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Reading my first Stephen King novel - What are your favorites?
I picked up Fairy Tale because I like fantasy. I'm really enjoying it. Also in the time I have spent on the book suggestions and book discussions subreddits, I have noticed that he is still a much loved author.
So if I want to explore his work, where should I start?
I have read a lot of Stephen King, and I would say he has a few main "categories" of his writing: horror (supernatural, often with a dose of naturally-occurring bad human behaviour); non-horror (often commenting on humanity, especially through the eyes of children); Dark Tower (a sept/octology with many references to other books); short stories (many have supernatural elements, many don't); and nonfiction. They all have a different flavour and feel. My favourite books of his are the non-horror, but he also does horror really well. He also writes fantastic short stories, and he's one of my favourite short story authors. He also has some recurring characters (The Walking Dude) and communities (Castle Rock), which may affect how much you like each novel, depending on how familiar you are with the King-iverse.
I'll try to give a bit of insight into what might be a good place to start, depending on your mood:
Horror:
(His early career focused a lot on these, and they are some of his most iconic works, but I don't know if the early ones always tap into the human element as well, which is one of his greatest strengths.)
Non-horror
Dark Tower
Took a long hiatus from here, and the books get long and have a different feel
Wolves of the Calla (long)
Song of Susannah (not as long, starts including a lot of other characters from the Kingiverse)
The Dark Tower (long)
Short Stories and Novellas
If I had to recommend, I'd say Eyes of the Dragon is a great starting place if you're into fantasy, and you might want to check out the first two books of Dark Tower (if you don't like Eddie and the gang in book 2, it's probably not worth sticking around). You might also want to try reading book versions of films you've watched - I think the Shining is a fantastic novel and really goes much, much deeper than the film, The Green Mile is pretty amazing, and the novellas from Different Seasons are also really great. I personally love Nightmares and Dreamscapes, too, and that might give you a bit of the overall flavour of his writing to help you choose where you might want to go next. I haven't read as much of his recent work (too busy, sadly), but he has written a lot of different kinds of stories, and there's likely something he's written that you might like. I would avoid the super long and super weird stuff for now, unless you're into that, but things like It get really weird. Enjoy!
Book 1 of Dark Tower is definitely more of a prelude to Book 2 than anything else.
For (non-meta) reasons I will absolutely not discuss before the unspoiled, I consider The Gunslinger to be more of a parallel (perpendicular?) thing. Still should be read though.
I consider the foundation it lays to be too critical to be skipped as some suggest. Four events in particular, as well as firmly establishing the lens through which we should consider the gunslinger's actions throughout.
Generally, I tell people that unlike most books/series where I think 5 chapters is enough to judge, you have to get through part 1 of book two before you pass judgement on whether to cry off the quest. Besides, it has the greatest opening line I've ever read.
To add on to the Dark Tower series, after King finished it he wrote the novel The Wind Through the Keyhole, which takes place after Wizard and Glass but before Wolves of Calla. It is arguably the best book in the series and worth reading, even if it does not move Roland's seeking of the Dark Tower forward. It is my second favorite book in the series after Wizard and Glass.
I didn't know about this one! I knew a bunch of different adaptations came out and I didn't keep up with the news. Might be time to visit my local library...
Fairy Tale is part of King's most recent writing category, coincidentally debuted in his elder years: Kindly And Upright Teens Patiently Look After Grumpy Elderly People ;)
The dog steals the show. But it's also excellent portal fantasy and excellent epic good vs evil fantasy and for me a very satisfying revisit to several fairy tales and fables.
Oh, absolutely, I quite enjoyed it. King is still writing very well. People who only know his older work (which had much longer to become widely known) should definitely look into some of his more recent stuff.
11/22/63 bar none. It hints at the well known characters of his. It's got great plot and great characters. The historical depth and research that went into it is super fun. It's also just a fun concept.
As a life-long King reader, this feels like his best work.
I think one of the main reasons is that, for me, King's endings have felt pretty weak to me at times, and he absolutely nails it from start to finish here.
The miniseries adaptation isn't awful either.
I also thought he nailed the ending of Fairy Tale.
I consider Insomnia one of his best. In part because it's one of the few books out there that are almost completely unadaptable to film but works so well as a novel. And because even if it's not his best writing, it's one that had me pondering it on ocassion for years after.
I would be curious for him to take another go at something like that now that he's 8 year's over Ralph's age.
Not awful but not great either. Doesn’t help that it’s James Franco who is absolutely cancelled. But art apart from artist, it’s a good interpretation of the book. But the book is a different beast
I think the Franco cancellation is the biggest setback for it. Other than that I remember thinking it was fairly faithful.
