Book Review of PET SEMATARY by Stephen King

PET SEMATARY by Stephen King (Pocket Books edition, 2017 - -  first published November 1983) Paperback, 395 pages

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .l

When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son—and now an idyllic home. As a family, they’ve got it all... right down to the friendly car.

But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth—more terrifying than death itself—and hideously more powerful.

The Creeds are going to learn that sometimes dead is better.

My Five Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

”Sometimes dead is better."

    King deals with death, grief and the sometimes irrational behavior that arises from it in a big, big way in PET SEMATARY. While I've seen the original film adaptation, it did not do full justice to the novel and didn't adequately prepare me for what King does within the pages - - this is ten times more powerful than the film. This one may stay with you. Possibly the most frightening of all King novels (at least those that I've read).

My reading notes . . . . . .

May 25: Wow, I thought MISERY was compulsive reading, especially the final third of the novel. I just started reading a little before bedtime last night, and now up to Page 110 this morning. In that brief span (about 18% into the story) I have been 1) disturbed, 2) concerned, 3) horrified, and 4 frightened. Reasons: [ 1) Visit to the backwoods pet cemetery, 2) Ellie's questions about death, 3) Louis' first day on the new job, and 4) Louis' sleepwalking nightmare. 

May 26: I have only seen the first film adaptation of PET SEMATARY, and that was many years ago. I don't recall picking up the book until now. It seems to me that the novel is quite a bit scarier than the movie was. I also love the character development, especially the family members. King really knows how to create empathy and pull readers in.

May 27: Finished Part One today, and diving into Part Two. Near the tail end of Part One there are some great scenes where young daughter Ellie asks father Louis questions about death - - really well done and heart-warming. 

Even later in the story, some memorable words when Rachel confesses to a certain fear:

     "Louis Creed was no psychiatrist, but he knew that there are rusty, half-buried things in the terrain of any life and that human beings seem compelled to go back to these things and pull at them, even though they cut. Tonight Rachel had pulled almost all of it out, like some grotesque and stinking rotten tooth, its crown black, its nerves infected, its roots fetid."

     I knew the awful thing that was going to happen later (since I saw the film) but the opening of Part Two was devastating to read. The scenes of grief and out-of-sorts reactions are realistic. 

I could even visualize funeral parlor arguments/fights as actually happening. 

May 28: Now 70% completed. This is so sad. I've read a lot of King but I don't recall the subject of death and grief taking up this much of the story before. This is having a strong effect on me. This may just turn out to the most powerful as well as frightening King book in my humble reading experience.

May 29: I finished the last 150 pages of this novel between last evening and this morning. Wow, what an ending! I couldn't see this ending any other way, and I'm satisfied but not entirely happy about it. I believe I can figure out what King intended for the ending, but he does make it vague enough that some readers could imagine a more happier outcome even though I didn't. 

Belle and Sebastian - Get me away from here, I'm dying (Music video)

BELLE & SEBASTIAN from 1998

Belle & Sebastian -Like Dylan in the Movies

BELLE & SEBASTIAN from the If You're Feeling Sinister album 1998

Belle & Sebastian - Expectations

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN from 1996

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The State I’m In (lyrics)

The Nineties Playlist, #5:  BELLE AND SEBASTIAN from the Tiger

Milk album 1996

MY WEEK IN COMICS, #21 - - - May 26, 2024

For the last three years I have embarked on a Comics Odyssey, reading and writing reviews of comics towards an ambitious goal which I only attained on one of three attempts.  This year, I still want to read more comics and write reviews, but I’m not setting a specific goal.  I’ll just document them and number them. We’ll see how far I can go . . . . . . . 

