Stephen King

[madeupmummy2012]

Hi Ladies,
Planning a trip to the library and fancied a horror/thriller. Heard of Stephen King, anyone got any recommendations?

[OstrichSized]

Try his earlier novels. My favourite are
Carrie
Misery
Cujo
Pet Semetary (got so scared that I skipped bits)

Enjoy!

[ZacharyQuack]

If you like scary, try "It"

[CreepyCrawly]

I found Pet Semetary terrifying.

The Stand is a fantastic read if you have the time.

[Binfullofmaggotsonthe45]

The Shining

A lot of his characters intertwine in his books, so it might be an idea to start with the earlier ones.

[bruffin]

I always liked The Dead Zone, which is one of his earliest. I read it in one go, when it first came out.

[HeathcliffeItsMe]

Yy to earlier novels, The Shining, IT and Carrie especially.

[VintageEbonyGold]

I've just got Cell to read again which is really good. The Stand is good, insomnia, nightmares + dreamscapes and cujo are all good as well.

[IamtheZombie]

The Stand (1990 edition - includes bits edited out of the original version) without a doubt.

[MimsyBorogroves]

IT is definitely the best. Encompasses all of his best themes.

[DancehallDaze]

The first one I tried was 'It' and I couldn't get on with 'It' at all :) Later on I did give SK another go and was glad I did. When he's good he's very good,, but he has written some stinkers.

Having said that, every book of his seems to be somebody's favourite. I''m definitely in the minority disliking 'It', but I would recommend starting with one of the shorter books. Try his short story and novella collections. That is a good way to sample the variety of his work.

[CoteDAzur]

The Stand
Firestarter
Dead Zone
The Shining

[Moln]

Pet Sematary or The Shining

[Japple]

-" BLACK HOUSE "- by Stephen King & Peter Straub.This is a Treat for
fans of "The Talisman".
You take me to a place I never go,
You send me kisses made of gold,
I'll place a crown upon your curls,
All hail the Queen of the World !
-The Jayhawks
Read it... Right Here and Now...

[BeatTheClock]

Bag of Bones is one of my favourites.

[Japple]

...Love "Bag of Bones". Isn't That the one where SHE says,"...It's just a Round
and Round,Sugar!"I Do tend to get my collection of 500 Horror-Sci/Fi books
Mixed up.Jill.

[VintageEbonyGold]

If you want a comparison of his genius read his book Desperation then read The Regulators he wrote as Richard Bachman. Sheer genius.

[TramadolJacket]

I love his short story collections, Nightmares and Dreamscapes in particular.

Christine, Misery, The Shining and Pet Sematary are also amazing.

[BeatTheClock]

I've read Desperation but not Regulators. Is one much better than the other? (Some same characters I understand)

I didn't love Desperation - it was ok but not a favourite.

Currently reading 11.22.63 and recently finished The Dome. I seem to be going through a phase of non ghosty SK stories atm. Really enjoying 11.22.63.

I was a bit disappointed in The Dome. Such a huge book and it took me ages to read (slow reader) but the ending ran out of steam imo.

[VintageEbonyGold]

I didn't think desperation was that good, the regulators, I think, is brilliant.

Didn't really like the dome.

Love the short stories the 9'oclock people, chattery teeth, the finger, the long walk, the one with the vampire with the plane.

Haven't read 11.22.63.

Salems lot was good too and liked the bachman books.

[BeatTheClock]

Hmm interesting thanks Vintage. I was dithering about reading Regulators after Desperation but I'll give it a go now

[akaemmafrost]

SK has written a sequel to The Shining about Danny as an adult. Called Doctor Sleep .

[solidgoldbrass]

Have just finished 11.22.63 and found it fascinating but very slow. And you would really not get it half as well if you hadn't read IT first.

I would recommend Rose Madder (even though King claims he was off his nut on cough medicine and cocaine and has forgotten writing it), The Stand, It, Christine, Insomnia and The Dead Zone. Most of the rest are OK but the ones I can't be bothered with re-reading are Dreamcatcher and Needful Things, which are just dull.

Of the Bachman books, if you can get hold of it The Long Walk is brilliantly creepy and depressing. I just bet Suzanne Collins read it at some point.

[Isabeller]

Full Dark No Stars - 4 long short stories very different from each other, all very haunting.

Long version of The Stand converted me, needs lots of time eg fictional bout of flu

[skyebluesapphire]

I love Stephen King - especially The Stand, Misery, Carrie, Firestarter. The short story collections are great too, especially The Mist and The Langoliers. All of Sk's books are excellent

[MrsRobertDuvallHasRosacea]

I found The Tommyknockers in a charity shop yesterday.