Strictly speaking, the novel "Confrontation" does not consider the best work either the author himself or the army of the "kingdom". The author is most proud of his seven-volume book on the Dark Tower, and fans give the leading place in the rating to the books It, Shine, and, of course, the adventures of the last Shooter. Undoubtedly, this novel is in the top five of the TOP.
Nevertheless, most of the questions asked the author about this work, which Stephen King honestly admits. “Confrontation” (in other versions - “Armageddon” or “Exodus”) is a thorough fundamental work, which can be returned more than once.
Plot
So, what story did the great and terrible Stephen King tell us? “Confrontation” is the next version of the end of the world. Young people spoiled by all possible options for this event, both in literature and in the cinema, may find such a story battered. But for 1978, when the book was written, it turned out to be fresh. Of course, not a novelty of the genre, but still very, very interesting.
The plot of this voluminous work cannot be described in 2-3 sentences, so we only set the general direction. So, the scene is an American military base from which a new supervirus is leaking. Soon most people die, only a few remain. The author tells about some of them: a pregnant student, a former gas station employee, a deaf-mute guy, a moron, an arsonist - each one is written in as much detail as possible. The whole book is generally devoted to the struggle between good and evil, the confrontation of light and darkness, messengers of God and adherents of the devil.
Film adaptation
The film based on Stephen King’s book “Confrontation” was released in 1994. Then the monumental work was divided into 4 hours and a half, which could not accommodate all the events from the book. In general, despite the replay of the actors, it turned out pretty well, and the film version of the novel had good ratings - 7 out of 10. You can watch it today: despite all the shortcomings, the film has a completely connected plot, and there are several very colorful characters. The only thing that the modern viewer does not like is the narrative style. He is very smooth and unhurried. Still, film enthusiasts are now accustomed to a more dynamic movie.
A couple of years ago, the idea of ​​making a new film was actively discussed: along with the adaptation of The Dark Tower, which has long haunted Hollywood directors, they also want to re-shoot Confrontation. But there is a big obstacle: even a three-hour tape is not able to accommodate all the events in the book (in its thoroughness, number of characters and volume, it resembles The Lord of the Rings), and dividing it into 2-3 parts, no one can guarantee good fees. After all, the film will turn out gloomy, and not everyone will want to go to all parts of this tape.
Entertaining facts
Stephen King included several references to his works in the novel Confrontation: for example, Randall Flagg is also one of the significant characters in the Strelka series, and he appears in The Eye of the Dragon. And in one of the books of the Dark Tower series, the action takes place in a world whose entire population has died out due to super influenza. There is also a mention of a flight from Longoliers. However, fans are so familiar with this feature of the author to sprinkle bread crumbs everywhere .
There are two versions of the novel: the earliest, of 72 chapters, and later, complete and revised - it consists of 77 chapters. In Russian, it is better to read a novel translated by V. Weber (new full edition of 2012) or an option called "Exodus" (1996).
The book "Confrontation" received many awards: it was recognized as the best novel of 1978, as well as the best book in the genre of dark fantasy.
Stephen King's Confrontation: Book Reviews
As mentioned above, the “kingdom” love this work and are ready to re-read it again and again. Other readers take up the novel for the first time with a slight neglect, but then every 5-6 years they arrange a holiday and again plunge into this gloomy world. And only “Confrontation” units do not like it: for some, because of too long a plot development and an abundance of places of action and characters, others, in principle, do not like such works, and the book fell into their hands by mistake.
Recommendations
So, the author is Stephen King, Confrontation. Who should read this novel:
- fans of the author and the whole genre as a whole must read;
- fans to tickle the nerves with another horror story about the world after the disaster;
- avid book lovers who dream of getting to know all the significant stages in the development of the fantasy genre;
- lovers of a good voluminous book (approximately 1200 pages of text) with many characters, individual stories and a thorough study of all the details.
Who is totally not recommended by Stephen King? “Confrontation” is far from the author’s worst book, it has a calm narrative character, but it’s better not to read this work to too impressionable people.