It’s Halloween and that, to me, is the time of the horror novel.
And of course, you can’t talk horror novels without some talk of one of the Masters.
So: Stephen King.
I asked this on FB a few weeks ago and it produced some interesting discussion, so I’m bringing it here to the blog because, well, YAY BLOG.
I gotta know: what’s your favorite King novel?
And, more importantly, why?
Bonus question: least favorite King novel (and also, why)?
If I had to pick my favorite — which is a tooth-pulling maneuver, because so many choices — I’d go with the entirety of the Dark Tower series, with a preference toward Wizard and Glass. Least favorite — you know, I don’t know. I tried Gerald’s Game and just couldn’t do it. Cell had a cool idea but the execution didn’t come together for me. But if I had a gun to my head: Dreamcatcher. (Doubly true of the movie, of which I am not a fan.) Still, some of King’s leastmost works are still better than so many, you know?
MB Partlow says:
Fave: Salem’s Lot. It was the first modern horror novel I read, when I was 12 years old and my eldest stepbrother left it at our house after a visit. So it has a sentimental place in my heart, because it launched me into a whole new, frightening world. Second favorite would be a tie between The Stand, It, and Nov. 22, 1963.
Least fave:The Dark Tower books just didn’t do much for me.
October 21, 2013 — 8:53 AM
Denise Drespling says:
I think I have to go with Duma Key as my fav, though Eye of the Dragon is a close second. I loved the concept of Duma Key and when I think of that book, it’s all beach and bright colors in my mind. I’m still annoyed about Colarado Kid. It’s one thing to leave a mystery at the end of the novel, but he just decided not to end it at all!
October 21, 2013 — 8:57 AM
Pinny Bugaeff says:
Favorite-Misery because…hmm..because I’m fat and miserable but I really do worship The King. I’m his number One..oh never mind…and just for the record, ALL of his books are wonderful!
ALSO
Love, love, love,On Writing, because it’s like Steve just sits down and talks to me about his life and writing and as long as I keep taking my medicine the nice doctors here azt Shady Acres let me read as much as I want…
October 21, 2013 — 8:59 AM
Grrr. Lisaargh. (@EffingRainbow) says:
Favourite: The Green Mile. Perhaps not the scariest, but it breaks my heart every time.
Least favourite… Probably the Dark Tower books. They started well (I really liked Wizard And Glass as well) but the payoff, for me, wasn’t worth it all…
October 21, 2013 — 9:01 AM
Jessi says:
I really enjoy Stephen King, and I went through a big reading phase of his work when I was like 13 or so. I think my favorite is probably Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I loved the novels I read by him, but he excels at the short story. Swift, but chilling, but times however many stories in the compilation instead of just one big story.
Least favorite is IT. Scared the living shit out of me. Every day that I read that book, I’d have nightmares about clowns. I only made it three days and then I had to stop. I still hate clowns to this day.
October 21, 2013 — 9:03 AM
Caitlin says:
Jessi, like you I seemed to go through a huge King phase in highschool when I was 13-15ish or so…reading mostly his short stories/novellas, but other stuff too… glad to know I wasn’t alone reading King as a teen! 🙂
October 21, 2013 — 8:07 PM
Michael Bentley says:
Favorite is a tough one for me because there are two tied novels:
* The Stand – I love the characters in this end of the world tale. Even the characters I hate, I love to hate. It has an epic story that feels very personal to me.
* Firestarter – Part of why I love this is it is the first Stephen King novel I read. Main reason I read it? High School librarian told me it mentioned the two I live in. At an early point in the novel they drive through the tiny town of Hoags Corners, NY. Beyond that though I love the character of Charlie.
October 21, 2013 — 9:04 AM
Blaize says:
IT did it for me, but not for the horror.
When I was about 11 or 12 I probably reread the bits about childhood in Derry, Maine, hundreds of times. I fell in love with Bev and Bill was like a really close friend.
