Recommend me a Stephen King book

kraggy

Hey guys,

Need a book that will get me back into reading and also, in all my life have never read a King book so want to address those two issues.

So, what will surely grab me and also, are King books as vague and meandering as a David Lynch film or is there a point to them?

Cause I hate when there's no point or conclusive ending.

Thank in advance.

stargazer 68

Personally I like his old stuff
Cujo
Christine
It
and so on

There is a baddie in each one and definite end. I find his other stuff a bit too deep and wanders off. But thats just me!

r3nu4l

I'd second Dovies assessment. To start with King, read his older stuff first. There are some genuine 'horror' novels and genuine 'horrific scenarios.

To start with, try any of the following:

Pet Semetary
Cujo
Christine
Carrie

These will give you a taster and flavour of his writing style and how he thinks.


Then move onto some of his longer works:

Needful things
IT


I really liked Rose Madder and Insomnia but I consider them to be part of his newer works (even though they were written years ago ).

I consider the Stand to be his masterwork but it's hugely long and can get very weird at points so avoid it until your're used to his stuff.

The first book of his I read was Four Past Midnight, four short stories/novellas. Again some of it's surreal but I was hooked from the day I started reading it.

EDIT: I can't comment on the Dark Tower series but many people love it!

uncle ernie

Pet Semetary and It (my favourite of his) would be the two i would recommend. Of his later stuff Bag of Bones is quite good. There are a couple of good early short story collections too, Night Shift (great) and Different Seasons that contains the original versions of Stand By me, the Shawshank redemption & Apt Pupil.

I loved the Dark Tower series despite a weak first book but once you're past that its fairly entertaining stuff

But yeah... his earlier stuff is your best bet

kraggy

Thanks folks. The selection in the local bookshop is limited here but have at least a few of his works.

I'll have a look for the ones you recommended. Heard good things about Pet Semetary before so I'll look for that first.

Thanks again.

Bill Shock

You've got to read Salems Lot....a genuinely excellent vampire story. The Shining is also one of the scariest books I've ever read.

both of these are excellent places to start.

r3nu4l

Bill Shock wrote: »

You've got to read Salems Lot....a genuinely excellent vampire story.

Doh! How could I forget that one?

I wouldn't read the Shining if you've seen the movie kraggy, read something that won't leave you making comparisons. If you've not seen the film then fire away.

28064212

It, The Shining or 'Salem's Lot would be good introductions. The Dark Tower series is fantastic, but maybe not the best to start with. I wouldn't really recommend Pet Semetary as a starter King book at all, it's very dark. If you have experience of his stuff before, you're a lot more likely to accept it, but for a first-time reader it could turn you off him completely. King himself didn't want to publish it as he thought he had gone too far

EDIT: Yeah, I agree with r3nu4l, don't start with one of his books that you've already seen the movie of

alanclarke1975

11/22/63 is a novel by Stephen King about a time traveler who attempts to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy which occurred on November 22, 1963 (the date of the novel's title). The novel was officially announced on the author's official site on March 2, 2011.[1] A short excerpt was released online on June 1, 2011.[2] The novel was published on November 8, 2011,[3] and quickly became a number-one bestseller.[4]

stargazer 68

alanclarke1975 wrote: »

11/22/63 is a novel by Stephen King about a time traveler who attempts to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy which occurred on November 22, 1963 (the date of the novel's title). The novel was officially announced on the author's official site on March 2, 2011.[1] A short excerpt was released online on June 1, 2011.[2] The novel was published on November 8, 2011,[3] and quickly became a number-one bestseller.[4]

This is the type that I dont like - time travellers etc far too much thinking to be done! I love a good horror with a monster/ baddie. Love pet semetary and salems lot.

28064212

alanclarke1975 wrote: »

11/22/63

Big fan of Stephen King, and sounds like a plot I'd enjoy, but even looking at that title everytime I wanted to pick it up would annoy the bejesus out of me

alanclarke1975

To be honest - I thought the same - It was a bit slow to start and the middle was a bit OTT with the Love Story- The hero went back and met a girl blah blah blah - but the big baddie was Time - and how the Past tries to protect itself...


