Two Of Stephen King’s Most Abrupt Book Endings Confirm A Harsh Truth About Sci-Fi & Horror Mash-Ups -

Stephen King excels at writing both horror and sci-fi stories, but two of his most abrupt book endings confirm a harsh reality about combining these genres. King is called the “King of Horror” for good reason, and so many of his books have become classics in the category. He’s also made a name for himself in other spaces, including fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian fiction. Many of his books blend these genres with horror, delivering unique narratives that stand out as quintessentially King.

But while he’s one of the most prolific horror writers of all time, King has a bit of an ending problem, and it’s something readers have pointed out for years. King’s best book endings are a reminder of why his work is so beloved. However, many of King’s books also leave readers wanting more, either unraveling too quickly or failing to live up to the rest of the story. This is true for two of King’s sci-fi/horror mash-ups, and the biggest faults with their endings highlight a challenge of blending these two genres — even if they otherwise work well together.

The Endings Of The Tommyknockers & Dreamcatcher Are Too Abrupt After All Their Setup

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The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher are alien stories that see King venturing into sci-fi and horror territory, and both books have pretty underwhelming endings. King himself dislikes The Tommyknockers, something he admitted more than two decades after the book’s release. But while the 1987 novel isn’t among King’s best works, it still has some interesting moving parts. Unfortunately, they don’t come together in a satisfying way. The ending of the book feels rushed and sudden, with King dedicating little time to Haven’s and Gard’s fates.

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Between Gard and the FBI, the threat The Tommyknockers’ spacecraft poses to the rest of the world is successfully eliminated. However, it feels like the problem plaguing Haven is tied up too quickly and neatly. It’s one of The Tommyknockers’ biggest shortcomings, and it’s the type of ending that also hurts Dreamcatcher. Dreamcatcher‘s final showdown between the Greys and the book’s main characters also unfolds fairly fast, and the problem of the alien species is once again resolved through a couple of explosive acts.

Both
The Tommyknockers
and
Dreamcatcher
also leave questions about characters’ fates open-ended, and they don’t explain major twists or the lore behind the aliens as well as they should.

Both The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher also leave questions about characters’ fates open-ended, and they don’t explain major twists or the lore behind the aliens as well as they should. This sort of ambiguity works well for horror, but it doesn’t quite land when it comes to sci-fi stories. And this brings up a harsh reality about blending those two genres: striking the right balance can be challenging.

Both Stephen King Books Confirm A Harsh Reality About Sci-Fi/Horror Mash-Ups

Sci-Fi Demands A Different Approach

Stephen King sitting against a gray backdrop with his chin propped on his fist

Perhaps it’s not surprising that two of King’s attempts to mesh sci-fi and horror fail to stick the landing, as these genres require different approaches. While there are plenty of books that successfully blend sci-fi and horror, there’s no denying that sci-fi tends to require more explanation and closure. Abrupt endings like those of The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher are more common within the horror category, which often leaves things open to interpretation and strives to go out with a bang.

The book covers of Misery, The Green Mile, and The Shining by Stephen King

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By contrast, sci-fi stories have a tendency to explain things and offer closure — and the aftermath of incidents like alien invasions usually proves more complicated than wiping them out in one fell swoop. Of course, King doesn’t write many sequels, so perhaps he didn’t want to overcomplicate things in The Tommyknockers or Dreamcatcher. It does feel like something is missing from their conclusions, though, landing them among Stephen King‘s weaker stories. Perhaps leaning further into their sci-fi roots would have improved things.

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