King does horror well, but there are quiet moments in his book that are just so perfect. And summer in Derry was one of them.
October 21, 2013 — 9:05 AM
Evelyn Stice (@TheCheekyGinger) says:
Fave: That is tough. I probably would have to go with DT, buuut Salem’s Lot is amazing, and I love The Stand (unabridged).
I’m kinda with you on least favorite, too. But I would rather read a lesser King novel than the best offered by a lot of other writers. Critically speaking, he is underrated.
October 21, 2013 — 9:08 AM
Sarah LaFleur says:
I also love the Dark Tower series, but I’d have to say Insomnia gets my vote. Partially because I suffer terribly from it, but also because the imagery King weaves in this tale made me want to look for the “balloon-strings” above my friends and family.
October 21, 2013 — 9:10 AM
Aerin says:
I’d have to go The Shining for favorite. I don’t distinctly remember a lot of King because I read so much of his older stuff in junior high, but The Shining was the only one that genuinely scared me. (Those fucking topiaries, man.)
I feel like he does his best work in short formats, though. I feel like he gets a little lost in the longer stuff, and gets so attached to his characters that they need a happy ending. His short stories and novellas are usually much tighter and more brutal.
Not sure where I’d go on least favorite, but I never bothered with Dark Tower.
October 21, 2013 — 9:12 AM
Ravven says:
I love all of his books, to differing degrees (The Stand I love, Cell was much less of a favourite). I’d have to say that the one that I love best is It. Yes, it was scary – but it also showcased one of the things that he does best, which is getting childhood and being a kid down perfectly.
October 21, 2013 — 9:14 AM
smithster says:
Firestarter and Carrie, two because I think of them as exploring the same subject. I am a fan of mind powers and magic and I am not particularly fond of horror, although I enjoy suspense. I also enjoyed Cujo and read some Dean Koontz and Clive Barker…okay maybe I do enjoy a bit of horror lol.
I liked Firestarter because of the antagonist, loved how twisted his character was and how obsessive he became about the girl. He drove the plot for most of the book. Carrie I loved because she was such an interesting main character – flawed, but understandably so, and even when she was lashing out against the world you could not help but sympathize with her. I am sure there were hundreds of bullied kids who read that book and thought “…oh yeah…” 🙂 The antagonist was also interesting in how she was sucked into the bullying. I thought that was very well written. Being me, I also like that both books ended on a positive note.
October 21, 2013 — 9:24 AM
smithster says:
Fook, I forgot least favorite. Probably It, or Christine. I felt like the more famous the man got, the longer his books got, and I started skipping bits in these.
October 21, 2013 — 9:27 AM
mikes75 says:
I almost went with The Shining, but I think I have to go with Carrie at the end of the day. It’s King’s Frankenstein, where this modern “Prometheus” is her mother, classmates, and teachers.
My least favorite is Pet Sematary, which is just brutally, unremittingly grim.
October 21, 2013 — 9:24 AM
Gayle says:
I lean toward ‘Christine’ and ‘From a Buick 8’….is there a pattern there?
Actually, Christine is my first name, so my children think maybeI want to channel her! I have been a devoted Fan of King for about 35 years. There are times when it feel like he is recycling old stuff, then Bam! He shows us something different. When you consider the range – Shawshank, The Green Mile, DreamCatcher, and the Dark Tower Series, he is awesome!( BTW – I didn’t like Gerald’s Game, either. As I recall, I didn’t finish it…)
October 21, 2013 — 9:26 AM
Colten says:
The Stand is in the top three best singular novels I’ve ever read.
The Dark Tower series is a mind-boggling feat of imagination.
Those things being said, when it comes to what SK book “scared” me the most -DESPERATION. I loved it.
Least favorite SK book: FROM A BUICK 8.
Not that it was awful; it just seemed like an idle daydream that found itself bound in book form. It’s the least crucial and least visceral of his works.
