Rating: 
Summary: When the heart answers the soul
Review: Stephen King's huge success is the result of several parameters. 1- Supernatural elements that are always ancillary elements in the dramatic and realistic structure of the stories. 2- Simple metaphysics : Good and Evil, deeply founded on a spiritual approach of the Christian religion, and on a dichotomic vision of humanity as containing both good and evil. History helps him here to identify those good and evil elements. 3- Some privileged individuals who are victimized or handicapped (physically, mentally, by young age, by old age, by their sex, by their social status, by their intellectualism, by their artistic activities, etc), or both, and who are the tools to regeneration. 4- This cycle of returning evil and antagonistic good and evil is never ending, just suspended or contained for a while, before evil comes back and starts its disruption of the world again. 5- The whole fiction is always situated in a world that is directly and realistically connected to our everyday world. Even when we move to a fantasy world like in The Dark Tower or The Eyes of the Dragon, or The Talisman, we are still perfectly connected to the present world, to the present world pushed back into some past, to the present world destroyed by savagery and repression, to an identifiable past revived into the present. There is no non-human fantasy world like in Tolkien, or no futuristic intercosmic world like in Hubbard and others. Even the worlds of Insomnia or The Regulators are connected to our world. In the first case it is doctors that are the model of the evil beings (and some reference to the Erynies of Greek mythology), and in the second case it is the world of electronic games, toy robots and transformers of old, etc. What I have shown with these three books, works of fiction, is that historical events of dramatic value are used to dramatize the plot : the Shoah, Hitler, the American Constitution, Jesus's sacrifice and crucifixion, etc... History is the core of Stephen King's world of fiction and imagination. This book explains all that and a lot more, indeed. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Universities of Paris IX and II.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm sorry, but I don't danse.
Review: The first time I started into this book I got halfway through and then chucked it in the bin. A year later I bought it again, promised myself I would put up with it, and finished it. Why did it take me so long? Because it's such a fiendishly intristic commentary on the horror genre as a whole, offering new insights into classics like "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" which were just to difficult for me to understand? Hell no. It's because its one long, boring, tedious piece of crap. It's a grown-up version of those pompous bloody introductions King feels compelled to stick in at the beginning of his otherwise brilliant novels, making you want to top yourself before the first chapter. You'd think somebody would tell him that just because he uses the words Appollonian and Dionysian again and again it doesn't mean he's saying anything important. Frankly, he should stick to writing novels--it's a bad omen when the most interesting thing in someone's book is the quotes from other people.
Rating:
Summary: A small look inside the genius of Stephen King's mind
Review: This book gives you a better understanding of what goes on in Stephen King's mind. He recounts many of his childhood dreams and experiences, very spooky stuff. If you love to read Stephen King this is a must have.
Rating:
Summary: An Invaluable Resource
Review: This in depth exploration into the psyche of Stephen King is essential reading for any aspiring writer. Memories of childhood, of inspirations to write, and even some method to the madness fill this book; making it feel like a cross the table conversation. Discussing influential books and authors, films and directors, and pertinent world events, King implores his fans to pay attention to the world around them, citing that as the writer's best source of material. Friendly advice from the world's best selling author for the price of a paperback! You can't beat that! If you don't own this book immediately purchase a copy. Also included are two appendixes, one for films and one for books that make great to watch/ to read lists. Many of the books and films suggested are out of print or have moratorium status, which will prompt a treasure hunt for avid fans. The only fault with this book is that Mr. King hasn't updated it or written a sequel since the book is almost twenty years old! An inspiring and informative book.
Rating:
Summary: all hail the king
Review: This is my favorite Stephen King book--I've read it considerably more times than any of his other works. I don't think it's any secret what makes this book so enjoyable--it's really what makes all of his books work--his storytelling power. He has such a friendly, compelling, seductive narrative voice--it's like he's casually, and yet powerfully sharing secrets with you, and you can't wait to hear what he has to say next. It might help to enjoy DANSE MACABRE if you are a horror fiction/film fanatic, but then again, it might just make you one even if you're not--it had that effect on me. I tried to see as many of the films and read as many of the books he discussed as I could. (I don't share his warm feelings for the movie "Prophesy" or Peter Straub's "Ghost Story," but join him in highly recommending Ramsey Campbell's horribly titled "The Doll Who Ate His Mother" and the unforgettable "Dawn of the Dead.") Next I moved on to the list of recommended books and movies at the end, and found most of those very worthwhile as well. If you're borderline compulsive like I am, finding a list like that is probably a bad thing--you can't rest until you've checked everything off it, which would probably take a lifetime. I've worked on it on and off for over a decade and am not much more than half done. But the quest goes on, for which I must thank Mr. King, and more specifically, this delightful, engaging, illuminating book.
Rating: 
Summary: Stephen King, Stick To Fiction
Review: When I opened this book, I thought I was going to read the insights of a master of fright fiction, what I found were rambling anecdotes and recollections.
Mr. King, for some reason, could not maintain a focus. He would begin a chapter on a certain subject or aspect of the horror/science fiction genre and by the next paragraph start remembering something from his childhood somewhat semi-related to the topic being discussed. He would digress to the point where he would even admit to it, apologize and promise to return to the original subject in a later chapter. The next chapter he would do the samething again! What was going through King's mind when he writing this book --other than constant reminiscences about his childhood in the Fifties/Sixties?
One other annoyance about this book was King's occasional oblique comments on the way his own work was adapted for the screen. For example, he teases the reader with a comment about his dislike for the movie version of "The Shining", yet he never goes into any further explanation on the subject. The reader is left hanging.
Where was the editor?
Rating:
Summary: The most lucid book about horror past and present
Review: When I was in high school I did a presentation on horror movies and used this book as the sole point of reference. Besides being an example of what a lazy 17 year old I was, it also shows the quality of information. Stephen King not only is a great horror writer but he's also a fan. His memory, insights and knowledge are second only to Joe Bob Briggs. Even silly fifties movie are given a new life under Stephen King's nostalgia tripping. The back of the book has a list of greatest horror movies in King's opinion. An invaluable list. The only drawback is the fact that you start noticing the injokes in other books. Example is the scene in It where the main character has to recite "He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts". Read this book and you know that he's tributing Donovan's Brain.
Rating:
Summary: Important, and fun
Review: When it comes to serious studies in horror by actual authors (which are usually much more useful than those by academics, although those are generally good for a laugh), there's Lovecraft's "Supernatural Literature" and this. In terms of sheer fun, this book is a goldmine and very well thought out. You can read a chapter separately, or read the whole thing at one shot, but you keep going back to it and rereading it. Especially useful to film fans and scholars is King's analysis and dissection of the horror movie. I'm recommending this to a friend of mine in the hopes that he will loosen up a bit after reading King's sometimes-hilarious take on the truly awful horror movies out there. "Danse Macabre" is both a lot of fun and a great study of an often misunderstood genre. Take a look!
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