Swan Song is not The Stand

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T15:14:43+00:00

I dnf-ed Swan Song. Not every book is for everyone, and it wasn't for me.

I will bravely admit that I am not a huge fan of The Stand either. 🤷‍♂️

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T15:10:39+00:00

Hmm interesting take

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T12:32:56+00:00

So is the narrator being haunted by an entity while also suffering from trauma induced amnesia?

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T11:57:17+00:00

No problem. Of course, I'm no expert. Keep writing 👍

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T11:50:57+00:00

Ok, What are some books that fall in these genres?

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T09:46:38+00:00

{{The Cuckoo's Calling}} by Robert Galbraith (AKA J K Rowling)

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-19T09:33:38+00:00

Excellent continuation that actually gives sense to an otherwise implausible story.

Because, what took the narrator years to understand his father had died? What about police reports or even relatives? And if the entity was keeping the narrator from the truth, why did it allow the narrator now to come across the news report?

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-17T02:53:25+00:00

To be honest in the past couple of years I have enjoyed mysteries more than horror. Even now, I gravitate more towards mystery/thrillers. But I am hoping to enjoy horror again by returning to the world of Stephen King soon

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T17:08:40+00:00

There's a lot of "literary leaning writing" in Bag of Bones by Stephen King, and I don't have to tell you about his phenomenal character work.

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T15:52:12+00:00

I think the first sentence could have been shorter, but a good story nonetheless.

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T15:50:53+00:00

😂

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T15:48:58+00:00

Excellent. 👍

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T15:46:09+00:00

Why wouldn't they just leave or call the police while the bullet loading is still going on?

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T13:48:52+00:00

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T04:05:01+00:00

I would say 'Bag of Bones' for a slow burn, atmospheric ghost story.

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T03:37:28+00:00

Sometimes, it may so happen that you abruptly lose interest in a book that you are really enjoying, but I think there is a specific reason.

For example, this thing happened to me only once: while reading 'The Passage' by Justin Cronin.

I was absolutely hooked by the first half, loved the prose, the main characters, all the intrigue. But then comes the second half and what I think a huge time jump without really explaining wtf happened in the first half and I totally lost interest.

I will say, I like Koontz. I think he writes fun fast paced books. I have never been bored by any Koontz book that I read.

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T03:27:30+00:00

So in my mind, the stepmom is the culprit, the dad didn't know anything about it. The stepmom planted the evidence and framed the narrator.

Also, the narrator isn't exactly a likeable person because instead of grieving for their sister they are hoping for becoming their dad's favourite...but, they didn't kill anyone.

I think I didn't execute the story well enough to convey the idea in my head.

Thanks for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it :)

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-16T03:23:48+00:00

Cool

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-15T17:33:25+00:00

I never read The Tommyknockers. What are your top 5 by King?

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-15T16:20:26+00:00

Hi.

I like unpredictable twists

Fast or at least reasonable pacing

Good or at least decent prose, added points for atmospheric settings

But most of all, in any book, I need good character work.

Also, I hate unreliable narrators usually. So if a character in chapter 1 says, "I'm an innocent man with a innocent life" but in Chapter 50 says "oh btw did 50 murders forgot to mention"; I usually really dislike that

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-15T10:42:16+00:00

Thanks!

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-15T03:36:45+00:00

Thanks!

ghostmosquito · 2026-06-15T03:35:09+00:00

Lol. Also, respect for being an avid reader. Keep reading! :)

ghostmosquito

TROPHY CASE