On Feb 16, 2:44 pm, Elko T  wrote:   
   >    And, of course, the annoying presence of the supernatural in almost all of   
   > his works (but it comes with the package, so has to lived with). Maybe I   
   liked   
   > the ones I did, because its presence in them was less annoying. In any event,   
   > "The Stand" and "Insomnia" are powerful, even epic books.   
   Actually, surprisingly little of King's output is supernatural in   
   general or horror in particular.   
   "Carrie", his first published novel, was arguably SF.  It had not   
   supernatural elements at all.  Carrie White's powers were the result   
   of genetic mutation, and the novel's structure resembles that of "The   
   Andromeda Strain" more than a typical horror novel.  There is a "real   
   time" narrative of events as they unfold dramatically, interspersed   
   with documentary material like newspaper articles, hearing testimony   
   and excerpts from the autobiography of a survivor of "Prom Night".   
   Consider his first dozen published and unpublished novels:   
   "Blaze" - a crime novel. (Later rewritten and published under his   
   "Richard Bachman" pseudonym)   
   "Carrie" - SF about a girl with a destructive mutant power or "wild   
   talent"   
   "'Salem's Lot" - a vampire novel. (A bounce on "Dracula" which King   
   was teaching at the time.)   
   "The Shining" - King's haunted house novel   
   "Rage" - a student takes hostages at a high school.  (A pre-"Carrie"   
   manuscript published as a "Bachman" novel)   
   "The Stand" - epic fantasy with elements of both SF and horror   
   "The Long Walk" - SF (a brutal competition in a dystopian future.   
   King would revisit the theme in "The Running Man", also published as a   
   "Bachman" title.)   
   "The Dead Zone" - A brain injury leaves a man with the power to see   
   the future.  Unlike the TV series, the book does not explain Johnny   
   Smith's precognitive abilities in supernatural terms.  By all   
   indications they are a mysterious, but entirely natural by-product of   
   his brain injury, just as Carrie White and Charlie McGee's powers (see   
   next) are the natural result of genetic mutation.   
   "Firestarter" - SF.  King revisits some of the themes he explored in   
   "Carrie", telling the story of another pair of characters with "wild   
   talents"   
   "Roadwork" (by "Bachman") A "straight" novel, this one about a man's   
   violent breakdown and confrontation with authority.  In some ways it   
   anticipated the movie "Falling Down".   
   "Cujo" - Another "straight" novel.  A pet dog is infected by rabies   
   and turns on his family.   
   "The Running Man" - SF.  Another dystopian future with a vicious   
   contest at its heart.   
   Of the twelve books listed, only four have elements of the   
   supernatural in them, and only three of *them* can be classified as   
   horror.  ("The Stand" is in a category of its own.)  And this from the   
   alleged "Master of Horror".  Of the remaining eight, four are   
   unalloyed SF, and one ("The Dead Zone") is closer to SF than to any   
   other genre.  The other three are mainstream novels with strong crime   
   elements.   
   His later career was at least as varied.  There were "Christine" and   
   "It", but there were also "Misery", "Gerald's Game", "Dolores   
   Claiborne" (a suspense novel, a woman-in-jeopardy story with a twist   
   and a mystery.)  Then there are the novellas that reached the screen   
   as "Stand by Me" ("The Body", a coming-of-age story) and "The   
   Shawshank Redemption")  None of the latter had any supernatural   
   elements, they were just good stories.  (King unabashedly calls   
   himself a storyteller, and admits that he'll subordinate other   
   elements of the writer's art - mood, characterization, diction,   
   symbolism - to the primary purpose of telling a clear and interesting   
   story.  This was especially true early in his career, when Harlan   
   Ellison referred to his writing as the literary equivalent of a Big   
   Mac and fries.  Ellison didn't mean that as an insult.  Sometimes   
   you're in the mood for a Big Mac and fries, and when you are   
   McDonald's produces a consistent, satisfying product that you can get   
   anytime in outlets almost anywhere.  There are worse things to be   
   known for.  I've tossed aside novels by "better" writers who were off   
   their game after reading a few dozen pages (writers who approach   
   greatness when they're "on".)  But I don't think I've ever failed to   
   finish a King novel that I started.   
   (Damn.  Now I feel like having McDonald's for dinner and re-reading   
   "Carrie".  )   
   Regards,   
   Joe   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
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