#313  THE PRINCIPLES OF NECROMANCY #2 written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly with art by Eamon Winkle (Magma Comix, May 2024)

This title is no fluke. Issue #2 lives up to the promise exhibited in the debut issue. The art is engaging. The story continues to add surprises, new layers that give more depth to the world-building on display here. Issue #1 read like this might be a barbarian comic, with the story centering on a woods-dwelling tribe in battle with the King’s armored soldiers and featured some imaginatively illustrated scenes of gore and body horror. The setting changes in Issue #2, with the only returning character the mysterious Doctor Jakob Eyes - whom I am now sure will be present in the remaining issues of this series and the main focus.

   Both issues read like stand-alone stories, and readers who missed Issue #1 can begin with Issue #2 as the premise remains the same . . . . .

     “Set in a fantasy universe bereft of magic . . . Doctor Jakob Eyes - is one of a small number of scientific physicians who have set their minds to the task of curing the ills of the world. But the young Dr. Eyes isn’t satisfied simply to cure the sick or be known as a wizard to curious peasants. No, he has set his sights on defeating the only malady doctors are expressly forbidden from curing: death itself.”

    In Issue #2, Doctor Eyes reluctantly takes on an apprentice, a young woman whose letters to the doctors of City Hospital pleading to help her bedridden mother went unanswered. Until, Doctor Eyes showed up and removed a tumor from her mother’s brain. The scenes inside the Doctor’s experimental lab/workshop and the secrets in the basement are as disturbing as the battlefield hospital scenes last issue.

    There’s a bit more to this warm yet sad tale this issue but I won’t spoil it for you. I’m also wondering if the young apprentice will play a prominent role in a future issue. I liked Issue #2 enough to read it three times and still found things to appreciate. FOUR STARS.

#314  HEARTPIERCER #1 of 4 by Rich Douek and Gavin Smith (Dark Horse, May 2024)  Warrior woman Atala hunts the great beasts in order to gain favor with her master, Kurrn, in this dark fantasy debut. When she delivers the horn of a unicorn to him she has unwittingly finished off the last of the world’s guardians, paving the way for a dark wave to spread over the land  - all led by Kurrn. Betrayed and left for dead, when she miraculously survives and wakes up the world is overrun by monsters. She makes an alliance with some villagers hanging on by a thread. What’s on her mind? . . . . revenge.

     If you’ve read a lot of dark fantasy in novels and comics, this may not seem that original a concept. However, epic fantasy seems to repeat itself. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the genre as long as the story is well-told . . . and this is a good one. If you’re going to get attention for your fantasy title, you need some great visuals. This has them. The art is what prompted me to check this out. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#315 - #316  BLOODSHOT UNLEASHED: RELOADED #1 & #2 of 4 written by Deniz Camp (#1), Mauro Mantella (#2), and art by Al Barrionuevo (Alien Books / Valiant Entertainment, March/April 2024)  I’ve been a fan of Valiant since their original introduction to the comics market some decades ago. It’s good to see that, after an absence of new material on comic shop shelves, they have returned and are beginning a “resurgence” (their words, not mine) in a new collaboration with Alien Books. 

    I’m still looking for the first Alien/Valiant title to keep me interested. Ninjak: Superkillers didn’t wow me. While the art is good here, and it’s gory and violent (as expected of a Bloodshot title) this doesn’t grab me either - - and I’m going to abandon it. 

     This is mostly mayhem and there’s not enough meat (plot) on the bones. Issue #1 is mostly a battle between Bloodshot and a cyborg who is on a mindless killing rampage. It’s not until Issue #2 that we learn the cyborg is one of several “spent shells” (discarded living weapons) who have escaped confinement and Bloodshot is hunting them down. There’s a little more plot/development in Issue #2 but it’s too late. (Also, what’s with the change in writers from Issue #1 to #2? - - that can’t be good.)

     The biggest negative for me is the presence of Bloodsquirt (Bloodshot’s imaginary friend) who chastises him and reminds him to act like himself, even breaking the fourth wall to remind us to read comics (duh). I do not like imaginary little friends (like Batmite), never have. It’s a deal breaker for me. 

