I get it. I had to put the book down for a while and it took me a minute to come back to it. I agree that the scene in The Library Policeman is more disturbing than the one in It because of the exploitive component. Though I could also understand if someone were to make the argument that it is ultimately more critical to the story than It.
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Official Stephen King Publication Countdown - 9. "Children of the Corn" (11 Viewers)
- Thread starter turnjose7
- Start date
I get it. I had to put the book down for a while and it took me a minute to come back to it. I agree that the scene in The Library Policeman is more disturbing than the one in It because of the exploitive component. Though I could also understand if someone were to make the argument that it is ultimately more critical to the story than It.
Frostillicus
Footballguy
I think so.
20. Bag of Bones
1998
Novel
Horror, gothic romance, mystery
3/5
- Derry story
- Castle Rock story
After the sudden death of his wife leaves novelist Mike Noonan suffering from a severe case of writer’s block, he escapes to a lakeside retreat where uncovers the secrets she was hiding and the horrifying past of the small town.
Often hailed by literary critics as one of King’s most sophisticated and well-written novels, Bag of Bones was heavily influenced by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” internally referencing both works. But it is also classic King and contains a myriad of ties to his other publications. The story takes place in part both in Derry and Castle Rock, it references and updates us about other classic King characters (including Bill Denbrough, Thad Beaumont, Ralph Roberts, and Alan Pangborn), and the house Sara Laughs is seemingly the twinner of Cara Laughs from The Dark Tower.
This is certainly a great book, and I understand the praise. More than many of his works, the characters in this draw you in and make you genuinely care for them. But I also felt a little let down at the end. I think there were missed opportunities for a more climatic ending and the book as a whole wasn’t quite as scary as it could have been. That’s nitpicking a little bit, but now that we’re in the top 20 there isn’t much to criticize about most of these books.
1998
Novel
Horror, gothic romance, mystery
3/5
- Derry story
- Castle Rock story
After the sudden death of his wife leaves novelist Mike Noonan suffering from a severe case of writer’s block, he escapes to a lakeside retreat where uncovers the secrets she was hiding and the horrifying past of the small town.
Often hailed by literary critics as one of King’s most sophisticated and well-written novels, Bag of Bones was heavily influenced by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” internally referencing both works. But it is also classic King and contains a myriad of ties to his other publications. The story takes place in part both in Derry and Castle Rock, it references and updates us about other classic King characters (including Bill Denbrough, Thad Beaumont, Ralph Roberts, and Alan Pangborn), and the house Sara Laughs is seemingly the twinner of Cara Laughs from The Dark Tower.
This is certainly a great book, and I understand the praise. More than many of his works, the characters in this draw you in and make you genuinely care for them. But I also felt a little let down at the end. I think there were missed opportunities for a more climatic ending and the book as a whole wasn’t quite as scary as it could have been. That’s nitpicking a little bit, but now that we’re in the top 20 there isn’t much to criticize about most of these books.
19. Carrie
1974
Novel
Horror
3/5
A teenage girl with telekinetic powers gets revenge on those who bullied her.
The one that started it all. This was King’s first published novel (even though it wasn’t the first he wrote). It launched the career of the most successful horror author of all time (and one of the most popular authors regardless of genre) and brought about a revival of interest in horror in popular fiction.
I was of course familiar with the premise before I first read it. Given that it was his first novel I thought it might be a little less mature than his later works. It definitely isn’t the peak of his writing, but I was surprised at how much depth this has. In particular, Carrie White is a much more sympathetic character than I imagined. I’ve previously talked about how I think the criticism that King doesn’t write strong female characters is ridiculous. Here, Stephen’s wife Tabitha famously helped him write from the standpoint of a teenage girl, but regardless, his first publication proves he can write great female characters.
There are a lot of nice fun touches in this one , like the newspaper and book clips. These were inserted because the original draft wasn’t long enough to qualify as a novel, but they end up adding a lot.
A classic of American literature.
1974
Novel
Horror
3/5
A teenage girl with telekinetic powers gets revenge on those who bullied her.
The one that started it all. This was King’s first published novel (even though it wasn’t the first he wrote). It launched the career of the most successful horror author of all time (and one of the most popular authors regardless of genre) and brought about a revival of interest in horror in popular fiction.
