Hey bookworms & Constant Readers! I've been waiting a long time for this very special episode of Into The Multiverse. I hope it lives up to expectations. Enjoy!
@@gavvo-7640 I'd be up for a Blu-ray upgrade of that, but I'd be seriously annoyed if Storm of the Century didn't get one first. Not that either's realistically gonna happen, so I won't be losing any sleep over it! As for the book - a goodish story, but desperately in need of an Eddie Dean to whittle away at the key hidden inside. Might be best to use an axe instead of a knife in this case...
I’ve read about 25 Stephen king Books and this is literally top 5 for me. Something about those 2 years 1986 and 87, you Had IT The Drawing of Three Tommyknockers and Misery. All are phenomenal novels and I guess were the last “drugged up” king books.
@@BobbiittyI have also read around 25 king books, 27 maybe(?) and as a huge king fan, I can say with certainty, that this is a top ten book for me!! I’d put it 7 on my list. But again I liked the final dark tower book, so don’t take my word on it.
I popped in to necro the thread to say the same thing. Plot: cheesy fun with actual tension in the growing danger to Gard throughout the story Characters: Bobby and Jim are great! And Jim is NOT USELESS. How would anyone react if their best friend held them hostage while slowly turning into a damn Cthulhu? Ending: everyone hates SK endings. I don't get it with this one. It's a badass conclusive ending with our protagonist coming from an impossible, horrifying position in which I honestly thought the story would end with his death and total victory for the aliens, to instead a position of complete dominance and the death of the entire threat. WHAT THE HECK DO PEOPLE WANT FROM THIS THAT ISN'T PROVIDED
Just finished it. Couldn't wait to hear and read reviews. Thought it was nuts, hilarious at times, and solid. It felt like falling into a schizophrenic delusion. Could it have been edited more? Sure. But who gives af. I felt compelled to get to the end. That's good enough for me.
"never have I ever wanted to quit reading a book so bad, yet, dont want it to put it down just to see what crazy shit comes up next" Im sold. If its wierder than song of susanah I will be blown
I sat down and read this book for the first time a few months ago just because a friend of mine told me it was a top 3 King book for him. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing since I’d heard it was such a terrible book but I decided to listen to him and read the book. Needless to say I was absolutely blown away by it. For me it’s like the weirder king gets the better and this definitely goes for it. It’s just something about those last 2 years of him being drugged up 1986 and 87 he released IT The Drawing of the Three Misery and Tommyknockers. All are phenomenal books in their own way but can also be very polarizing to a lot of fans.
Just finished this book. Enjoyed it way more than I expected. The tension when Gard finally enters the shed--after waiting 500 pages for that to happen--was more edge-of-my-seat than anything I read in Shining or Salem's Lot.
Fun fact: back when I had to learn Swedish in high school, this was one of the books I read in Swedish to help develop my vocabulary and understanding of the language in general.
I think I devoured this book in one sitting when it came out. I don't understand why anyone would not like it. Obviously, the themes of addiction and something bigger than yourself and beyond your control relate to King's reality at the time, but I think it makes it more relatable. He had an out-of-control success story going on, and indulging in lots of mind-altering substances, and wondering when it was all going to crash. The story reflects that stuff and has lots of good ideas as well.
This was my introduction to King about 3 years ago. I’m not sure what in the hell made me pick this one up first but I’m glad this didn’t stay as my impression of King
I was so hoping that would be your intro. 🖤 Edit: So... a couple of videos back you said you weren’t funny. I think I mentioned this in another comment on another video, but omg this had me rolling.
Tommy knockers is beautiful...for me when I go thru life i try to absorb and see and understand the world 🌎 we live in. But when my mind is overtaken with everyday life, i sometimes miss the best things around me.
I actually kind of liked this one but that was because I heard of the Tommyknockers before I ever heard of Stephen King. My Father used to tell me and my sister that old rhyme to keep us from wandering outside after dark "Late last night and the night before Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door. I wanna go out, don't think that I can, I'm too afraid of the Tommyknocker Man" so reading this book was like revisiting a childhood fear.
Funny enough- this IS my favorite SK book. I’ve read about 75-80% of his work; this was the first one I read fully. I checked it out of the library after I had watched the mini-series on TV, and scared the shit out of me. I know, seems ludicrous now- but that was the 90’s and watching by myself, staying up later than allowed, it had an effect on me. I was terrified of aliens 👽 anyway- living in BFE- so it all hit me to the core. I had seen the IT MS as well, though it never scared me, I just found it entertaining; so this wasn’t my first exposure to SK. Anyways, I know it’s a crazy ass book, and I get the shade it receives- but as you say- read it for what it is. Also there’s an old British story/movie called Quatermass and The Pit- Steve says he basically rewrote it in America, pretty cool Hammer-esqe flick- check it out!
Man-I had to have read The Tommyknockers back when I was in high school, but I remember liking it. Curious to see how I feel about it again in my mid-30s 😂
Massive Stephen King fan, love (almost) all his books, - this is one of the many that I absolutely love, - yes I know King's reasons today for not liking it because of where he was in his life, - but I absolutely love it
i wish i was determined to read as many books as you, i tried listening to audiobooks at work but they dont stay in my head like if i was to read it. love being able to hear you talk about the books i wish i had the attention span and time to sit down and do it. Thank you!
I'm still not sure how I felt about this one. On the one hand, it was everything you said and more. On the other hand, it is fascinating to see a book where every single character makes the exact wrong decision at exactly the right time for this stuff to happen. That has to be an unintentional metaphor for addiction/substance abuse: it seems so easy to fix but every opportunity you get to fix it, you do exactly the wrong thing.