    Still, I’m a bit loyal and will probably give some more of the new Valiant books a chance before I hang up the towel. (It’s currently wet from my tears). TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#317 - #319  THE AVENGERS, VOLUME FOUR #8, #9, #11 by Brian MIchael Bendis and John Romita, Jr. (Marvel, February - May 2011) This version features Steve Rogers (not as Captain America, but head of S.H.I.E.L.D.) who handpicked the current Avengers: Wolverine, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, Spider-Woman, The Protector and Hawkeye.

    Many storylines back, six heroes (Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Charles Xavier, Namor, Reed Richards and Iron Man) worked together to become the Illuminati and hide away in six secret locations the various Infinity Gems in order to keep the world safe from their use ever again. The existence of the Illuminati was kept secret from everyone, including teammates and family members. 

    

Now criminal Parker Robbins a.k.a. The Hood has learned of their existence and managed to steal two of the Gems. Red Hulk (General Thunderbolt Ross) gets his ass kicked by The Hood, but manages to crawl away and alert the Avengers. Steve Rogers flips out once the danger is revealed along with the secret of the Illuminati, and this causes friction among the Avengers - - especially between Steve and Tony Stark.

     With that trust shattered, Rogers tells Stark he is out of the Avengers once the Gems are recovered. The Avengers break off into teams to search and recover the remaining Gems before The Hood can get his hands on any more. 

    This was a fun read with some good art from Romita Jr.  Beyond the plot points what kept this interesting were

the arguments and dialogue between the Avengers members, something that Bendis has a knack for. Also, the back-story detailing The Hood’s time in prison was worth sharing. 

   I found these and several individual Avengers issues in bargain bins, and decided to finally get to reading them. Even though I liked this story arc, I’m not going to try to find the missing issues or pick up the trade paperback collection. There’s just too much in my present collection to worry about finishing off old stories. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

#320  ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #4 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar (Marvel, March 2016)  Iron Man pulls together this version of the Avengers: Captain America (Sam Wilson), Thor (female version - I think it’s Valkyrie, although she’s not specifically

identified and doesn’t take the helmet off), Ms. Marvel (Kamela), The Vision, Spider-Man (in a black & red costume, and not identified as either Peter or Miles) and Nova. The Avengers have no funding, no tower, and no official recognition - - and set up shop inside an old Stark Industries warehouse. 

   Hurricanes pop out of nowhere along the Atlantic City boardwalk and elsewhere. The Avengers go into disaster-prevention mode and find out that Cyclone is behind this. The highlight this issue is the big kiss that Thor bestows upon Cap, and is featured on the cover. Tony gets suspicious as the issue ends - - that’s not how Thor’s supposed to act - - is this an imposter? Mark Waid is also good at snappy character dialogue, snide remarks, and jabs at each other. Entertaining despite the ho-hum nature. THREE STARS.

#321 - #324  THE AVENGERS VOLUME SIX #1, #2, #3.1, #7 by Mark Waid and Jeremy Whitley (#7) with art by Mike del Mundo (#1, #2), Barry Kitson (#3.1), and Phil Noto (#7) (Marvel, January - July 2017) The Avengers are Thor (Jane Foster), Wasp (Nadia Pym), Captain America (Sam Wilson), Vision, Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Hercules.  The first two issues feature Kang, my all-time favorite Marvel villain (although not crazy about his film portrayals). 

     The Vision travels in time and abducts the baby version of Kang, hoping that he would then never grow up to terrorize the Avengers in their timeline. But this action ends up creating a dozen-plus versions of Kang to fight the Avengers. Two of these Kangs then decide to go back in the time-stream and kill the Avengers as children.

     Waid does an excellent job here, especially with snarky comments from Thor and Wasp, but mostly with this fresh take on time travel stories. My head was spinning trying to keep the threads together. The art by Mike del Mundo only added to the confusion. His absence of dark ink lines and too much orange-red-yellow-purple in his color choices makes my head hurt.