I was of course familiar with the premise before I first read it. Given that it was his first novel I thought it might be a little less mature than his later works. It definitely isn’t the peak of his writing, but I was surprised at how much depth this has. In particular, Carrie White is a much more sympathetic character than I imagined. I’ve previously talked about how I think the criticism that King doesn’t write strong female characters is ridiculous. Here, Stephen’s wife Tabitha famously helped him write from the standpoint of a teenage girl, but regardless, his first publication proves he can write great female characters.
There are a lot of nice fun touches in this one , like the newspaper and book clips. These were inserted because the original draft wasn’t long enough to qualify as a novel, but they end up adding a lot.
A classic of American literature.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I haven't read this since it came out, so my memory is foggy on the details. I know I enjoyed it, though. I recall a really hard left-turn part way through and some memorable scenes. Some of King's best writing is in this book.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Also, according to King, he threw the manuscript in the trash and Tabitha fished it out telling him to finish it.
zamboni
Footballguy
I think this is one of the few movies (The Shining being the other) that I thought was better than the book. And that’s no slight to the books, just incredible adaptations.
Last edited:
18. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
2003
Novel
Western, dark fantasy, science fiction
2/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story
- Jerusalem’s Lot story
"We deal in lead."
“Perhaps I am simply a madman who dreamt of being sane for a little while.”
“First come smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.”
Roland Deschain and his ka-tet defend a small frontier town from marauders coming to kidnap the town’s children.
Wolves is basically a retelling of Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven but with multiple bizarre twists. The first of the Dark Tower tales to be published following King’s near-death experience, the weirdness of the series gets ramped up by orders of magnitude. For some it is too much, and they lose interest here. For others, though, this is the key point in which the Dark Tower series transforms from a fun but ultimately generic hero’s quest into the lynchpin of the entire Stephen King universe. I’m obviously in the latter group. This book is so much fun, and it is cool to see the ties to King’s larger mythology really start to take shape.
2003
Novel
Western, dark fantasy, science fiction
2/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story
- Jerusalem’s Lot story
"We deal in lead."
“Perhaps I am simply a madman who dreamt of being sane for a little while.”
“First come smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.”
Roland Deschain and his ka-tet defend a small frontier town from marauders coming to kidnap the town’s children.
Wolves is basically a retelling of Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven but with multiple bizarre twists. The first of the Dark Tower tales to be published following King’s near-death experience, the weirdness of the series gets ramped up by orders of magnitude. For some it is too much, and they lose interest here. For others, though, this is the key point in which the Dark Tower series transforms from a fun but ultimately generic hero’s quest into the lynchpin of the entire Stephen King universe. I’m obviously in the latter group. This book is so much fun, and it is cool to see the ties to King’s larger mythology really start to take shape.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Yeah, this one is running on multiple levels. He's pulling characters out of stories he wrote 20 years before and has about eleventy-billion pop culture references from other artists' works. The artist-creation line is something that was obviously on his mind big-time when he wrote this.
It's also a great "surface read" story. It's long, but a lot of fun.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Been awhile since I read the series so a lot of it blends together but this is the one with the a bunch of the Father Callahan stuff right?
Also has one of my favorite lines
“May it do ya fine, you stainless-steel *******”
17. Hearts in Atlantis
1999
Novella from Hearts in Atlantis
Realism, drama
1/5
“You’re supposed to stand up. If you see something happening that’s wrong, like a big guy beating up a little guy, you’re supposed to stand up and at least try to stop it.”
“Time passes and everything gets bigger except us.”
“Hearts are tough, Pete. Most times they don’t break. Most times they only bend.”
An addiction to a card game threatens the academic standing of a group of college students as the possibility of being drafted into the Vietnam War looms large.
In my commentary for The Body, I expressed frustration with my inability to use words to communicate. That seems relevant here, as I’m not sure I know how to express why I love the title story from the Hearts in Atlantis collection so much. The novella is ostensibly about a group of college students that becomes obsessed with a card game (something that feels very real and not unlike various obsessions I developed as I grew up). But it is actually about so much more, and I feel like it really could be seen as the great American novel for an entire generation.
