The burgeoning Stephen King renaissance we’re currently in shows few signs of slowing down, as this week’s long-awaited remake of Pet Sematary makes clear. And with this summer’s follow-up to 2017 just a few months away, the time has never been better to get acquainted or reacquainted with King’s voluminous body of work.
but where to start? King has, to date, written or collaborated on more than 70 books, including collections of nonfiction essays, and has published more than 200 short stories. his work is enormous, and covers much more than terror.
You are reading: Classic stephen king books
sure, you’re probably at least a little familiar with it and the glow. But while they may be the king’s most famous titles, they’re not the only reasons he’s such a pop culture institution.
To help you brush up on your reading of kings, here’s a practical guide, through an overview of more than four decades of king stories.
the prerequisite: the shining (1977)
the best introduction to all things king.
In addition to being the seminal influence on modern haunted house tales, this story of Jack Torrance’s struggle with addiction as he succumbs to the demons of the hotel overview is worth reading, both for its insights into the man’s own struggles. king against alcoholism and other addictions. and for its differences from the legendary movie version of stanley kubrick (which king legendarily hates).
Both Jack and his wife Wendy are generally much more sympathetic characters in King’s version of events than they are in Kubrick’s, and King delves much deeper into the hotel’s history. King’s inspiration for the book was his real-life stay at the renowned Stanley Hotel in Colorado; one of his main problems with kubrick’s film was that kubrick was unable to film in the stanley due to lack of snow. King has also repeatedly framed Kubrick’s version as misogynistic, arguing that he deprives Wendy of agency and transforms her into a garish stereotype.
But beyond its connections and departures from its famous film adaptation, The Shining is notable as an introduction to the king’s multiverse. the titular “glow” is a psychic ability to read minds and sense the future that may also, as we discover in numerous stories of kings over the years, be related to a kind of multi-dimensional, extra-sensory travel.
The Shine also provides an introduction to one of the main criticisms of King’s work, specifically his use of the “magical black” trope regarding his treatment of the hotel’s cook, Dick Hallorann. Between this and several other novels that seem to use the trope (particularly The Green Mile), King’s troublesome black characters often overshadow the complexity of characters like Susannah of the Dark Tower and Mike of the Losers Club. But for what it’s worth, Hallorann’s magical ability serves as most readers’ gateway to King’s entire multidimensional universe of psychics and dimension-leapers.
king 101: required reading
a chronological study of the king’s novels explaining his career and cultural impact.
salem lot (1975)
King has described this lush vampire novel as like a tennis ball bouncing off the wall of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in the 19th century. the result of his experiment is a superbly crafted story of a man who returns to his spooky hometown just as a dormant nest of vampires takes over. The large, skillfully drawn cast of characters, as well as the sly nods to vampire tales of the past, combine to make Salem’s Lot, King’s second published novel, one of his most enduring favorites.
the dead zone (1979)
This book was King’s first hardcover bestseller, that is, it was the book that marked his leap into the literary mainstream as a writer. it’s fitting, then, that it’s more of a sci-fi thought experiment than a horror novel. King’s career-long obsession with time jumps and the ethical dilemmas that surround them, a theme he would explore more definitively 32 years later with 11/22/63, are shown here, though the story itself is not It’s about time travel. Instead, King’s protagonist, one of his purest and truest heroes, is affected by a mysterious psychic ability to see into the past and future of anyone he touches. His attempt to deal with the responsibility of such a gift comes to a remarkably dramatic climax, made famous in David Cronenberg’s 1983 film adaptation.
the long road (1979)
Generally the most respected of the five novels King published under the Richard Bachman pseudonym, The Long Walk is a young adult dystopia, the first novel King began writing, and perhaps the one with the most creative hodgepodge of ideas. . Set in an alternate history in which Germany won World War II and brought fascism to North America, the story involves a grueling modern version of a 19th-century walking contest in which contestants must obey strict rules or die. . the long walk is part hunger games, part man in the high castle, but it’s still just stephen king, with a great cast, lots of male bonding and parental issues, and a hero who fights and perseveres against societal norms. very distorted.
different seasons (1982)
This collection of four novels includes the inspirations for three of the best-known film adaptations of Kings: The Body, which became 1986’s Stand By Me; Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, which became Shawshank Redemption in 1994; and Apt Pupil, which became perhaps the biggest flop among king movies.
is an apt pupil, his attempt to deal with the horror of the holocaust, offering one of king’s grimmest and grossest versions of horror. the story of a young teenager who falls into an obsessive psychosexual relationship with a neighbor who is a Nazi, it’s a descent into madness that ultimately feels exploitative rather than transformative. Still, it’s in parentheses to two of the best stories King ever wrote (although the body did earn King an accusation of plagiarism from an old friend). The fourth novel, The Breathing Method, is a lighter, more traditional ghost story, set in a Manhattan club and done in early 20th-century literary pastiche.
