizarre work, one that would make an excellent Tim Burton film, illustrated by Peter Max.


5.) “Storytime with the Bluefield Strangler” – John Farris: Destined-to-be-a-true-classic story about a little girl who’s being terrorized by a real-life boogeyman.


6.) “The Planting” – Bentley Little: Perverse B-movie gem about a pair of panties, a cabin and a dessicated mummy.


7.) “Infliction” – John McIlveen: Stunning, emotional tale about an ex-alcoholic tracking his runaway daughter, four years gone.


8.) “The Thing Too Hideous To Describe” – David J. Schow: Funny, ultimately sad story about a small-town monster who makes a friend. One of the most imaginative entries in this bunch.


9.) “Magic Numbers” – Gene O’Neill: The operative phrase for this one-of-a-kind work is um, wow. Memorable work.


10.) “Head Music” – Lon Prater: Another destined-to-be-a-classic tale, this one about a young man who’s drawn to a oceanborn monster in the middle of the night. Reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft’s finer nightmares, or any issue of Creepy.


11.) “Around It Still The Sumac Grows” – Tom Piccirilli: Envy-inducing entry about a middle-aged man who returns to his high school – site of countless teenage humiliations – twenty years later.


12.) “Annabell" – L. Lynn Young: Sublime, sad work about a physically-beautiful mother who seeks to protect her deformed daughter from the barbed horrors of the world.


Solid entries

“Ramis Temporalis” (Gary A. Braunbeck); “Faith Will Make You Free” (Holly Newstein); “N0072-JK1” (Adam Corbin Fusco); “Time For Me” (Barry Hoffman); “Prisoner 392” (John F. Merz); “Answering the Call” (Brian Freeman); “Smooth Operator” (Dominick Cancilla); “A Thing” (Barbara Malenky); “Slipknot” (Brett Alexander Savory); “Stationary Bike” (Stephen King).


So-so entries

“Father Bob & Bobby” (Whitley Strieber); “Dysfunction” (Darren O. Godfrey); “One Of Those Weeks” (Bev Vincent).

Shock Rock edited by Jeff Gelb

(pb; 1992: horror anthology)


Overall review:

Excellent short story anthology melding rock and horror, from the co-editor of the Flesh & Blood (noir) series. Alice Cooper’s "Foreword" is one of the best I’ve read in a long time: erudite and warm.


Review, story by story:

“You Know They Got a Hell of a Band” – Stephen King: A road-tripping husband and wife find themselves in small-town hell after taking a “shortcut” through Oregon. Solid, almost-classic King tale that runs a little long.


“Bob Dylan, Troy Jonson & the Speed Queen” – F. Paul Wilson: Jonson, a musician who can’t write his own music, time-travels back to 1964 to steal famous rock songs from their author-musicians before they write them. Complications, time line- and otherwise related ensue. Good tale, with a Twilight Zone-worthy end-twist.


“Odeed” – David J. Schow: Gasm, a hard rock band, plays longer than they’re supposed to (contractually-speaking). Will this destroy the band's career, or will it increase their already-incredible popularity? Schow’s prose is electric, exhilarating. This tale has an immediacy that grips the reader and doesn’t let go.


“Vargr Rule” – Nancy A. Collins: Well-written story about Varley, a charming slut, whose search for a one-night stand goes horribly (and fittingly) wrong.


“Blood Suede Shoes” – Ronald Kelly: Ruby, a plain-Jane bobby-soxer, catches a ride with Rockabilly Reb, a famous rock star. But Reb’s more than he seems to be, Ruby discovers... Solid tale, one that makes clever use of rock history.


“The Dead Beat Society” – Don D’ammassa: This reads like a late 80's heavy metal horror flick – fun, dumb and pot-friendly. Decent tale, though D’ammassa could’ve improved it by explaining how Mark Walton, a dead music geek, becomes a video/music ghost. D’ammassa eschews logic for atmosphere (which is serviceable, if perfunctory).


“Voodoo Child” – Graham Masterton: When Jimi Hendrix, dead for fifteen-plus years, reappears to his friend Charlie, Charlie sets out to discover why Jimi is so determined to return to his death site. Highly original, sad work – and one of the best entries in this anthology.


“Rites of Spring” – Paul Dale Anderson: Attendees at a Rites of Spring concert act accordingly, though more wildly than they expected. Good tale, up until the meant-to-be-symbolic-but-lame finish.


“Dedicated To The One I Loathe” – Michael Garrett: Quirky morbid-funny tale about two cops investigating some backwood murders, somehow linked to an oldies radio station. Good read, worth a chuckle.


“Requiem” – Brian Hodge: An aspiring folk singer and a club concert promoter check out the airplane crash site that killed the members of the 80's prog-rock band Grendel. An excellent morality tale about greed, bootleg recordings and earnest desire. One of the best entries in this collection.


“Heavy Metal” – R. Patrick Gates: Laugh-out-loud funny homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Gates recreates, with hilarious accuracy, the hysterical tone-language and structure of Poe's famous tale. The ending’s not unexpected, but it works.


“Bunky” – Rex Miller: I have no idea what this story’s about. The hip-hyperactive slang of the narrator alienated me instantly.


“The Black ‘59” – Bill Mumy and Peter David: A guitar, possessed by the spirit of a dead malevolent rock star, finds new victims. Good story until the dumb finish.


“Groupies” – Richard Christian Matheson: By far one of the most sexual and disturbing works in the anthology. Memorable, sporting an innovative deconstructionist structure (in the first half) and a nasty end-twist, this tale stands out from the other entries in this collection.


“Reunion” – Michael Newton: So-so story about a reunion tour of a Grateful Dead-like band. It’s too illogical to be effective, with no set-up for its Psycho-like twist.


“Bootleg” – Mark Verheiden:
Videodrome meets Ghost World with a supernatural heavy metal element. Suitably bizarre and compelling, with a finish that doesn’t quite work.


“Weird Gig” – Ray Garton: A washed-up 70's band gets hired to play a financially-lucrative but otherwise troubling concert. Predictable but entertaining.


“Hide in Plain Sight” – John L. Byrne: A cocky club rock singer is seduced by a woman who may or may not be a werewolf. Sexually explicit, trashy fun with a clever end-twist.


“Addicted to Love” – Thomas Tessier: Enjoyable story about a lonely music snob who attempts to win the favor of a woman with great gams and execrable music taste. Sly, memorable conclusion.


“Flaming Telepaths” – John Shirley: A strange psychic war erupts between a televangelical group and a mysterious rock singer in a concert bar. Another solid entry, highlighted by Shirley’s intelligent, blunt humor.