# Someone hold Stephen King down while I KICK HIM IN THE ASS!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2002, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970 "2002-06-26T03:46:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/21 "2002-06-27T00:50:21Z")
And for god’s sake, people, it wasn’t an _orgy_. It was a _gangbang_. Please make a note of it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/22 "2002-06-27T00:55:03Z")
I may be wrong, but don’t dark tower books usually come out in the 4th quarter so that the publishers can maximize holiday sales? I think I heard that when W&G came out… ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/23 "2002-06-27T01:12:16Z")
**tavalla,** I think you are right about the quote from King but I think the numbers are a little off. _Thinner_ came out in hard cover and sold a lot of copies. From [http://www.epinions.com/book-review-73B1-7407F7F-381D6C99-bd1](http://www.epinions.com/book-review-73B1-7407F7F-381D6C99-bd1) “Thinner was originally published by Stephen King under the psuedonym Richard Bachman. Bachman had written four other books: Rage, Roadwork, The running man, and The Long Walk. Each of these four books had been paperbacks with moderate sales. Thinner was the first Bachman book to be issued in hardcover, and to achieve sales that approached best seller status.” I am assuming that the article means that ‘Thinner’ with the name Bachman on the cover almost hit the best seller list. 28,000 copies isn’t enough to reach the best seller list. 28,000 copies of a book also does not warrent a hardcover of the book being released. I bet the quote was “But the fact that Thinner sold 280,000 copies when Bachman was the author and 2,000,000 with King on the cover says something.” I am also assuming that ‘Thinner’ hit the best seller list after King put his name on it. At the same time I know nothing about the publishing world so I could be totally wrong. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/24 "2002-06-27T03:04:42Z")
**ianzin** –I’d recommend starting with _The Stand_. It is tremendously long, but totally worth it. I started with this one, and was hooked for life. (There are two versions. The original had a lot of stuff edited out because it was so long. The second version was published with all the excised material added back in. I’d say that the edited version is fine. If you like it, you can go back and read the un-edited version.) Or, you could read _Different Seasons_. It has 4 novellas in it, two of which you’re probably already familiar with, as they were made into the movies _Stand By Me_ and _The Shawshank Redemption_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/25 "2002-06-27T03:24:17Z")
Re: The _Thinner_ publishing numbers. King did use the “28,000/280,000” figures in his intro to the Bachman Books collection. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/26 "2002-06-27T04:02:27Z")
[Hijack] Mr. Cynical, could you please explain the difference between an orgy and a gangbang? Inquiring, not to mention dirty, minds want to know [We now return this thread to its regularly scheduled flight.] ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/27 "2002-06-27T05:31:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Peyote Coyote \* > \*\*[Hijack] > Mr. Cynical, could you please explain the difference between an orgy and a gangbang? Inquiring, not to mention dirty, minds want to know > [We now return this thread to its regularly scheduled flight.] \*\* Sorry, I’m not Mr. Cynical, but here’s my take on it. **Orgy** - many people all having sex with each other **Gangbang** - many boys having sex, one after the other, with one girl. Hope this clears up any confusion you might have. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/28 "2002-06-27T07:44:34Z")
I was always under the impression that the world of “Eyes of the Dragon” was the same world as the DT series, just in the past. To support that, I seem to recall rugs in both books being from Kasmin… I could, of course, be suffering from Crackheadedness. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/29 "2002-06-27T14:13:39Z")
**Tristan** , they were actually _Kashamin_ rugs, but you’re quite right. The DT and the EOTD worlds are either one in the same or very, very closely related. Check out [this page](http://www.geocities.com/darktowercompendium/otherworlds.html#eotd) for lots of good links between the two (you have to scroll about half a page down and click on “Eyes of the Dragon”) ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/30 "2002-06-27T17:42:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sleestak \* > \*\*From [http://www.epinions.com/book-review-73B1-7407F7F-381D6C99-bd1](http://www.epinions.com/book-review-73B1-7407F7F-381D6C99-bd1) > > “Thinner was originally published by Stephen King under the psuedonym Richard Bachman. Bachman had written four other books: Rage, Roadwork, The running man, and The Long Walk. Each of these four books had been paperbacks with moderate sales. Thinner was the first Bachman book to be issued in hardcover, and to achieve sales that approached best seller status.” > > I am assuming that the article means that ‘Thinner’ with the name Bachman on the cover almost hit the best seller list. 28,000 copies isn’t enough to reach the best seller list.\*\* In most cases, no. But it’s not as far off as you seem to think it is. And when **Thinner** was published, somewhat fewer sales were required to hit the list. \*\* > [@](#): > > 28,000 copies of a book also does not warrent a hardcover of the book being released.\*\* According to whom? 28,000 copies net is a good number for a hardcover novel, even today. It’s not a bestseller, but it’s a solid success. Lots of hardcovers don’t sell that many copies. \*\* > [@](#): > > I bet the quote was “But the fact that Thinner sold 280,000 copies when Bachman was the author and 2,000,000 with King on the cover says something.” I am also assuming that ‘Thinner’ hit the best seller list after King put his name on it. > \*\* You’ve been corrected on the quote – but you are off by an order of magnitude on book sales. King _now_ sells a few million copies per book, but the top hardcover bestseller sales have gone up substantially in the last decade or two. (So now a handful of authors do sell in the millions, but most “bestselling” authors still don’t sell that many.) And “King” didn’t put his name on **Thinner** – a reporter discovered the connection and the book started selling after the story went national. (It was reprinted with King’s name afterwards, but that was after the news had hit.) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/31 "2002-06-27T18:14:13Z")
Don’t forget Desperation/The Regulators. Two books, same character names, one written by King and one by Bachman. Talk about multiple personalities! I had to force my way through The Black House, (I loathe books written in the present tense) Dreamcatcher was not up to par, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was a snack, not a meal. I have also only been able to read Cujo once…because I have a son. The Stand is my favorite, followed by The Green Mile. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/32 "2002-06-27T22:02:55Z")
