The Thread of Stephen King

Because someone needed to make one.

But anyway, just say what books you would recommend by said author and why you liked it, or any other things related to said topic.

My favorites would be The Green Mile and Pet Sematary, by far.

The Green Mile because it's a spooky, yet wonderful book in which the plot is so delicately wrapped together it makes you think "Wow, this book was great". Oh, and Mr. Jingles was an awesome part of it.

I liked Pet Sematary because of it's Nightmare Fuel-like context. I never thought I would stay up past 2 am just because of one simple book.

Share what you think! :)

His first four (Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining and The Stand) are must read as are Misery and the whole Dark Tower series.

I really liked "It"...it was strange at times, and I really didn't care for some of the more crude descriptions, but it's worth just for the explanation how the universe was made.

The last book of the Dark Tower cured me of my almost unreasonably intense love for King's books. Every one that I had read up to that point, apart from Pet Sematary - which I despise, to put it extremely mildly, I either read multiple times in total or read repeatedly as soon as I finished the last page.

After the last Dark Tower book I couldn't lose myself in the books again. I think I have only read two since - Black House and that Simpsons Movie rip-off that they are currently serializing on the telly. Oh yeah, Under the Dome, that's what they call it.

Salem's Lot, It and Christine are his best books. Accept no substitutes.

Why did "It" have to include kids fucking?

Is it the book in general you dislike, or is it just the ending?

Pet Semetary's whole package got on my nerves, to put it mildly. Everything about it was rancid.

On the IT kids sex thing, well, King has always had something of the night about him. A guy with so many children that writes about so many kids being killed strikes me as... odd to say the least.

I meant the last Dark Tower book. I personally thought the way he decided to end the saga was fantastic, but I can see why it would piss people off.

I would say exactly what I think about the ending of THAT book but folks don't have time to read fifty pages of assorted vitriol and rage.

And that's all I have to say about that. (Thanks, Weird Al, that phrase has came in very handy recently.)

My favorites are Salems Lot, The Shining, Pet Sematary, and It.

edited 26th Feb '14 3:19:21 PM by Galeros

I loved the past parts of IT, the present parts not so much especially the reveal of what IT was.

It was mostly enjoyable

Except when it went off on tangents that weren't necessary (such as the Turtle or the history of the Hanlons or the kids effing or the Farting flames stuff)

And Beverly was a very phoned in character who seemed put into the gang to have the token chick.

But I enjoyed it.

However I liked The Shining and Misery more. Misery probably being my favorite.

It's a shame that he seems to always have kid bullies and alcoholics everywhere,Nostalgia Critic had it down when he said you could do a drinking game.

edited 28th Feb '14 12:09:27 PM by terlwyth

I read Doctor Sleep a couple of weeks back. Anyone else read it? It was enjoyable, though a very different kind of book than The Shining. One aspect about it that I found rather odd (I'm not sure whether to consider it a flaw or just an interesting way to write the story) is how completely ineffectual the villains were. It feels really unusual for a horror story to have villains who are almost never anywhere close to beating the heroes, especially given how nearly omnipotent the antagonists of the first book seemed.

That has always soured the book for me, while I found the rest of it to be pretty good.

Anyway, my favorites include The Stand, The Shining, The Green Mile, and several of the short story anthologies. (Different Seasons, Skeleton Crew, Four Past Midnight)

I also think some of the lesser known novels are quite underrated, like The Dark Half and Insomnia.

I read Doctor Sleep a few months ago and really liked it...I get what you mean about the villains not being very effective, but it made sense in-story, at least to me.

King seems to have come out of his near death experience with the idea that evil is ultimately kind of weak and pathetic. It's shown up in a number of his works since, sometimes in ways that fans are less than thrilled about. [/diplomatic understatement mode]

I am surprised no one is talking about Mr Mercedes yet.

In case 0.5 people care, I read Carrie, The Gunslinger, Salem's Lot, Joyland, and now am in the middle of Drawing of the Three.

Do yourself a favour. When you get to that chapter near the ending of the last Dark Tower book, and King gives you a choice to stop reading, just stop. Put the book down and walk away.

You are not my dad.

Drawing of the Three was my favorite of the Dark Tower books. None of the others matched the drive and intensity it had.

The Shining and Misery are my favorite of his novels. The confinement made them so much scarier than anything else I've read by King. I did also like his short story collections.

Mr. Mercedes was pretty good, but only B-tier for me...not exactly certain how he's going to stretch those three characters over a trilogy (if that is indeed what he's planning, based on what I've heard).

By the way, forgot to mention the Stephen King Podcast (called that way). It's on iTunes.

edited 31st Aug '14 3:20:41 AM by KlarkKentThe3rd

Hey, folks. I need a Stephen King recommendation. I need ones that are either really terrifying or have conclusive ending. If both, even better.

Apparently IT is considered one of his best works. Any other recommendations, like ones that are considered his greatest works, scary or not?

I quite like the short story "Survivor Type".

Misery is good. The Stand (normal version, not the doorstopper "special edition") is good.

But his scariest one is Salem's Lot.