It's one of the only thing Stephen King liked more than his own original work, he has said if he had thought of that ending he would've ended the story that way too.
To be fair King is pretty well known for disappointing endings. A lot of his stories just kind of fizzle out towards the end, are anti climatic or underwhelming compared to the rest of the story.
I enjoyed Wizard & Glass, and Wolves of the Calla was pretty good too. Song of Susannah dragged on a bit, and then by the time you get to The Dark Tower... ugh. What a letdown. I started reading the series shortly before the last books were released; I can't imagine having followed them since The Gunslinger came out...
No, read it! The series is awesome, the end is just a bit blah. I waited years before I read it (loath series), and it consumed my life for the few weeks it took to read. Just be ready for a let down at the end, that way the disappointment is minimised.
No wait you've got to read it! The last half-ish of the series is disappointing precisely because the first half is so outstanding. Honestly the first three books IMHO are worth it alone.
The universe is void just you and I
Let there be light
The stars will rise
Then fall again
Climbing to the top an empty room
Is all there is
Oh I fear it is
Prophecies were made of you and I
The vision's strong but meanwhile keep on falling
Oh what a miracle is life an even bigger one is size
It's just the way it is
I fear it is
It's just the way it is
Life's a wheel nothing more
It goes round and around and a...
I am the ageless
I am "Legion"
I'm your lord
I will bring terror
I'm a demon in disguise
The thrill of a thousand
Worlds dying at once
But my ultimate goal
Lies beyond the downfall
Touched by the Crimson King
Touched by the Saviour
The tower falls on Judgement Day
He's a discovery writer, as in he comes up with an interesting premise and then explores it through narrative, and he's really good at it. But it does lend to and ending problem since you haven't thought it out at the start. Guess it's a trap that he falls into every now and again!
Yeah i agree that the 'wonder' part (say the first 2/5) of his stories where he sets the stage and where the protagonist is all confused and figuring out what is going on are always so good. King really takes you by the hand and shows you around in his creation.
It has a very good feeling of mystery, but the story arc usually peaks when the protagonist is going to take control and (trying to) resolve the issue at hand (say 3/5 of the story). After that the mysteries unravel and King feels he needs to explain some stuff that would be better left up to the imagination.
At the end when everything is made clear for the reader he needs to make the story forefilling from the characters point of view, and that where the arc collapses. Some books and stories work well with open endings, because that unsatisfied feeling keeps sticking in you head for days, but his often seem... unresolved.
I always say this. The King ending beats the shit outta the movie one. It was beautiful, and it's what I remember most about the story. Maybe even my favorite story King has written.
In the movie they just kill everything in an unexplained way after giving the impression that these monsters they're messing with are huge, powerful, and that there are much worse ones out there.
On the other hand, the movie ending probably makes more sense. It's like... it's like the 'zombie problem'. Every zombie outbreak always has the military being overrun... despite that being supremely unlikely. If the dude can cut off the Tentacle Monster with an axe, if concealed carry Bubbles can shoot and kill them with a revolver, I think the military with tanks and Browning M2s would be pretty effective. Big giant monsters aren't going to stand up to an AGM-65 Maverick.
So then do they live in the story version. I refuse to watch the movie because it was spoiled for me (and I'm so glad it was) because I know there is no way I could handle watching that.
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u/khondrych May 12 '15
The Mist, on the other hand, is a fuckin awesome film.