October 21, 2013 — 9:27 AM
David Coventry (@DWCoventry) says:
Favorite: IT. Yeah yeah yeah I know all of its problems, but we are talking my favorite, not the best. It has an engaging monster, great characters, and the ending satisfies. Derry feels like a real hometown and the childhood fears echo perfectly. Love it.
Least Favorite: Tommyknockers. Sweet baby Jesus. I hate the “protagonist as writer” trope since it smacks of laziness, but I can forgive if the story is good. But this book has TWO writer protagonists, both indulging in page after page of navel-gazing. And yes, I get that King thinks evil is stupid, but stupid antagonists are boring and the ending feels like a huge cheat.
October 21, 2013 — 9:27 AM
Tom Armbruster says:
My choices align with David’s. I have no problems with “It” and would probably argue with anyone who thought there were problems with it.
I didn’t like “Tommyknockers” because it was the one time King didn’t create characters I cared about. Wasn’t a fan of “Lese’s Story or “The Cell,” but I also plan to re-read them to make sure it wasn’t my fault that I didn’t like them. “Duma Key” was for me, a return to greatness for King, and he hasn’t let me down since.
October 21, 2013 — 10:27 AM
David Coventry (@DWCoventry) says:
I think Duma Key is far-and-away my favorite of the “new King”. It maintains a sense of dread while avoiding the two most common pitfalls of his post-Misery work: dopey villains and deus ex machina endings.
October 21, 2013 — 12:05 PM
Evelyn Stice (@TheCheekyGinger) says:
Oops, I forgot why. Dark Tower: A universe unto itself, unlike anything else I’ve ever read. The ending was brilliant.
Salem’s Lot: Scared the warm pee right out of me. Okay, not really, but it was scary. Stayed with me for days. And God, look how young he was when he wrote that awesome bastard. He was practically a baby.
The Stand: Like many of his novels, the characterizations really drew me in. And the ensemble cast and various storylines were so deftly handled … The way he drew the fluid, nearly interchangeable nature of good and evil, making it so clear that though they are real concepts, it’s not always possible to know which side you’re on at any given moment—that. That.
Honorable mention to Duma Key: I am not really sure why, but if I see that one lying around, I’ll just pick it up and start reading. That is a sign of something good.
Dislikes: Gerald’s Game had too much of a squick factor. Dreamcatcher just didn’t stick. Haven’t yet read Cell, although I own it.
October 21, 2013 — 9:29 AM
Gayle says:
Jessi, I too love the short stories – maybe because of the time invested in reading them ( or lack of it!)…IT had me hooked until the end…felt like he just tried to tie it up quickly. There’s a few others that do this, too.
October 21, 2013 — 9:30 AM
Jessi says:
Yeah, as a reader, they’re quick and easy. On the writing side, they’re much harder and show more craft.
If I could just remove the memories of IT from my brain forever, I’d be so happy. I remember reading three Stephen King books back to back in junior high – The Shining, Cujo, and then IT – and I was like “Okay I’m done here”
October 21, 2013 — 9:48 AM
Guilie says:
I’m with you on Dreamcatcher as least fave. Couldn’t do it, no. Seems like he had an Alien Period–like Picasso’s Blue Period?–and none of it does it for me. I reread King often, and Duma Key is one trusty reread (the voice he imagines for the doll–“you nasty man”–is brilliant), as is Dolores Claiborne, but my all-time favorite is The Stand. Why? Delayed gratification (it’s not a book I can gobble up in one afternoon). The good ole Good vs. Evil. Sin City living up to its name. Apocalypse survival techniques. The idea that even in a society reduced to a few hundred (thousand? can’t remember how many Randall had with him), the same pettiness keeps tripping us up. Yeah, mostly that last one.