Love the intro, because every time I picked up Tommyknockers I made sure to be plenty high. Went into the book with majorly low expectations and actually loved it. it's just so over the top you have to check your brain and go along for the ride.
The length is the biggest issue, SK puts so much detail into everything (people, places, objects) to teach us everything about the setting he created. Sometimes it works, and the length is earned. Other times, you get The Tommyknockers.
This book has been in the lost depths of buried shit for a long time.. So glad I've seen this video just in case there was that masochistic streak somewhere in me that was ever tempted to read it again... 😠 Thank you so much Mike,you have saved me the agony.. 🙏
I read this book when I was in either middle school or High School, it really got my imagination going in some crazy directions. Some of the creepy images it put in my head were pretty great
I love The Tommyknockers. I can’t disagree with any of the points you raised but at the same time none of them bother me. It’s definitely a “your mileage may vary” reading experience.
Pretty good book of around 1068 pages. Starts first very interesting, then a boring part of somewhere between of around page 100-200 when it introduces the second main protagonist but adds a little funny story that gets referenced a lot and generally becomes integral later on. But then it picks up quickly and gets super interesting and more tension as soon as James Gard Gardener reaches Bobbi Andersons place. Story is creepy and super serious at times and then has very hilarious chapters and little moments even straight up to the end. Its a mix between tension and laughs in my case. For example when a housewives turns nuts and sees her jesus puppet talk to her and makes her turn her TV into a deathtrap for her cheating husband who has his eyes shoot out like rifle bullets from it and jesus making funny remarks along the chapter to her. Or when Bobbi andersons sister is introduced
Been waiting for this! Yeah. I read The Tommyknockers, and yeah, I thought it was bat-crap crazy. I loved the ride. It IS one of my favorites from that era.
Funniest bit of trivia about The Tommyknockers was this was runner-up for The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Book of the Year in 1988 to David Brin's The Uplift War. Maybe it has something to do with King writing science-fiction. The way you wail on this book and talk about having so much trouble finishing it reminds me of my experience with Dreamcatcher. I've read everything King has written (including The Tommyknockers) and the only book I DNF'd and then had to finish it on a second read was Dreamcatcher. And I just got the connection, Dreamcatcher and The Tommyknockers both involve aliens in the plotlines. Just a thought.
Mike, I discovered your channel a couple weeks ago, and I love it. Your takes on WoT, Gwynne, Malazan, Rothfuss, and Stephen King are spot on - it's like we share a brain on so many of your takes. BUT, I gotta say, I read Tommyknockers in 1989 as a young kid. It was maybe the fourth King I'd read, and I had no idea about his drug use and overall insanity that crept into this. I read it for what it was, and took for granted that maybe the guy shouldn't spend as much time as he did on certain characters or plot points. So it's long been a favourite for me. I loved Gard's drunken rant at the faculty lounge; I loved Bobbi's nasty sister; I loved Hilly Brown and his magic show and the sheer panic that hits when he actually succeeds; I love that goofy reporter and his encounter with the Coke machine; I love it all. It was only years later, after reading On Writing and hearing King give interviews, that I learned the backstory. It's far from his best, but I still fondly remember being teleported (hehe) into Haven one summer as a 14 year old, and being absolutely spellbound by the world King created. Cheers!
I just finished this book yesterday. I think I agree with you. Enjoyed the multiverse Easter eggs. It was a good listen while doing chores. If it could be edited it would be better. The idea is good. The coke machine was cringe.
Oh Mike!!! LOL. This is THE ONE REVIEW i've been waiting for ever since you started your Into The Multiverse series. Hilarious review... and yep, a bat-shit crazy book from Sai King. Listening to your thoughts now actually makes me wanna do a re-read :) It's crazy that it's the same year he released the AMAZING Drawing Of The Three huh?
Gotta say, I really enjoyed this discussion about The Tommyknockers! It's been on my TBR for ages but I've kept putting it off because of the book's bad reputation. Now I know why. Really cool to hear fair criticism from a fan that judges carefully and critically and can put the book in the context of King's larger body of work. Cheers!
I’ve read 30+ King novels at this point and I absolutely hated this book when I read it back in high school. I remember enough of it to know that it was not a great time. There are a lot of fantastic King novels but this one misses every mark for me!
This was the second Stephen king book I ever read at like 14yrs old & I loved it back then... didn't know anything bout SK's drug abuse at that time. I still look back with great memories reading it, I'm keen to one day do a reread and see how bonkers it is! After this I read Needful Things and to this day I still think it's one of my favourite King books.
Was a sci-fi fan before a King fan and was entertained with some of the ideas he brings in this book. The idea of psychic alien vampires isn’t a new trope though I doubt King drew from any specific influences I can pinpoint (outside the cocaine) from other works but he certainly put his own spin on it. Preferred the book over the mini series though I enjoyed that too. Would be interesting if a bunch Ted Brautigan breaker types could wipe away the alien influence of the ship and repurpose the tech. The book really makes me think.
A couple years ago I found The Tommyknockers in a Little Free Library. I've been a King fan for nearly thirty years but still hadn't read that one because of all the negative reviews. Seeing it in a Little Free Library, however, got me excited to give it a go, negative press be damned. And negative press be damned indeed, because I flew through The Tommyknockers faster than I have any other book in a looong time. I know the hate for this book is there, but I don't get it because this book was right up my alley.