All four stories together offer a good look at King’s variety of styles and concerns. and if you have a shorter attention span, novels offer a basic alternative to the king’s epic works and give you plenty of history.
pet cemetery (1983)
Most people probably know of the pet cemetery, if they know at all, thanks to the jerky but riveting 1989 film adaptation, which is currently getting a much-anticipated remake. King’s novel, however, is about much more than zombified cats. it’s about the intense and often horrible nature of the pain, and the lingering effects of direct brushes with death itself. King weaves a vivid and often brutal character study out of the deep and abiding concern parents have for their children. pet sematary is filled with a rich subtext and a somber sadness not usually associated with the king as author, but in the parable of this monkey’s paw, his love and empathy for the human condition has never been more fully displayed.
that (1986)
while it was still being written, king described it in the washington post as a story about children, and specifically an expansion of the themes he began to explore in the body. “There are times when I think I should burn it down,” he said. “But ‘it’ is going to be pretty good. you’ll like it.”
became one of the most iconic works of 1980s literature, and the famous 1990 miniseries starring tim curry introduced millions of viewers to the title character: a shape-shifting entity that cyclically reappears each year. 27 years in the city of derry, maine, to lure children to their doom. His resting state is in the form of a terrifying clown called Pennywise, but fundamentally he takes the form of what children fear most. King uses this concept to explore not only the processes by which we overcome our childhood fears, but also the processes by which we don’t. The kids at the center, a group of pre-teen misfits known as the Losers Club, are still haunted by their experiences 27 years later when they rise again, bringing everyone together in one last battle to save the city and themselves.
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Using an extremely ambitious non-linear structure, The King moves back and forth in time to explore themes of the bonds of friendship, coming of age, conquering fear, and the secrets of small-town America. all while unfolding a chilling story with an iconic character. monster in its center. An 1,100-page magnum opus that King has accurately described as “a final exam in horror,” it melds the past with the present and reminds us that childhood fears, along with childhood dreams, remain hidden within us, waiting to resurface. .
claiborne pains (1992)
Published just a few months after King’s other overtly feminist novel, Gerald’s Game, Dolores Claiborne is a notable stylistic break for the author. An almost consciously flowing first-person narrative, it contains essentially no supernatural elements, except for a surreal moment in which the heroine, during a solar eclipse, psychically bonds with Gerald’s game heroine at a time when they can see in the other’s mind. instead, it tells the story of an abuse victim pushed to the brink, literally in her own words.
Dolores, while trying to come to terms with her past, works for a vicious and controlling boss, an older woman named Vera who is thrown headlong into a psychological dispute with Dolores. though the endless dialect-laden monologue makes the book something of a chore, it’s worth it, both for the sheer energy with which these women hate each other and for the sympathy the king lends to sorrows and poor women, bound but bound. persistent like her.
the dark tower (1978 – 2012)
The Dark Tower, which King began writing in college, is based on Robert Browning’s famous Victorian romance poem, “Child Roland Came to the Dark Tower.” King conceived the story as an epic fantasy laced with spaghetti western tropes. He spent decades revealing the story of exhausted gunslinger Roland Deschain, the last of his kind, and his attempts to track down the villainous Man in Black across the vast wilderness of a wasted world.
The titular Dark Tower gradually reveals itself to be an interdimensional portal that serves as the nexus of all of Stephen King’s universes. Roland must join the friends he has made along the way to restore his own world and prevent the Man in Black from destroying all worlds. This quest frequently requires Roland to travel between worlds himself; Much of the action in the series takes place in modern-day New York City.
king fully explores the interconnectedness of their universes throughout the dark tower. he even invokes himself as a significant character, painting himself as some kind of prophetic scribe who must write all the worlds of the dark tower to keep its inhabitants alive. the series is non-linear – the last book fits chronologically between the fourth and fifth, and the story continuously jumps back and forth in time and space, and that non-linear nature eventually becomes a crucial part of the whole series. series.
rebirth (2014)
Revival, one of King’s most critically received works, is a classic fusion of Lovecraftian weird fiction with King’s typical epic sweep of landscapes and ensembles of characters. Once again the story of an intergenerational bond between a man and a boy, revival follows a jaded faith healer who essentially dr. frankensteins the afterlife, and the young man who becomes his assistant. Like all weird fiction, the revival is full of forebodings and hints of untold cosmic horrors, but it’s also a lot of fun. The sheer strangeness of the story, coupled with King’s ability to drag you across his sprawling literary canvas, makes Revival one of King’s most enjoyable reads, and a sign that King is so on top of his game. as it was four decades ago.
Extra credit: the stand
the pop culture monster every king fan must contend with.
Along with him and The Shining, The Stand is probably King’s most popular work. Originally published in truncated form as a novel in 1978, it was reissued in an “uncut” edition in 1990 that was essentially a new draft, containing an additional 400 pages of material, making The Stand the longest book in the catalog of king. as well as one of the most epic works of apocalyptic fiction in existence.