October 21, 2013 — 9:37 AM
Teresa Reasor says:
I have been a King fan since 1974 when Carrie first came out. It was the year I graduated high school and I was and still am a voracious reader. I’ve been reading his books as they came out so I’ve managed to keep up with his production and have quite a collection. This past summer I decided to go back and pick up his short story collections and read some of the ones I’ve missed.I have one more book of short stories. And I haven’t read the Dark Tower novels yet, but I have one on my shelf and I think I’ll ask for the rest for Christmas. Out of all the books–From the Bachmann books to the recent releases I’ve read thus far. I think my favorite book by him is Needful things. And they actually did a pretty decent job with the movie as well. Which has not always been the case. Just watching the domino effect he sets up in the book and how he explores all the various characters and their failings, I was just fascinated by it. My least favorite is Pet Cemetery. Though he explores the desperation and grief so well, it just grossed me out. But that is totally my reaction and shouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading it.
My favorite novella of his was published in a collection in 2010 titled Full Dark, No Stars. The story is titled Big Driver. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read the collection but every story in this collection was well worth the money I paid for the book. Excellent- Excellent King.
My favorite short story– I couldn’t begin to choose. I’ve read too many this summer, but his collections Different Seasons, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Everything’s Eventual, Four past Midnight and there are several others I can’t think of the titles off the top of my head. I devoured every one of them.
I’m forever fascinated by his ability to come up with something fresh and to take something you think will be similar to something else you’ve already read and give it a little twist to make it totally his own.
Write on, read on,
Teresa Reasor
October 21, 2013 — 9:52 AM
lkeke35 says:
The scariest short story ever written by King would be The Sun Dog. Why: because I used to own one of those silly, little Polaroid cameras where you get to watch the pictures develop. I got it for my birthday when I was around the main character’s age.
The second most frightening was 1408. Why : because it just hit every single one of my scare buttons.
it’s harder for me to chose a favorite novel so I won’t even try. It’s more like a Top Ten with Salem’s Lot at number . and Under the Dome at number 10. But my favorite anthology is Everything’s Eventual. Every story in it is a homerun.
Least favorite novel: Gerald’s Game, just didn’t work for me at all. I have no love for bag of Bones or duma key. The characters just didn’t hit it for me.
October 21, 2013 — 5:47 PM
Teresa Reasor says:
And I’m not overly enthused with the television show the Dome. I liked the book much better. There’s a sense of desperation in the book that is lacking in the show. And they’ve changed so much to make it more marketable as well.
JMO
October 21, 2013 — 10:00 AM
Beth L. says:
The Shining for favorite, because of the story itself and also because the first time I read it was on a high school trip involving two nights stay in an old hotel. Scared myself silly, and I still find the story speaks very powerfully to me even though high school was… a while ago. Least favorite was Under the Dome – for some reason that book just never clicked for me.
October 21, 2013 — 10:18 AM
Ruth Ross says:
Firestarter. Simple, intense, relentless. And — in the end the hero is a librarian. [Yup. This is from a librarian.]
October 21, 2013 — 10:23 AM
Guilie says:
Firestarter! Of COURSE! Yep, agreed–one of the best King stories e-ver.
October 21, 2013 — 10:39 AM
Guinea Pig says:
Like a couple of others on here, my favorite (with “It” running a close second) is The Long Walk. I must have read it about 20 times. I still can’t work out why they haven’t made a movie out of it yet.
I actually really liked Gerald’s Game but my least favorite is Apt Pupil. It just didn’t work for me. It felt disconnected and disjointed.
October 21, 2013 — 10:29 AM
Toni Finley says:
The Stand is my fav. Its disturbingly realistic imagery sucked me in. And King did an amazing job of presenting a world-wide apocalypse and its aftermath (with socio-psychological and religious implications) through their effects on a handful of characters.
October 21, 2013 — 10:31 AM
Toni Finley says:
Oh, and least fav? The Dome, which was so relentlessly and increasingly dark and bloody that I had trouble finishing it. And the ending was too deus ex machina. King can do better, and his readers deserve better, too.
October 21, 2013 — 10:35 AM
Dan Schwent says:
Favorite, The Dark Tower series, hands down. Least favorite, I guess The Regulators.
