Best Stephen King Book

[mlwilliams]

I've only read Under The Dome, which is one of my favourite books now, but I have The Stand and The Dark Tower series ready and waiting. What I'm looking forward to is his latest book which is released later this year, 11/22/63, which is about some guy that goes back in time to prevent JFK's assassination. I think we all know what the twist is already don't we?

[Pony Princess]

IT, Misery and Pet Semetary scared the shit out of me. The Bachman books and Hearts in Atlantis get points for his non-scary stuff. Rose Madder isn't up there but that was pretty good.

 

Am I going mad or... at the end of IT don't they defeat the creature by all running a train (fucking one after the other) on the only girl in the group?

 

Gee! That wasn't in the film!

[Paul]

For me it's Different Seasons. Here's a description I stole earlier.

 

 

 

I enjoy all of the stories above and I read this book on a regular basis (just a month ago as well)

 

When I was younger it was James Herbert that was scaring the shit out of me with his books.

Wise words, mate. Different Seasons is an incredible collection of stories and is also my favourite. Check out the new issue of Empire magazine as they've got a long feature on it and the three adaptations that have been made of the stories, bar The Breathing Method. I reckon you'll deffo enjoy it.

I voted for "The Stand".

 

A great story / epic road-trip which for me pretty much sums up the King books that I've read : he writes a fantastic story, but his endings aren't of the same standard.

 

Never been remotely scared by one of Stephen King's books, and the last one I read, "Insomnia", descended into farcical bollocks.

 

For horror / whodunit's, you can't beat Michael Slade.

 

I'm not a fan of horror at all, be it in literary or cinematic format, and so I haven't read many of his horror stories. However, I read Salem's Lot and was completely underwhelmed from that perspective. That said, there are bits of Duma Key that are properly creepy and had me checking the shadows nervously while reading it.

 

I must also agree with your point on his great stories with disappointing endings. I'd deffo include The Stand, The Dark Tower series and Under The Dome in that category. In fact, that's another reason to love the stories in Different Seasons because they don't fall into the same trap, in my opinion. The Green Mile is also exempt from that criticism.

 

Also agree with Brendan about how good it is to see the literary acceptance of his work now. I think he's a cracking wordsmith and not simply a story teller.

[Karl_b]

I've only ever read The Dark Tower series so I'll be using this poll as a buying guide.

[Edward.]

IT, The Stand, The Talisman and of his recent ones I really enjoyed Duma Key. Out of the Dark Tower series my favourite was probably The Drawing of the Three.

[Edward.]

Hmm I really like Christine too.

[silverlining]

I enjoyed tommyknockers the most of what I've read and the first half of IT. I listened to the dome on audio book it was brilliantly narrated.

 

 

The Tommyknockers is almost delirious nonsense at times, although I did enjoy it.

 

Tellingly, King was so fucked on coke and booze when he wrote it, that he can't remember writing it.

[aws]

I loved The Dark Tower series but it's a close call between IT and The Stand.

 

If you like King - try The Passage by Justin Cronin - he's borrowed loads from King but the outcome is up there with King's best and I don't say that lightly.

[Glass Kop]

Voted for Under The Dome, purely because I read it before The Stand. Both great books.

[cochyn]

It for me. Borrowed it off a mate when I was 15 and spent every spare minute I had reading it. I thought it was epic at the time and a real "Whoah, shit!" read with greater scope than he'd done before.

 

The Dark Tower series started brilliantly but really suffered for the long break between The Wastelands (amazing book) and Wizard and Glass (ponderous). The beauty of Stephen King's writing up to that point was the narrative space he gave the reader to imagine the scene. His later, weightier tomes went into too much detail and I just felt a bit railroaded by them.

 

Cracking poll, rep due.

 

 

Am I going mad or... at the end of IT don't they defeat the creature by all running a train (fucking one after the other) on the only girl in the group?

 

Gee! That wasn't in the film!