Never read the book but was first scary movie watched as a little little kid and had nightmares like a week and had to sleep with lights one for two weeks. Look back an adult now it is crazy how certain things can get you as a kid but later don't see it at all.
11:40-When things like this happens, i go back so many pages to see what i missed only go see i didnt miss sht. King just abandoned or sometimes even interjects something out of no where.
Maybe it's videos like this setting my expectations low but I loved the book, flew through it in 4 days all 860 pages. I'm not being sarcastic when I say that the cocaine fueled 50-100 page rambles about characters backstories only for them to immediately die in the present actually worked in the books favor. That constant sense of inevitable doom lent a feeling of dread to an already pretty spine tingly book.
Hey Mike! Great to have discovered your channel and reviews of Stephen King's books, man. I too am Gen X (tho about 6 years older than you) and most definitely a baseball guy in highschool (hence my nickname, perpetual JV jock, doe🤪). Always high tubesocks, super floppy sneakers that were often fired off my stocking feet when goofing off with buddies or checking out girls 🤣🤪-basically a spikey haired (tho now balding) little mascot baseball guy from the late 80's right here lol 😜. I share all that in response to what you shared in your review for "Carrie" (never read The TKnockers here). King brilliantly (and simply) manages to capture human behavior, whatever the age of his characters. But he especially grabs what makes kids tick. I remember being a little guy-12 or 13-and reading his books and getting lost in those worlds......it was thrilling...often very scary...and then living my life as a Roman Catholic, baseball lovin' blue collar kid and feeling a part of one of his stories. Which is a big part of why I wanted to become an actor, and bringing forth that human behavior, you know? Not an easy path, for sure. But my God, did he have an impact on so many of us....he is an American treasure, that's for sure. "Salem's Lot" is my favorite, man. Read that one 5 or 6 times. Never read "Firestarter", though your review has made me wanna pick that one up. And flop outta my super floppy DC sneakers while I do😉🤪. Thanks for the inspiration, Mike. Best, JV Johnny ⚾
Hey Mike I enjoyed the review. I remember reading this one years ago and was saying to myself what the hell is going on here lol. I am currently reading Allegiance by Timothy Zahn. Great so far. Loved the ending of Scoundrels. No spoilers of course. By the way would ever consider a book review on more of the EU in Star Wars?? Anyway keep up the great work and as always keep reading!
I remember reading this in high school, graduated in 92, I loved it. I also remember how excited I was about the television adaptation coming out. Alas, I was super disappointed in TV version, to be honest, I hated TV version of It also. Top Stephen King books for me It, Needful Things, Tommyknockers, Pet Sementary, and Dark Tower series. In no particular order. Love the King
Darn it, I literally just received this book in the mail and don’t have a receipt... well guess we’re going to just put it on my TBR and maybe read it in a month or two. Let’s see...
I actually liked Tommyknockers. It is really weird, but H.P. Lovecraft is really wierd too and I love that. I may have to go back and re read it for the Cockain road trip.
It was another King book that should have been 300 pages shorter.Other than that I really liked the ending .Reading it a second time will be a real challenge for me :D .... maybe some day,who knows :D.
I bought The Tommyknockers along with Christine and Eyes of the Dragon at the same time, all in the hardcovers around when they came out. This was the first time I thought of the idea of buying myself a Christmas present. Tommyknockers is definitely too long, my memory has distilled it to the essential creepiness of the body horror element. Of the three of those books, Christine is my favourite. Over all though I’d have to give it some more thought to choose my favourite Stephen King work.
Thanks for the Great review. I think anyone who wants to be a constant reader needs to read this once. I commend you are reading it twice. Edward Lorn brings this book up a lot and he has theorizes it connects into Pet Cemetary and other stories. He almost convinced me I needed to read this again. My memories of this book aren't great. I remember thinking Stephen needed to get somewhere. After watching your fun review, I realize that I don't need to read it again and I will instead enjoy Duma Key or something much more worth a 2nd read.
This is still, to this day, 30 years later, the only King book I had to DNF 🤣🤣it was the most incoherent thing I've ever read, and I've experienced lots of drugs 🤣🤣
I've already said a lot about this here, but I have to add a few things. I think what critics miss about The Tommyknockers is that it's primary theme is addiction. We get notes if it explicitly with Jim Garder's battle with alcoholism, but Bobbie's overwhelming urges with regards to the saucer, and how her addiction spreads through the community like psychic plague seems metaphorical to me. Also, the bursts of frantic creativity this "drug" lends to the effected seems very "amphetamine"-like. I would even say that the supernatural nature of all the crazy inventions the "users" come up with may have been a very personal metaphor for King's cocaine-aided writing feats. Anyway, just putting it out there.
I know that this is horrible Necro, but I don't understand the hate. I've read this book ten times and I have always loved it. I love Jim! And for me, the growing tension he feels as things go nuts around him is extremely effective. :(
Here's a piece of background information I'd like to know: Why was TOMMYKNOCKERS (and SKELETON CREW) published by Putnam when most of King's stuff from the 80's to the mid-to-late '90s were published by Viking, his usual publisher? Viking was an imprint of New American Library (which also published King's paperback editions and all of the Bachman stuff up to that point) and Putnam was an imprint of Pinguin. Viking just published MISERY earlier that year so why did King go with a different publisher this time around?
This was the second King book I read(first was Carrie) and your assessment is spot on. It took me a few months to try another of his books but I'm glad i did of course.