October 21, 2013 — 10:45 AM
Paul says:
“The Stand” is one of my all-time favorite books: the epic scope, the way the narratives flowed into each other so wonderfully, and a denouement that was as attention-keeping as the climax itself. It also solidified for me the idea of King horror as comfort food: that the presence of the devil and the supernatural was worth it if it confirmed the existence of God. This is also why Lovecraft so terrified me when I discovered him a few years later – “God” did exist, but he was at best indifferent and more generally wanted to torment you and devour your soul. Yikes!
October 21, 2013 — 10:52 AM
ardenrr says:
Favorite – Desperation. I don’t even recall the details about it as it’s been so long since I read it. However, the one thing I do remember is being scared out of my wits while reading it. It is one of the few books I’ve read that gave me nightmares.
Least favorite. I don’t really have one. I still have a lot of Stephen King to read but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read so far.
October 21, 2013 — 11:10 AM
Samantha says:
Favorite(s): The Stand was absolutely amazing, horrifying, and compelling at the same time. Knowing that it was somewhat set in the real world (especially reading it while sick with a cold), was the most terrifying part for me. And I loved, loved the characters. The Shining and The Dark Tower series also left a stamp on my heart. Dan Torrance and Roland Deschain are some of my favorite characters in any universe.
Least Favorite: So far, the only one I’ve picked up and haven’t finished yet was Thinner. Usually, with a Stephen King novel I know I can get going and speed through it no problem because it instantly hooks me. Not so much with that one.
I still have a lot of his novels to go, but I’ve gone through quite a few of them. He’s definitely one of my favorite writers.
October 21, 2013 — 11:50 AM
Paul says:
Hey Samantha,
He actually wrote “Thinner” under a nom de plume, playing around with ideas and styles that didn’t quite fit (or equal) the Stephen King brand at the time. It’s been a long time since I read the book, but I definitely remember it didn’t have quite the pop of his other novels (especially in the mid-80s when he was still firing on all cylinders).
If you liked “The Shining,” then you should definitely check out “Doctor Sleep”. It’s a worthy and interesting follow-up to the original.
October 21, 2013 — 12:43 PM
Samantha says:
I actually read Doctor Sleep almost as soon as it came out, I was very excited about it. It also delivered more than I expected. Dan Torrance is one of my favorite characters in the Stephen King universe, and seeing him grown up was like seeing a loved one grow up. I highly enjoyed it.
October 21, 2013 — 12:51 PM
Paul says:
Oh, great! I’m glad that it exceeded your expectations! Starting the book felt like putting on an old, comfy sweater. I loved getting back into that universe and those characters.
Something for your Bucket List, if you ever have a chance to see Stephen King speak live, make it happen. It’s a fantastic time, not just for fans, but for anyone who loves literature or aspires to be an author.
October 21, 2013 — 12:59 PM
sslater4 says:
I think I’d have to go with the entire Dark Tower series too, but if I had to pick one out of all those books, I’d go with The Drawing of the Three–the tension in that book is astounding. I’m still working through the rest of his stuff (yeah, I got a ways to go), so at the moment I don’t really have one that I don’t like.
October 21, 2013 — 12:00 PM
Emily Measor says:
So hard to just pick one of each. So I’ll cheat a little, if I may 🙂
Special mention to IT, the first Stephen King I ever picked up, read maybe 2 chapters of, and then put under my bed, right to the back with all the dust bunnies, for 2/3 years because it was just too damned scary. Given I was 11 at the time, and clowns were still apt to appear at various birthday parties, I think perfectly understandable!
Gerald’s Game was actually the first Stephen King I read the whole way through. Definitely not his best, but I enjoyed it at the time, which is saying something as it was around the same time, and there are some fairly adult themes that I had to grapple with. (And I’d like to thank my mother here for not censoring her bookshelves.)