There is a good part of it about JFK and the Conspiracy Theories - and King tried to portray Oswald as a Human being - with a semi-normal life etc - but Ozzie turned into something strange in that room on the 6th floor in Dallas.


If thats not your cup of tea - The Dome is also another King book i would recommend - Nice twist at the end.

Niles

The Gunslinger (the first of the Dark Tower series) was my first Stephen King book, though I'd seen some film versions of stuff like Carrie. It's a short enough read with not much happening but not boring either, sets the ball rolling on what is a very enjoyable series.

The Shining isn't a bad starter either.

old gregg

Pet Semetary is an all round great introuction to his work I reckon. Easy to read, great story, clips along nicely ....... all you want from a King book in most cases.
Salems Lot is class as well.

r3nu4l

28064212 wrote: »

I wouldn't really recommend Pet Semetary as a starter King book at all, it's very dark.

Yeah, it's definitely very tough subject matter and I still remember it as a book that shocked me, perhaps that's why I recommended it. I don't think he went too far but he did take a big risk writing about it. While all of his work is 'dark', bordering on 'macabre', this was out the other side of macabre

old gregg wrote: »

Pet Semetary is an all round great introuction to his work I reckon. Easy to read, great story, clips along nicely ....... all you want from a King book in most cases.
Salems Lot is class as well.

This is what I remember about it, great pace, fantastic story overall. I miss that side of Stephen King, for me the early books will always be his best but perhaps that's just because I'm getting older and more stuck in my ways

eskimocat

My favourites were Christine, and IT. Good thread, might give Mr King an outing again...

Fuinseog

kraggy wrote: »

Hey guys,

Need a book that will get me back into reading and also, in all my life have never read a King book so want to address those two issues.

So, what will surely grab me and also, are King books as vague and meandering as a David Lynch film or is there a point to them?

Cause I hate when there's no point or conclusive ending.

Thank in advance.

'Diffrerent seasons' I think its called containing four short stories, three of them were filmed- apt Pupil
THe Body (film is called Stand by me)
The shawshank Redemption
?


maybe I would not have mentioned they were also made into movies as you are trying to get reading. but i just see its been covered by post no. 4

RichT

I read a lot of Stephen King in my younger years and thougherly enjoyed his books. Misery, The Shawshank Redemption and The Body would be good starting places for anyone wanting to get a feel for his style of writing IMO, as they dont have any 'weird stuff' in them.

The Stand, IT, The Green Mile, Salems Lot and Needful Things would be personal favorites of mine.

Skeleton Crew and Night Shift are two of his short story collections and contain some cracking stories.

Coincidentally, I am half way through Under The Dome, my first King read in about ten years, and it appears I'm still a fan.

old gregg

marginally off topic ...... but ..... I thought The Long Walk to be a pretty excellent story.

uncle ernie

actually now that i think about it, one of his very best books is non-fiction.

its called Danse Macabre and its a brilliant rundown of the horror/sci-fi genres in popular culture, mainly because of King's conversational style (and the fact that he talks about just about everything).

Put aside a lot of hours after reading it to chase down the gems you come across...there are many

Monkeybonkers

old gregg wrote: »

marginally off topic ...... but ..... I thought The Long Walk to be a pretty excellent story.

Loved The Long Walk too when I read it years ago. I'm reading The Hunger Games at the moment and it reminds me of TLW. I must read it again cos I've forgotten a lot of the details.

Great thread, I think most people have read some King at some stage and it's good to be reminded of how many great books he has.

apsalar

RichT wrote: »

I read a lot of Stephen King in my younger years and thougherly enjoyed his books. Misery, The Shawshank Redemption and The Body would be good starting places for anyone wanting to get a feel for his style of writing IMO, as they dont have any 'weird stuff' in them.

The Stand, IT, The Green Mile, Salems Lot and Needful Things would be personal favorites of mine.