This is sort of going to get into some spoilers. Maybe not plot spoilers but spoilers about ideas. So be warned. The theme of broken vs. resilient hearts is something that King touches on in a lot of his works (my all-time favorite King quote, from the still-to-come Wizard and Glass, is about this theme). Here it is addressed most directly. Carol expresses the quote above, but later Peter decides: "Hearts can break, yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don't. Because it isn’t just the loss of love to consider. It is the loss of ideals.” But then, what about hearts in Atlantis? It’s with that question that King shifts the collection from being about the relationships of a few interesting characters growing up in New England, to being about the tragedy of an entire generation.
Hearts in Atlantis is probably the fictional King book that has the most autobiographical elements. Reading it provides a lot of insight that elevates one’s appreciation for some of his other writing. But even if you never read anything else by King, this is a brilliant work that anyone can appreciate. It is probably this, more than any other story, that makes me consider him to legitimately be an all-time great writer.
1999
Novella from Hearts in Atlantis
Realism, drama
1/5
“You’re supposed to stand up. If you see something happening that’s wrong, like a big guy beating up a little guy, you’re supposed to stand up and at least try to stop it.”
“Time passes and everything gets bigger except us.”
“Hearts are tough, Pete. Most times they don’t break. Most times they only bend.”
An addiction to a card game threatens the academic standing of a group of college students as the possibility of being drafted into the Vietnam War looms large.
In my commentary for The Body, I expressed frustration with my inability to use words to communicate. That seems relevant here, as I’m not sure I know how to express why I love the title story from the Hearts in Atlantis collection so much. The novella is ostensibly about a group of college students that becomes obsessed with a card game (something that feels very real and not unlike various obsessions I developed as I grew up). But it is actually about so much more, and I feel like it really could be seen as the great American novel for an entire generation.
This is sort of going to get into some spoilers. Maybe not plot spoilers but spoilers about ideas. So be warned. The theme of broken vs. resilient hearts is something that King touches on in a lot of his works (my all-time favorite King quote, from the still-to-come Wizard and Glass, is about this theme). Here it is addressed most directly. Carol expresses the quote above, but later Peter decides: "Hearts can break, yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don't. Because it isn’t just the loss of love to consider. It is the loss of ideals.” But then, what about hearts in Atlantis? It’s with that question that King shifts the collection from being about the relationships of a few interesting characters growing up in New England, to being about the tragedy of an entire generation.
Hearts in Atlantis is probably the fictional King book that has the most autobiographical elements. Reading it provides a lot of insight that elevates one’s appreciation for some of his other writing. But even if you never read anything else by King, this is a brilliant work that anyone can appreciate. It is probably this, more than any other story, that makes me consider him to legitimately be an all-time great writer.
16. Low Men in Yellow Coats
1999
Novella from Hearts in Atlantis
Fantasy, dark fantasy, magical realism
2/5
- Dark Tower story
“Don’t be like the book-snobs who won’t do that. Read sometimes for the story—the language. Don’t be like the play-it-safers that won’t do that.”
“The less you know, the more you could believe.”
A group of children meet a mysterious stranger who seems to be on the run.
Having this and the Hearts in Atlantis novella back-to-back seemed mandatory. While the short stories that appear later in the collection are nice, the two novellas are the heart of the collection. They actually stand in contrast to one another as Hearts in Atlantis has no supernatural elements at all, while this one has the most of any in the collection. Though compared to King’s other works, it is still quite subtle.
If you have seen the movie Hearts in Atlantis, 95% of the plot came from this novella. The movie is fine and a reasonably faithful adaptation, though the novella has a lot more depth to it. In particular, Carol Gerber is a much better character in the book compared to the movie.
Low Men in Yellow Coats can stand on its own as a story, though of the five stories in this collection, it is the one most tied to King’s other works. In fact, it is pretty much mandatory reading for anyone making their way through The Dark Tower as one of the characters in Low Men becomes important later in that series, and the Low Men themselves also play a significant role.
1999
Novella from Hearts in Atlantis
Fantasy, dark fantasy, magical realism
2/5
- Dark Tower story
“Don’t be like the book-snobs who won’t do that. Read sometimes for the story—the language. Don’t be like the play-it-safers that won’t do that.”
“The less you know, the more you could believe.”
A group of children meet a mysterious stranger who seems to be on the run.