But you're right - the book is still a bit different and is still my favorite piece from him.
He credits Jack Finney and his novel Time and Again as inspiration. It’s also an excellent time travel novel, taking place mostly in 1880s NYC. Finney wrote Invasion of the Body Snatchers, too, which is excellent.
The Stand is a great epic, a post apocalyptic book that takes a turn to a religious good vs evil showdown.
IT is maybe my favorite book of his, a great horror story that is maybe his best start-to-finish storytelling.
Of course there is his magnum opus, the Dark Tower series. A truly grand story spread across 8 books that weave across different universes and sometimes collide with his other novels. Highly recommend if you are willing to put the time in, the first few books are worth it by themselves.
I'll second the Dark Tower series. I think the series is uneven, bring written across several decades of King's life, but some of the books are inarguably amazing. The Gunslinger and Wizard and Glass are my favorites from the series.
I'll also make a plug for Lisey's Story, which is, among many things, a study in a marriage.
I shamefully DNF book 6 after a certain character appeared... I couldn't get past it feeling too indulgent.
I thought it was pretty consistent with the themes and structure of the story. Liked the famous ending, too.
There's , uh, grosser stuff that did a much better job of putting me off (not enough to make me quit though).
King has many strengths, but sex scenes is not one of them.
My spouse observed that, at least in fanfic, the writers who are best at worldbuilding are the worst at smut, and vice versa.
The Tower is a treasty on storytelling, and while it definitely felt a hard turn, I can't say it was completely out of place given his sudden motivation to not leave an unfinoshed life's work.
If you enjoy Fairy Tale then I have to recommend Eyes of the Dragon. That was maybe my second Stephen King book and it was - and still is - amazing.
I really like his not scary work, which i never find to be scary at all. 11.22.63, Cujo, Shawshank, The Shining — all great. the Mr Mercedes trilogy was okay at first but twisted in a corny direction.
For the most part, i’d you recognize a title of his, it’ll be pretty good.
I've read IT, The Shining and Running Man, out of those, I enjoyed The Running Man most, but The Shining is definitely a close second.
Fairy Tale is a fun read and also sticks in my brain in way that a lot of books don't. I think it's because of the notion of a hidden portal to another world...
That said, Salem's Lot is by far my favorite of his horror stories and 11.22.63 is phenomenal - my favorite book of his overall.
I just finished Fairy tale and I found it a masterful compelling work of fantasy
Salem's Lot is what pigeonholed him as a horror writer in the public's eye, but even in his non-horror works his ability to describe things in such a visceral way can still make me squirm.
Needful Things is one of my favorites because it's the first time I really recognized his talent for creating characters and their motivations. Not sure that I agree with Cheep_Cheep's assessment of it being his most depressing or having to really know Castle Rock to enjoy it, but to each their own...
I've also really enjoyed his short story collections. They're like reading R-rated Twilight Zone stories.
I guess I read Needful Things somewhere toward the middle of my reading arc, and I found the tone and treatment of Castle Rock denizens pretty different from other entries in the canon. I think it was intended to be the final story in Castle Rock, and that trajectory made me sad, but I could totally see how someone else might get a different impression. It's very intricate and well-written, but to me, sad to see how things proceed.
Honestly my favorites of his are his short stories. I like a lot of his major works but dislike the endings but the short stories often nail it.
Other than that and the many recommendations already made, i think a solid favorite of mine is running man
It's been a very long time since I read his stuff, so at this point I probably couldn't get into super detail about why I liked each one, but I do remember Firestarter and Misery as my favorites. I think Thinner was alright as well.
I'm not into horror, so that precludes a large chunk of his work.
I enjoyed The Shining a lot when I first read and listened to it. The part about topiary gave me a real scare. Also, the inner monologue of Jack, Wendy, and Danny were amazing.
I just want to mention the Dark Tower audiobooks. I'm not an audiobook guy, but a dear friend encouraged me to experience the Dark Tower series that way first, and I'm glad I did. The readers were so talented... I just have to recommend it.
RIP Frank Muller. I wish he could have seen it through.
I do think, to paraphrase King in his intro to the unabridged The Stand, that audiobooks and video adaptations somewhat limit the imagination of the reader. Anybody who watched Wizard of Oz before reading the books will attach Judy Garland to Dorothy. And it certainly has its ups and downs.
I want to mention " the talisman". Because I skimmed the thread and didn't see it. Its one of my favorites. I kept thinking of it when I read Fairy Tale. It's a very similar story and vibe. I liked talisman better but that might just be because I read it when I was young.
Insomnia is another favorite of mine.
The Dark Tower series is the axle upon which the world of Stephen king spins. You should eventually get around to that if you want to explore his books.