ranking all 62 stephen king books

[Farrell]

my all time favorite book by stephen king: IT

My favourite King book is IT.

I really loved the first half or so of IT, but I remember having some real trouble with some of the scenes near the end, like the unsettling combination of pervy and woo-woo that was the sex scene.

[Lawrence]

I only have 50 pages of the gunslinger left to go and about 6 out of 40 hours left on the audible version of 112263. They're both vastly different and I'm enjoying both a lot. So far 112263 has been classic King but as far as his recent work I might still rank Duma Key above it. Have to obviously finish it first to see. As for the gunslinger, I haven't been able to put it down.

[Lucien21]

It's a cool list.

I have every one of King's novels and list him as my favourite author.

I can't say I agree with some of the placements. E.G Dolores Claiborne is waaay too high. I think the Gerald's Game to Rose Madder period is by far the worst period of his career (Although I don't subcribe to the theory that his wifr wrote those books).

I bought the new Dark Tower novel, but havn't read it yet.

It's great to see him still writing when most people who have his money and the accident etc would have gave up years ago.

Looking forward to "Dr Sleep" (Sequel to The Shining so also abit nervous about it) and Joyland (Serial killer in an amusement park) as his next two novels.

[TopherB]

I really loved the first half or so of IT, but I remember having some real trouble with some of the scenes near the end, like the unsettling combination of pervy and woo-woo that was the sex scene.

Yeeeaahhhh...completely forgot about "the sex scene."  I remember being a little unnerved by that.

[the other mike]

I really loved the first half or so of IT, but I remember having some real trouble with some of the scenes near the end, like the unsettling combination of pervy and woo-woo that was the sex scene.

i read it when i was 13 or 14. so, no surprise, i didn't mind it. 
way i saw it, it was just the weirdest team building exercise ever. but seriously, i was just caught up with the narrative, i just took it in stride.

It's a cool list.

Looking forward to "Dr Sleep" (Sequel to The Shining so also abit nervous about it) and Joyland (Serial killer in an amusement park) as his next two novels.

ooh i did NOT know about those books. i hope "dr sleep" is a better sequel than "black house".

i'm VERY curious about "throttle", his short story with joe hill.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007QXV9S6/ref=s9_newr_gw_d78_g351_ir03?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0RMT1MMGYJQ6RCRZH3SC&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846


-mike

 

[Lawrence]

i'm VERY curious about "throttle", his short story with joe hill.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007QXV9S6/ref=s9_newr_gw_d78_g351_ir03?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0RMT1MMGYJQ6RCRZH3SC&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846


-mike

 

Oh, thanks for pointing that out I had no idea it existed. I have really become a fan of Joe Hill for more than Locke and Key. His novel HORNS was a fantastic story from start to finish. It had perfect pacing, intriguing characters, and lots moral ambiguity strewn into it that makes you think, "what would I do?".

If your'e a fan of the genre (I'm a huge fan of horror novels not the movies as much or at all) then I couldn't recommend it enough.

His short story book 21st century ghost had some real gems in it as well. I remember only one of the stories not resonating with me but besides that one it was thrilling read.

With Locke and Key being what it is and the two books of Hill's I've read I am really becoming a huge fan.

[Farrell]

i'm VERY curious about "throttle", his short story with joe hill.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007QXV9S6/ref=s9_newr_gw_d78_g351_ir03?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0RMT1MMGYJQ6RCRZH3SC&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846


-mike

 

You guys aware that they've adapted this to comics as well?  It's called Road Rage, published by IDW.

[Lawrence]

You guys aware that they've adapted this to comics as well?  It's called Road Rage, published by IDW.

I did not know. Did they write the script for the comic or is someone else adapting it like they did with The Cape?

[Lucien21]

His short story book 21st century ghost had some real gems in it as well. I remember only one of the stories not resonating with me but besides that one it was thrilling read.

Pop Art was a work of genius.

Really looking forward to his Road book Vampire book ("NOS4A2"  <--- Nosferatu in Vanity plate speak)

http://www.fearnet.com/videos/b25841_joe_hill_nos4a2.html

[Farrell]

I did not know. Did they write the script for the comic or is someone else adapting it like they did with The Cape?

Chris Ryall is doing the adaptation.

Full disclosure: I didn't like the first issue.  I don't know how it compares to the original story.

[JimN]

I'm late to this thread but I find it interesting and it's fun to read everybody's takes on King and the list. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with King's writing so I've only read a small percentage of his books (and several of those in the last few years). I agree with Jeppe that horror tends to work well in short fiction so not surprisingly, my favorite King works tend to be shorter. I skimmed through that list pretty fast but I don't recall seeing The Mist on it, perhaps because it's a novella. That's easily my favorite of King's works, flaws and all. I just love it.

Aside from The Mist, I've read Night Shift, The Shining, It, Duma Key and most recently, The Stand. Different Seasons will probably be next and I own The Dark Tower books but still have to read them. I've read some scattered short stories too.

I'd rank that short list of books as follows:

1.) Night Shift
2.) Duma Key
3.) It
4.) The Shining
5.) The Stand

Night Shift is just full of great stories. I realize Duma Key usually isn't considered one of his best but I really liked it. I don't know if it was the Lovecraftian overtones or the fact that the protagonist was a painter but it worked for me.

I thought It was bloated but scary. It would have been better if trimmed down a little but what really worked for me was King's depictions of childhood. I think he tends to write children well.

I read The Shining a long time ago so perhaps some of it's power has faded over the years. I just remember finding it a bit awkward and not that scary, although it certainly has it's moments.