Having this and the Hearts in Atlantis novella back-to-back seemed mandatory. While the short stories that appear later in the collection are nice, the two novellas are the heart of the collection. They actually stand in contrast to one another as Hearts in Atlantis has no supernatural elements at all, while this one has the most of any in the collection. Though compared to King’s other works, it is still quite subtle.
If you have seen the movie Hearts in Atlantis, 95% of the plot came from this novella. The movie is fine and a reasonably faithful adaptation, though the novella has a lot more depth to it. In particular, Carol Gerber is a much better character in the book compared to the movie.
Low Men in Yellow Coats can stand on its own as a story, though of the five stories in this collection, it is the one most tied to King’s other works. In fact, it is pretty much mandatory reading for anyone making their way through The Dark Tower as one of the characters in Low Men becomes important later in that series, and the Low Men themselves also play a significant role.
The Longtime Lurker
Footballguy
And here I thought I read a lot of King, but turns out that's not the case. This list is awesome and my reading list has doubled. Taking notes on the Dark Tower companion stories I need to read and will probably take another trip along the beam later this year.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
This story is an elegy to (& criticism of) Baby Boomers. The characters here are King's own age at the time, so your comment about it being autobiographical I think is right on. It's got a "our generation screwed up" and a sadness vibe all over it. As someone who could get obsessive about things at that age (poker in my case, among many other habits), this story rings really true to me. I have no criticisms of this one, other than Carol might be a little too "adult".
Interesting, I never thought of Carol that way. I feel like she has the maturity to realize there are real life issues that are consequential (the war, her mother's health) but she also seems to have a bit of naivete around how to approach them (which we see play out in the later stories). This seems pretty characteristic of someone in college just learning to be an adult. I think we can partially attribute her maturity to some of what happened in Low Men in Yellow Coats, which is bound to make someone grow up a little faster. And of course she is going to seem more adult than the idiot guys playing cards and talking smack. But I still think there are some childlike qualities and gullibility there below a more mature facade.
15. The Shining
1977
Novel
Horror
4/5
An alcoholic man, his wife, and his preternatural son get trapped by a snowstorm in a haunted hotel.
I don’t know that I need to say a lot about this book. Obviously, this is one of King’s most famous works, if not the most famous. I suspect there are some who would rank this much higher, possibly even #1. The Shining has incredible balance between supernatural horror and the everyday horror of a man battling his personal demons. There are numerous iconic scenes, and it is genuinely scary. But for me, it just isn’t quite as brilliant as some of King’s best work. He has multiple books that are more ambitious and epic, some which are genre-defining. So, while I really love this book, it does not make the top ten for me.
1977
Novel
Horror
4/5
An alcoholic man, his wife, and his preternatural son get trapped by a snowstorm in a haunted hotel.
I don’t know that I need to say a lot about this book. Obviously, this is one of King’s most famous works, if not the most famous. I suspect there are some who would rank this much higher, possibly even #1. The Shining has incredible balance between supernatural horror and the everyday horror of a man battling his personal demons. There are numerous iconic scenes, and it is genuinely scary. But for me, it just isn’t quite as brilliant as some of King’s best work. He has multiple books that are more ambitious and epic, some which are genre-defining. So, while I really love this book, it does not make the top ten for me.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
All good points. I think I just identify more with the numbskulls ruining their lives by playing cards and I rarely listen to the adult in the room
You know who Carol reminds me of? Karen Allen's character in the film Animal House.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
In my personal opinion, this is ranked about where I'd have it. Whenever King goes to another level of the Tower, this will probably be the first work mentioned in his obituary. It's terrifying and really well-written. But I've read it a handful of times over the span of decades and I just could never quite connect to it.
Alternate casting in Kubrick's film for Jack: Dustin Hoffman or Harrison Ford.
14. “Jerusalem’s Lot”
1978
Short story from Night Shift
Horror
4/5
- Jerusalem’s Lot story
In the mid-1800’s, a man returns to his family's abandoned mansion and discovers that the town and his family are haunted by a dark secret.
The opening story to King’s greatest collection, Night Shift, “Jerusalem’s Lot” is one of the scariest things he has ever written. The story serves as a prequel to the novel ‘Salem’s Lot and provides backstory about King’s iconic town. It is written in epistolary form, which is pretty clever. Obviously, the town is associated with vampires and certainly that format has been used in vampire stories before. But there are no vampires in 19th century Jerusalem’s Lot.
