Which Stephen King book should I read first

Don't forget the misunderstood but saint-like child and the handsome but evil perpetrator.

I've gone so far off Dean Koontz that I don't even bother getting his stuff from the library and will only read his old ones. He is so predictable - the villain will be a mad atheist, there will be an enormous government conspiracy and somewhere along the line there will be a golden retriever, but no-one ever shoots it or shags it. Big thumbs down to Koontz these days.

As for Joe Hill - I've read 'Heart-shaped Box' and thought it was OK, but not a patch on the old man.

Mmmm - does sound iffy - but will give it a chance.

Supposedly - it was more like realist fantasy a la Gaiman but not as well done. The main character was good and there were some well realised moments but the villain was totally cartoonish.

Oooh - haven't read that one - will give him a go. Why do the off spring of excellent writers do it? You're always going to be compared. Is King jnr's stuff horror?

I've just read 'Horns' by Joe Hill, King's son - not a patch on his daddy!

Back in the day I did my dissertation on Stephen King. He hadn't written quite so much then!

He's sooo much more than a slash and burn horror writer - but definately scarey. 'The Shining' is excellent, the uncut version of 'The Stand' is one of the best books out there. My personal favourite is the novella 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon', very subtle and creepy. I love everything he writes - it's very hard to choose - just dive in and go for it. Don't believe anyone who says the films are better - always read the books.

If you can get hold of any of his wife's books - Tabitha King - they are brilliant. She's a very different writer, but no less talented - and sadly little known.

Dean Koontz is just so shite in comparison to King. DH and I always laugh that his books are so predicta-plot! The characters are always the same - the 'baddies' are rich and have appalling interior design taste, the 'goodies' are poor but very tasteful!!!

I really liked Insomnia too - especially liked the fact that the main characters were not young, slim and sexy.

Insomnia was a Steven King book that i found really tough to continue reading but about half way it clicked and was an amazing read.

I think 'It' is terrifying because of the child's eye perspective - King does that so well.

In Firestarter I find myself really rooting for the father/daughter team and it's so sad.

I do also like the Desperation/The Regulators pairing - definitely worth a read (one is a King book, the other a Bachman book, but they do link into each other).

I've read everything he has ever written, and despite the fact that he does produce the odd turkey, I will continue to read everything he writes.

I mean "It" is terrifying. :) Firestarter isn't terrifying, but it is v good.

LOVE Firestarter, which is a shorter one. It is terrifying. The Stand is my all-time favorite.

I re-read Cell a couple of weeks ago (having hated it when it came out) and it was much better on second read. Am now re-reading Hearts In Atlantis and can remember absolutely nothing about it.

IT
The Stand
Thinner
The Long Walk
Green Mile
(Dark Tower - excellent fantasy)
The Shining
The Dead Zone
Carrie
Skeleton Crew (The Mist)
Different Seasons (The Body)
On Writing (a good non-fiction read)

I'm a bit 'meh' about Pet Sematary - I think the idea is really really good, but he could have written it so much better! It has a rushed feel about it, which isn't like King at all. The scary bits seem to be there just as window dressing because the foundations haven't been laid properly like in some of his other books.

No one has mentioned Pet Sematary ...

It
Bag of Bones
Duma Key
The Shining

Not necessarily in that order.

Avoid: the Tommyknockers, Cell, From a Buick 8, Dreamcatcher.

A lot of his books are linked in to his Dark Tower series - Hearts in Atlantis, Salem's Lot (retroactively), Black House, The Talisman. I'd really recommend the Dark Tower series, but it's a big commitment.

Needful Things was brilliant, surprised no-one has mentioned it yet. I read it years ago and it still gives me that knot in the stomach feeling thinking of it.

This takes me back to my teenage years when I used to read a lot of both King and Koontz. By far the scariest Stephen King book I read was Misery - I was only about 15 at the time mind I couldn't put it down and finished it in a couple of days. My friend and I then managed to sneak into the film, prepared for full-on horror but were a bit disappointed that it missed out some of the most gruesome parts.

I also enjoyed Insomnia a lot but that was more Thriller than Horror. I've not read any SK for years now but I know a lot of people who are re-visiting him so I might give him a try.

I think Dean Koontz is a bit hit and miss. I really enjoy reading some, like Lightening, but some are rubbish. I read one called Breathless (or something similar) which was really awful.

But Back to Stephen King. My favourites are The Stand, Carrie, Under The Dome, Different Seasons (a collection of short stories), The Green Mile and Cujo.

Definitely Cujo and Misery, couldn't go near a dog for months after reading the first one!

horror not hooror - I'll be back with a list of good hooror books later! :)

Daen Koontz mainly writes crap books, most of which are virtually identical and have some simperingly bad Christian overtones in places imho.

The Dark Tower series is amazing but it isn't hooror and I certainly wouldn't start with it, if you're new to King.

'Misery' or 'It' would be good places to start, or for v v traditional horror, 'Salem's Lot' or 'The Shining.'

I would start with the short stories first - Different Seasons, Night Shift or After Sunset.

And then go to The Shining, IT, The Stand, and The Dome. I love them all, but especially the short stories.

Dean Koontz (sp?) is shit compaired to Stephen King!!! I've read horror for years and would even bother to pick up a Koontz novel...

I think his best are Pet Semetary, Salems Lot, The Stand, Chrinstine, Carrie, Cujo, Misery, Dead Zone, Night Shift, Skeleton Crew and IT (seriously scary).

King also does amazing stories that aren't horror too, like Dolores Claiborne and The Green Mile and his short story collections are always brilliant including the story that formed the movie 'Stand by Me' called The Body that was in the collection Different Seasons.