Like every Stephen King book since, I dunno, Carrie?
The Tommyknockers is overlong and really dull for the most part. You can read the first five chapters, then skip to the last five chapters and miss absolutely nothing of any importance.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 12:18, 1 reply)

I disagree. We must have an internet fight to the death.
I think in many cases King writes the "long and dull" bits better than he writes the horror. It would be a pretty good book about growing up even if you took out all of the scary icky parts.

That said ... the bit with the snow tunnel and the shuffly anorak-clad ghostchild thing in The Shining gave me the terrible heebie jeebies and no mistake.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 12:31, closed)

Top 2 King films that have worked because of good directors -
The Shining
Shawshank redemption

There are others but these stand out.

Always thought that the 'IT' withouth the icky bits would be stand by me, another King book.
(bROKEN aRROW PUA HVI Master, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 13:48, closed)

I respectfully disagree, as one who's read through it lately.
Most of the Tommyknockers is just describing the ordinary day-to-day lives of the residents of Haven: card games, drinking, each of them has a terrible secret that they won't reveal to anyone else (usually to do with masturbating)...at one point he even breaks off from the narrative completely and starts writing a potted history of the town. Everything of import happens in the first few chapters and the last few chapters, the rest is mindless filler.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 14:28, closed)

Tsk. We'll have none of that respect rubbish here.
I have't read Tommyknockers and it's at least twenty years since I read It. But by your apparent criteria, a good 80 or 90% of War and Peace would be mindless filler. Nothing particularly momentous happens until Napoleon rolls up.

Not that I'm comparing King to Tolstoy or owt. But there's more to literature than just bang whallop action event action fright bang action!
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 15:18, closed)

Eh
those are the bits I like

if I wanted to read about ordinary people and their lives, I'd read Woman's Own
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 15:41, closed)

Agreed
Loved the bits in It that were about small town childhood, and even the scary parts with Pennywise the Clown were pretty scary and still atmospherically written.

Then it got all silly. Alien spiders my arse.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 14:46, closed)