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The Loco Librarian's Reviews > Holly
Holly
by
by
D.N.F.
The first Stephen King book I have ever had to set down.
First of all, please know I’m a HUGE fan of King’s books. I have read over half of his published works—love his writing, characters, stories.
Holly was my favorite character… I was so excited for this book.
However, this book is so chock full of blatant disrespect for people who have certain political views. Now hear me out, I don’t care what your political stance is—but let’s be clear on ONE thing—I will NOT tolerate DISRESPECT. I don’t care what party you classify as or which candidate you voted for—I don’t agree with disrespecting EITHER or ANY side. That is WRONG for ANYONE to do.
Honestly man! This is supposed to be work of FICTION for crying out loud—I came here for IMAGINARY characters, events, etc. NOT to relive the VID or deal with political jabs at parties and individuals we disagree with. I am here to ESCAPE reality—not have to hear more hate and disunity.
I am so disappointed…
Mr. King, with all due respect, learn to RESPECT those you disagree with, that’s our way to unity.—Not hate. Not fighting. Not making fun of others. Not rude comments and jabs.
Remember the old saying? —If you don’t have anything nice to say… don’t say anything at all.
Be kind. Be better. Learn to listen, learn, respect—even when you disagree strongly. That’s when we become world changers, bearers of truth and light.
The first Stephen King book I have ever had to set down.
First of all, please know I’m a HUGE fan of King’s books. I have read over half of his published works—love his writing, characters, stories.
Holly was my favorite character… I was so excited for this book.
However, this book is so chock full of blatant disrespect for people who have certain political views. Now hear me out, I don’t care what your political stance is—but let’s be clear on ONE thing—I will NOT tolerate DISRESPECT. I don’t care what party you classify as or which candidate you voted for—I don’t agree with disrespecting EITHER or ANY side. That is WRONG for ANYONE to do.
Honestly man! This is supposed to be work of FICTION for crying out loud—I came here for IMAGINARY characters, events, etc. NOT to relive the VID or deal with political jabs at parties and individuals we disagree with. I am here to ESCAPE reality—not have to hear more hate and disunity.
I am so disappointed…
Mr. King, with all due respect, learn to RESPECT those you disagree with, that’s our way to unity.—Not hate. Not fighting. Not making fun of others. Not rude comments and jabs.
Remember the old saying? —If you don’t have anything nice to say… don’t say anything at all.
Be kind. Be better. Learn to listen, learn, respect—even when you disagree strongly. That’s when we become world changers, bearers of truth and light.
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Reading Progress
February 10, 2023
– Shelved
(Other Hardcover Edition)
February 10, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
(Other Hardcover Edition)
August 11, 2023
– Shelved
August 11, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
September 5, 2023
–
Started Reading
September 5, 2023
–
7.0%
"This book is…about…*cries* dreaded COVID. 😩😭 So far, I feel like I’m reading a propaganda packet—terrible writing, terrible premise, terrible mockery. I’m here for FICTION—and the last time I checked, according to the dictionary, that meant IMAGINARY events and people. I have never in my life felt so WRONGED."
September 6, 2023
–
Finished Reading
September 9, 2023
– Shelved as:
yuck
December 5, 2023
– Shelved as:
dnf
December 5, 2023
– Shelved as:
did-not-finish
Comments Showing 1-50 of 120 (120 new)
message 1:
by
Mikki
(new)
-
rated it 1 star
Sep 06, 2023 09:31PM
Glad I’m not the only one.
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Me too! A big fan of King. The Stand is probably my favorite. But I couldn’t get passed the first few chapters! We all know his political views - he’s certainly not quiet on that - but they don’t belong in a novel. The Loco Librarian nailed it with their comment. Keep politics out of these type of books.
Have you not seen his Twitter timeline? It's filled with extremely partisan centrist/liberal propaganda. The man lost the plot(no pun intended) as soon as Trump got elected and became just another shill for the establishment. Knowing this has fully seeped into his writing doesn't surprise me, but it does mean I will probably be skipping this if I'm going to be subjected to his hack political discourse.
I've heard reviews simliar to yours. This is disappointing to hear. I had to stop reading Elevation because of his political views mixed into it. If I were reading an author who leaned heavily conservative I wouldn't want to hear his or her political views mixed into a story... Why can't he just spout his political views on Twitter and leave it at that??