  

Issue #3.1 is a flashback to the 1960’s second version of the Avengers (just Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver - led by Captain America) for a previously untold story featuring the Mad Thinker as foe. Lots of fun, with great nostalgic art from Barry Kitson.

  Issue #7 has some different art by Phil Noto, but muted and not as effective after Mike del Mundo stepped in to assist with color choices (arrgghh!) After the second super-hero civil war incapacitated Tony Stark, Victor Von Doom abandons his villainous ways and takes up the mantle of Iron Man (but, infamously). However, his past actions as Doctor Doom have made it difficult for the world and now the current Avengers to accept him as a hero, especially when he wants to enlist their help against the threat of Susan Storm’s Camp For Girls’ Leadership. Seriously, he turns out to be right. The best bits of this issue are the moments of doubt among the Avengers members. Will he or won’t he?  THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS overall for this crop of issues.

#325  THE AVENGERS, VOLUME EIGHT #11 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness & Cory Smith (Marvel, February 2019)  I continue my reading of random back-issues. The yet-again re-formed Avengers are led by Black Panther, and include Iron Man, Thor (the original Odinson), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), She-Hulk and Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes).

      The Avengers are still no longer recognized by the United States, and new threats have surfaced in Namor’s Defenders of the Deep and Russia’s Winter Guard. The team now hangs their hats in Avengers Mountain.Thor has an awkward date with Jennifer Gray in the Savage Land, when what he really wanted was to go out with She-Hulk. T’Challa calls a meeting of the world’s greatest heroes to try and form an alliance, only to be disrupted by Ursa Major, the representative from the Winter Guard. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson is back from the dead, and working hard to get The Squadron Supreme appointed as guardians of the United States. THREE STARS.

#326  THE AVENGERS, VOLUME EIGHT #25 by Jason Aaron and Stefano Carelli (Marvel, December 2019) “Challenge of the Ghost Riders, Part 4 of 4”  Ghost Rider Robbie Reye’s demonic car has misbehaved and an exorcism fails, sending Robbie to the King of Hell - - Johnny Blaze , who challenges Robbie to a race. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Ghost Rider (Frank Castle) agrees to lead the Avengers to Hell so he can settle a personal score with King Blaze.

   This was a lot of silly fun, very nonsensical but who cares?  Credit Jason Aaron for coming up with some unusual and imaginative plots for the Avengers, his run culminating in that wacky but wonderful Avengers Forever final epic. THREE STARS.

#327  THE AVENGERS, VOLUME EIGHT #32 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness & Francesco Manna (Marvel, May 2020) “Earth’s Mightiest Villains”  This is an exceptional issue - -  when it come to the art. Very expressive and evocative, with some big panels exhibiting great visuals perfect for posters. 

  So who’s been puling resurrected Phil Coulson’s strings? - -  Mephisto, who’s taken a direct hand in all the major teams lining up against the Avengers, not just the threat of the Squadron Supreme. This issue spotlights all the various factions, giving page space to each one: Namor’s Defenders of the Deep; Dracula and vampiric minions now banded together in Ukraine’s Chernobyl Exclusion Zone; and Moscow’s Winter Guard. Blade gets an offer to assist the Avengers. This was just a big set-up issue, with lots of threats emerging from everywhere. THREE STARS.

#328  THE AVENGERS, VOLUME EIGHT #40 by Jason Aaron and Javier Garron (Marvel, February 2021) “Enter The Phoenix, Part One” This follows up from Issue #39 (which I read in 2021 but can still recall) that told the origin of the Phoenix force. It wasn’t just the power wielded by Jean Grey, but an actual giant space parasite made of fire. The Phoenix Force more recently used Moon Knight as its’ avatar, but that takeover plot was thwarted by the Avengers.

   Now, the Phoenix Force is looking for a new host and has forced a globe-spanning tournament pitting heroes against enemies and allowing them enough of a taste of the fiery Phoenix Force to effect the outcome of the battle. First up, Captain America versus Doctor Doom. Flaming fun ensues. THREE STARS.

