Stephen King

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rockycairns
ive just been introduced to this guy and hes awesome ive nearly finished Different Seasons a book which consists of four short stories such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Body (Stand by Me) and im eager to read more of his works

so which would you recommend ??

pr1983
Salems Lot, IT, Needful Things... those'd be favourites of mine...

dunno if there's a king thread already...

manorastroman
stephen king got me into reading a long time ago, because my middle school library had a fair amount of his works. in those three years i probably read about twenty or thirty king books.

pr1983
Originally posted by manorastroman
stephen king got me into reading a long time ago, because my middle school library had a fair amount of his works. in those three years i probably read about twenty or thirty king books.

my uncle had a huge horror collection, mainly king, so thats how i started... years ago... god its been so long...

need to read a new king book... probably read IT i think...

Ya Krunk'd Floo
The conclusion to The Dark Tower series made me want to smash light-bulbs into my eyes.

ragesRemorse
Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
The conclusion to The Dark Tower series made me want to smash light-bulbs into my eyes.

that is exactly how i felt at first. I felt cheated. After further contemplation however, i came to appreciate it. It was almost soley a book for the fans, because it was such a personal venture for King. It seemed to tie together the entire stpehen King universe. I think he tried to make the ending open ended for fans so they could create their own ending. I trully believe he tried his best to include his fans in the writing process. At first it felt just the opposite for me though.

ragesRemorse
Originally posted by rockycairns
ive just been introduced to this guy and hes awesome ive nearly finished Different Seasons a book which consists of four short stories such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Body (Stand by Me) and im eager to read more of his works

so which would you recommend ??

having read all of his works. I would highly suggest hearts in atlantis and eyes of the dragon (non horror-fantasy tale with a dark ages backdrop). these books are not horror, but showcase Kings dynamics as a writer. Your must read stories though are The talisman (science fiction venture revolving around alternate universes) and salems lot (pure horror), and the shining ( quite possibly the most atmospheric horror story i have read) and one of his most recent books the cell is a very easy and compelling read (story about armageddon with a twist) These are good books to read as a new king fan fan. king has a tendency to draw his stories out, but these four books to me are his shining achievments as a writer.

It is hard to become King fan unless you start out with the right books. you should start out with his easier reads, because sometimes he can be quite complex in his plot wievings. A rare book of his is the long walk, one of his first and very easy and fun weekend read.

but if you liked shawshank, i realy think youll like hearts in atlantis.

Nyarlathotep :P
Eyes of the Dragon was my first King book, and I was hooked instantly. Another classic is The Stand. Kind of like Cell in the Armaggedon-y feel, but instead of phones, it's a bio-weapon. I think it's a bit better than Cell because it tells who released it, why, and what happened to those affected. I suggest the expanded and revised edition. (same price, more book)

And if you liked The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile's about Death Row. There's also a movie for Shawshank if you're interested. It's pretty good.

manorastroman
looking through king's bibliography, i've read all but firestarter/needful things/delores claiborne/rose madder/everything he's done since dark tower seven. oh, and i guess i haven't read any of his non fiction except danse macabre. point being, out of all those, this is my top ten (no order):

the shining
the stand
the dead zone
the talisman
IT
Misery
Insomnia
desperation/regulators
danse macabre
the dark tower series

out of his short stories, i thought four past midnight, nightmares and dreamscapes, and night shift were all quite good.

hmm...maybe it's time for me to pick up a king book again. it's been a solid five years since i read any king outside of the dark tower franchise. i remember how it happened, too...i read "on the road" and started my "serious" literary career, which ironically led me to profoundly dislike "on the road".

mechmoggy
I started reading King at school, and have read most of his work. My favourite is probably "The Dark Half" or "Desperation", although I enjoy the short stories too - even if some are a little cheesey.

Bicnarok
I prefer James herbert.

http://www.james-herbert.co.uk

Gregory
I liked Rose Madder. It's not a book that seems to come up in conversation a lot, but check it out.

chillmeistergen
I've read a lot of King's work and I have to say that Insomnia was my favourite. It demonstrated King's ability to bring diversity into a suffering genre.
A good blend of genres is extremely hard to find and this book did it fantastically. Desperation was also a fantastic work. He seems to be one of the only authors around who can release so much work and the quality not suffer tremendously.

ragesRemorse
Originally posted by Bicnarok
I prefer James herbert.

http://www.james-herbert.co.uk

he's defintely easier to read than king

ADarksideJedi
Some of his books are good.But abit bloody for me.The only ones I like are "Misery" and "Carrie"jm

LoneUnknown
You should try Running Man, I couldn't put it down. The Green Mile and Misery are also really good.

leonidas
on writing was a great read -- not only for those interested in learning a little about writing, but for thoe interested in learning more about the WRITER himself. a very worthwhile read if you like king. smile

Kid Kurdy
"Dolores Claiborne " is an excellent book. Same for "Misery".

