Castle rock cycle

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The Castle Rock cycle describes the connections between several novels and short stories by the writer Stephen King , all of which are set in the fictional small town of Castle Rock . The city in the US state of Maine was invented by the horror writer for his most ambitious project alongside the work The Dark Tower . All of the following people and places are therefore fictitious.

The town

geography

Maines map including counties

Stephen King never gave an exact geographical location of the idyllic small town. At least a geographical proximity to the actually existing city of Bangor (Maine) is part of the novels about Castle Rock, and the city of Portland is mentioned again and again. According to the novel "Needful Things - In a Small Town" , Castle Rock is located in western Maine. According to the short story Timelapse, the city is 50 miles south of Portland.

Reference is made again and again to the likewise fictional little New England town of Ludlow (not to be confused with the English town of Ludlow ). According to the novels, Ludlow himself is in close proximity to Castle Rock and, according to the novel " Cemetery of the Stuffed Animals ", even belongs to the administrative district of Castle Rock. The writer Thad Beaumont, main character in the novel " Stark - The Dark Half ", also lives in Ludlow and, together with his wife Liz, runs a summer house on the shores of Castle Lake near the small town.

Castle Rocks Tourist attractions

Castle Rock is part of Castle Rock County , which also includes Dark Score Lake , a popular tourist lake not far from the city. Also close to Castle Rock is Lake Kashwakamak , and Castle View , which is particularly popular with Castle Rocks, is located on nearby Castle Hill .

Castle Rock can definitely be called a green city, on Castle Stream near an old sawmill is one of the two municipal parks. The second park is located at Castle Falls , a small waterfall that is particularly ideal for romantic excursions. One of the town's two sports fields is located on the railway bridge that runs between Castle Rock and the fictional town of Harlow . The city has three cemeteries. The cityscape is completed by the business district, in the shops and restaurants, the sheriff's office and the town hall , in which the city council - chaired by Dan "Buster" Keeton - has its seat. As is usual in other small US cities, the cityscape is characterized by single-family homes.

Castle rock cycle

About the cycle

New England

As in most of King's other novels, the Castle Rock cycle takes place in Greater New England ; Castle Rock is not exclusively the focus of the plot, for example in the novel "Stark - The Dark Half", in which Castle Rock is only chosen as the setting in the last third of the book.

The Castle Rock cycle consists of twelve books, made up of six novels and six short stories. The two novels "Sara" and "The Game" are assigned to the Castle Rock cycle of the "Great Lexicon of Stephen King" only indirectly, since characters from Castle Rock appear in them, but the city itself does not play a role.

Read in the correct chronological order, the books tell the fate of the small town of Castle Rock. The respective novels or short stories form self-contained works that are also cited in other books by the author Stephen King, for example in "It" .

The Castle Rock works cannot be dismissed as pure horror literature. You move between the genres of fantasy , horror and storytelling . The classification between fantasy and horror therefore seems most appropriate, since the novels use common fantasy elements (eerie and supernatural events) that are mixed with typical horror elements by the author Stephen King. The narrative rhythm and the linguistic character correspond to the typical King's spelling.

King declared the cycle itself over after the publication of the novel “Needful Things - In einer kleine Stadt”, but expanded it to include other short stories and the 1998 novel “Sara”, in which part of the plot on Dark Score Lake mentioned above takes place.

Surprisingly, however, the King fan returns to Castle Rock in his 2006 book " Love " (Lisey's Story), and even crosses Derry, the city that was once haunted by evil in "It" . "Love" is not about the citizens of Castle Rock as such, but about Lisey, the widow of a late bestselling author, who uncovered his secrets. So you still meet some police officers who had a few supporting roles in "In einer kleine Stadt", such as: B. Andy Clutterbuck or Deputy Joe Alston.

Plot and social criticism

The plot itself follows the creed chosen by Stephen King himself: "Bad things happen to good people because life is just like that". Castle Rock itself is Stephen King's variant of the typical American middle class in the rural suburbs and offers the writer his own socially critical perspective, packaged in typical horror style elements. The novel " Cujo " can be seen as King's adaptation of the parable .

The protagonists

The protagonists of the various Castle Rock books appear again and again in cross-references or parallel events. In the final novel "Needful Things - In a small town", King condenses the plot and lets all remaining protagonists appear again. In the context of the works, King considers a wide variety of archetypes in which the reader can easily identify himself, such as the cozy Sheriff Bannermann, the gambling addict and irascible city council chairman Keeton or the slightly less well-off deputy sheriff Norris Ridgewick.