So, my out-and-out favourite is The Stand, for the same reasons as a lot of people have mentioned. Again, I read it fairly young. The huge scope and living, breathing, characters made an indelible impression on me.
His worst? Hard. I think he’s written quite a few doozies, most of them early on in his career and (I think) when he was struggling with a lot of addictions;. Three-way tie for Pet Semetary, Cujo and Dreamcatcher. I might add Cell here, but I was too bored to read more than a chapter (which is saying something), and maybe it improved?? Have to say – when he gets it wrong, he gets it REALLY wrong!
October 21, 2013 — 12:35 PM
Ms Mahler says:
Well, I’d add one that doesn’t seem have gotten mention yet.
My fave is Eyes of the Dragon, which is probably my fave partly because it’s so much a fantasy book, and partly b/c it’s the only book of his I’ve ever finished. Unfortunately, it was my introduction to King (at 14 years old, and very much a wimp when it came to horror) so when someone saw me reading King and gave me Carrie for Christmas that year…Um yeah, that was a shock.
I tried picking up King again in College, and grabbed Dreamcatcher…was not impressed. I might pick up some of the other faves mentioned here and see if I like them any better.
October 21, 2013 — 12:41 PM
davebessom says:
If I had to pick one favorite, I’d go with Bag of Bones.
The story is really good, but like all of King’s best novels, what makes it great is not the horror or the monster (although those are pretty badass). What makes them great is that the story hinges on the characters, not the gimmick. IT is all about the relationship between the group of friends; Bag of Bones is about Mike Noonan’s personal struggle with the loss of his wife and his relationship with Mattie and Kyra; The Stand is about the family created by the Boulder group; even The Shining isn’t really about a haunted hotel, but it’s about Jack’s struggle with his personal ghosts.
My least favorite is probably The Gunslinger. I’ve only read the first three books of the Dark Tower series, and they’re all good. But The Gunslinger took me three or four attempts before I could finish it. I forced myself to finish it just so I could move on to the next novel, since everyone says TDT is King’s best of all.
October 21, 2013 — 12:50 PM
storyteller5 says:
FINALLY someone picks Bag of Bones! It is awesome. But avoid the mini-series at all costs. Ugh.
October 22, 2013 — 1:01 AM
threeoutside says:
My first King novel was The Shining, which I read all alone through a blizzard-ridden night in the small town radio station I worked in (this was 1978). With the cold seeping through the cracks and the wind howling outside, and the furniture and radio station equipment making their tiny mysterious noises all around, and my car disappearing out there under feet and more feet of snow, I couldn’t put that book down even though it was scaring the everliving shit out of me. I think it’s my favorite of all of them, but Salem’s Lot runs a close second. I’ve read The Dark Tower series and it left me pretty cold.
October 21, 2013 — 2:11 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
I was a major King fan when I was younger, I would do anything to get my hands on his books. I loved that he scared the shit out of me and at the same time could make me laugh hysterically. I spent many hours curled up in the sofa, biting my nails and making my parents worry with my sporadic burst of manic laughter.His single sentence chapters always cracked me up.
I can’t point to one particular favorite, but among top 10 is It, The Stand, The Green Mile, Eye of the Dragon, The Gunslinger,
Honorable mention: The Long Walk, 25 years after I read it for the first and only time, I still find myself thinking about it, which I think is damn impressive, considering the how many books I’ve read and loved since then.
I think his short stories were the scariest though. There was one called the Fog? It scared the crap out of me. And one where kids on a float got sucked very graphically down through the cracks between the boards by some black blob, I had nightmares for weeks after reading that one.
Thinking back it’s really weard that I was such an ardent fan, because for every book that I loved it seems there was on that I absolutely did not. Least favorites, Pet Cemetary, Cujo,, The Shining which weirded me out the wrong way, The Tommyknockers. Insomnia.
I stopped reading King regularly around the time From a Buick 8 came out. It really didn’t agree with me at all, and now there is a sizable back catalogue of books that time I haven’t read. But reading the comments here make me want to pick the old ones again and have a little horror fest. Hmm. maybe a project for the christmas holidays.
