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Stephen King

Silent Runner

By Silent Runner
in Arts & Literature

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keineboom

keineboom

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My favourites;

The Stand (Uncut version) - I've read this about 4 times and never want it to end.

Needful Things - Great idea, and complex execution of the plot works really well.

IT - Crap ending, but the evocation of the transition to adolescence is brilliant.

Firestarter - Not one of his best rated works, but very enjoyable nontheless.

*goes to re-read whole Stephen King back catalogue*

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Sabreman

Sabreman

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'everything's eventual' has rather a lot less I noticed, but it does contain 1408, which is the best short story he's ever done and the scariest piece of work in his entire collection.

This story is the only thing of King's that I have ever read, and I bought Everything's Eventual based on it's reputation. What I found was it was absolutely superb in setting up a sense of dread - the build-up to the guy actually going into the room was exceptional, creepy stuff (I never would have imagined that a book could give me the shivers). The only problem was, once the 'proper' horror stuff started happening it was just boring, by-the-numbers stuff. The anticipation of the horror was much more effective than the description of it happening.

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toonfool

toonfool

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Actually the only Stephen King book that I wasn't too impressed with was The Girl who loved Tom Gordon but then again I've only read it the once.

I read that a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. The words didn't have to be translated into a scene in my mind, they just flowed off the page fully formed.

I didn't read anything about the book before reading it, not even the blurb, I started at page 1. That might have helped.

Funnily enough, people have said he's a good ideas man, but not a good writer. I thought the ideas for TGWLTG were alright, classic King at times, but mostly not what I'd expect from him. And I thought the writing was fantastic, straight from the page to the homonculus in my mind, if you like.

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cassidy

cassidy

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I like Insomnia! Plus of all his books it's the one that ties in most directly to the Dark Tower series.

seconded its a cracking book.

Only Stephen King book I've never finished Christine.

Forgot to mention I watched the TVM of Desperation last night, pretty decent stuff I thought.

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Nick Laslett

Nick Laslett

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I would strongly recommend just two Stephen King books.

"IT" and "The Dark Tower series"

"IT" is a kind of great American horror novel covering so much territory that it is frightening. It goes from the beginnings of the Earth to the present day and then onto another dimension. It has every type of horror baddies and every type of horror style from splatter to hauntings to psychological to body horror. I really feel that King threw everything he had into this story. If you look at the dates for when he is writting it, it covers a period when he was writing a lot of other novels, Firestarter, Christine, Cycle of the Werewolf, Cujo, Misery, etc.

"The Dark Tower" is King's attempt at a Lord of the Rings type fantasy mythology, but using the Wild West as the stylistic inspiration. In the same way Tolkien took Norse mythology as the springboard for LOTR.

For me all the other King books are dwarfed by these two.

I would also recommend "Danse Macabre", which is a factual book about horror films and books from the 50's to the 80's. It sums up King's take on the horror genre.

King is a very prolific writer, if you like his style then most of his books are worth a read. I discovered King in the early 80's, so read most of his books as they were published. Besides "The Dark Tower" series, the last King novel I read was "The Dark Half", after that I lost the taste for his flavour of fiction.

King's early works tended to use horror classics as a springboard.

Salem's Lot = Dracula

The Stand = I Am A Legend

The Shining = Turn of the Screw

Pet Cemetery = Frankenstein

Tommyknockers = Quatermass and the Pit

I have a soft spot for "Christine" as it is the first King novel I read. This is King's horror take on the teenager's coming of age story. Great use of rock 'n' roll music in this book.

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FishyFish

FishyFish

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Mustn't forget Different Seasons, which is also perfect.

Also, read The Bachman books - another novella collection. All four stories are excellent, but The Long Walk and The Running Man are must reads (plus I have a soft spot for Roadwork).

I've been meaning to get the new version of Salem's Lot, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

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Guitar Heroine

Guitar Heroine

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Lots of great books mentioned here, I read his as a teen and also think great ideas but so long winded. I would find his books to slow to get into, ended up jumping ship and going with the likes of Shaun Hutson and James Herbert. Anyway most of the good ones have been mentioned but my fave is (cant remember the name) but the one where theyre in this village and everyone wants something, and theres the little magic/curiosity shop...gahhh cant remember the name..someone will know

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cassidy

cassidy

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Lots of great books mentioned here, I read his as a teen and also think great ideas but so long winded. I would find his books to slow to get into, ended up jumping ship and going with the likes of Shaun Hutson and James Herbert. Anyway most of the good ones have been mentioned but my fave is (cant remember the name) but the one where theyre in this village and everyone wants something, and theres the little magic/curiosity shop...gahhh cant remember the name..someone will know

reading Shaun Hutson over Stephen King. Madness I tell thee.

Got bored of Hutson by the time I was 13. Guy N Smith and his crabs for the win :D

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villenium

villenium

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I agree that Hutson is no match for King but I did prefer James Herbert back in the day.

Rats, Lair and The Dark gave me plenty of restless nights but I either found better things to do or just simply moved on from this type of horror as I got older.

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graemandius

graemandius

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Have any of you read 'The Colorado Kid'?

It's quite a short novel, but it's very good. It's basically a mystery/noir of sorts. A couple of old guys who work for a newspaper tell a story to their new young recruit and it spans about 200 pages. It's pure intrigue and builds and builds as you read along. I'd highly recommend it, and it's a nice change from his horror stuff.

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Garwoofoo

Garwoofoo

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Have any of you read 'The Colorado Kid'?

It's quite a short novel, but it's very good. It's basically a mystery/noir of sorts. A couple of old guys who work for a newspaper tell a story to their new young recruit and it spans about 200 pages. It's pure intrigue and builds and builds as you read along. I'd highly recommend it, and it's a nice change from his horror stuff.

I don't think I've ever heard of this! When did it come out?

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Talvalin

Talvalin

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Recommendations everyone else has already made:

IT - the best of the lot, rite of passage tale and then the adult thread as they try and finish what they started before. Amazing.

Christine - more rite of passage stuff but all about the rock n roll and the cars man. The ending freaked me out something bad.

Firestarter - this reminded me of Scanners in the general set-up and the conspiracy type stuff. Not all that deep but very readable.

I'm surprised no one mentioned The Eyes Of The Dragon. It's essentially a children's fantasy tale (he wrote it for his kids I believe) but it's riveting and also features one R.F. type as the bad guy. Simple stuff, but well written.

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CarloOos

CarloOos

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The Shining is his best, closely followed by The Stand.

The Dead Zone's good, as is Salem's Lot. Different Seasons is his best anthology by far.

Insomnia entertained me but it's daft as fuck, worth reading I guess. I'm not sure whether I'd call it good but it definitely kept me reading.

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TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap

TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap

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My favourites:

1. It

2. Pet Sematary

3. Desperation + The Regulators

4. The Green Mile

5. The Shining

6. The Stand

7. Misery

8. Four Past Midnight (especially 'The Langoliers')

9. Different Seasons (especially Shawshank Redemption and The Body)

10. Salem's Lot (currently listening to the audiobook version in the car)

Also, if you're interested in his life and how he writes, 'On Writing' is a great read. More interesting non-fiction in 'Danse Macabre' in which he explains what makes horror tick, with a huge amount of examples from literature, film and even radioplays.

I think Stephen King is a great writer, easily one of my favourites.

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