This can be demonstrated specifically using the example of the sheriff of the small town. Bannermann manages the official business during the novel "The Dead Zone - Das Assentat" and survives it with the necessary pinch of luck, only to lose his life a little later in the novel about the rabid Saint Bernard Cujo and to be replaced by the more agile Sheriff Alan Pangborn, who runs the official business up to the novel "Needful Things - In a small town". In Love, the latest to be set in the Castle Rock area, Norris Ridgewick is sheriff and is represented by Deputy Andy Clutterbuck when it is learned that Ridgewick is on his honeymoon at the time of the novel. In King's novel “Das Spiel” there are already references to the fact that Ridgewick has taken over the sheriff's office in Castle Rock.

The figure of the sheriff Alan Pangborn is likely to be the absolute focus of the Castle Rock cycle. Introduced as very down-to-earth in “Stark - The Dark Half”, he later lost his wife Annie and son Todd in a car accident, only to finally regain strength in “Needful Things” - also through a newly discovered love for Polly Chalmers - evil personified in the form of the gallant businessman Lelant Gaunt. Pangborn himself tries to find rational solutions to all necessary questions, but subsequently has to be persuaded several times of the existence of the supersensible , for example by the incarnate George Stark (alter ego of the writer Thad Beaumont) or the Sun Dog , who only with Trouble can be caught with a Polaroid camera.

Oddities

The location ultimately gave its title to Castle Rock Magazine , an American fan newspaper founded by the writer's brother-in-law, Christopher Spruce. Originally founded as a six-page "newspaper in letter format", the fan newspaper quickly advanced to a monthly printed newspaper with photos, drawings and regular articles by King himself. Until it was discontinued in December 1989, the magazine quickly reached a circulation of 5,000, which is why it is today is one of the coveted collector's items among American King fans.

After the strongly autobiographical short story "Die Leiche" was successfully filmed under the title Stand by Me - The Secret of a Summer by Rob Reiner with River Phoenix , Corey Feldman , Wil Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell as well as Kiefer Sutherland as Ace Merrill in the leading roles , the director founded the film production company Castle Rock Entertainment , which filmed a number of other King novels, such as the Oscar- winning thriller "Misery" .

One based on the book " Dead Zone - The assassination " designed series with the simple title " Dead Zone " will be broadcast in the United States since 2002, the German premiere of the series took place in February 2005 by the pay-TV channel Premiere in the Special-interest program “Sci-Fi Channel”, the free TV first broadcast in Germany will take place in the late summer of 2005 by the broadcaster RTL II .

Differentiation from the dark tower cycle

In contrast to the Dark Tower , the novels of the Castle Rock cycle are complete works, with the exception of the accompanying works to the dark tower (e.g. "The Dragon's Eyes" or "Insomnia"). While the Dark Tower cycle moves between western , fantasy and science fiction and only occasionally incorporates horror elements, the Castle Rock cycle combines fantasy and horror elements. If the plot of the tower saga revolves mainly around Roland Deschain of Gilead and his companions, the Castle Rock cycle contains many more main characters.

Works in chronological order

Filmography (selection)

Literature and Sources

  • Marcel Feige: The large encyclopedia about Stephen King , Imprint Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-89602-228-8 .

Web links

Stephen King's works
Novels

Must Burn Salem • Carrie • Christine • Colorado Kid • Cujo • The Picture • The Buick • The Girl • The Monster - Tommyknockers • The Black House • The Game • Dead Zone - The Assassination • The Talisman • Desperation • The Arena • The Eyes dragon • Dolores • Dreamcatcher • It • Firestarter • Pet Sematary • Love • Needful Things - In a small town • pulse • Sara • Sleepless • Shining • you • Stark - the Dark Half • the Green Mile • the stand - the last Skirmish • Madness • The Dark Tower (Novels) • Black • Three • Dead • Glass • Wolf Moon • Susannah • The Tower • The Attack • Wind • Joyland • Doctor Sleep • Mr. Mercedes • Revival • Finder's Reward • Mind Control • Sleeping Beauties • The Outsider • The Institute

Bachman books

Amok • The Curse • Manhunt • Agony • Regulator • Explosives • Death March

Stories and
collections

Nightmares • Atlantis • The fornite • The song of the dead • Spring, summer, autumn and death • In the cabinet of death • At dawn • Langoliers • At night • Night shift • Sunset • Between night and dark • Bazaar of bad dreams

Other publications

Danse Macabre • The Life and Writing • The Storm of the Century • The Year of the Werewolf