That isn’t to say there aren’t awful horrors. One major theme in King’s writing is that evil attracts evil like a beacon, which is why towns like Jerusalem’s Lot and Castle Rock seem to have terrible things happen to them so frequently. Here we discover what led Kurt Barlow to this small Maine town. The tragic events of Chapelwaite become a precursor to those of the Marsten House. And we learn that no matter what they do, some families cannot break from the pattern of evil with which they are cursed.
1978
Short story from Night Shift
Horror
4/5
- Jerusalem’s Lot story
In the mid-1800’s, a man returns to his family's abandoned mansion and discovers that the town and his family are haunted by a dark secret.
The opening story to King’s greatest collection, Night Shift, “Jerusalem’s Lot” is one of the scariest things he has ever written. The story serves as a prequel to the novel ‘Salem’s Lot and provides backstory about King’s iconic town. It is written in epistolary form, which is pretty clever. Obviously, the town is associated with vampires and certainly that format has been used in vampire stories before. But there are no vampires in 19th century Jerusalem’s Lot.
That isn’t to say there aren’t awful horrors. One major theme in King’s writing is that evil attracts evil like a beacon, which is why towns like Jerusalem’s Lot and Castle Rock seem to have terrible things happen to them so frequently. Here we discover what led Kurt Barlow to this small Maine town. The tragic events of Chapelwaite become a precursor to those of the Marsten House. And we learn that no matter what they do, some families cannot break from the pattern of evil with which they are cursed.
13. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
1991
Novel
Dark fantasy, science fiction, western
2/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story
“Behold the stairways which stand in darkness; behold the rooms of ruin. These are the halls of the dead where spiders spin and the great circuits fall quiet, one by one."
“Ka was like a wheel, its one purpose to turn, and in the end, it always came back to the place where it had started.”
“I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.”
Roland Deschain trains his new ka-tet, preparing them for the dangerous journey to the Dark Tower.
The Waste Lands is the book where the journey to the Dark Tower really begins in earnest. Books 1 and 2 mostly set the stage, kind of like everything pre-Rivendell does in Fellowship of the Ring. Here the whole group is together and on their way to Mordor (or Thunderclap).
There are a lot of really cool elements in this one that help flesh out the history and mythology of All-World. There is an incredible sequence set in the city of Lud, a location that is referenced in multiple other King works. The real highlight of this one, though, is the development of the relationship between Roland and his companions.
1991
Novel
Dark fantasy, science fiction, western
2/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story
“Behold the stairways which stand in darkness; behold the rooms of ruin. These are the halls of the dead where spiders spin and the great circuits fall quiet, one by one."
“Ka was like a wheel, its one purpose to turn, and in the end, it always came back to the place where it had started.”
“I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.”
Roland Deschain trains his new ka-tet, preparing them for the dangerous journey to the Dark Tower.
The Waste Lands is the book where the journey to the Dark Tower really begins in earnest. Books 1 and 2 mostly set the stage, kind of like everything pre-Rivendell does in Fellowship of the Ring. Here the whole group is together and on their way to Mordor (or Thunderclap).
There are a lot of really cool elements in this one that help flesh out the history and mythology of All-World. There is an incredible sequence set in the city of Lud, a location that is referenced in multiple other King works. The real highlight of this one, though, is the development of the relationship between Roland and his companions.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Yeah, this is when King went into overdrive on the DT stuff - not only the volumes of the proper series, but all kinds of tie-ins. It's a great adventure tale and character study. That cliffhanger made me want to burn the book, because there was no knowing when the next was coming.
On a general note: I have a really hard time processing things like time travel, dream sequences, and alternate/parallel universes in literature. That's not the author's fault. But there are some elements of those kinds of ideas in this book I've never been able to completely wrap my head around. I won't say any more because that'll lead to spoilers for those who may want to read The Waste Lands.
Back to the novel itself, I think Eddie and (especially) Susannah are the stars of this show. Plus, we get Oy!!!!!
12. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
2004
Novel
Dark fantasy, horror, western, science fiction
3/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story
“And so will the world end, I think, a victim of love rather than hate. For love's ever been the more destructive weapon, sure.”
“...Never's the word God listens for when he needs a laugh.”
