And quite frankly, I applaud the author taking this on. The first was the social commentary on how, despite our supposedly enlightened society, racism still exists and, more than that, it still flourishes in some parts of the world. Jackson took on two major tasks, one she chose, one she had no choice with. And I think this is where I realized the central problem with THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD lies, in relation to its inevitable comparison with the source material. Without spoiling the ending of WEIGHT OF BLOOD, I’ll just say that the adjustment made, while symbolic, took away much of the power.īut come on, when you’ve written a book that will likely always reference the fifty-year-old book that you lifted the entire story from, to me, that’s already a problem. Everyone has seen the image of Sissy Spacek from the original 1976 CARRIE movie, blood splashed on her, the trigger for the violent end of all who’d bullied her. Yes, it reveals Maddy’s secret, but it’s weak, in comparison.Īnd what happens in the classroom right after that? That felt like something written for the inevitable movie deal, and it gives away far too much, far too soon. Instead of the harrowing “plug it up” scene that opens CARRIE, we get…rain frizzing hair. Some quick impressions, right off the top…in Jackson’s attempt to take all the major events and try and do something different with them, I found most of them really watered down. After all, I’m that guy that always says, “if you choose not to vote, that’s fine, but you can’t bitch about the government.” Same applies here. And I realized, I really can’t talk much about this unless I actually read it. I mean, what’s to stop me from rewriting King’s THE DEAD ZONE but with Johnny Smith revisioned to a person who faces persecution for being trans while also struggling with trying to save the world from a Trump-like presidential candidate who may destroy the world? I mean, are all authors works up for grabs now? Does plagiarism only apply if you’re copying it word-for-word? If you add some social commentary, it’s okay to steal a novel, beat for beat?Īnyway, having seethed about this for quite some time, all I kept reading were glowing reviews of the novel, including the inevitable “better than the original!” ones. Why did no one tell me I could get an agent, be a popular author, and get accolades for days by just rewriting a Stephen King book and adding a topical twist?Īnd this… this right here…is EXACTLY why I chose to self publish. In case you’re wondering, here’s my post from back then: Here’s the thing: Right back at the beginning of 2023, I’d heard about this novel, and how it was a “modern retelling” or a “fresh, original adaptation” of Stephen King’s CARRIE.

This may be a long one, folks, because there’s a lot to unpack.

The weight of blood tiffany jackson