People talk a lot of shit about The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher (I think mainly because King does) but when you stop comparing them to other King books and start comparing them to other modern horror novelists works, they're still great books that hold their own... These are some of my favorite King books to reread honestly because they're just pulpy memorable fun.
I loved how this book started out gards story with his addiction and everything before he went to haven. I liked his Character Arc so much and was really looking forward on how he was gonna devolpe and how his character would turn out, but it feels like King entirely dropped his Development, with him being just hammerd 60% of the book
I gotta say, I’m a bit tired of the constant blaming this book on his drug use. King wrote masterpieces while doing lots of drugs as well, and he wrote long, rambling and overlong books while sober. It’s how his mind works. He wrote this over a long period of time, the same time roughly that he wrote IT-a beloved book. I agree that this does have some rambling chapters-we don’t need pages and pages on Bobbi’s menstrual issues, but he’s done stuff like this before and after. I would blame his almost complete lack of an editor and over the moon success he was having at the time far more than drugs. Also, I actually think the ending of this is powerful and one of his better endings. It’s sad, dark and fits the story. Anyways, I really dig your channel but gotta respectfully disagree here. It’s not one of his greatest books, but it’s not as bad as it’s gotten a rap for IMO-and the constant blaming it on drug use has become a bit eye rolling for me.
I’m not going to disagree with you. I guess I just draw the line at vagina tentacles grabbing and eating a sibling. But thanks for watching through the eye rolls!
@@mikesbookreviews Thats a fair place to draw the line. I like hearing different takes on books, just had to offer a bit of defense for this book as I know most King fans will agree with you here-it’s a much maligned book and definitely has its problems, but I do have some love for it despite the fact that it is completely nuts. Looking forward to your review on Hyperion as I just started Fall of Hyperion myself!
I just finished this book and just went looking for reviews of it. I know this gets LOTS of hate, but I really got sucked in and couldn't put it down. It does take a long time to get started, though, the first quarter is hard to get through.
Mike now you have me rethinking this being one of my favorite Stephen King books. I read it when it first came out in 1987 and it scared the crap out of me, but I loved it!! But after watching your review, I'm wondering will I feel differently if I reread it.🤔 I'm taking your lead and I will reread it, maybe I was crazy!! Lol By the way, I love your videos, keep up the great work!
The book was great. Read it twice, which I only really read King's books only once. I'm just disappointed that no one could successfully make it into a summer box office blockbuster. Instead, we got a lackluster 2 night mini-series, which if anything, projected and emphasized Stephen King's penchant for overkill story structure and character or unnecessary character, flaws.
I felt the same thing reading Dreamcatcher. He was hopped up on painkillers while writing Dreamcatcher after getting hit by that van. It is just hard to read because it reads like a fever dream throughout most of it. I could only get about half way before I gave up.
Yeah , Dreamcatcher for me started quick and fun and right in the middle it just slowed to molasses but if you can get pass that bump it picks up real good
Hey bookworms & Constant Readers! I've been waiting a long time for this very special episode of Into The Multiverse. I hope it lives up to expectations. Enjoy!
Definitely lived up to my expectations haha
Thoughts on the made-for-tv mini-series??
@@gavvo-7640 I'd be up for a Blu-ray upgrade of that, but I'd be seriously annoyed if Storm of the Century didn't get one first. Not that either's realistically gonna happen, so I won't be losing any sleep over it!
As for the book - a goodish story, but desperately in need of an Eddie Dean to whittle away at the key hidden inside. Might be best to use an axe instead of a knife in this case...
This is a Top 5 King, as long as you've read less than 5 King novels.
I’ve read about 25 Stephen king Books and this is literally top 5 for me. Something about those 2 years 1986 and 87, you Had IT The Drawing of Three Tommyknockers and Misery. All are phenomenal novels and I guess were the last “drugged up” king books.
He was on so much shit during the early-to-mid eighties it's not even funny
@@BobbiittyI have also read around 25 king books, 27 maybe(?) and as a huge king fan, I can say with certainty, that this is a top ten book for me!! I’d put it 7 on my list. But again I liked the final dark tower book, so don’t take my word on it.
I know ur Stephen king videos aren’t as popular but they’re my favorite
So he’s off his head on coke as he writes this and it’s off the wall crazy? I’m sold. 😃
I don't get the hate. I loved this book.
Im 400+ pages in and love it. I don’t get it either
Any relation to Haven the tv show? I thought it was based out of Colorado Kid?
I popped in to necro the thread to say the same thing.
Plot: cheesy fun with actual tension in the growing danger to Gard throughout the story
Characters: Bobby and Jim are great! And Jim is NOT USELESS. How would anyone react if their best friend held them hostage while slowly turning into a damn Cthulhu?
Ending: everyone hates SK endings. I don't get it with this one. It's a badass conclusive ending with our protagonist coming from an impossible, horrifying position in which I honestly thought the story would end with his death and total victory for the aliens, to instead a position of complete dominance and the death of the entire threat.
WHAT THE HECK DO PEOPLE WANT FROM THIS THAT ISN'T PROVIDED
Just finished it. Couldn't wait to hear and read reviews. Thought it was nuts, hilarious at times, and solid. It felt like falling into a schizophrenic delusion. Could it have been edited more? Sure. But who gives af. I felt compelled to get to the end. That's good enough for me.
i think its the slow beginning, but thats the deal, get over it and it will be awesome, as always
"never have I ever wanted to quit reading a book so bad, yet, dont want it to put it down just to see what crazy shit comes up next" Im sold. If its wierder than song of susanah I will be blown
Oh it's way weirder, IMO
It's great lol the character building and charm are there, something Song of Susanah had none of
@@PsilocybeJedisong of Susannah being the 6th book didn't need much
Oooh. I’ve been waiting for this one. I was just about to go to bed this morning (night nurse) but now I’m staying up another 22 minutes.