Skeleton Crew and Night Shift are two of his short story collections and contain some cracking stories.

Coincidentally, I am half way through Under The Dome, my first King read in about ten years, and it appears I'm still a fan.

This is exactly what I wanted to post, almost to the word (except I finished under the dome 3 weeks ago)...eek, how strange

His short story collections are good. I would add nightmares and dreamscapes as well. The mist has to be one of the best creepy short stories I've ever read..it's a good read and the film adaptation is not bad, something that can go woefully wrong with Mr. King's books.

I would start with Misery then onto the Shining or The Tommyknockers. While I find the "horror" in his books adds flavour, it's really just comic book stuff..the real joy is in his (imho) character depiction. Some of the people are so real (and nasty) it's scary. I'm a very big admirer.

sxt

Stephen king is such a good writer,His ability to write an amazing story, with compelling and wonderfully drawn out Characterization is rare in authors


The majority of his work is entertaining and intriguing and engaging


I Think "The Stand" and" Pet Semetary" ( I didn't really appreciate the later the first time I read it) are my personal favourites

Ann22

I haven't ever come across a book as scary imo as Salem's Lot. I loved it! I read it about 4 or 5 times and will no doubt read it many more times. I've read and enjoyed most of his books. Just finished 11/22/63. My son's girlfriend bought it for him, otherwise, I don't know if I'd even have attempted to read it as I thought it would've been a type of conspiracy theory type story. I have to say, I couldn't put it down. It was brilliant!

alleystar

Salem's Lot and Misery are definetely my favourites and the one's I would recommend.

Elevelyn

Nobody has mentioned Dreamcatcher yet

It was the first SK book i ever read and I love it, also the Long Walk and The Running Man are great books that you can't put down

Niles

Cell, anyone?

It's not my favourite book by any means, but it flows well and is engaging enough.

smallerthanyou

I read all the older, horror stuff when I was younger. Cujo terrified me. Great read

More recently I bought Under the Dome on holiday and I liked it. It's an epic read and an easy to understand comment on how we're wrecking our little planet.

That said the horror stuff is still way better. The Shining, Cujo and I quite liked Dreamcatcher too. Will give 11-22-63 a go too for my next holiday.

Autosport

Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Bag of Bones and Misery are some of my fav King books

pavb2

Misery for me.

The Stand was ok but a bit too long

CatFromHue

For someone new to Stephen King Different Seasons would be a good start. It's 4 short stories three of which have been made into films; The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Apt Pupil.

The Dead Zone is pretty good and I loved Needful Things. The Dome, The Stand, and 11.22.63 are also great books.

As for some of his most scary books Salem Lot is defo the top of the list. The Sun Dog, one of the short stories in Four Past Midnight, is also one that gave me the willies. I'd forgotten all about it til I was reading King's Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_Dog

Sconsey

old gregg wrote: »

marginally off topic ...... but ..... I thought The Long Walk to be a pretty excellent story.

Agreed! the Long Walk was a great story, I had read about ten of his books before reading that, it's the story I always think of when someone mentions King.

Having said that, 'It' was brilliant too, I read that book more than once in my youth .

Quazzie

Start with collections of Novellas and progress from there imo.

Eoin

Two that I liked, but don't seem to get recommended that often are: "The Dark Half" and "The Dead Zone".

Pet Sematary is very good - I think it's one of his more disturbing ones.

I must be the only one who wasn't that keen on Salems Lot!

stargazer 68

There are lots of books that you folks have mentioned that I haven't read!! Guess I better start trawling the net for old copies!

r3nu4l

Dovies wrote: »

There are lots of books that you folks have mentioned that I haven't read!! Guess I better start trawling the net for old copies!

The good news is that there's often bargains to be had on Stephen King books now. Here in England there's shops that do 3 for £5 deals and quiet often it's possible to get Stephen King books in those deals, sometimes I've seen his books for £1 (not second-hand books either!). I'm sure there must be discount booksellers somewhere in Ireland doing the same.

