Official Stephen King Publication Countdown - 28. The Long Walk, 27. Misery (6 Viewers)

[Ministry of Pain]

43. “The Monkey”
1980
Short story from Skeleton Crew
Horror
3/5

A man tries to escape from a cymbal-banging monkey toy that continually resurfaces in his life and seems to be associated with the untimely death of those around him.

This story surprised me. I expected it to be fairly simple and somewhat boring, but it actually is quite terrifying. On the surface, the monkey itself is scarier than I would have ever expected. But the story also has some depth and the apparent connection between the toy and the guilt the protagonist carries adds a lot. I’ve not seen the movie adaptation that just came out, but if it is anything like the short story it would definitely be worthwhile.

One of the most underrated books and then movies on this list
I'm not saying you had to rank it Top 10, just that many likely never read the book or saw the movie
Both are worth checking out

 

[Ministry of Pain]

The Shining is gonna be mega high, it's almost on a different level
I would have it on my Mt Rushmore

He has a handful of these types and that's a handful more than many writers ever accomplish.
My 1st King book that I picked up and read was "Pet Sematary" and it scared the **** out of me, used to jump anytime someone would open my bedroom door and I was reading it

Thanks for doing this

 

[Dan Lambskin]

37. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
1982
Novel
Dark fantasy, western, horror
3/5
- Dark Tower story
- Randall Flagg story

“Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, met at a single nexus, a single pylon, a Tower. And within it, a stairway, perhaps rising to the Godhead itself. Would you dare climb to the top, gunslinger?”

“Only enemies speak the truth. Friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty."

"Go then, there are other worlds than these."


Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, relentlessly pursues the Man in Black across a post-apocalyptic desert world, ultimately seeking the Dark Tower.

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With these words, among the most famous from any of his novels, Stephen King opens the epic that would become his magnum opus.

The initial inspiration for The Dark Tower was Robert Browning’s poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.” Additionally inspired by The Lord of the Rings and a number of western books and movies, he began writing an epic story in the early 1970s. When he published the first part of that epic, The Gunslinger, in 1982, it wasn’t clear that it would ever end up going anywhere.

It ended up going places King didn’t expect, prompting him to release a revised version of the novel in 2003 which corrected some plot inconsistencies between the original book and later novels in the series. Most of the edits were fairly small, however, and the tone of the original version remains. It’s a very different tone than the rest of the series, generally darker and lacking some of the humor of the later books. Nevertheless, this is a great beginning to an epic journey.

Love this series. I should do a reread
It does have its flaws but such a great journey

 

[turnjose7]

36. The Breathing Method
1982
Novella from Different Seasons
Horror
2/5

A determined woman gives birth despite all circumstances conspiring against her.

This is another underrated gem. It’s a frame story with the outer tale taking place in the same gentleman’s club as “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands” and providing more of a glimpse into the supernatural power of that club. The core tale is a relatively straightforward but an inspiring account of a character with incredible resolve. Sandra Stanfield is one of my favorite King characters, maybe the best of his female characters. King does a nice job with the period setting here, and the story has some underrated humor. Notably, this is the only story in Different Seasons that has supernatural elements.

 

[turnjose7]

35. The Body
1982
Novella from Different Seasons
Coming of age, realism
1/5
- Castle Rock story

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 - Jesus, did you?”

“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seem limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out.”


Four adolescents embark on a journey to find the body of a kid who died in an accident.

Most are probably familiar with the movie adaptation Stand by Me. It’s a great movie and a pretty faithful adaptation. The novel is also fantastic. It’s the quintessential coming-of-age story. I think even the harshest critics of Stephen King would have to admit that one thing he does super well is writing from the perspective of kids. I mean he seriously is probably the best author I have ever read at that. Here he does that as well as any of his works.

There isn’t anything supernatural about this story at all. I think it is probably one of his works that is most based on King’s own life. Obviously, a lot of his characters are writers and contain bits and pieces of him, but I get the sense that (along with Mike Noonan) Gordie Lachance is near the top in terms of how King sees himself.

It is worth noting that this is one of his earliest stories to be set in Castle Rock. It is also the first major story to feature Ace Merrill and give us a significant glimpse into that family of antagonists (though, as previously mentioned, Ace is mentioned in the Skeleton Crew version of “Nona,” he was not in the original version that was published before this novella).