I sat down and read this book for the first time a few months ago just because a friend of mine told me it was a top 3 King book for him. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing since I’d heard it was such a terrible book but I decided to listen to him and read the book. Needless to say I was absolutely blown away by it. For me it’s like the weirder king gets the better and this definitely goes for it. It’s just something about those last 2 years of him being drugged up 1986 and 87 he released IT The Drawing of the Three Misery and Tommyknockers. All are phenomenal books in their own way but can also be very polarizing to a lot of fans.
Just finished this book. Enjoyed it way more than I expected. The tension when Gard finally enters the shed--after waiting 500 pages for that to happen--was more edge-of-my-seat than anything I read in Shining or Salem's Lot.
I love the stuff King writes when he's high. Dreamcatcher anyone?
Or the movie Maximum Overdrive. Where he freely admitted he was coked out of his when he directed it.
Fun fact: back when I had to learn Swedish in high school, this was one of the books I read in Swedish to help develop my vocabulary and understanding of the language in general.
That makes sense.
are you danish?
@@juancitoperez2856 Finnish.
@KalleVilenius kittos for the comment! Mita gola?! Mito uh minosah? lol I’m sure my spelling is horrific. Grand parents are finn 🤣
I think I devoured this book in one sitting when it came out. I don't understand why anyone would not like it. Obviously, the themes of addiction and something bigger than yourself and beyond your control relate to King's reality at the time, but I think it makes it more relatable. He had an out-of-control success story going on, and indulging in lots of mind-altering substances, and wondering when it was all going to crash. The story reflects that stuff and has lots of good ideas as well.
This was my introduction to King about 3 years ago. I’m not sure what in the hell made me pick this one up first but I’m glad this didn’t stay as my impression of King
I was so hoping that would be your intro. 🖤
Edit: So... a couple of videos back you said you weren’t funny. I think I mentioned this in another comment on another video, but omg this had me rolling.
I also find him funny
It’s the book sniffing for me!
The art in the opening is GORGEOUS.
I loved this book. Even after re-reading it.
I still remember THE TENTACLES SCENE😂 And teeth falling out of peoples mouth was really terrifying.
Tommy knockers is beautiful...for me when I go thru life i try to absorb and see and understand the world 🌎 we live in. But when my mind is overtaken with everyday life, i sometimes miss the best things around me.
I actually kind of liked this one but that was because I heard of the Tommyknockers before I ever heard of Stephen King. My Father used to tell me and my sister that old rhyme to keep us from wandering outside after dark "Late last night and the night before Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door. I wanna go out, don't think that I can, I'm too afraid of the Tommyknocker Man" so reading this book was like revisiting a childhood fear.
That’s creepy as hell lol 😂
Dang how many commercials did this video need Mike 😂
Hopefully enough to make some bread
Funny enough- this IS my favorite SK book. I’ve read about 75-80% of his work; this was the first one I read fully. I checked it out of the library after I had watched the mini-series on TV, and scared the shit out of me. I know, seems ludicrous now- but that was the 90’s and watching by myself, staying up later than allowed, it had an effect on me. I was terrified of aliens 👽 anyway- living in BFE- so it all hit me to the core. I had seen the IT MS as well, though it never scared me, I just found it entertaining; so this wasn’t my first exposure to SK. Anyways, I know it’s a crazy ass book, and I get the shade it receives- but as you say- read it for what it is. Also there’s an old British story/movie called Quatermass and The Pit- Steve says he basically rewrote it in America, pretty cool Hammer-esqe flick- check it out!
Man-I had to have read The Tommyknockers back when I was in high school, but I remember liking it. Curious to see how I feel about it again in my mid-30s 😂
Massive Stephen King fan, love (almost) all his books, - this is one of the many that I absolutely love, - yes I know King's reasons today for not liking it because of where he was in his life, - but I absolutely love it
This was my first Stephen King book, and I absolutely loved it. I read it in middle school, and I instantly became a fan of the master of the macabre.
My first one was Carrie and read it in 8th grade. My name is Kerry!
This is one of my favorite books
i wish i was determined to read as many books as you, i tried listening to audiobooks at work but they dont stay in my head like if i was to read it. love being able to hear you talk about the books i wish i had the attention span and time to sit down and do it. Thank you!
I'm still not sure how I felt about this one. On the one hand, it was everything you said and more. On the other hand, it is fascinating to see a book where every single character makes the exact wrong decision at exactly the right time for this stuff to happen. That has to be an unintentional metaphor for addiction/substance abuse: it seems so easy to fix but every opportunity you get to fix it, you do exactly the wrong thing.
To be honest, that review really makes me wanna read the book now 😂 I love crazy, messed up stuff
Love the intro, because every time I picked up Tommyknockers I made sure to be plenty high. Went into the book with majorly low expectations and actually loved it. it's just so over the top you have to check your brain and go along for the ride.
The length is the biggest issue, SK puts so much detail into everything (people, places, objects) to teach us everything about the setting he created. Sometimes it works, and the length is earned. Other times, you get The Tommyknockers.
