11.22.63 Stephen KingI find it hard to believe that I used to be such a fan of Stephen King.  11.22.63,  the book about traveling in time to go back and save President John F. Kennedy was a decent read, but what blew me away was what a bitter old rich guy King has become.

I’m sorry that I will be doing very little reviewing of the actual book in this post, but sometimes you just have to say something.  There are a few things that rubbed me the wrong way.

  1. King obviously has never been to Texas.  The way he slanders the citizens and paints us all as gun-toting, hate-mongering hillbillies is just amateur on his part.  Time and again, King takes the opportunity to slam Texas and Texans for no other reason than to further some liberal East Coast rich-guy guilt agenda.
  2. He didn’t do any research for a “historical fiction” piece.  He talks about the “Don’t Mess With Texas” anti-litter campaign that his lead character comes across in the 1960, when that wasn’t created until the 80’s.  I would probably let it slide except he uses it as an example of what “hard asses” Texans are.  If you are going to slam someone – at least get the facts right.
  3. His understanding of Texas high school football was typical stereotypical fare.  It reads like he didn’t even bother to do any actual research.

Mr. King, I invite you to Texas.  I invite you to spend a week with my and my family.  I invite you to meet real Texas citizens.  I invite you to attend a Texas high school football game with me.  I invite you to apologize for the very close-mindedness you are accusing Texans of.  Get the facts.

And in reference to the Texas braggadocio…  “it ain’t bragging if its true!”

Read the book if you like Stephen King’s style.  Read the book if you like the idea and paradoxes of time travel.  Read the book if you want to escape reality for a bit.  Ignore the political asides and weak historical information and you will be happy.

by Chris Doelle