Tag Archives: Stephen King

Tolkien’s “I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but size)” in Context

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

I don’t know that there is any more famous Tolkien quote than his claim to, in fact, be a hobbit. It’s really quite a delightful statement and worth quoting more fully: I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Charles Williams, Franz Kafka, Harry Potter, Hobbit Day, I.A. Richards, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, literary criticism, literature, Lord of the Rings, new criticism, practical criticism, Stephen King, The Hobbit, Ursula K. LeGuin | Leave a comment

Why I Didn’t Finish IT as a Teen

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

I was a couple of years older than the kids in IT when I picked it up the first time. The novel is filled with sexual content, gory violence, and profanity—very little of which was carried over to the Hollywood … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Carrie, fantasy, fire, Horror, IT, mimesis, realism, Stephen King, The Dark Half, The Dark Tower, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Green Mile, The Shining, The Stand | 12 Comments

The Mythogenic Principle, Or Why Reading Zombie Lit at the Beach is a Very Bad Idea

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

It’s one of the reasons watching horror films is so fun, isn’t it? Though the possibility that a serial killer who has spent too much time collecting comic books or reading 19th century engineering reports is hiding behind your couch … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Charles Williams, H.P. Lovecraft, Horror, I Am Legend, IT, Joss Whedon, Prince Edward Island, Reading, Stephen King, The Handmaid's Tale, The Mythogenic Principle, The Name of the Wind, WWZ, Zombieland, zombies | 6 Comments

Sad Peninsula by Mark Sampson

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

My mother was a voracious reader. I remember watching her as she read on the couch or a deck chair, slowly turning the leaves as if she was counting the pages rather than gobbling up hundreds of words at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Canadian literature, Japan, Korea, Mark Sampson, On Writing, Sad Peninsula, Stephen King, writing, WWII | 14 Comments

Stephen King on the Supernatural

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

On Tuesday I spent time thinking about my Stickin’ Huge Awesome Novel Winter Awesome Read (SHANWAR) read for 2017, Stephen King’s The Stand. As the snows of winter pen me in, I want a big, long, great book that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged 'Salem's Lot, Anne Rice, Bible, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carpe Jugulum, Charlene Harris, Charles Williams, Dead Until Dark, fantasy, Science Fiction, Stephen King, Supernatural Fiction, Terry Pratchett, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand, Theology of Culture, True Blood, vampires, writing | 7 Comments

Stephen King and the Genre of Genius

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

This year for my Stickin’ Huge Awesome Novel Winter Awesome Read (SHANWAR), I chose Stephen King’s The Stand (1978) I have never read it before and I don’t think I have ever had a conversation with someone about it. Still, … Continue reading →

Posted in On Writing, Reflections, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged 'Salem's Lot, Carrie, fantasy, genre, Harold Bloom, IT, literature, Margaret Atwood, On Writing, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Stephen King, The Green Mile, The Shining, The Stand | 13 Comments

The SHANWAR List: The Stickin’ Huge Awesome Novel Winter Awesome Read

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Winters can be long in these Northern climes. Yesterday I walked to work with white fluffy snowflakes dusting my hair. As gardening friends in Europe and the United States have begun sinking their fingers in dirt, I felt the urge … Continue reading →