This book has been in the lost depths of buried shit for a long time.. So glad I've seen this video just in case there was that masochistic streak somewhere in me that was ever tempted to read it again... 😠
Thank you so much Mike,you have saved me the agony.. 🙏
I'm glad that you have the original covered book there! That's the one that I read way back in the day
I read this book when I was in either middle school or High School, it really got my imagination going in some crazy directions. Some of the creepy images it put in my head were pretty great
I’ve been waiting for this one!!!!
I've never read it, but I found your review very entertaining! I'll consider myself forewarned and go re-read Colour Out of Space again.
You’re review had me laughing a lot! Thanks
It’s a hilarious book.
I love The Tommyknockers. I can’t disagree with any of the points you raised but at the same time none of them bother me. It’s definitely a “your mileage may vary” reading experience.
Now I want to read it 😂
No !!! No you don’t want to read this book!!!
Yeah at least once. Lol
I just finished it and thought it was awesome! It's so entertaining lol
Pretty good book of around 1068 pages. Starts first very interesting, then a boring part of somewhere between of around page 100-200 when it introduces the second main protagonist but adds a little funny story that gets referenced a lot and generally becomes integral later on. But then it picks up quickly and gets super interesting and more tension as soon as James Gard Gardener reaches Bobbi Andersons place.
Story is creepy and super serious at times and then has very hilarious chapters and little moments even straight up to the end. Its a mix between tension and laughs in my case. For example when a housewives turns nuts and sees her jesus puppet talk to her and makes her turn her TV into a deathtrap for her cheating husband who has his eyes shoot out like rifle bullets from it and jesus making funny remarks along the chapter to her. Or when Bobbi andersons sister is introduced
I loved Tommyknockers! Though I read it while I was in high school. And it was nostalgic since the movie scared the crap out of me when I was a kid
That movie scared me as an adult. As in HOW THE HELL DID THEY RELEASE THIS TO THE PUBLIC?
Your stephen king reviews are the best on TH-cam! Thank you!!!
Had this book when it first came out. Never cracked open the book, because I gifted it to my, cousin. In all fairness, I’ll give it a read.
I have never read a King book, but I have become more and more interested in this one.
I think starting with Salem’s Lot is safe. Start with the old stuff
Happy 420 Mike. Love the video. I'm looking forward to reading it. Even though a lot of people have said dont.
Been waiting for this! Yeah. I read The Tommyknockers, and yeah, I thought it was bat-crap crazy. I loved the ride. It IS one of my favorites from that era.
Me too!
Funniest bit of trivia about The Tommyknockers was this was runner-up for The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Book of the Year in 1988 to David Brin's The Uplift War. Maybe it has something to do with King writing science-fiction. The way you wail on this book and talk about having so much trouble finishing it reminds me of my experience with Dreamcatcher. I've read everything King has written (including The Tommyknockers) and the only book I DNF'd and then had to finish it on a second read was Dreamcatcher. And I just got the connection, Dreamcatcher and The Tommyknockers both involve aliens in the plotlines. Just a thought.
Mike, I discovered your channel a couple weeks ago, and I love it. Your takes on WoT, Gwynne, Malazan, Rothfuss, and Stephen King are spot on - it's like we share a brain on so many of your takes. BUT, I gotta say, I read Tommyknockers in 1989 as a young kid. It was maybe the fourth King I'd read, and I had no idea about his drug use and overall insanity that crept into this. I read it for what it was, and took for granted that maybe the guy shouldn't spend as much time as he did on certain characters or plot points. So it's long been a favourite for me. I loved Gard's drunken rant at the faculty lounge; I loved Bobbi's nasty sister; I loved Hilly Brown and his magic show and the sheer panic that hits when he actually succeeds; I love that goofy reporter and his encounter with the Coke machine; I love it all. It was only years later, after reading On Writing and hearing King give interviews, that I learned the backstory. It's far from his best, but I still fondly remember being teleported (hehe) into Haven one summer as a 14 year old, and being absolutely spellbound by the world King created. Cheers!
I just finished this book yesterday. I think I agree with you. Enjoyed the multiverse Easter eggs. It was a good listen while doing chores. If it could be edited it would be better. The idea is good. The coke machine was cringe.
Oh Mike!!! LOL. This is THE ONE REVIEW i've been waiting for ever since you started your Into The Multiverse series. Hilarious review... and yep, a bat-shit crazy book from Sai King. Listening to your thoughts now actually makes me wanna do a re-read :)
It's crazy that it's the same year he released the AMAZING Drawing Of The Three huh?
my mom brought me this movie as a child I just watched it again today this movie was epic 🙌 Stephen King is my favorite
A movie is not a book, and it’s the book they’re discussing here.
Gotta say, I really enjoyed this discussion about The Tommyknockers! It's been on my TBR for ages but I've kept putting it off because of the book's bad reputation. Now I know why. Really cool to hear fair criticism from a fan that judges carefully and critically and can put the book in the context of King's larger body of work. Cheers!
I’ve read 30+ King novels at this point and I absolutely hated this book when I read it back in high school. I remember enough of it to know that it was not a great time. There are a lot of fantastic King novels but this one misses every mark for me!
This was the second Stephen king book I ever read at like 14yrs old & I loved it back then... didn't know anything bout SK's drug abuse at that time. I still look back with great memories reading it, I'm keen to one day do a reread and see how bonkers it is!
After this I read Needful Things and to this day I still think it's one of my favourite King books.
Okay.... everything else here pales before the Sanderson line. That was... scarily perfect.
Only explanation for his output levels.
