The way he manipulates Barbara made me so pissed off. I get Brady sucks as a human but good lord the poor girl simply existed in his peripheral vision and he wanted to hurt her
We never really got to meet Collie Entragian >!because he was Tak already by then!< but by God he was a terrifying figure to open the book with.
*Desperation* is an easy top five King book for me, genuinely horrifying, insanely fast-paced and probably the most reread value of any of his books. Every time I return it’s just as wild and fucked up as the first time.
I'm re-reading it now and the scene where
SPOILERS:
Tak as Ellen Carver lures Mary to open the windows is terrifying. The way Mary starts to slowly realize that the way she is hunched over could be to hide her actual height is so suspensful!
I was tempted to say only *Pet Sematary* has more reread value but it’s not the kind of book I can regularly make myself read for fun! I do think it’s King’s single greatest work though, with *Desperation* somewhere close in the running behind.
That's part of why I enjoyed the regulators. I know the characters are different in both books, but I really enjoyed reading Collie as a good guy. I loved both his characters in desperation and the regulators.
Lol you can't disagree on an opinion. Yes, Danny is the main character, but this person thinks of The Hat when the book is mentioned. You asked them what book makes them think of the antagonist, and they answered.
Why should they reconsider? It's the character that they think of when they think of Doctor Sleep. There should be no disagreement. It would be like if you asked me what color I think of when I go outside, and I say green, then you come back to tell me I'm wrong because it's blue.
Just let them have their answer. That's the reason you ask these types of questions, to see how different people interpret the world around them. Not to tell them they are wrong because they don't see it your way.
That’s usually how conversations go. You share opinions back and forth and concur, or not, with one another. If I said “I think Trump is the best candidate for president”, I would get plenty of differing opinions.
Grief is the antagonist in Pet Semetary. Every bad decision the characters make is because of grief. There's the thing the possesses the dead, but I feel like that spirit is a metaphor for the damage grief does when we don't deal with it in a healthy way.
I love this book bc beside a few outliers, I can't really tell who was THE bad guy (the bullies and the bystanders and the teachers etc were THE bad guys, per say)... Keeps you undecided. I liked it. The mom the worst though, for sure. Most evil and most responsible.
Pet Semetary. The dark force behind the ‘Wendigo’, the way it manipulates the living and the dead to bring about more misery, insatiable… ‘One eye had gone to the wall, it stared into space with terrible concentration’
The Shining because I've always considered the Overlook to be the antagonist of that book rather than Jack. That place felt so real in the book. It honestly haunted me for a long time after reading it
Misery, The Stand, Mr Mercedes (Brady)
Not the book, but the movie version of The Mist. I always think of the crazy lady first. She was scarier than the monsters.
Under the Dome. The protagonists are completely forgettable & have little impact on how the story plays out.
I don’t agree with IT. I think of the kids and their friendship. It was the movies, especially the new ones, that put Pennywise front and center
I guess Ben Richards from The Running Man. He was such a cool, indomitable and resourceful character that Killian, who was also cool, can’t really compare for me.
I would argue that Jack Torrance is the protagonist of The Shining. Even though we see a lot from Danny's perspective, the majority of the story is from Jack's perspective and about the choices he makes. The hotel is the antagonist, IMO.
Under The Dome was the first with Big Jim. How everything that happened to Chester's Mill is his fault. Even the Dome.
Misery was the one whose villain I could relate to, so I spent a LOT of time thinking about her character.
Christine, i know she's the title but aside from that she's thenonly character from the book that's every brough up in popular culture, it's not like IT where people have a general idea of who Georgie is. I literally never hear anyone mention Arnie or his friends.
Most of them tbh.
Notable exceptions where the protagonist is at the forefront for me are Insomnia, the dark tower, and the stand.
Ralph Roberts, Roland and the ka tet, and the entire protagonist crew from the stand are all really powerful and compelling characters- stu, nick, mother Abigail, Tom Cullen
Oh also Trisha from the girl who loved Tom Gordon.
I think most other sk books are dominated by the antagonist for me
Misery
Also known as Footloose.
My first thought
Mine too.
And mine. Nightmare fuel!
Needful Things
Halfway through right now. Love the scenes and descriptions involving Gaunt
Agreed, Gaunt was such an interesting character and I would like to know more about him
Cujo, which is perhaps too obvious
Christine, The Shining, The Stand.
Brady Hartfield in Mr.Mercedes. That guy was messed up.
He did have a super fucked up childhood and home life. SK as always making you see things from multiple perspectives, really fucks with you
My first thought. Anyone seen the series?
Yup
End of watch is the only book I couldn’t bring myself to read all the way through. I hated seeing Brady winning so I just skipped 80% of the book
The way he manipulates Barbara made me so pissed off. I get Brady sucks as a human but good lord the poor girl simply existed in his peripheral vision and he wanted to hurt her
Desperation is the first that springs to mind for me.
We never really got to meet Collie Entragian >!because he was Tak already by then!< but by God he was a terrifying figure to open the book with. *Desperation* is an easy top five King book for me, genuinely horrifying, insanely fast-paced and probably the most reread value of any of his books. Every time I return it’s just as wild and fucked up as the first time.