Finally, I love the second quote above. Maybe a weird thing for a writer to say, but as someone who struggles to communicate, this rings true to me.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

36. The Breathing Method
1982
Novella from Different Seasons
Horror
2/5

A determined woman gives birth despite all circumstances conspiring against her.

This is another underrated gem. It’s a frame story with the outer tale taking place in the same gentleman’s club as “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands” and providing more of a glimpse into the supernatural power of that club. The core tale is a relatively straightforward but an inspiring account of a character with incredible resolve. Sandra Stanfield is one of my favorite King characters, maybe the best of his female characters. King does a nice job with the period setting here, and the story has some underrated humor. Notably, this is the only story in Different Seasons that has supernatural elements.

This is sort of the forgotten story from this book. Agree with your assessment and like it better than at least Apt Pupil from the collection (I'll rank them when you select the last one).

I believe King wrote Different Seasons because he was tired of the "all he does is write horror" takes about him. Of course, he couldn't help himself a little here

 

[Uruk-Hai]

35. The Body
1982
Novella from Different Seasons
Coming of age, realism
1/5
- Castle Rock story

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 - Jesus, did you?”

“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seem limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out.”


Four adolescents embark on a journey to find the body of a kid who died in an accident.

Most are probably familiar with the movie adaptation Stand by Me. It’s a great movie and a pretty faithful adaptation. The novel is also fantastic. It’s the quintessential coming-of-age story. I think even the harshest critics of Stephen King would have to admit that one thing he does super well is writing from the perspective of kids. I mean he seriously is probably the best author I have ever read at that. Here he does that as well as any of his works.

There isn’t anything supernatural about this story at all. I think it is probably one of his works that is most based on King’s own life. Obviously, a lot of his characters are writers and contain bits and pieces of him, but I get the sense that (along with Mike Noonan) Gordie Lachance is near the top in terms of how King sees himself.

It is worth noting that this is one of his earliest stories to be set in Castle Rock. It is also the first major story to feature Ace Merrill and give us a significant glimpse into that family of antagonists (though, as previously mentioned, Ace is mentioned in the Skeleton Crew version of “Nona,” he was not in the original version that was published before this novella).

Finally, I love the second quote above. Maybe a weird thing for a writer to say, but as someone who struggles to communicate, this rings true to me.

A+ story/A+ film adaptation. Rob Reiner went on one of the all-time directorial heaters during the period he made this. Most all of the casting was great, but this was the River Phoenix Show - Reiner had to get it right with casting that part and there's no way he could have made a more perfect choice. And Sutherland as Ace was such a perfect *******

The novella is exactly the right length and still has some of King's best writing.

 

[turnjose7]

34. The Langoliers
1990
Novella from Four Past Midnight
Horror
3/5

Passengers aboard a commercial flight fall asleep, and upon awakening find themselves in an alternate universe in which most of the population has disappeared.

Of all the stories in Four Past Midnight, The Langoliers is the strangest, but it also might be the most fun. The premise is cool, and the story has a lot of great characters and multiple layers to it. The biggest downside is that the payoff at the end is kind of weak as the main evil forces are a little disappointing. This is a fairly common criticism of several of King’s stories, and he has written extensively on the challenge of building up a terrifying antagonist in a horror story then being able to live up to expectations at the final reveal (and how this is even harder to do in writing than in visual media like film). Notwithstanding that, I still really like this story and actually consider the ending to be pretty satisfying.

 

[turnjose7]

33. “The Ten o’clock People”
1993
Short story from Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Horror
3/5

An office worker taking his regular smoke break discovers a horrifying truth about people in positions of authority.

I’m not sure why I like this story so much as the plot is fairly simple and it has been criticized for being a rip off of John Carpenter’s They Live (it’s actually an homage to the inspiration for that movie, Ray Nelson’s short story “Eight o’Clock in the Morning”). The bottom line is I love this story. The social commentary regarding smokers is fine though not particularly compelling. What is compelling is the description of the story’s antagonists, which is horrifying and elevates this above similar stories like They Live and "Eight o'Clock in the Morning."

 

[turnjose7]

32. “Gramma”
1984
Short story from Skeleton Crew
Horror
4/5
- Castle Rock story

A boy is left alone in a dark house to care for his bedridden grandmother.

In my opinion, this is the scariest story in Skeleton Crew. The beginning features a very real sense of discomfort that I think anyone can identify with. My grandmothers were lovely people and I was certainly never afraid of them, but almost any young kid is going to feel uncomfortable being around an elderly sick person. However, that’s just the start. The way the tension builds in this one is masterful. And the ending is chilling.