TRH
The lanoilers,Secret Window,and The Library Policeman all get a A+ from me

Prabhodh
He is one of my favorite authors. I'm reading Misery at the moment.

zombieman
For anyone that's into creative writing I strongly recommend 'On Writing', King's autobiography. It's very inspiring and full of sound advice. His account of his near-fatal accident reads as suspenfully as one of his novels.

Deano
the stand is one of my favourite books by king.

worth checking out

Kazenji
I got the shining and Night Shift the short story collection a while back have'nt got around to reading them.

Bicnarok
Ive just read "Cell" an excellent read, I can recommend it.

Nosada
Ol' Stephen.

I suggest the following:

- The Dark Tower series
- Eyes of the Dragon
- Salem's Lot
- Desperation
- The Shining

I've graduated from King to Koontz over the years. reading

RedAlertv2
Cell was only ok

Pandemoniac
Pumping out so much stories in his career, and most of them being rather good, he has my admiration. Check out his short stories like The Mist, The moving finger and Quitters inc. if you want to get a taste.
In case you like those, I recommend Misery, Pet Cemetery, Salem's lot, The stand & Needful things.

DARKLORDCAEDUS
Originally posted by Bicnarok
Ive just read "Cell" an excellent read, I can recommend it.


Cell was a very good novel. I hope the movie version is decent.

SelphieT
Ah man, I STILL haven't finished It. Its such a great book so far, but I always get so busy with other things, I completely forget about it.

I liked Carrie and 'Salem's Lot.

midnightshadow
with king i would recommened alot of his earlier works. you cant go wrong with carrie, the stand, the dead zone and it. alot of his newer work *cough* cell! *cough* i feel is just not up to par with his classics.
also if you like king i would recommend james herbert and dean koontz as well as shaun hutson. just be warned that hutson tends to be quite gory

rader
DARK TOWER!!! I loves it! I just finished Wizard and Glass. Really boring during parts, but an all around great read. BTW the first 50 pages or so in the gunslinger are incredibly boring so it may be hard to get into. But seriously read the tower

Zac-E
I've only read "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" but I'm reading "Misery" now.

Deano
Originally posted by TRH
The lanoilers,Secret Window,and The Library Policeman all get a A+ from me

yep all excellent short storys

for huge reading, read the stand.

for suffering and the feeling of hopelessness, read 'misery'

Deja~vu
I like some of Steven Kings books, but I really liked the Langolers. Suspenseful.

I'm not sure it was a book.

Neo Darkhalen
Originally posted by rockycairns
ive just been introduced to this guy and hes awesome ive nearly finished Different Seasons a book which consists of four short stories such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Body (Stand by Me) and im eager to read more of his works

so which would you recommend ??

Short story wise pick up Skeleton crew, there are loads of short stories in there and I am currently reading them, and most of the stories are good.

Full novels now that is a hard one you have the likes of, Salem's lot, Pet cemetery, The tommyknockers, the stand, firestarter, IT, Shining, Carrie, The running man, Cujo ect.

So I can't really recommend a select few novels since each one is great in a different way.

SnakeEyes
King is one of my favorite authors, hands down. That man's imagination is inspiring.

oakling
What do people think about his horror books versus non-horror? To me his horror seems kind of same-ish, at least in the language he uses. All his books sound alike to me.

Deano
Originally posted by Deja~vu
I like some of Steven Kings books, but I really liked the Langolers. Suspenseful.

I'm not sure it was a book.

it was a short story. a very good one too

celestialdemon
Originally posted by oakling
What do people think about his horror books versus non-horror? To me his horror seems kind of same-ish, at least in the language he uses. All his books sound alike to me.

Most of his stuff is horror, but when he does non-horror, he excels at it, also. Just read Hearts in Atlantis and The Green Mile. Both are excellent reads.

Linkinpark200
My brother just finished Cujo he said was a very good book ,ill read it soon once im done with Womens Murder Club Series.

Arctic
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, probably right next to Dean Koontz. So far from him I've read...

The Stand
It
Needful Things
Desperation
The Shining
Salems Lot
The Dark Half
Insomnia, and I'm on the fourth volume in the Dark Tower series, Wizard & Glass....S.K. rules.

ragesRemorse
you need to read the Talisman, eyes of the dragon and hearts in atlantis.

BUTTFREAK
I think he's not very smart really, I mean, he probably comes up with his stories by talking to little kids. IMO.

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