The stand worries about social collapse after a rampant flu epidemic, a by-product of biological warfare, wipes out most of the planet’s population. Surprisingly fast-paced given its sprawl, the book introduces one of King’s most famous characters: the mysterious Randall Flagg, a universe-hopping entity that takes many forms and appears in a variety of King’s novels. especially as the man in the dark tower in black.
In its painstaking nature, its gigantic size and scope, and its attempts to explore the trappings of a society forced to hastily rebuild itself, the stand has become one of the most remarkable and culturally inescapable works of art. king. Among King’s oeuvre, however, the book has its fair share of critics: The New York Times, assailed by the book’s sheer size, found it lacking in narrative depth, stating that the book “extensively reproduces all the empty excesses that seems to contain.” deplore.” and King seems content to treat the apocalypse primarily as a thought experiment rather than an opportunity for meaningful narrative development.
Still, if you’re going to call yourself a true fan of the king, you should probably at least try the stand. on the one hand, it is the support. for another, it has influenced basically all subsequent post-apocalyptic works. it all adds up to a book made for fans, but newbies might want to work on it.
continuous studiesin kingology
There is more to King’s career than his most celebrated novels. much, much more.
danse macabre (1981)
what it is: a collection of essays from 1981 on the horror genre
What’s it about: This book is an advanced college horror course delivered in essay form, though it’s filled with far more youthful anecdotes and colorful metaphors than your average essay collection. King examines the nature and function of horror from a wide variety of angles and demonstrates an uncanny and in-depth understanding of speculative fiction of all kinds, ranging from discussions of modern science fiction writers to early 20th century pulps and 20th century gothic. xviii. from literature to 1950s beach horror movies, mid-century radio soap operas, and long-extinct comic book publishers, all with ease.
What it’s famous for: In addition to serving as a fabulous explanation of the past two centuries of horror literature, Danse Macabre is a look at the personal experiences that shaped the king’s view of the horror. it’s also a glimpse of a writer who is thriving and knows it.
“the excursion”
what it is: a sci-fi short story from 1981 that has become a cult classic
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Where to find: King’s Tale Collection Basic Equipment
What it’s about: A futuristic family prepares to go on “The Excursion,” a journey through space that involves a complicated time warp.
What it’s famous for: It’s all about the ending.
“the man in the black suit”
what it is: a 1994 king short story originally published in the new yorker
where to find it: collection of tales of the king everything is eventual
What it’s about: A young man meets the devil in the guise of an ordinary knight.
what he is famous for: the winner of the o. a famous literary prize for short fiction as well as the world prize for fantasy, this story came at the cultural moment when critical appraisal of king was beginning to change, and thus has a currency among literati who many of king’s other works. I haven’t got yet. So several of the classic Stephen King elements are at play here: the supernatural man in black, the tense encounter between man and boy, and untold cosmic horror translated into a microfiche catalog of quotidian, counted details. through a stream-of-the-mill fishing trip gone terribly wrong.
“the jerusalem lot”
what it is: a prequel to the salem’s lot short story, set a century earlier and easy to read on its own
Where to Find It: The Night Shift of King’s Collection of Short Stories, as well as some more recent editions of Salem’s Lot
What’s it about:King’s Prequel is a masterful parody of 19th-century Victorian vampire literature. Written in the epistolary style of Dracula, it tells the story of an aristocrat who discovers hidden secrets about his family and his connection to the ruined Puritan settlement of Jerusalem, a macabre site that turns out to be teeming with vampires.
What it’s famous for: “Jerusalem’s Lot” is a wonderful pastiche that fills in a lot of backstory details and makes Salem’s Lot’s decadent, gothic story seem even more gothic and decadent.
lisey’s story (2006)
what it is: a hybrid novel of romance and psychological horror
What it’s about: Following the death of her husband, a famous writer, a grieving widow must grapple with dark secrets about her life while fending off a stalking fan and trying to deal with the her husband’s problems. hell.
What it’s famous for: For years, King claimed this little-known story was his favorite of all the books he’d ever written, though recently he seems to have reevaluated his opinion.
on writing: a memoir of the trade (2000)
what it is: a memoir of your life as a writer and the lessons you’ve learned about writing
What’s it about: Employing the same blend of autobiographical anecdote and profound wisdom that he used in Danse Macabre, King dives deep into the art and craft of being a writer.
What he’s famous for: Ironically, King’s Advice on Writing was one of the works that ultimately earned him critical acclaim. the book ended up being more praised, and by more critics, than any of his works of fiction to date. writing “should lead [the king] to better things,” one reviewer wrote of the book’s release.
what helped even more, instead, was the long-awaited critical reappraisal of king. about writing now regularly tops lists of the best writing tips ever written.
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