This is also notable as the second story in the countdown, after “Crouch End,” to reference the Cthulhu mythos.

 

[turnjose7]

31. The Dark Half
1989
Novel
Horror
3/5
- Castle Rock story

An author is framed for murder by his violent pseudonym come to life.

I think I probably like The Dark Half more than most; I obviously have it ranked pretty high and most lists seem to have it middle of the pack. As a fan of the Bachman books, I’m intrigued by the relationship between an author and their alter ego. This novel takes that to strange and scary places. It’s the scenes told from the perspective of George Stark that make this novel. Some of them are absolutely brutal. This book is also notable for the introduction of Alan Pangborn, a personal favorite character and an important part of future Castle Rock stories.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

31. The Dark Half
1989
Novel
Horror
3/5
- Castle Rock story

An author is framed for murder by his violent pseudonym come to life.

I think I probably like The Dark Half more than most; I obviously have it ranked pretty high and most lists seem to have it middle of the pack. As a fan of the Bachman books, I’m intrigued by the relationship between an author and their alter ego. This novel takes that to strange and scary places. It’s the scenes told from the perspective of George Stark that make this novel. Some of them are absolutely brutal. This book is also notable for the introduction of Alan Pangborn, a personal favorite character and an important part of future Castle Rock stories.

My feeble memory gets some of the events of this book mixed up with Secret Window, Secret Garden. I haven't read either story in a couple of decades, so that's on me. There are a couple of scenes that stick with me in this one, though. I won't mention them in case anyone here is wanting to read it.

 

[shuke]

Absolutely loved Doctor Sleep. Rose the Hat is a great antagonist.

For whatever reason, I really didn't like The Dark Half.

 

[turnjose7]

30. “The Road Virus Heads North”
1999
Short story from Everything’s Eventual
Horror
4/5
- Derry story

A retired horror novelist purchases a bizarre painting at a yard sale, leading to destruction for him and those around him.

This is one of my favorite stories in Everything’s Eventual. It was inspired by a painting King owns which his family hates. It’s not the most original idea (King has other stories about haunted pictures, as do other horror authors), but it is very well done and captures a sense of pulp horror very well. It’s strange and it’s terrifying at the same time. There is a sense of an inexorable march toward doom that never lets up at any point during the story.

 

[turnjose7]

29. Under the Dome
2009
Novel
Science fiction, political intrigue, horror
2/5

Citizens of a small Maine town struggle to survive when they are cut off from the rest of the world by an impenetrable barrier.

If I had to guess, I think that Stephen King’s favorite novel is probably Lord of the Flies. I see this book as an attempt to explore similar themes of the deterioration from civility to savagery in the face of great stress.

King originally attempted to write this novel early in his career but stopped because he felt like he couldn’t handle some of the technical details required. It has a lot more science in it than the typical King novel and gets into details of environmental and medical issues.

The author also very consciously wanted to make this one epic and in many ways was trying to recreate the dynamics that were successful in The Stand. In some respects, he did a decent job. This is certainly a page turner and probably one of his most fun books. Unfortunately, I think the novel is also a little uneven. Truly great moments are interspersed at times with clunky dialogue, lackluster heroes, some technical errors, and weird character motivations. Those things prevent me from ranking it near the very top of the rankings, but it is still a great book and one of my favorites from the latter part of his career.

 

[turnjose7]

28. The Long Walk
1979
Novel
Dystopian, psychological horror
3/5
- Richard Bachman book
- Randall Flagg story

In a dystopian future teenagers participate in an annual contest in which the person who can walk the longest wins a prize, but losers pay the ultimate price.

While not published until later, this is the first novel King wrote. Despite being written when he was only a freshman at the University of Maine, this book is a masterpiece of psychological horror. The tension is palpable, and the sense of reality makes it terrifying. With an amazing group of characters (and King’s ability to write well from the perspective of children extends to teenagers), multiple memorable scenes, and a satisfying ending, this is my top ranked of all the Richard Bachman books.

 

[turnjose7]

27. Misery
1987
Novel
Psychological horror, thriller
3/5

An injured writer is held prisoner in a remote mountain cabin by a devoted but unstable fan.

Clearly one of King’s most famous novels and one of his best loved. I have seen some lists that have this ranked as King’s best work. I totally get that. It is a great novel. The premise is awesome. It contains some of the tensest scenes you’ll ever read. Annie Wilkes is a top 5 King character.