October 21, 2013 — 2:18 PM
Michael E. Henderson says:
For me, so far, is “The Shining.” It is very literary, not just a story meant to scare you. In fact, the really scary part does not come until about 3/4 of the way through. When Wendy sees the ghosts too, that’s when you’re like, fuck, it’s not just Jack going nuts, there are really mean fucking ghosts in this place. The writing was excellent.
Salem’s Lot didn’t do it for me. I’ve started into “Under the Dome,” but it’s not his finest.
October 21, 2013 — 2:29 PM
Ryan Viergutz says:
Only read one so far, but I REALLY liked it: Firestarter. Psychic girl, manipulation, spooky.
I should reread again sometime.
October 21, 2013 — 2:32 PM
Ash says:
Favorite Novel: Hearts in Atlantis
Truly a great work, went around with a peace sign made from duct tape on my coat for a couple of years after that. Also loved the short stories he did as Richard Bachman.
Least Favorite: Gerald’s Game was just too twisted for me, didn’t bother to finish it.
October 21, 2013 — 2:46 PM
Jess Haines says:
Favorite: That’s a toss-up between Needful Things and Tommyknockers. They’re both so batshit and cover such a full spectrum of humanity’s best and worse qualities that I can’t help but get sucked in every time I read them.
HAAAATESES IT, PRECIOUSSS: Thinner. Something about that book makes me deeply uncomfortable in ways that nothing else does, and not in a good way.
October 21, 2013 — 3:30 PM
victoria says:
Favorite: The Shining, hands down. So absolutely terrifying and classic Stephen King. I do love The Stand though.
Least Favorite: Doctor Sleep, probably because The Shining is my favorite. It just wasn’t scary for me and I had really high expectations for it 🙁
October 21, 2013 — 4:57 PM
Rhonda Tibbs says:
Favorite: The Shining (hated the movie). I also enjoyed The Green Mile and the short story The Body, and novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
October 21, 2013 — 5:10 PM
Trine Toft Schmidt says:
Oh man, I can’t believe I forgot Shawshank. Absolutely brilliant story. I read the book that was in so much it fell apart.
October 21, 2013 — 11:46 PM
Abby says:
My favourite is without a doubt Pet Semetery. It’s such a fantastically simple idea and plays on the ‘what if’ fears that our imaginations like to torture us with when we’re upset. Louis Creed is an amazing character and the writing style is incredible. Chapter 37 when Creed and his father-in-law fight in the funeral parlour is possibly the greatest bit of writing I’ve ever come across. Mind blowing.
My least favourite is Cell. It had a promising beginning but the lack of focus and frankly lame zombie’s made the whole thing painful and difficult to read. It was a book who’s potential was lost by what felt like lazy writing.
October 21, 2013 — 5:44 PM
Stephanie Lormand says:
My first Stephen King novel was It, maybe around 11? I was young enough to still have a Tom Cruise/Top Gun poster hanging on my bedroom wall. THAT is only significant for the fact that ol’ Tommy’s eyes reflected menace and insanity in the glow of hidden flashlight.
Amusing how much censorship my mother put on books with s-e-x (and I totally read every one of those Jackie Collin’s books she hid under the bed), only to hand me Stephen King with a shrug. I mean, really.
My favorite Stephen King novel? The Stand.
I put The Shining at #2, because I think of the movie before I think of the book. I still can’t see a denim jumper without wanting to wet myself a bit.
October 21, 2013 — 5:59 PM
whirlingnerdish (@whirlingnerdish) says:
My favorite, as I’ve seen from a handful of people, is THE LONG WALK. It was brutal, it was tragic, and it captured a hopeless,helpless sort of mindset that I’d never read before. When that first kid goes down…holy Christ was I freaked.