Pavement - Spit On A Stranger (Official Video)

PAVEMENT, from the Terror Twilight album 1999

Pavement - Stereo (Official Video)

PAVEMENT, from the Brighten The Corners album 1997

Pavement - Cut Your Hair (Official Video)

PAVEMENT, from the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain album 1994

Pavement - Summer Babe (Winter Version)

The Nineties Playlist #4:  PAVEMENT, from the Slanted & Enchanted album 1992

Book Review of MISERY by Stephen King

MISERY by Stephen King (Viking, June 1987) Hardcover, 310 pages. Winner of Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel 1987. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Stephen King is arguably the most popular novelist in the history of American fiction. He owes his fans a love letter. Misery is it.

Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, wakes up one winter day in a strange place, a secluded farmhouse in Colorado. He wakes up to unspeakable pain (a dislocated pelvis, a crushed knee, two shattered legs) and to a bizarre greeting from the woman who has saved his life: "I'm your number one fan!"

Annie Wilkes is a huge ex-nurse, handy with controlled substances and other instruments of abuse, including an axe and a blowtorch. A dangerous psychotic with a Romper Room sense of good and bad, fair and unfair, Annie Wilkes may be Stephen King's most terrifying creation. It's not fair, for example, that her favorite character in the world, Misery Chastain, has been killed by her creator, as Annie discovers when Paul's latest novel comes out in paperback. And it's not good that her favorite writer has been a Don't-Bee and written a different kind of novel, a nasty novel, the novel he has always wanted to write, the only copy of which now lies in Annie's angry hands.

Because she wants Paul Sheldon to be a Do-Bee, she buys him a typewriter and a ream of paper and tells him to bring Misery back to life. Wheelchair-bound, drug-dependent, locked in his room, Paul doesn't have much choice. He's an entertainer held captive by his audience. A writer in serious trouble. But writers have weapons too...

My Five-Star Rating on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     What can I say about this great novel that hasn't already been said? King is just a master storyteller and writer (in spite of what his character Paul Sheldon says about the difference between the two); and this early work exhibits many of the skills that he would later hone so well. 

     I don't recall reading this before, although the memory of the film is still fresh. (Annie Wilkes is such a frightening, unforgettable character - in the movie, and even more so in the novel). Thanks to the Horror Haven community for making this a May 2024 group read. That was all the incentive I needed to finally get to this.

Some of my notes in the group read:

MAY 12 - - Just started reading today. It will be fun to compare and contrast King's writing style then (Misery, 1978) with today (Holly, 2023). I can already see some differences. Not that it matters, because I'm appreciative of both. He's always been able to capture everyone's fears, then and now. Such a creative and imaginative mind.

I recall seeing the movie once or twice and being thoroughly engaged. Kathy Bates was a great choice for Annie. I think I got behind on reading King several decades back (and never really caught up) and have only seen the movie before.

I believe King was still honing his craft at this point in his career. I've come to expect some drawn-out scenes and narratives in his writing and have a good tolerance for them. He manages to get away with them, where other writers would not. It's a skill.

MAY 14 - - - One of the many things I admire and appreciate about King's writing: the more his characters internalize, the more realistic they become. Chapter 14, where Paul adds taglines to describe the various feelings he is experiencing, is brilliant: 

"King of Pain. Pretty Thirsty. I Got The Hungries. " . . . and he began to feel like nothing more than a slice of living tissue on a microscope slide or a worm on a hook --something, anyway, twisting endlessly, and waiting only to die." 

I"m enjoying this so much I only read a few of these short chapters at a time. My appreciation is growing, while at the same time I can understand why others don't feel it or flat-out don't care for it.

MAY 18 - - - Still on my slow read of MISERY, one or two short chapters at a time.

Another highlight for me: In Part 2, Chapter 5 Paul Sheldon reflects on writing insights, ideas and inspiration, and breaking writers' block and does it by way of related anecdotes. A neat, tight way to get into his character and also share some writer tips and tricks.