Ah, I KNEW this was going to rile up the MAGA-heads! I knew it! Haha…Well, I am a conservative never-Trumper and he no problem with mask mandates. But to be honest, I actually agree with you. I don’t want fiction tainted by King’s politics either.
Sorry, no. In a work of fiction, you are only assuming the work is "tainted" by the author's politics, but I only read the political views of the characters -- the fictional characters of the book. It seems as though you're reading outside the book and deciding that King has offended someone within the book. He has always addressed the people who buy and read his books as "Constant Readers," but I guess that for some, it will have to change to "Fragile Readers." Get a grip.
So incredibly accurate. I’ve read 98 percent of Kings work and have been reading since the 70s. I won’t buy another King novel
Also ignore Steve’s come as he obviously can’t understand your message.
Same I’m 20 pages in and it’s doing my head in already…trump, covid,antivaxxers…where’s the story???
😂😂😂 They deserve every bit of ridicule they get!
It is hilarious to hear you lecturing about RESPECT and HATE and RUDE COMMENTS and BEING KIND when being disrespectful and mean are the DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC of Donald Trump and his army of enablers. Work on fixing your own house and then come talk to us about being world changers and bearers of truth and light.
“I think fiction is most believable when it coexists with real-world events, real-world individuals, even brand names.”— Holly by Stephen King
Thank you Loco....you saved me money. I already put down 2 of his recent books due to the "conversative hate". Dude, just write a fictional novel...skip all the politics. When I was in my teens, King was my favorite!! Now he's a second thought, because of his personal hate showing in all his work.
MAGA is nothing but DISRESPECTFUL. I especially love your F**k Biden flags/bumper stickers. Hypocrite.
How funny! I disrespect both parties. So any criticism of either is fine with me. And I say that as a lifelong Democrat.
Oh poor you . Read about Charles Manson, he has a lot in common with your guy.
By now, I’m sure everybody knows King’s political persuasion, and on the flip side, those of Dean Koontz and Dan Simmons. I’ve sat through political diatribes from the latter two (which I disagree with), but ignored them and enjoyed the story anyway. Everything’s so polarized lately that every review has to be of the writer’s politics.
Thank you to all those commenters who are PROVING my point about disrespect bringing disunity by posting rude and disrespectful comments 😉 Thank you for making my argument stronger.
Steve wrote: "Sorry, no. In a work of fiction, you are only assuming the work is "tainted" by the author's politics, but I only read the political views of the characters -- the fictional characters of the book...."I love this reply sm
Tell me you’re a bigot without saying it.
FYI over a million people dying of a pandemic wasn't politics, it was a very communicable disease, and a complete disregard of science by lots of people who chose to believe a cult leader. So get over yourself.
All these comments show me who the monsters really are.
Completely agree! I'm 20 pages in and sick of the political talk. Sad to DNF a King book, but I am.
I'm close to DNF because of those exact reasons. His last 3 books had the anti-trump crap inserted in here and there, but this book is crazy. I swear King does it on purpose because people like us dislike it. If his previous books weren't so good, I'd probly stop buying all together, but I can't, until this one. I'm about 1/4 the way through and struggling
You hit the nail on the head!
Sad that you could not finish this novel, because the writer writes something you do not like. Do NOT read The Stand because the US destroys the world with their supervirus..
I just started it...and the politics are overwhelming...it's overshadowing any plot...gonna be a first DNF of Stephen King for me as well.
He said mean things about bigots! (Clutches pearls)
The entire Bill Hodges/Holly books, despite the supernatural antagonists, have been particularly rooted in "our reality"--at least for King. So, I wasn't surprised with it here. The only thing that did surprise me was that it didn't have a supernatural explanation. Granted, there's no denying he leans heavily into the politics here, but he's also not inaccurate with his descriptions regardless of how unflattering they are. Further, he has always (to some degree) referenced politics and real people in his work. For example, the much beloved The Stand takes shots at George Bush (or at least the revised The Stand did).
One can’t help but laugh. Remember, writers of the world, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Just like momma said. Also: respect any and all political ideologies. The written word is no format for anything but respectful pleasantries. It’s a damn shame the guy who gave us Cujo and Pennywise can’t get this right.