Honorable mentions to CHRISTINE and MISERY. I read them back to back. MISERY was brutal and dark, but I felt CHRISTINE really did capture that listless feeling of unbelonging you get only as a teenager.
Least favorite: DREAMCATCHER. It’s not that I didn’t like it–in fact there were things I liked quite a bit about it, but it’s never one that’s really stuck in my mind as exemplary.
Interestingly, I’ve read the first half of IT 3 or 4 times. I started it when I was around 12. It wasn’t that it was too scary that I quit reading. More that I just didn’t have time because I was in school. And then other things distracted me. The same was true every time I’d try to read it. But King’s ability to capture preteen awkwardness and bullying–especially in the character of Ben Hanscom–was very touching. Man…I really need to finish that book sometime…
October 21, 2013 — 6:44 PM
Kate says:
One of the Guardian book bloggers is writing a (very long running, I imagine) series ‘Rereading Stephen King’ — re-reading all his books in chronological order, posting thoughts of ‘then vs now’, tropes & common characters & connections, what was going on in King’s life influencing his writing at the time etc. Highly recommended to keep up with if you’re a King fan too. http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog+series/rereading-stephen-king
October 21, 2013 — 6:55 PM
GaryWrites says:
Favorite would have to be Salem’s Lot. Without question. Could not put the book down, scared me through and through. Honorable mention goes to The Stand. Least of all is Insomnia. Felt like punishment when I’d pick it up. Looking forward to getting into TDT, though it would seem to some people on here it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. A shame…
Chuck, advice for a journeyman beard-grower?? I implore you! Yours is strong with the Force.
October 21, 2013 — 8:06 PM
Troy L says:
My choice is a toss-up between 3 books.
The Stand. Monsterous. Possible. Horror but it feels real. Randall Flagg.
The Gunslinger. A bit dystopian. Mysterious. A bit weird west-y. Maybe a Flagg?
The Eyes of the Dragon. Fantasy. Subtle horror. Flagg.
Good vs. Evil all. Not really full blown King horror but King nonetheless.
If I had to pick one, then it’s The Stand. Original. Before the “Uncut, Unedited.” Yeah, I’m picky. 4th place honorable mention to the Regulators.
October 21, 2013 — 8:29 PM
Willow Becker says:
The Long Walk is so intense and raw. I bawled for an hour when it was finished. The scariest is Pet Semetary, tying with Apt Pupil. Unadulterated awfulness, both.
By far my favorite, though, was The Talisman. I loved that world so much! I finished and immediately began again, just so I could be in it. There was all the richness of The Stand and Dark Tower, except the payoff in the end was so much better.
I have read everything this man has ever written. He is the real reason I am a writer.
October 21, 2013 — 9:14 PM
Jen Donohue says:
Favorite: Bag of Bones (because it’s about loss, and how we recover, and how some others don’t recover, and the connections we make) or The Tommyknockers (because it’s about writers, and nuclear paranoia, and becoming a monster in spite of oneself).
Least Favorite: Really hard to pick. Almost definitely from the post-car-accident era. Under the Dome, I guess, because it struck me as a tin-eared rehash of The Tommyknockers with modern culture references thrown in.
October 21, 2013 — 9:12 PM
Bookish Brooks says:
Oooh so many choices…. I LOVE Stephen King so it’s hard to pick one. I’ll have to go with the book that I read: Pet Semetary. I was 9 years old and excited to be reading adult books. I had just found Poe and was instantly hooked on horror. Naturally, that lead me to King. I couldn’t put Pet Semetary down until I finished and I HAD to read more of him. I WAS ADDICTED! Out of all of his books this one holds the most sentimental value and I’m a sucker for sentiments. As far as a least favorite… I’ll go with Gerald’s Game. I tried to read that book several times and I stop at the same point. The idea is intriguing but I just cant finish it. My second least favorite is the Cell. I finished it. I loved the the idea but I feel like he quit at the end. It just fizzled out and I wasn’t satisfied.
October 21, 2013 — 9:12 PM