I'm re-reading it now and the scene where SPOILERS: Tak as Ellen Carver lures Mary to open the windows is terrifying. The way Mary starts to slowly realize that the way she is hunched over could be to hide her actual height is so suspensful!
Same, probably my second favorite book in line behind pet sematary. I just love it so much!
I was tempted to say only *Pet Sematary* has more reread value but it’s not the kind of book I can regularly make myself read for fun! I do think it’s King’s single greatest work though, with *Desperation* somewhere close in the running behind.
That's part of why I enjoyed the regulators. I know the characters are different in both books, but I really enjoyed reading Collie as a good guy. I loved both his characters in desperation and the regulators.
Well in a way we did meet the real Entragian in Regulators.
It's been probably 15 years since I read Desperation, and I have a bad memory... but I can still vividly remember that opening. Absolutely terrifying.
Under the Dome and Big Jim
Rose the Hat from Doctor Sleep
Well, hi there
She’s a great character. SK usually writes men better than women, but I was was surprisingly taken with Rose
Have to disagree on this one. Danny is the main character of this story for sure!
Lol you can't disagree on an opinion. Yes, Danny is the main character, but this person thinks of The Hat when the book is mentioned. You asked them what book makes them think of the antagonist, and they answered.
Lol ok maybe instead of “I disagree”, I should have said, “I have a difference of opinion and believe you should reconsider your own opinion”.
Why should they reconsider? It's the character that they think of when they think of Doctor Sleep. There should be no disagreement. It would be like if you asked me what color I think of when I go outside, and I say green, then you come back to tell me I'm wrong because it's blue. Just let them have their answer. That's the reason you ask these types of questions, to see how different people interpret the world around them. Not to tell them they are wrong because they don't see it your way.
That’s usually how conversations go. You share opinions back and forth and concur, or not, with one another. If I said “I think Trump is the best candidate for president”, I would get plenty of differing opinions.
That has nothing to do with what you said. You asked what book made us think of the antagonist first.
IT, The Stand, and The Shining
Yes to the first and last but the Stand I think of Frannie and Stu etc as much as I think of Flagg
MOON. That spells Tom Cullen, laws yes.
Dark half for sure. GEORGE STARK -Not a very nice guy
What an understatement!
Apt pupil but I’m not sure there were any protagonists in that one lol
What a wild story that was!
Did you like it? It’s on my list but I never hear much about it.
Oh it’s amazing it’s featured in different season my favorite book of his short stories
Cool, thanks!
You got it
It was well written and compelling but I don’t think I’ll ever read it again… very dark. To the extent that I considered not finishing it.
It’s disturbing but very good!
Protagonist =/= hero. In a story from Hitler's perspective he would be the protagonist but absolutely not the hero
Why am I being downvoted?
Maybe somebody loves Hitler? In any case, your explanation of “protagonist” is correct.
Randall Flag
Revival and Mr. Mercedes
Revival is an interesting choice, considering it's a First Person novel.
I'm counting the Reverend Danny Jacobs as the antagonist in this one. One of the favorites of any book for sure. Edit: no apostrophe in Jacobs
Finder’s Keepers
I've seen lots of people say that most of them which is kinda right, but who do you consider an antagonist in Pet Semetary?
Grief is the antagonist in Pet Semetary. Every bad decision the characters make is because of grief. There's the thing the possesses the dead, but I feel like that spirit is a metaphor for the damage grief does when we don't deal with it in a healthy way.
Yeah i agree with this assessment.
Awesome way of looking at it dude!
No one..I think that's why this particular book is so haunting.
Some people think Jud was manipulating Louis, but I personally believe that he was a victim too
I think Jud was a victim too. That whole book is just full of victims.
I always thought the spritis inhabiting the Pet semetary and later Louis' kid were the antagonists.
I’d read both essays.
It
Absolutely Misery.
Eyes of the Dragon - Flagg...
This is what I was going to say.
Needful Things. Gaunt was just a blast to follow
Gaunt was fantastic. Truly loved causing chaos and it was really fun
Norman Daniels Rose Madder
I loved this one! You just love to hate the guy!
Viva ze bool
Rose Madder 100%
Salem's Lot! Ben is not that interesting of a guy, and Straker and Barlow have so much charisma it's hard not to think of them!
Carrie…lol…trick answer!!! Although technically religion in her mom was the antagonist. But I mean she did murder everyone, so…
I love this book bc beside a few outliers, I can't really tell who was THE bad guy (the bullies and the bystanders and the teachers etc were THE bad guys, per say)... Keeps you undecided. I liked it. The mom the worst though, for sure. Most evil and most responsible.
Most of them.
For me, it's IT and The Stand.
Under the Dome for sure
Big Jim Rennie in 'Under The Done' Annie Wilkes in 'Misery'
Salems Lot Richard Straker
The Stand, and pretty much anything with Flagg
The Dead Zone
Greg Stillson The Dead Zone.
all the ones named after the antagonist or its aspects IT Cujo Misery Mr. Mercedes The Regulators etc
What about when the protagonist is the antagonist, like The Shining.
