Stephen King

You may be right. I may have got this bit confused with the film where Jack sits at his computer - sorry typewriter - typing 'Redrum' endlessly. If I had to use one of those typewriter things I think I would end up doing the same as they look like murder (redrum)!

I want to buy and read my FIRST stephen king novel. I've seen a few movies (The Shining, Misery, Pet Cemetery, Dolores Claiborne and a few others) but I've never read anything by him.

I just started "On Writing" but want to read something fictional.

What would be, in your opinion, the greatest or your absolute favorite and recommended title of his for me to read first? Throw a few at me, I'll research them and pick one.

Thank you!

Hi Jennifer. This is a tricky one. I like the ones that I think are his earliest best. Carrie is his first but I think he was on a learning curve. Salem's Lot is out and out horror and a great story. My personal favourite is IT as it has the perfect mixture of horror, great characters and it takes me back three or four years to when I was a kid. Another great one is The Stand. This one is apocalyptic and a bit scary concerning viruses and the times we live in.

I don't know if I'm ready for horror yet. I know, this may be tough to avoid with Stephen King novels but I'd like something to challenge me and keep me in suspense without causing me to fear the dark.

I'll look into the Stand.

Has anybody read "The Dark Half"?

I'd love to get my hands on "Everythings' Eventual" but I refuse to purchase mass market paperbacks.

jennifer75 said:

Has anybody read "The Dark Half"?

I'd love to get my hands on "Everythings' Eventual" but I refuse to purchase mass market paperbacks.

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Why?

I am somewhat of a Stephen King fanatic. I love pretty huch anything that he has written. In my opinion his best are It, The Stand and Lisey's Story (his new one) i actually just posted about this on my blog a week or so ago.

I would recommend one of the earlier ones to start off like Carrie, Christine or 'Salems Lot. But they are all good.

beezle said:

Why?

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I'd love to get my hands on it because the stories seem interesting.

I hate mass market paperbacks because they are so small. I like trade paperbacks. I also hate hardcovers.

I'm wondering if anybody has read The Dark Half because I'm contemplating reading it myself, and would like opinions on it.

~ I wasn't sure which part you were asking WHY about....so I answered them all.

The Dark Half was pretty good. I liked it.

I may start with Needful Things.

Needful Things is also, very good, although the you may need to ready christine and Cujo before reading needful things, there is a lot of crossover between those books.

The Scip said:

Needful Things is also, very good, although the you may need to ready christine and Cujo before reading needful things, there is a lot of crossover between those books.

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As in I would be confused without reading them, or are there character references? I'm so confused. I went to borders express at lunch, and they didnt have it so I'm without for the moment. I did see both Cujo and Carrie however.

Well, Jennifer, if you don't want to be afraid of the dark, don't start with The Shining (a much better book than any movie). It's my all-time favorite, however, since nothing grabs me like a good 'haunted house' story (emphasis on good).

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a great book, imho, and isn't a go-for-your-throat horror story. My husband and I actually recommended it to his kids. Bag of Bones was also a very good story that, while nice and creepy at times, was actually one of the most romantic books I've ever read. I highly recommend that one.

It's funny, I've never seen anyone on here mention Desperation or The Regulators (two completely inter-connected books). I liked the concept of the same basic story told from two compeltely different settings, characters, manner.

Those are the ones that come to mind offhand that I would recommend for a Stephen King 'virgin'.

Enjoy.

When Big Steve is on his game he's very good. The Shining, The Stand, It, Salem's Lot, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and Misery are some of my absolute favorites.

I didn't dig Cujo, Pet Sematary, The Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher, Insomnia or Cell at all. Cell was the last book of King's I read and besides being a reworking of The Stand the ending was so abrupt and unsatisfying it had me looking to see if I was missing a page or two.

On Writing should be in any aspiring author's collection of essential books on the craft. King may overdo his "everyman author" persona at times, but his humility is refreshing in a medium where egos often run rampant.

I even enjoy his essays in Entertainment Weekly. The one he wrote ripping into Nancy Grace was terrific.

Good King or Bad King, there's no doubting he IS the king.

Just got my copy of On Writing today, and picked up Nightmares and Dreamscapes, too.

I would recommend Delores Claiborne for anyone who doesn't want something that is out and out horror. The voice in it is wonderful. Misery is another good one. It's scary and creepy but won't keep you awake at night.

If you like a good ghost story, Bag of Bones is the best. The Green Mile isn't really horror either, and I recommend it to everyone. They are both favorites of mine. My all time favorite, though, is The Stand.

jennifer75 said:

Has anybody read "The Dark Half"?

I'd love to get my hands on "Everythings' Eventual" but I refuse to purchase mass market paperbacks.

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Everything's Eventual is listed on Paperback Swap, if you're interested. Check it out.

I really enjoyed the Regulators and Desperation! I thought they were great, but I didn't think anyone else liked them becuase I never hear anyone talk about them.

Pet Semetary scared the hell out of me. As did IT. I really like Needful Things and didn't think it was nessary to read Cujo or Christine to really get them. If you read his work there are constant refrecnes to other books in his stories. It's all about creating a world

I said it earlier and I'll say it again: I love The Shining.