Was a sci-fi fan before a King fan and was entertained with some of the ideas he brings in this book. The idea of psychic alien vampires isn’t a new trope though I doubt King drew from any specific influences I can pinpoint (outside the cocaine) from other works but he certainly put his own spin on it. Preferred the book over the mini series though I enjoyed that too. Would be interesting if a bunch Ted Brautigan breaker types could wipe away the alien influence of the ship and repurpose the tech. The book really makes me think.
A couple years ago I found The Tommyknockers in a Little Free Library. I've been a King fan for nearly thirty years but still hadn't read that one because of all the negative reviews.
Seeing it in a Little Free Library, however, got me excited to give it a go, negative press be damned.
And negative press be damned indeed, because I flew through The Tommyknockers faster than I have any other book in a looong time. I know the hate for this book is there, but I don't get it because this book was right up my alley.
I read this in my twenties and loved it, but I was off my head for the whole decade.😵
Love this book. It is long but I never felt bored.
I trust your reviews and this one is the first one i am like " i dont know if he is telling me to read it or not "🤣
Yeah I feel the same way 🤔😳
Never read the book but was first scary movie watched as a little little kid and had nightmares like a week and had to sleep with lights one for two weeks. Look back an adult now it is crazy how certain things can get you as a kid but later don't see it at all.
11:40-When things like this happens, i go back so many pages to see what i missed only go see i didnt miss sht. King just abandoned or sometimes even interjects something out of no where.
I loved the tommyknockers. I’m not ashamed 🤣 loved it so much I paid for the limited edition from PS publishing. One of my prized possessions
Great art in that edition.
Maybe it's videos like this setting my expectations low but I loved the book, flew through it in 4 days all 860 pages. I'm not being sarcastic when I say that the cocaine fueled 50-100 page rambles about characters backstories only for them to immediately die in the present actually worked in the books favor. That constant sense of inevitable doom lent a feeling of dread to an already pretty spine tingly book.
Hey Mike! Great to have discovered your channel and reviews of Stephen King's books, man. I too am Gen X (tho about 6 years older than you) and most definitely a baseball guy in highschool (hence my nickname, perpetual JV jock, doe🤪). Always high tubesocks, super floppy sneakers that were often fired off my stocking feet when goofing off with buddies or checking out girls 🤣🤪-basically a spikey haired (tho now balding) little mascot baseball guy from the late 80's right here lol 😜. I share all that in response to what you shared in your review for "Carrie" (never read The TKnockers here). King brilliantly (and simply) manages to capture human behavior, whatever the age of his characters. But he especially grabs what makes kids tick. I remember being a little guy-12 or 13-and reading his books and getting lost in those worlds......it was thrilling...often very scary...and then living my life as a Roman Catholic, baseball lovin' blue collar kid and feeling a part of one of his stories. Which is a big part of why I wanted to become an actor, and bringing forth that human behavior, you know? Not an easy path, for sure. But my God, did he have an impact on so many of us....he is an American treasure, that's for sure. "Salem's Lot" is my favorite, man. Read that one 5 or 6 times. Never read "Firestarter", though your review has made me wanna pick that one up. And flop outta my super floppy DC sneakers while I do😉🤪. Thanks for the inspiration, Mike. Best, JV Johnny ⚾
I really enjoyed The Tommyknockers!
Hey Mike I enjoyed the review. I remember reading this one years ago and was saying to myself what the hell is going on here lol. I am currently reading Allegiance by Timothy Zahn. Great so far. Loved the ending of Scoundrels. No spoilers of course. By the way would ever consider a book review on more of the EU in Star Wars?? Anyway keep up the great work and as always keep reading!
I remember reading this in high school, graduated in 92, I loved it. I also remember how excited I was about the television adaptation coming out. Alas, I was super disappointed in TV version, to be honest, I hated TV version of It also.
Top Stephen King books for me
It, Needful Things, Tommyknockers, Pet Sementary, and Dark Tower series. In no particular order. Love the King
I watched an interview king did and he said we would love to rewrite The Tommyknockers...because there's a good story in there somewhere.
Darn it, I literally just received this book in the mail and don’t have a receipt... well guess we’re going to just put it on my TBR and maybe read it in a month or two. Let’s see...
I actually unironically really enjoyed this one, although it helped that I read it while I was in Milan for work :D
I actually liked Tommyknockers. It is really weird, but H.P. Lovecraft is really wierd too and I love that. I may have to go back and re read it for the Cockain road trip.
It was another King book that should have been 300 pages shorter.Other than that I really liked the ending .Reading it a second time will be a real challenge for me :D .... maybe some day,who knows :D.
Should've been 700 pages shorter. Just turn it into a short story which it apparently was in the beginning.
I bought The Tommyknockers along with Christine and Eyes of the Dragon at the same time, all in the hardcovers around when they came out. This was the first time I thought of the idea of buying myself a Christmas present. Tommyknockers is definitely too long, my memory has distilled it to the essential creepiness of the body horror element. Of the three of those books, Christine is my favourite. Over all though I’d have to give it some more thought to choose my favourite Stephen King work.
Thanks for the Great review. I think anyone who wants to be a constant reader needs to read this once. I commend you are reading it twice. Edward Lorn brings this book up a lot and he has theorizes it connects into Pet Cemetary and other stories. He almost convinced me I needed to read this again. My memories of this book aren't great. I remember thinking Stephen needed to get somewhere. After watching your fun review, I realize that I don't need to read it again and I will instead enjoy Duma Key or something much more worth a 2nd read.
I live for your Intros of Stephen king videos👌👌👌
Thanks!
This was hysterical lol. All valid points.