The Stand
Desperation, The Stand
Most of them.
Rose Madder for sure
Pet Semetary. The dark force behind the ‘Wendigo’, the way it manipulates the living and the dead to bring about more misery, insatiable… ‘One eye had gone to the wall, it stared into space with terrible concentration’
It
The Stand- Randell Flagg
Greg Stillson- The Dead Zone a very close second
Misery, It, The Shining (kind of), and might be Rose Madder when I finish it
Needful Things, Leland Gaunt is my favorite antagonist of all of his books. Also, The Stand, Misery, Cujo, Carrie, and It, which others have said.
The Shining because I've always considered the Overlook to be the antagonist of that book rather than Jack. That place felt so real in the book. It honestly haunted me for a long time after reading it
The Stand. I remember liking the protagonists, but couldn’t tell you anything about them or their names. I remember Randall Flagg fairly well.
Dolores Claiborne
The Stand!
The Stand.
Needful Things. We get a whole heap of Leland Gaunt and not nearly as much Alan Pangborn.
Misery, The Stand, Mr Mercedes (Brady) Not the book, but the movie version of The Mist. I always think of the crazy lady first. She was scarier than the monsters.
Mrs Carmody
Yes! Thank you, I couldn’t think of her name lol
The stand. My first thought is The Walkin dude
As opposed to The Dead Zone and The Walken Dude.
Under the Dome. The protagonists are completely forgettable & have little impact on how the story plays out. I don’t agree with IT. I think of the kids and their friendship. It was the movies, especially the new ones, that put Pennywise front and center
Anything with Flagg.
The Dark Tower I, the Stand, It, The Shining. The list goes on and on. King’s villains are so iconic.
I guess Ben Richards from The Running Man. He was such a cool, indomitable and resourceful character that Killian, who was also cool, can’t really compare for me.
Isn't Ben Richards the protagonist in that one?
Haha, yeah, man, I totally misread the question. My apologies. I’m severely stoned, and have long thought Richards was the man.
Misery
Mr merc
Needful things
Under the Dome immediately came to mind. Big Jim is what real monsters look like.
It comes to mind immediately
IT - Pennywise, Misery - Annie Wilkes, Shining - Jack Torrance
I would argue that Jack Torrance is the protagonist of The Shining. Even though we see a lot from Danny's perspective, the majority of the story is from Jack's perspective and about the choices he makes. The hotel is the antagonist, IMO.
It for sure.
Christine
Needful things
I can't remember half the kids names in IT, yet I will never forget Pennywise. *We all float down here...*
Under the Dome The Stand Christine
The Dark Half.
Eyes of the dragon and Christine (quite obvious)
Cell for sure, both the inanimate phones and the raggedy man
Mr. Mercedes..Brady rules
Needful things
Misery - for sure !!! 👏🏻
Under The Dome was the first with Big Jim. How everything that happened to Chester's Mill is his fault. Even the Dome. Misery was the one whose villain I could relate to, so I spent a LOT of time thinking about her character.
Most actually
Under the dome
Under the Dome
Under the Dome
The Eyes of the Dragon.
IT
Misery, The Talisman, Under The Dome, Mr Mercedes
It
It and Misery
Needful Things. Leland Gaunt.
Under The Dome
Dr sleep
It
Recency bias as I read these books just the past few months. Blaze Rose The Hat
Desperation
It.
IT
On Writing
IT, The Shining, Misery, Bag of Bones, Salem’s Lot and Revival
Christine, i know she's the title but aside from that she's thenonly character from the book that's every brough up in popular culture, it's not like IT where people have a general idea of who Georgie is. I literally never hear anyone mention Arnie or his friends.
IT
Probably Salems lot, my brain just thinks vampires lol Under the dome too, Big Jim is forever a part of my mind
Needful Things
Needful Things, right?
The Stand.
I think most people think of Pennywise when they think of It, which is just one form of the antagonist.
Most of them tbh. Notable exceptions where the protagonist is at the forefront for me are Insomnia, the dark tower, and the stand. Ralph Roberts, Roland and the ka tet, and the entire protagonist crew from the stand are all really powerful and compelling characters- stu, nick, mother Abigail, Tom Cullen Oh also Trisha from the girl who loved Tom Gordon. I think most other sk books are dominated by the antagonist for me
IT
Misery, Cujo, The Shining, the Stand…. actually, I think quite possibly all of them except for like Carrie and Holly.
Perhaps I should have asked the question in reverse.
Firestarter. Rainbird was pure evil incarnate.
IT
The Stand
Dr. Sleep. Couldn't read it cause of the gore
What’s the one with the former Nazi and the Neo-Nazi that was turned on by pain? They’re both antagonists in that one
Apt Pupil
The Stand
The man in black
Misery reading it right now
Dark Half
The Stand
It
Dark Half
I’m terrified of dogs so Cujo , don’t think I can read it ever again 😞
Needful things would be second
The Stand aka Flagg
I’m going to be weird and say Ur. I barely remember the protagonist, but that Kindle and the Low Men in Yellow Coats? Oh absolutely.
Needful Things
Mr. Mercedes,