Stephen King

KRIS VL

I much like Stephen King. He is considered being a writer of horror stories. But that is not fair to him. My personal favourite up to now is Dolores Claiborne, both in book and film.

buck65

King is a good writer. Loved him as a kid. Read alot of his stuff - Salem's Lot, Shining, Misery, Tommyknockers, the Bachman books - long walk is a favourite. Recently read some of his short stories , Everything's Eventual. Decent enough.
Far better than alot of stuff out there. Good fanbase on this forum too.

Noffles

I got hold of The Talisman on audio book on the weekend, started listening to it yesterday in the car, read it years ago and loved it, was nice to hear it being read out in the car, the missus is also a fan so can listen to it driving to and from work..

The book itself is awesome and still can't understand why it's not a film yet.... a ruined film I would imagine!

TWEEK1979

The Stand is probably my favourite book ever. Also the Dark Tower series and Eye of the Dragon. The Bachman books are another favorite of mine - in particular The Long Walk and The Running Man.

Note that none of the above titles would be classified as horror.

If I were to choose from his horror genre i'd have to go with The Dark Half or Pet Sematery.

Speculator

I like King, currently reading the Dome

sxt

King is masterful storyteller .Every book I have read og his has been enjoyable. My favourite would be "The Stand" also.

Evan93

Planning to start "The Stand" tomorrow,heard it's an excellent book.

Posy

Yeah, I think Stephen King is amazing. I do like his horror stuff best, but to say he's a horror writer only does him justice when you appreciate what an amazing writer of prose he is. His books are the sort that stay with you, and in my opinion are often re-readable several times. I've never seen the film 'Stephen King's The Shining', only the Jack Nicholson version but it's meant to be really faithful to the book so I'll have to find it some time.
OP, I've never read 'Dolores Claiborne' to my shame, I'll have to add it to my reading list.

LadyLee

I must read Dolores Clairbourne.... "IT" was one of my favourites...Scaaary stuff:eek:

genericguy

i'm a huge king fan, although i do think some of his books are awful. at the same time though, with so many books under his belt they can't all please everybody. 'the stand' is my favourite book, and i recently read 'under the dome' which is quite similar, and also outstanding.

Magic Eight Ball

Massive Stephen King fan.
'IT' scared the bejesus out of me, had to stop reading it before bed.
'The Stand' is nothing short of a masterpiece, by far my favorite book of all time.

Also loved Salem's Lot and Christine. Was never a fan of The Shining.

Posy

Trevor Coulahan wrote: »

'IT' scared the bejesus out of me, had to stop reading it before bed.

Ha, me too- I'd have to sleep with the light on sometimes after it!

Malice

I'm also a fan of Mr. King. I think his older stuff is his best. Once he sobered up the stories weren't quite as good.

ian8746

Have been a massive fan for the last 20 years. Lost weeks reading "The Stand", which is one of the finest books ever written. Have just gotten his new book and will start it as soon as I finish "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

fontanalis

Any read Different Seasons? He shows he's more than a horror author in that.

betsyanne

I also really like Stephen King a lot. His book On Writing, is a terrific book for writers. He explains how he used to put his rejected books on a big nail and just kept on trying.

I liked the Stand as a mini-series. I haven't read the book yet, but I have read many others of his. I liked The Shining. There was a lot in the book that didn't make it to the movie (like the fire hose that came alive...)

Sconsey

The Long Walk, which he wrote under the name of Bachman (I think) is a fine example of why he is more than just a horror writer, it's a great story.

'It' was the first ever 'big' book I read, brilliant, I've re-read at least twice.

Haven't been too impressed with some of his latest stuff (Duma Key for example) but am looking forward to reading the Dome.

unknownlegend

I do recommend the complete version of the Stand - far and away his best, along with different seasons and the shining. After a while the writing can seem to lack depth. But then i try another writer and the vast majority of them dont stand up to kings character development, the large tangents are addictive :-)

goldeneyes

I've read The Shining, some of his short stories (including The Mist) and Dreamcatcher.

While i thought the shining was brilliant (and yes, raging about the fact that the film didnt feature the fire hose, the woman in the bath, and the hedge animals) and the short stories were good, i really didnt like a lot of things about Dreamcatcher, it had a great beginning and i loved the dynamic the four lads had but when it started to pace up to the climax i was kind of not interested. it's like the ending was just tacked on. Dont get me started on the movie, a scar on morgan freeman's career if you ask me.

It probably confirms that his older stuff is a lot better. might try a classic from him next.

ian8746

I agree, the older books make a much better read then the newer stuff. Carrie, IT, Cujo are some of the scariest books you could read.

Dreamcatcher started well but by the end you felt like you wasted a week of your life reading this. Cell was not bad but felt a lot like a poor mans version of The Stand.

Have Under The Dome to read next. Hopefully it is Stephen King at his best

Flash86

Big King fan. Started with the Dark Tower Series and then read all the books that had references and connections to it. By then I was hooked.

I'm about half way through Under The Dome at the moment. It may not be as good as The Stand but it's still very strong. Some great characters in it.

beans

I'd love to see 'IT' remade as a decent film. I nominate David Fincher for the job Amazing book.

Echo what's been said about his older work being better. Some of my favourite stories live within the pages of 'Night Shift' - 'Last Rung On The Ladder' being an exceptional example. In fact, his short stories and essays on writing have brought me back time and time again. He also got me interested in HP Lovecraft, and probably in scary things in general.

cassiusclay

Good storyteller bad writer.

sheesh

loved the dark tower series read it last year although the ending of the last book was a bit of a letdown but the journey getting there was brilliant.:)

sxt

cassiusclay wrote: »

Good storyteller bad writer.

A bad writer could not be a good storyteller

sxt

I read "Pet Semetary" again recently ,a book I couldn't have appreciated as much when I was younger .I think it is my favourite behind "the stand". A dark novel with some very touching and humourous moments .Doe anybody else love this one?

CatFromHue

yep i read it (Pet Semetary) last year and it was one of my favourite books of the year.

Needful things is also pretty good, very engrossing.

Salem's lot scarred the pants off me too, really good book though.

Actually now that i look across at my book shelf every second or third book is one of his.

Think i'll give the shining ago since it was recommended above

rejkin

I'v read most of Stephen Kings old books,only read one of his latest which would be Cell. Didn't really like it though. I recently read Dan simmons books and he is very like Stephen king in his style of writing, Summer of night actually got praised by stephen king. Anyway I thought it would be a good idea to say this if anyones interested in reading some classic slow run horror novels like SK

MickShamrock

Read loads of Stephen King when I was younger. Great storyteller.

Censorsh!t

See a lot of praise for The Stand. Must check it out!
I've read a few of his books, liked all of them, especially Carrie.

blue_steel

Not going against the tide on purpose but King isn't all that great. He has fantastic ideas but doesn't have any self control in the execution. Most of his work is gouged out, not written. His success is incredible and unparalleled but he would be a far better writer with a strong editor.
Salem’s Lot was the first book of his I read and I loved it but nothing I've tried since then has come close. I do not understand the praise that The Stand gets. The characters are so archetypal it’s hilarious. And why oh why is there invariably a hero/author is his stories. Get over yourself mate.