Regarding The Stand... I was disappointed. That may be because I've heard for literally decades that it's King's best book so perhaps my expectations were too high. It might be because I read Robert R. McCammon's similarly-themed Swan Song just months earlier and liked it better (the two books have a lot in common) or because I've read quite a few post-apocalypse novels over the years. I don't know. Like It, I thought The Stand could have used some trimming but at times it was riveting. Ultimately, I found it anticlimactic and I never got drawn into the lives of it's characters in the same way I was in Duma Key and It.

[Lawrence]

I certainly agree with Jim that while Duma Key isn't held in the highest regard as far Kings latest works or certainly his overall body of work it was a great read. There was something about those characters and the setting that really drew you into that world. It was large novel and I remember finishing it within a few days.

On my recent King kick I finished the first Gunslinger and it was.......okay. I'm interested enough to read the next one but perhaps it was just little over hyped and I expected too much. I honestly enjoyed the 10 pages at the end of the book where King explained where the idea came from and how long it had been in his mind more than anything. He apparently wrote that opening line in college and could never let it go.

I also read 11-22-63 and found it to be one King's best. I actually did this one as an Audible audiobook so I could do it at the office. There really wasn't much horror in it actually more sci-fi than anything else. King did a great job of making you love the characters and then making you slowly watch them be torn apart. It was also weird hearing him do so much detailed narration about Dallas. Since I've lived here my whole life it was interesting to hear his point of view and he really did nail the streets and the city. Not just the major places where the assassination occurred but the surrounding areas and downtown as well. He certainly wasn't a big fan of Dallas in the 60's but who would be.

Finally I read his newest short story collection Full Dark, No Stars. This one was by far my favorite. I have read a lot of King and I don't remember him writing any tells that were as macabre as these. Full on horror, revenge, monsters, ghost, and death. I read the book in two sittings. I just couldn't put the thing down. Some part of it were hard to read or fathom but I couldn't look away. I can't recommend that book enough. If you want great King check out Full Dark, No Stars. I'm moving that one into my top 5.

[S. Earl]

On my recent King kick I finished the first Gunslinger and it was.......okay. I'm interested enough to read the next one but perhaps it was just little over hyped and I expected too much. I honestly enjoyed the 10 pages at the end of the book where King explained where the idea came from and how long it had been in his mind more than anything. He apparently wrote that opening line in college and could never let it go.

Try book two out. I think you'll be glad you did. It takes a seismic leap in quality from book 1, and then again when you get to book 3.

[JimN]

Finally I read his newest short story collection Full Dark, No Stars. This one was by far my favorite. I have read a lot of King and I don't remember him writing any tells that were as macabre as these. Full on horror, revenge, monsters, ghost, and death. I read the book in two sittings. I just couldn't put the thing down. Some part of it were hard to read or fathom but I couldn't look away. I can't recommend that book enough. If you want great King check out Full Dark, No Stars. I'm moving that one into my top 5.

I've been thinking about reading that one and after your enthusiastic endorsement, I plan to check it out!

It was great to get your impressions of Duma Key and 11-22-63 as well. Thanks!

[Kenney]

Pop Art was a work of genius.

I listened to that story back when we got that crazy blizzard on the East Coast a few years ago, and was just sucked into how weird and wonderful it was. Hill won me over with that story alone. But I also liked Abraham's Boys a lot. It was like the lost early ep of Supernatural.

[Lawrence]

Try book two out. I think you'll be glad you did. It takes a seismic leap in quality from book 1, and then again when you get to book 3.

I enjoyed The Gunslinger enough and I like King enough to definitely read at least the second one. I enjoyed the first book it just seemed like he was wandering around writing wise trying to figure out what he was going to do with the story. Which after reading his afterword in the book he pretty much said he was doing.

I've been thinking about reading that one and after your enthusiastic endorsement, I plan to check it out!

It was great to get your impressions of Duma Key and 11-22-63 as well. Thanks!

I hope you enjoy it. I really did enjoy that book more than anything else he has written in the last 10 years. King always has great ideas for stories in my opinion and its fun to see him execute them with out all of the extra stuff that comes with a 500 page novel. Its straight, uncut, weird horror in its purest.

I listened to that story back when we got that crazy blizzard on the East Coast a few years ago, and was just sucked into how weird and wonderful it was. Hill won me over with that story alone. But I also liked Abraham's Boys a lot. It was like the lost early ep of Supernatural.

Can you guys tell me if "Pop Art" is the one with the boy that is inflatable? If so, I freaking loved that story and would recommend it to anyone. It is definitely not a horror story but a supernatural, weird tale with a lot of heart. I enjoyed Abrahams Boy's as well and the of course the title story 20th Century Ghost. The only one that fell kinda flat for me was the one about the dad and baseball. I am a fan of the sport but I honestly felt like I missed something with that story. I remember reading the ending several times and trying to figure out what exactly the meaning of the ending was. It just never really clicked.   

If you enjoyed 20th Century Ghost and haven't read HORNS yet, do it!! 

[Kenney]

Yup, it's the inflatable boy story. I also didn't care for the story about the boy who turns into a bug or something. I was only half listening, but I was so ready for that one to be over.

I don't know why, but I've avoided Horns, but I will give that a go. When it comes to horror I gravitate towards the short story fiction, which is why I was in no hurry to pick it up. Short horror allows for tension to be maintained, without draining me out on plot and character building. Not that that stuff isn't important, but that is an issue I have with Kings longer works.

[Lucien21]

A fan site that I go to regularly has posted a ranked top 66 voted for by the site.

http://www.liljas-library.com/article.php?id=3159

[the other mike]

http://tessiedesigncompany.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/stephen-king-universe-flow-chart.html




-mike

[Lawrence]

 

WOW.