Stephen King

I'd also give a thumbs up to the stand. The only problem with the book is that it's a monster, so be ready to spend a lot of time chugging through it.

My ditto on the following:

The Stand
The Dark Tower series
The Green Mile
The Eyes of the Dragon

I am just repeating what a lot of others have said, but here goes anyway!

The Shawshank Redemption
The Long Walk
The Dark Tower books
The Green Mile
The Stand

The thing you have to judge with some of these is whether or not you can be "creeped out" or not. Like The Stand for instance: not "scary" in the classical way, but despite my love for it, I've only read it once because the thought of it creeps me out.

That being said, in addition to what others have mentioned, The Dead Zone is another of his that's less horror.

Eyes of the Dragon
The Dark Tower Books (though they go downhill after Book 4)
The Stand, cut or original
The Body (probably the best thing he's written)
Danse Macabre (marvelous tour of horror fiction and cinematic classics)
Rage, The Long Walk, and The Running Man -- he really is very good as Bachman

My two favorite King books are The Stand and IT, but I found IT to be far scarier.

Although the premise of The Stand may be scary, the book itself isn't...at least not a hide under the blankets, sleep with the lights on kind of scary.

If you want King at his best, but not overly scary, try his new anthology of short works, Just After Sunset. There is one very frightening story in there called "N." but the others aren't scary at all. Good stuff, though. Willa and The Gingerbread Girl are my favorite of that one.

Novels, The Green Mile and Hearts in Atlantis, yes, good books. Insomnia wasn't scary at all, and though most talk smack, I loved it. It has a very subtle sense of melancholy throughout too that just... makes it work. Lisey's Story, while strange, is a good one too. Rose Madder... you can see he was still very into Roland and the whole DT thing (not a fan of those, though I wish I could just read them... can't get past page four on the first one) but it's not bad... not great, but not scary either.

EFCollins said:

Rose Madder... you can see he was still very into Roland and the whole DT thing (not a fan of those, though I wish I could just read them... can't get past page four on the first one) but it's not bad... not great, but not scary either.

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You must overcome this! I agree, though, the first one is definitely the weakest. I, however, managed to plow through the first twenty or so pages, and that's when things really pick up. Like mondo-rocket-shooting-to-the-planet-Saturn pick up. Not in action, necessarily, but in characterization, comprehension, story, etc. And it doesn't slow down!...then you read the end part of book 4, and after that, it's pretty much hit and miss...:sigh:....

I still want to read the Dark Tower series. A coworker was telling me about it, and it sounds interesting. Especially how he puts characters from other books in it (i am kinda curious how that works). I will get to it one day.

Loved It, but it is one of his scariest, IMO. Very very good book though

Wait...no one's mentioned Dolores Claiborne!!!

I read it when I was fourteen- that was actually the first of many, many King books for me. Not too scary...actually, it made me angry (in a good way). The MC is a woman that everyone believes is a murderer who was never convicted, and the story of what actually happened unfolds through a series of flashbacks. (I think that's right...this was fifteen years ago, feel free to correct me!)

The darkness for me came from the fact that by the end, I was hoping she was a murderer. (I think I actually remember yelling "oh, just kill the bastard!" by the end.)

I did a book report on it.

The Long Walk was one of my favorite SK stories. I really enjoyed The Green Mile.
On Writing is one of my favorite SK books, lots of food for thought.

Satori1977 said:

I still want to read the Dark Tower series. A coworker was telling me about it, and it sounds interesting. Especially how he puts characters from other books in it (i am kinda curious how that works). I will get to it one day.

Loved It, but it is one of his scariest, IMO. Very very good book though

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I'm in the middle of The Waste Lands (third book), and it's very, very good.

I agree with most of the suggestions. Yeah, It is probably too creepy for starters, but it was one of my favorites. As for The Stand . . . Warning warning warning. Do not read if you have a head cold. I read it during a bout of acute sinusitus. Had nightmares. Besides, it's really long and not one of my favorite stories. I read it for posterity.

And avoid Dreamcatcher. Not overly scary, but super icky.

beezle said:

I'm in the middle of The Waste Lands (third book), and it's very, very good.

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It was a great book. But the one that comes after, Wizard and Glass? I think that's the best one in the series, with The Gunslinger following close behind.

Waiting so long for it was agonizing, though.

You know, I got into King via his short story collections. He has some great ones, too. Maybe that's the way to start.

I have read every novel and short story collection that king has produced EXCEPT for his book Rage which he took off the market after a kid used it as an inspiration for a school shooting.

I concur with most recommendations. King has gone through phases with his writing and although he is known for Horror, his strongest books are not very horror in the classic sense. He spins the horror stories out of things of life. For instance, The Shinning was more about alcoholism than ghosts. Pet Semetary is about lossing a child. Doleres Clairbourn is about child molestation and what it does to a family. The Green Mile is about capital punishment. Misery is about obsessive fans. Many of his books take something that happens in the real world and spins them into a horror or some other genre.

Somethings that King does real well:

• He portrays interactions between kids that are believable and I find myself many times thinking, "God, he really remembers what it was like to be with your friends as a kid". (IT, Stand By Me).
• His senior citizen characters and their interactions are highly developed. (Insomnia and others)
• When there are groups of characters all working toward some goal, he handles the interactions in interesting ways. (The Stand, Cell, The Dark Tower Series).

This post is gettin long I could talk about his work for a long time. One note, After Sunset his recent short story collection was pretty good, kind of a return to the King style writing that he had in his prime. Not every book hits it out of the park, but he is an enjoyable read for most people.

Mister Lister, if you really want to read Rage you can find it in:

The Bachman Books : Four Early Novels by Richard Bachman (Rage / The Long Walk / Roadwork / The Running Man).

I found a copy in my local library.

I'd definitely recommend Different Seasons. I really enjoyed all of the stories in it except for Apt Pupil - and that one would be the closest to scary/icky out of the four. The Body and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption are fantastic.

King's short fiction really is pretty extraordinary, if ya ask me. And certainly a more comfortable introduction to his work than some of his novels if you're not "into" horror.

Cranky said:

King's short fiction really is pretty extraordinary, if ya ask me. And certainly a more comfortable introduction to his work than some of his novels if you're not "into" horror.

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Have you read "Just After Sunset"? Greatness, seriously.

Not yet, but it's on my wish list. *nudges husband*

Cranky said:

Not yet, but it's on my wish list. *nudges husband*

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Ha! Tell him to get on it. But for real, it's got some pretty heavy stuff. Except for "N", which will just scare the bejesus out of you.

*joneses*

I'll second the once (only once?) mentioned Delores Claiborne. I think that's one of his very best, and it's not horror.

Not mentioned yet: Bag of Bones.

This was my favorite book for a long time after I read it. Some of the realest characters I've ever read. I didn't find it scary, really. It's more a love story than anything. But there's ghosts too & all sorts of puzzle pieces of plot. Great book.

I'll second (third, fourth, fifth?) From a Buick 8. I would describe it as tense and thoroughly creepy, rather than downright scary. And as someone else mentioned, it's a "horror" novel that's about a lot more than horror - it's about loss and anger and acceptance far more than it's about the car.

And if it's just a rehash of Christine, I'll just be over here hoping hard that he'll rehash the rest of his earlier work in a like fashion. =) I could clear some shelf room for that, I think!