“There is no such thing as a happy ending. I never met a single one to equal ‘Once upon a time.’ Endings are heartless. Ending is just another word for goodbye.”
Roland Deschain reaches the end of his journey to the Dark Tower, confronting his greatest enemy, as well as his past and his future.
The culmination of King’s epic is truly epic itself. There is so much that happens in this book that I sometimes forget where the division takes place between the different novels and incorrectly recall parts of this one as being from other books.
I’m not going to say a ton about it because it is hard to talk about without spoiling too much. Opinions as to how it compares to other books in the series seem to be a little mixed, but for me there is no ambivalence. This book is incredible. There is an amazing cast of characters, including both new characters and some surprise appearances from people we have met before. In a little mini-spoiler I will say that there are a couple of deaths in this one. The death scenes are incredibly poignant, and I think are truly some of King’s finest writing ever. In fact, they may be some of the best writing I’ve ever read by any author. And I think the ending is right on point. Not every loose end from the entire series is perfectly tied up. I’m not sure that would even be possible. But from the standpoint of Roland’s story, the ending is the best one I can imagine, and the closing line may be my favorite of any book I’ve ever read.
2004
Novel
Dark fantasy, horror, western, science fiction
3/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story
“And so will the world end, I think, a victim of love rather than hate. For love's ever been the more destructive weapon, sure.”
“...Never's the word God listens for when he needs a laugh.”
“There is no such thing as a happy ending. I never met a single one to equal ‘Once upon a time.’ Endings are heartless. Ending is just another word for goodbye.”
Roland Deschain reaches the end of his journey to the Dark Tower, confronting his greatest enemy, as well as his past and his future.
The culmination of King’s epic is truly epic itself. There is so much that happens in this book that I sometimes forget where the division takes place between the different novels and incorrectly recall parts of this one as being from other books.
I’m not going to say a ton about it because it is hard to talk about without spoiling too much. Opinions as to how it compares to other books in the series seem to be a little mixed, but for me there is no ambivalence. This book is incredible. There is an amazing cast of characters, including both new characters and some surprise appearances from people we have met before. In a little mini-spoiler I will say that there are a couple of deaths in this one. The death scenes are incredibly poignant, and I think are truly some of King’s finest writing ever. In fact, they may be some of the best writing I’ve ever read by any author. And I think the ending is right on point. Not every loose end from the entire series is perfectly tied up. I’m not sure that would even be possible. But from the standpoint of Roland’s story, the ending is the best one I can imagine, and the closing line may be my favorite of any book I’ve ever read.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
My initial read I was disappointed, but just because I had built up expectations of a journey floor over floor of the tower
Years later I find it satisfying and the CODA really gave me a new perspective
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Yeah, it'll be hard to talk about this one without spoilers. I'll try in the paragraph below, though.
There are three deaths in the book that split King's fans into different camps (there are other deaths, too, but I've never seen much pushback on those). On first read, at least one of those had me scratching my head a bit. But I got it the second time around. A lot of these complaints come from people who want video game scenes. They didn't get that and got pissed off. These are the same people who start Reddit threads with titles like "If Lobelia Sackville-Baggins had the One Ring, could she beat up a Balrog with her umbrella?". Most times, death is pathetic and stupid because of hubris and bad luck.
The end is absolutely perfect and the only satisfying way - to me - this story could have ended.
Agree that there are passages in this book that are absolutely heartbreaking in the way King wrote them.
Depends on which Balrog, IMO. The Balrog of Moria, for sure. Gothmog? That would be an epic battle.
11. 11/22/63
2011
Novel
Alternate history, science fiction, thriller
1/5
This book got a lot of love in the All-time Books thread and I think I’ve seen it discussed in some other threads on this board, so I might leave it to others to provide thoughts on this. I’ll just say that it is a fascinating book, maybe King’s best in the last couple of decades. It did end up on a lot of top book lists regardless of genre in the year it was published.
The other things I’ll note are that King has clearly always had a fascination with the JFK assassination and it is referenced in a lot of his books. Also, as with “Dolan’s Cadillac,” this is another story in which King broke from his typical research laziness and really did his homework, even meeting with historians to make sure he got things right (we can quibble as to whether he always did or not, but he at least made the effort).