 

Aye, they did. The film had them lining up for a peck on the cheek. It would have been a diffierent film if Harmony Korine had directed it... :whistle:

[The Special One]

I didn't like Cell at all. I try to forget I read it. Honorable mention to The Long Walk as well. I had a copy of that book (yes, back when we read from actual books) that was nearly in tatters, I'd read it so much.

[Sugar Ape]

New King book out in November this year. Called 11.22.63. Not sure what to make of it.

 

11.22.63: Amazon.co.uk: Stephen King: Books

 

Product Description

WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11/22/63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless . . .

 

King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

 

With extraordinary imaginative power, King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.

[Sugar Ape]

If anyone gets his new book which came out the other day put a review up. Not sure whether to get it.

 

11.22.63: Amazon.co.uk: Stephen King: Books

[KMD7]

I voted Christine as it was the first of his I've read. I was 13!! Had fucking nightmares after I finished it for a while. The film version was fucking shit though was very disappointed when I saw it. King is brilliant isn't he, that's one freakishly disturbed mind at work there.

[Carvalho Diablo]

While I'm not a massive fan of Stephen King's (too many of his books end anti-climactically imo), and I haven't read anything at all by him that has scared the shit outta me, but what I do love about his books is that very real sense of Americana.

 

King's books always seem really "homely" as well, very atmospheric.

 

Probably done a shite job of explaining myself there, sorry.

[A_S]

'It' was epic, creepy as fuck, just brilliant though! Definitely have to get onto The Stand though...

[Anubis]

Not solely King, as it was co-authored with Peter Straub, but I love The Talisman as well.

[silverlining]

Not solely King, as it was co-authored with Peter Straub, but I love The Talisman as well.

 

I read The Talisman when I was about 14 or so and it blew my fucking head off.

 

I enjoyed the sequel "Black House" too, although I suspect I liked Straub's creepy serial killer bits more than King's overblown Tower-related/ Breaker/ King Crimson fucking nonsense.

[El Rojo]

I read It whe I was about 14 or 15. Amazing book, especially at that age. He nails being a kid/young teenager so well. I enjoyed The Stand but didn't find it half as affecting as It.

 

"We all float down here, Georgie..."

 

For one of his later books, Hearts In Atlantis is pretty great too.

 

I read Duma Key last year and found it a bit underwhelming and King-by-numbers. I'm not sure where he has left to go with his traditional themes. Most of the second half of Atlantis is straight bat, non-supernatural in nature and is all the better for it.

[Edward.]

If anyone gets his new book which came out the other day put a review up. Not sure whether to get it.

 

11.22.63: Amazon.co.uk: Stephen King: Books

 

 

Okay only read 150 pages or so, but I'm really enjoying it. He's does his typical thing and his main character bumps into a couple of characters from a previous book(sound familiar) which I quite like really, (Derry 1958 I'll leave it to your imagination) mind I enjoyed it when they bumped into him too.

 

It does get straight into the story, right from the start.

[aws]

Okay only read 150 pages or so, but I'm really enjoying it. He's does his typical thing and his main character bumps into a couple of characters from a previous book(sound familiar) which I quite like really, (Derry 1958 I'll leave it to your imagination) mind I enjoyed it when they bumped into him too.

 

It does get straight into the story, right from the start.

 

Not one of his best but it's a good read. Might be a bit slow for some in the middle but he's just taking his time to draw the characters and the period.

[mattyq]

Hadn't read any King for years but i read Dreamcatchers at Christmas and really enjoyed it.

The Stand, IT, The Talisman and Black House are my favourites - think i'm going to reread IT pretty soon...he's a great writer

[Elmyn Noos]

I've never read a Stephen King book, and probably never will. Horror, either book or film, just bores the shit out of me. I can count the number of horror films I've seen on one hand.

[withnail71]

11.22.63

Fucking outstanding book. I am currently on page 275 and it is mesmerising.

[Edward.]

I wouldn't really call them all horror.