Rating: 
Summary: Schlock, AND a cheap shill. Zero stars, please!
Review: I'm very sad that S. King would allow such a cheap ploy, perhaps even directly participate in it, to advance a reputation that needs no such tactics.I bought this book thinking it was what it purported to be: a period journal. I was skeptical, given the subject matter, but thought I was at least dealing with well-intentioned lunacy and I was interested in a woman's thoughts of that time period. I was somewhat confused by the promo for King's "Rose Red," which I'd never heard of, but thought perhaps this was source material he'd drawn from, as well. The "author's" forward is very convincing, though the "found in a trunk" claim should have tipped me off, as well as the photos and the .net listing for "Beaumont University." All the same, in a hurry and looking for an entertaining weekend read, I picked it up. Less than a chapter in I knew it had to be some sort of hoax. Not only did it not read like a journal, it was the cheapest sort of bodice ripper, full of over-the-top sex scenes, and not particularly original at that. A house built on an Indian burial ground? Pu-leeeeeeeze! Conversations recorded verbatim, in proper manucript format? Give me a break! Long, circular logic emotings written at Mother's dressing table the morning of the ill-starred wedding? Where's the bucket? And don't get me started on the strangely powerful, all-knowing African servant woman who becomes "Ellen's" best friend and protector after curing her VD with "bitter teas". Someone alert the NAACP. The larding of stale cliche, as well as the pandering to those hungry for porn-quality lesbian scenes are so thick it's actually impressive. I've read better quality work on fanfiction sites. This book is on the same artistic, intellectual, and cultural level as Xena: Warrior Princess, but far less honest. It's not that it's such a silly, derivative book (it is) that upsets me-- it's the incredibly cheap tactics the author and publisher took to place it in my hands. Send publishers everywhere a message by not buying into this scam. Wish I hadn't. I only hope that this turkey reached #1 on the NYT's Bestseller list due to people who knew what it was, though that's still a sad statement on America's reading tastes. Or maybe the publisher made that part up, too? To the author: if you're wondering why I didn't put my name to this, consider us even.
Rating: 
Summary: The Horror, the Horror - Of Crass Commercialism!
Review: As the book that sells the movie that sells the book, the book is much better than the movie, which is awful. It's actually a pretty entertaining read, though probably not for the reasons Stephen King intended. The conceit of the book being the edited diary of a turn of the century woman falls flat pretty much from the start, for a number of reasons. The viewpoints are very much those of a contemporary man, however hard they might try to appear otherwise. The language is archaic, not as actual old speech is archaic, but in an artificially theatrical sense. King uses the word "did" so often, it becomes a joke - as in, "The curtains did part," or "The smoke did rise," or "Her face did turn pale." This is the way a contemporary author or a soap opera actress imagines people from a past age to have written or spoken, not the way those people really did. There are bad continuity problems, which should have been caught in editing. At one point, King clearly states that a character hemorrhaged to death after clawing out his own eyes, and later that same character is referred to as still being alive and in prison. At another point, a character is referred to as pacing throughout a certain piece of dramatic business, and on the very next page he contradicts the assertion by taking a seat which he doesn't leave until the said business is concluded. There are times when the action is over-the-top, but nowhere near as badly as in the miniseries/movie. There is, however, a great deal of comically melodramatic foreshadowing - i.e., lightning striking at precisely the moment someone makes a shocking announcement, or has a dire thought. The funniest line in the book is one in which the writer of the diary hopes that "some scientist" will one day explain what is happening in Rose Red, since she cannot - and, of course, we all know what happens in the miniseries. It's all pretty silly, and not scary (or even very suspenseful) in the slightest, but it's great fun if you're in the mood for this kind of thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyed being TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
Review: After reading half of "Misery," I vowed never to buy another Stephen King book, but I was flim-flammed. I wanted to believe, despite the clear discrepancies... had a great read...and was disappointed in the end. Still, it was worth it.
Rating:
Summary: I feel so dumb!!!!
Review: I wish I would have read all the above reviews before I read this "diary" because then I wouldn't have been fasinated with finding out more about "Ellen." I found it a great read that I couldn't put down ( but that is probably because I thought it was true!!) Going on the website interested me enough to look at that school's other programs... somehow though they are all under construction. That is when I realized what was going on here.
The book is good as long as it's not believed. I kept telling myself when I was reading it that it read too good to be a true diary. Taking that into account I would still recommend the book because I did like it while I was reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start, but good ending
Review: Don't be discouraged by the fact that this book starts out moving a little slow. It builds up (much like "Needful Things") to a good conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red
Review: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, to me is one of the greatest books I have ever read. It's a diary of her life and emotions of living at Rose Red and her marriage with her husband, John Rimbauer. In her diary entries, she sometimes skips days, weeks, or even months in between each entry. The diary entries are written as a story then an entry describing her emotions. She writes about every thing, one being her sexual thoughts when with her husband. She goes through each day with the help of her personal handmaid named Sukeena. She also describes the child birth of her three children. The first was really a misscarrage, but the second was a boy by the name of Adam. The third was a girl by the name of April, she was born by a seasection and with a withered arm. After the seasection, it caused Ellen her ability to have any future children. Ellen becomes missing herself at the age of 70, and is still missing today. Overall, this book is great, the movie that was produced by Stephen King is nothing like the book. The movie was created by information from the diary. There is a web site to read diary entries that were not put into the book. These entries were not put in the book because Joyce Reardon felt that they were to personal to Ellen for readers to see... This book is really good and I would like to encourage others to read it.
Rating:
Summary: My Life at Rose Red is a real page turner
Review: This Book was excellent and interesting.
It kept my attention all the way through.
It was much better than the movie.
I am happy that I read the book after I seen the movie or
the movie would have been a great disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: To King, or not to King?
Review: This book is a must read for anyone who saw Rose Red... This fictional diary goes into detail of the history and mystery of Rose Red (a haunted mansion in Seattle Wa.) I personally thought that Stephen King wrote it... before I actually read it. After reading it, my impression is that Tabitha King (Stephen's published wife) actually wrote it, with a little input from hubby.
This book is a great read stand alone, if you never saw the movie, or it is a great read in concert with the movie. It is pretty accurate in it's descriptions of the late 1800's- early 1900's, and is in a beautifully bound and cut hardcover edition. WELL WORTH THE PRICE!
Shawn M. J. Mann
Rating:
Summary: I was duped!
Review: I was so interested in reading this book because we had lived in Seattle, and I thought "Red Rose" was an actual house. As I got into the book, which I thought read like a badly written romance magazine story, I began to suspect this was another Blair Witch
take-off.
Why an author feels they have to do this, I can't imagine. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book!!
Review: I loved this book!! It really feels like a diary, it is so detailed, and really goes into Ellen Rimbauer's mind, and life. It is very scary and creepy. I recommend reading the book before watching the movie. I did the opposite. I still love the book and the movie!! I have never read a SK book before. I have always watched his movies though, and love them, however, Rose Red is my favorite!!! The book is wonderful, and it tells you things about RR that they don't tell you in the movie. Highly recommened for any Rose Red fan!!
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