2011
Novel
Alternate history, science fiction, thriller
1/5
This book got a lot of love in the All-time Books thread and I think I’ve seen it discussed in some other threads on this board, so I might leave it to others to provide thoughts on this. I’ll just say that it is a fascinating book, maybe King’s best in the last couple of decades. It did end up on a lot of top book lists regardless of genre in the year it was published.
The other things I’ll note are that King has clearly always had a fascination with the JFK assassination and it is referenced in a lot of his books. Also, as with “Dolan’s Cadillac,” this is another story in which King broke from his typical research laziness and really did his homework, even meeting with historians to make sure he got things right (we can quibble as to whether he always did or not, but he at least made the effort).
10. The Dead Zone
1979
Novel
Thriller, science fiction, horror
2/5
- Castle Rock story
Following an accident, a man develops psychic abilities which compel him to confront a dangerous politician.
It might not be the biggest name novel he has written, but The Dead Zone is definitely one of King’s best. Johnny Smith is an apparent everyman until a car crash leaves him with limited clairvoyance. Learning that a charismatic populist politician who is rising through the ranks of Maine politics has the potential to threaten humanity, he must decide whether he has the ability and moral obligation to stop him. The primary story is great, but there are also some important side stories. Most notably, this is the first real appearance of King’s most famous fictional town, Castle Rock. The town is plagued by a serial killer in events that would later be referenced in novels like Cujo.
This isn’t one of King’s scariest stories, but ultimately I think it is one of his most satisfying with a really great plot from beginning to end.
1979
Novel
Thriller, science fiction, horror
2/5
- Castle Rock story
Following an accident, a man develops psychic abilities which compel him to confront a dangerous politician.
It might not be the biggest name novel he has written, but The Dead Zone is definitely one of King’s best. Johnny Smith is an apparent everyman until a car crash leaves him with limited clairvoyance. Learning that a charismatic populist politician who is rising through the ranks of Maine politics has the potential to threaten humanity, he must decide whether he has the ability and moral obligation to stop him. The primary story is great, but there are also some important side stories. Most notably, this is the first real appearance of King’s most famous fictional town, Castle Rock. The town is plagued by a serial killer in events that would later be referenced in novels like Cujo.
This isn’t one of King’s scariest stories, but ultimately I think it is one of his most satisfying with a really great plot from beginning to end.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Good Lord. It's been 14 years since this came out? The calendar is running too fast these days
This is a fascinating work. The high-concept is well done (though I had to squint hard a few times to keep it rolling), but the romantic subplot may be the best King's ever done. The book is a really good twist on the old "What if I could go back in time and kill Hitler?" question. King's answer is "Be careful what you wish for".
If I were just ranking King's novels, I may have had this higher than #11. But you're including shorter works and I'm interested in seeing what's in the Top Nine.
Edit: the hamburger subplot is hilarious
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Your #s 11 & 10 are two sides of the same coin, right? In one, a person wants to change what's already happened and in the other a person wants to change what's going to happen.
Yep. Can't believe I didn't think to comment on that. It might be that I didn't have these back to back initially; I did shuffle a few things in the rankings.
@Uruk-Hai "But you're including shorter works and I'm interested in seeing what's in the Top Nine." Ask and you shall receive...
9. “Children of the Corn”
1977
Short story from Night Shift
Horror
4/5
A couple traveling through Nebraska becomes trapped in a small town populated by a cult of homicidal children.
This might be King’s most well-known short story, and it is also one of his scariest. It famously spawned a movie franchise of dubious quality. The movies might not be the highest quality, but the short story is brilliant. Every word is right on point and the portrayal of the children is terrifying. The next entry up gets the slight nod as being just a little scarier and finishing as my highest ranked of all King’s short stories, but they are neck and neck.
9. “Children of the Corn”
1977
Short story from Night Shift
Horror
4/5
A couple traveling through Nebraska becomes trapped in a small town populated by a cult of homicidal children.
This might be King’s most well-known short story, and it is also one of his scariest. It famously spawned a movie franchise of dubious quality. The movies might not be the highest quality, but the short story is brilliant. Every word is right on point and the portrayal of the children is terrifying. The next entry up gets the slight nod as being just a little scarier and finishing as my highest ranked of all King’s short stories, but they are neck and neck.
Similar threads
- Locked