But anyway, I enjoyed The Dark Half; it has such a great story. And it has a memorable line in it that still sticks with me today: "When you f*ck with me, you're f*cking with the best!"

Tommyknockers I only read once and didn't like it.

Cujo is good.

Salem's Lot is awesome.

I have to admit, I did not like The Regulators or Desperation.

The Stand is excellent, but I wouldn't make it my first foray into SK books.

Pet Sematary is good, and surprisingly, the movie is almost dead on. (ha!)

allen

I'm depressed because I think I've read all of King's good work, leaving only mediocrities like The Dark Half and Rose Madder. (Both of which I started but never finished -- The Dark Half had terribly stilted characters, and Rose Madder was just plain bilge.) My favorites are probably The Stand, The Shining, Firestarter, and It. And Cujo, and Pet Sematary, and the whole Dark Tower series EXCEPT for the book The Dark Tower. That book was an absolute betrayal; the ending, I've forgiven him for, but the book in general was a meandering through wordiness and languor.

Cell felt watered-down and strained -- Misery! Oh, Misery! Dolores Claiborne ... Christine ... he's written so many fantastic books. The Green Mile is an excellent read, and well-suited to the reader who hasn't encountered King before.

dyljos said:

eyes of the dragon is amazing!

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Hooray! I agree. Loved this one.

arainsb123 said:

I'm depressed because I think I've read all of King's good work, leaving only mediocrities like The Dark Half and Rose Madder. (Both of which I started but never finished -- The Dark Half had terribly stilted characters, and Rose Madder was just plain bilge.) My favorites are probably The Stand, The Shining, Firestarter, and It. And Cujo, and Pet Sematary, and the whole Dark Tower series EXCEPT for the book The Dark Tower. That book was an absolute betrayal; the ending, I've forgiven him for, but the book in general was a meandering through wordiness and languor.

Cell felt watered-down and strained -- Misery! Oh, Misery! Dolores Claiborne ... Christine ... he's written so many fantastic books. The Green Mile is an excellent read, and well-suited to the reader who hasn't encountered King before.

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I'll just go point by point....

- I liked the Dark Half. I didn't think it was brilliant, or his best, but I enjoyed reading it. I thought it was a good story.

- Okay, I didn't like Rose Madder either. But I did like Rose Red, which is unrelated except for the word "Rose."

- Very much enjoyed The Stand. I don't think it was his best work, but it was a damn good book.

- Did Not Like the Shining. I don't know why. Like Desperation, I just didn't get into it.

- Firestarter was another one. It felt like he was explaining Carrie for us, if that makes sense.

- It was a wonderful television mini-series, with Harry Anderson and Tim Curry as Pennywise. The book wasn't bad, but while my wife enjoyed it, I really didn't. I thought it meandered, and the ending bamboozled me. I won't spoil it for anyone here, but I will say Turtle..? in confusion, and leave it at that.

- Cujo and Pet Semetary were examples of Stephen King's sheer ability, in that he took concepts that should have only been short stories, and he made them novels, and very good novels at that.

- Haven't finished Dark Tower yet. I have it on audio book, with the wonderful George Guidall (who also did American Gods) reading it, and I'm just starting Wizard and Glass.

- Cell was hands down my favorite Stephen King book. It was fast and gleeful and menacing. It was like Stephen King standing up and saying "Hey, mudduhfugguh, I'm still here." That said, I wanted one damn paragraph more at the ending. Was that too much to hope for?

- Misery was the only book I've ever read where I stopped reading for a moment realized that I was pushing myself back into the couch away from the book in tension and alarm. My level of tension and revulsion were nearly unbearable. It was an astonishing book.

- Dolores Clairborne, I haven't read. It's next on my Stephen King list. Christine I also haven't read, and for some reason, haven't felt the urge to do so. Probably should.

- The Green Mile was beautiful. (possibly the last good movie Tom Hanks/Ron Howard made...) Stephen King can go from harsh and alarming to gentle in an instant, and that's part of his power.

- May I also add Needful Things to the list? I had trouble getting into it for a hundred pages or so, but once I was in, I couldn't get back out. I enjoyed it. But this is probably because I enjoyed The Dark Half and it features some of the same characters.

- My favorite examples of Steve King's writing, actually, are his short stories. Secret Window, for example, is one of my all-time favorite pieces of writing from anyone (and the movie is never far from the top of my list).

Every Stephen King book I've read, I've had to drag myself through...there are a number I've put down in boredom.

At the moment I'm struggling with Lisey's Story. I want to see what everyone else sees in SK, but...

But then, I am a weirdo. I've managed to finish the much-maligned Rose Madder and Dreamcatcher!

Absolutely loved Salem's Lot. My favorite horror book of all time. Also loved Eyes of the Dragon. Have read pretty much anything King has written except for the series. I'm really not too much into his short stories, but really like the novels.

I think King is great. I've enjoyed pretty much everything of his I've read.

My fave King books:

Salem's Lot
The Shining
The Stand
The Tommyknockers
Hearts in Atlantis

Not being a horror fan per se, Hearts in Atlantis is the one I liked the most. The one that freaked me out the most had to be Salem's Lot.

I haven't finished the Dark Tower series yet, so I'm holding off judgement on that.