CatFromHue

Dovies wrote: »

There are lots of books that you folks have mentioned that I haven't read!! Guess I better start trawling the net for old copies!

Carrie was first published in 1974 and Salem's Lot in 1975! King has been writing for a long time. It actually surprised me how long!

smallerthanyou

I bought IT on Kinde cos hadn't read it and saw mentioned on this thread. In apartment on my own though so too scared to start reading it!

Elevelyn

IT is the only book that gives me nightmares, still doesn't stop me reading it again and again though!!!

Quazzie

IT is my favourite book of all time. There are so many layers to it, it's an amazing piece of work. Whenever I read it, I was always amazed that someone could write like that. It read more like a man's life work due to the development of the story.

Elevelyn

Also if anyone is looking for a real scare read Gramma... its only a short story but really freaked me out, dunno why but its SCARY

Phoenix Park

His early stuff is definitely where i'd start. I'd agree with a post above regarding them being like comic books, and would mean it as a compliment, reading back over them now reminds me of when i was about age twelve reading them under the duvet at 2am knowing i should get to sleep but just one more page..one more page!!. For me these would be the best:

1. The Shining
2. Pet Semetary
3. The Long Walk
4. Carrie
5. Needful Things

Misery is great but everyone has seen the film now and there is little point reading the book if you have seen the film as it just takes the fear factor away!

He has written some awful stuff too. From A Buick 8 was awful i thought. Desperation was very disappointing. I lost faith soon after those.

Mr. Presentable

Salem's Lot
The Stand
IT
The Talisman (with Peter Straub)

Elevelyn

Worst for me were From a Buick 8, Geralds Game, Liseys Story, Duma Key and ..... the Shining - just didn't think it was great.

I reread Misery lately and its still great to me, couldn't put it down (again)

smallerthanyou

I'm definitely not starting it now! Will wait until holidays next week. Half way through 63-11-22 as well. Quite like it.

Niles

Elevelyn wrote: »

Geralds Game

Reading this at moment, only about a third of the way through so too early to call it. It's different to the other King stuff I've read, don't think it's going to be a favourite but I've read worse.

GrauballeMan

Carrie is superb. Misery too. The old stuff was gold.

I haven't read him much in a long time. I couldn't get into the Tommyknockers and I gave up then. One that I really enjoyed was Thinner, less supernatural than some of his books and all the more macabre for that.

livinsane

Salem's Lot was the first King book I read. I loved it. Cant remember much of the details but it was a real teenager's book.

The Stand is very impressive. Has a great mix of real life disaster and the dark supernatural. Some seriously eerie moments in the book and great characters. I have the TV production with Gary Sinese. It's great.

Under The Dome has similar tones to The Stand with society breaking down. It shows that King has matured as a writer. Very different to earlier books and shows his experience as a writer. I flew through it. Very entertaining and again, wonderful characters. Some fairly sick parts in it too.

God, I really want to read some Stephen King now!

Niles

Finished Gerald's Game the other day... interesting twists. But a bit depressing at times, wouldn't go so far to say I didn't like it but it's far from a favourite.

grohlisagod

Carrie, Needful Things and Under the Dome are all excellent.

Skeleton Crew has some brilliant stories in it, including The Mist.

I read The Gunslinger and the story never really took me. It was grand but I had no real desire to follow up the series. However, someone said earlier that that was probably the weakest book, so I was just wondering if you guys though it would be worth giving the series another crack? Does it get significantly better as it goes along?

Niles

grohlisagod wrote: »

I read The Gunslinger and the story never really took me. It was grand but I had no real desire to follow up the series. However, someone said earlier that that was probably the weakest book, so I was just wondering if you guys though it would be worth giving the series another crack? Does it get significantly better as it goes along?

I think it gets better anyway. I too thought The Gunslinger didn't have much going on but it's worth continuing with the series.The second book kind of sets up more of the characters; it's really the third book that sets the story in full swing. But I'd definitely recommend giving it another go.