This is still, to this day, 30 years later, the only King book I had to DNF 🤣🤣it was the most incoherent thing I've ever read, and I've experienced lots of drugs 🤣🤣
I've already said a lot about this here, but I have to add a few things. I think what critics miss about The Tommyknockers is that it's primary theme is addiction. We get notes if it explicitly with Jim Garder's battle with alcoholism, but Bobbie's overwhelming urges with regards to the saucer, and how her addiction spreads through the community like psychic plague seems metaphorical to me. Also, the bursts of frantic creativity this "drug" lends to the effected seems very "amphetamine"-like. I would even say that the supernatural nature of all the crazy inventions the "users" come up with may have been a very personal metaphor for King's cocaine-aided writing feats. Anyway, just putting it out there.
I know that this is horrible Necro, but I don't understand the hate. I've read this book ten times and I have always loved it. I love Jim! And for me, the growing tension he feels as things go nuts around him is extremely effective.
:(
Damn it! You sold me on this book, plus I do like Color out of Space so... King's coked up take on it sounds amazingly bizarre and messed up.
Here's a piece of background information I'd like to know: Why was TOMMYKNOCKERS (and SKELETON CREW) published by Putnam when most of King's stuff from the 80's to the mid-to-late '90s were published by Viking, his usual publisher? Viking was an imprint of New American Library (which also published King's paperback editions and all of the Bachman stuff up to that point) and Putnam was an imprint of Pinguin. Viking just published MISERY earlier that year so why did King go with a different publisher this time around?
Can’t wait to read this crazy bastard of a book 😂
I read this as a teenager and DNF'd (just stopped being engaged with it). This review made me think- I've got to give this another go! 😝
This was the second King book I read(first was Carrie) and your assessment is spot on. It took me a few months to try another of his books but I'm glad i did of course.
My hubbie has a toothache& we're watching the movie this weekend.
People talk a lot of shit about The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher (I think mainly because King does) but when you stop comparing them to other King books and start comparing them to other modern horror novelists works, they're still great books that hold their own... These are some of my favorite King books to reread honestly because they're just pulpy memorable fun.
I loved how this book started out gards story with his addiction and everything before he went to haven. I liked his Character Arc so much and was really looking forward on how he was gonna devolpe and how his character would turn out, but it feels like King entirely dropped his Development, with him being just hammerd 60% of the book
I gotta say, I’m a bit tired of the constant blaming this book on his drug use. King wrote masterpieces while doing lots of drugs as well, and he wrote long, rambling and overlong books while sober. It’s how his mind works. He wrote this over a long period of time, the same time roughly that he wrote IT-a beloved book. I agree that this does have some rambling chapters-we don’t need pages and pages on Bobbi’s menstrual issues, but he’s done stuff like this before and after. I would blame his almost complete lack of an editor and over the moon success he was having at the time far more than drugs. Also, I actually think the ending of this is powerful and one of his better endings. It’s sad, dark and fits the story.
Anyways, I really dig your channel but gotta respectfully disagree here. It’s not one of his greatest books, but it’s not as bad as it’s gotten a rap for IMO-and the constant blaming it on drug use has become a bit eye rolling for me.
I’m not going to disagree with you. I guess I just draw the line at vagina tentacles grabbing and eating a sibling. But thanks for watching through the eye rolls!
@@mikesbookreviews Thats a fair place to draw the line. I like hearing different takes on books, just had to offer a bit of defense for this book as I know most King fans will agree with you here-it’s a much maligned book and definitely has its problems, but I do have some love for it despite the fact that it is completely nuts. Looking forward to your review on Hyperion as I just started Fall of Hyperion myself!
I get that with Cujo and Christine. Two books I really enjoy that others seem to trash a lot.
I've only watched the mini series and I own it. I thought it was batshit crazy, but fun and creepy.
I thoroughly love this book.
I read this as a teen after watching the movie and quite enjoyed it. Haven't read it since though and probably wont.
I just finished this book and just went looking for reviews of it. I know this gets LOTS of hate, but I really got sucked in and couldn't put it down. It does take a long time to get started, though, the first quarter is hard to get through.
I really enjoyed this book when it came out years ago.
I enjoyed it. Cool spin on an alien tale by Sai King. Clearly written during his coke phase.
I mean, it was the 80s…so his editor might’ve been high too 😝
That was a cool introduction
Mike now you have me rethinking this being one of my favorite Stephen King books. I read it when it first came out in 1987 and it scared the crap out of me, but I loved it!! But after watching your review, I'm wondering will I feel differently if I reread it.🤔
I'm taking your lead and I will reread it, maybe I was crazy!! Lol
By the way, I love your videos, keep up the great work!
Ha ha it seems to be quite mixed in the comments.
The book was great. Read it twice, which I only really read King's books only once. I'm just disappointed that no one could successfully make it into a summer box office blockbuster. Instead, we got a lackluster 2 night mini-series, which if anything, projected and emphasized Stephen King's penchant for overkill story structure and character or unnecessary character, flaws.
I felt the same thing reading Dreamcatcher. He was hopped up on painkillers while writing Dreamcatcher after getting hit by that van. It is just hard to read because it reads like a fever dream throughout most of it. I could only get about half way before I gave up.
For me thats why I loved dreamcatcher
He had a better excuse that time round.
Yeah , Dreamcatcher for me started quick and fun and right in the middle it just slowed to molasses but if you can get pass that bump it picks up real good
Just finished this book yesterday & loved it. I don’t get the problem.
that was the best intro ever