Nevertheless, it is not in my top 10 and I promised @KarmaPolice I would expand on why. The main reason is that I think the book is too long for the story it tells (a common criticism of King, though one that in most cases I don’t agree with; here I do). I think someone actually mentioned it in the “Top 300 Books of All Time” thread, but the scenes from the fictional Misery book series are a little much. I like the idea of them being referenced, but part of the idea behind them is that they are terrible books, so I don’t need to read lengthy excerpts from them. I also find the scenes where Paul is drugged and the reader is in his altered mind to be a little cringey. Even the repeated escape attempts get a little monotonous after a while.

I think the same story with many of the same scenes could have been told in a 150-page novella and been a near-perfect story, maybe ranked #1 on my list. As it is, it’s a great book, but there are parts of it that just don’t work for me.

 

[turnjose7]

I meant to do a tease last night that there would be some heavy hitters this morning but forgot. Interested to see the reaction to the big names here. Not sure if it will be more like when I ranked "Ramblin' Man" low in my Allman Brothers song countdown or when I had Neil Young underrated in my music artists countdown. I suspect it will be more like the latter.

 

[zamboni]

27. Misery
1987
Novel
Psychological horror, thriller
3/5

An injured writer is held prisoner in a remote mountain cabin by a devoted but unstable fan.

Clearly one of King’s most famous novels and one of his best loved. I have seen some lists that have this ranked as King’s best work. I totally get that. It is a great novel. The premise is awesome. It contains some of the tensest scenes you’ll ever read. Annie Wilkes is a top 5 King character.

Nevertheless, it is not in my top 10 and I promised @KarmaPolice I would expand on why.

Watch your legs.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

28. The Long Walk
1979
Novel
Dystopian, psychological horror
3/5
- Richard Bachman book
- Randall Flagg story

In a dystopian future teenagers participate in an annual contest in which the person who can walk the longest wins a prize, but losers pay the ultimate price.

While not published until later, this is the first novel King wrote. Despite being written when he was only a freshman at the University of Maine, this book is a masterpiece of psychological horror. The tension is palpable, and the sense of reality makes it terrifying. With an amazing group of characters (and King’s ability to write well from the perspective of children extends to teenagers), multiple memorable scenes, and a satisfying ending, this is my top ranked of all the Richard Bachman books.

This is another of those "bottle episode" stories King does so well. There are hints, but you can't get a real handle on what's going on in the wider world beyond the main plot.

The trailer for the movie looks interesting.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

27. Misery
1987
Novel
Psychological horror, thriller
3/5

An injured writer is held prisoner in a remote mountain cabin by a devoted but unstable fan.

Clearly one of King’s most famous novels and one of his best loved. I have seen some lists that have this ranked as King’s best work. I totally get that. It is a great novel. The premise is awesome. It contains some of the tensest scenes you’ll ever read. Annie Wilkes is a top 5 King character.

Nevertheless, it is not in my top 10 and I promised @KarmaPolice I would expand on why. The main reason is that I think the book is too long for the story it tells (a common criticism of King, though one that in most cases I don’t agree with; here I do). I think someone actually mentioned it in the “Top 300 Books of All Time” thread, but the scenes from the fictional Misery book series are a little much. I like the idea of them being referenced, but part of the idea behind them is that they are terrible books, so I don’t need to read lengthy excerpts from them. I also find the scenes where Paul is drugged and the reader is in his altered mind to be a little cringey. Even the repeated escape attempts get a little monotonous after a while.

I think the same story with many of the same scenes could have been told in a 150-page novella and been a near-perfect story, maybe ranked #1 on my list. As it is, it’s a great book, but there are parts of it that just don’t work for me.

I agree with this, especially the bolded parts.

That said, this kind of scenario is something King (or any celebrity, really) has probably thought about a lot.

 

[Lehigh98]

28. The Long Walk
1979
Novel
Dystopian, psychological horror
3/5
- Richard Bachman book
- Randall Flagg story

What makes this one a Randall Flagg story? Read it a couple times but maybe I missed it or don't remember.

 

[turnjose7]

28. The Long Walk
1979
Novel
Dystopian, psychological horror
3/5
- Richard Bachman book
- Randall Flagg story

What makes this one a Randall Flagg story? Read it a couple times but maybe I missed it or don't remember.

I'll send you a message cause I don't want to spoil things for others