**ianzin** : _The Shining_ is, in my humble opinion, King’s finest work ever and is an excellent introduction to all the things that make a King book a wonderful read: in-depth characterization, humor when you least expect it, the ability to care about all the characters in the book, and knock-your-socks-off terror. I first read it in high school, and after about page 300 I literally was afraid to stop reading. Stayed up till 2 a.m. finishing that sucker. As a short story, _Gramma_ (sp?) is also wonderful – although he’s written a ton of good ones. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/33 "2002-06-28T00:24:55Z")
Just popping in to say thanks for the various recommendations. **Pepperlandgirl** I’m a bit puzzled by your ref to Tommyknockers. Oddly enough, it’s one of the few SK titles that has been enthusiastically recommended to me by an SK fan! If this isn’t possible, forget it, but is there a non-spoiler way of telling me roughly what Tommyknockers is about, and why you (PLG) dislike it so much? ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/34 "2002-06-28T02:50:45Z")
Obviously I am a strange one - my favorite was The Talisman. The scariest ones however have been named - The Shining, It (read that while in the hospital having my appy out), Skeleton Crew has some EXCELLENT short stories in it, including The Mist and The Raft, Carrie and Pet Sematary. I finally got around to reading The Stand, and it was very good, but also very long, you may want to start with something shorter, until you are hooked (I would probably go with Ths Shining). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/35 "2002-06-28T02:59:18Z")
The BEST short story-or at least, the coolest one, was “Survivor Type” about a guy on a deserted island who starts eating his own body parts. Talk about COOL! ---
**Author:** ![GopherGod72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@GopherGod72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GopherGod72)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/36 "2002-06-28T03:27:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\* > > In the 70s he wrote a fairly short novel called **The Gunslinger**. He later wrote a sequel called **The Drawing of the Three**. These books are very, very good and very popular. They are nothing like his other novels, in that they are more Fantasy with a bit of Western and Sci-Fi thrown in. He’s now written 4 books in the Dark Tower Series, but the Dark Tower world touches _all_ the worlds, and there are several references in other books to the DT world, and in the DT books to other worlds. (For instance, the antagonist in **The Stand** is also the Big Bad in the DT–or so it would appear.) > I highly recommend these books to everybody as well. Even my husband, who as a rule doesn’t like to read, loves these books and can’t wait for 5, 6, and 7. > The problem is, it takes forever for SK to publish these books (more than 20 years between 1 and 4), so the fans have a very long wait…and we’re getting restless. \*\* My absolute favorite as well. I love the Dark Tower series… however The Gunslinger came out in 1989 not the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/37 "2002-06-28T03:54:56Z")
from **ianzin** > [@](#): > > I’m a bit puzzled by your ref to Tommyknockers. Oddly enough, it’s one of the few SK titles that has been enthusiastically recommended to me by an SK fan! NOOOO! _The Tommyknockers_ sucked really bad. Even worse than _Gerald’s Game_. Please don’t read this one until you’ve read some of the excellent suggestions in this thread. Also, might I suggest _Christine_? King nailed high school life and interactions in that one. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve watched “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Stand By Me”, which, as mentioned earlier, wer both based on novellas found in _Different Seasons_. This should be high on your list. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/38 "2002-06-28T03:57:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GopherGod72 \* > \*\* > My absolute favorite as well. I love the Dark Tower series… however The Gunslinger came out in 1989 not the 70’s. \*\* _The Gunslinger_ was originally published in book form in 1982, by Donald M. Grant. The stories themselves came out in several editions of _The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction_ starting, I believe, in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/39 "2002-06-28T04:46:01Z")
I have an affection for both _Firestarter_ and _The Dead Zone_. Neither is particularly terrifying, though. I could not stand Desperation or The Regulators. Ug. That whole universe felt like a very bad drug trip. ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970/40 "2002-06-28T05:11:03Z")
_The Long Walk_ is one of my favorite King/Bachman novellas. It can be found in **The Bachman Books**. I’ve read it about ten or fifteen times, and never get tired of it. But **The Stand** was the first King novel I read, and it’s my die hard favorite. I’ve replaced my paperback copies numerous times over the years. Whenever I go to a convention, I always take my first edition hardback of the completely and uncut version, on the _very_ off chance King will be there and I can get it signed. Sheri [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-hold-stephen-king-down-while-i-kick-him-in-the-ass/115970.md?page=3)