Official Stephen King Publication Countdown - 20. Bag of Bones, 19. Carrie (2 Viewers)

[turnjose7]

22. The Library Policeman
1990
Novella from Four Past Midnight
Horror
4/5

A man who is scared that he is being hunted for failing to return books to a small-town library discovers that he is really battling his past demons.

This is the best story in Four Past Midnight. It is also one of the most brutal stories that King has ever written. In horror stories, there are different types of feelings that the author can try to elicit: there is the feeling a terror that makes you jump at an unanticipated sounds or keeps you from sleeping at night, and there is the revulsion you feel by being exposed to something incredibly disturbing (for those who are interested, he expands on this in Danse Macabre). The Library Policeman has both in spades.

For those who are new to King or who are sensitive at all, this is not where I would start. It deals with a lot of disturbing topics including the effects of end-stage alcoholism, enslavement, and even child molestation quite directly (though mercifully not as graphically as he maybe could have). Those who have had more experience with King and been somewhat inoculated against his more shocking story elements will find a complex and rewarding story with multiple layers.

This novella does have some nice connections to other King stories, including an antagonist who bears a resemblance to and is probably related to other important King antagonists, and a reference in Needful Things to subsequent events that happen in the town that is the setting of The Library Policeman.

I was rolling with this story the first time I read it until... THAT scene. I remember thinking something like "You went too far this time, King". And it's not because it triggered some experience I had had. It was just gross and exploitation, in my opinion.

Anyway, not criticizing your ranking. It just caught me wrong.

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]

21. The Green Mile
1996
Novel
Fantasy, magical realism, prison story
1/5

An elderly man in a retirement home records the story of when he worked as a death row supervisor and met a giant, but gentle, inmate with mysterious healing powers. The encounter leads Paul Edgecombe to question his beliefs about justice and the nature of good and evil.

Some might be surprised not to see this story ranked even higher. In many rankings of King’s works it lands in the top 10, and its screen adaptation is one of the better movies based on King’s work. It’s a great book, for sure, but for me it is not top-tier King. The story spends a fair amount of time fleshing out small details of minor characters, a technique King often uses well to add authenticity to his works. But he seems to do a better job with that when writing about characters from his home state of Maine, and here I think some of these cast-building scenes seem just a little flat. Additionally, while it was a cool idea to try a Dickensian serial publication format, when brought together it seems a bit jarring. Still, this is a great story that touches on a lot of powerful themes.

I read this recently and was honestly underwhelmed. A nice story but not what I'm looking for when I read King. I've never seen the movie, but I wonder if the accolades this books gets are biased based on how good the movie is, based on what you are saying.

I think so.

 

[turnjose7]

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.

 

[turnjose7]

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.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

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.

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]

Here, Stephen’s wife Tabitha famously helped him write from the standpoint of a teenage girl

Also, according to King, he threw the manuscript in the trash and Tabitha fished it out telling him to finish it.

 

[zamboni]

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.

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.