Mark and Eric. I’m so happy you found a story that supports your intolerance for anyone that does not worship your views. I don’t think there is a bunch of Trump supporters upset that King is slamming them, it’s because people want to read fiction to escape reality, not have reality shoved down their throats! If I want to read about politics, or about the most horrendous time of our generation (the stupidity of the pandemic/vaccinations) I’d read a political biography/documentary, NOT a fictional story by a writer who was known for his amazing supernatural stories. Just because you have a well known author who supports your leftist rants (and no little boys, I am not a right wing fanatic) does not mean others are not entitled to their opinions of Mr. King’s stories. Mr. King needs to listen to his author son, Joe Hill, who states writers need to keep their personal political beliefs out of their fictional writings!
Scriptmonkey, here’s a surprise for you, The Stand was published in 1974, LONG before George Bush, and what you call the “revised” edition was just a releasing of the unedited version. It has NOTHING to do with the politics of the day in ANY way! I’m sure it is hard for you to understand, but there was life before you. Mortality existed before you were born, and here’s a smack in the face, but life will continue after you are gone. Amazing huh?
I agree, if Stephen King wants only democrats to read his book, that's fine. I can skip this one. The truth is his stance didn't age well. We found out that COVID was created in a lab (strange similance to The Stand), masks really dont work and neither do the vaccine. So he kind of looks foolish in his stance at this point. I just want to see this strong woman at work. Want a good book without the bs? Turn to John Connelly books. Great Charlie Parker series.
Agree wholeheartedly.
I am getting the feeling that this commentator is a conservative. I have always respected the importance of our two-party system, although I wish there were more strong parties to represent the diversity of our views. But things have changed since Trump and Fox News have come into the scene where lies, cheating, and fooling the people are OK. I am sorry but it is very hard to respect those who support a man that is clearly wanting to turn the US into a dictatorship. Everything he says everything he does to disrespect our Institutions and our Laws shows how dangerous he has become and I can't RESPECT a person that pretends to care but only cares about power and himself and all the fools that are taken in by his BS. Everything he says is an exaggerated con designed to anger, divide, and fool those who believe him as every Dictator has done in the past.
He will learn that he can not break laws and con his way out this time. He has no respect for the people of the US or our laws and anyone who has any conscience can not respect such egocentric evil that wants to destroy our way of life for his own pleasure.
I am amazed that people out there still feel that masks and the vaccine did not help save lives and COVID from spreading. How in the world did they think so many people got COVID if not transmission from one person to another and how in the world do viruses get transmitted if not from open areas in the body the most vulnerable being the mouth and nose. Are they still getting their Medical information from the Pillow Guy?
I am a fan of his also and really wanted to read this book, but i keep hearing so much about his book like you have expressed. I too read to get out of our world and to be taken someplace else. I am all about everyone being able to have their own opinion(s) and all but i do feel that it needs to be done with a bit of respect.
I am still going to be trying to read this book but i am glad to hear about these things before hand.
Great review by the way! :)
I'm with you, Loco Librarian - I'm not going to finish reading "Holly". King has absolutely lost his objectivity to writing his typical awesome, horror novels because he's solidly against Trump, FOR the jab and the hundred of boosters. I started highlighting everytime COVID was brought up and almost every page it's brought up. King's absolute hate for Trump and MAGA is another reason I'm not going to finish the book. If I wanted to read about politics and COVID, I would buy books about them. With King, I expected a brilliant book in "Holly" but that didn't occur. I am an avid reader of King, but this is enough. I'm done with Stephen King.
I am only on page 20 and am disappointed in this political writing.
It’s excellent and you are really missing out!
SO very disappointed in King and his hateful politics being in the book. I came here to read comments to see if anyone else felt the same way. Avid reader here and huge King fan for over 40 years. Too bad he's gone this direction.
Oh, yeah. The fact that Trump cultists all of a sudden hate Stephen King — make me love his writing even more.
So characters in novels can't have political opinions now. All I hear from conservatives is lack of First Amendment protections. They believe this should protect Trump from voter fraud and an insurrection against government procedures. Then they turn around and whine and cry that characters in a book have certain opinions. What an absolute joke. You can't escape politics in any situation right now. We have the Orange Messiah to blame for that, not SK.
I call it the Snowflake Paradox. If you are offended by anything right leaning, you're a pathetic, wussie, liberal snowflake. If you are offended by anything left leaning, you're just a freedom-loving, red-blooded American standing up for the greater good.
