Best Stephen King book
 

im doing an assignement for school on an author of my choice. i chose stephen king, and i need to know what his best book is. thnx.:)

In my opinion, his best book isn't horror. Check out Eyes of the Dragon, a fantasy novel he wrote in the late 80's. It does contain his favorite antagonist, Randall Flagg. I also really enjoyed what I've read of the Dark Tower series, but I haven't completed it.

If you insist on a horror novel, I recommend Needful Things. It's a little faster paced than most of his novels. I might not be the best person in the world to ask though, because I really don't care that much for Kings writing style. Pet Semetary is also good, but it's so slow it takes an iron constitution to make it to the payoff.

I would say Green mile that one his best and also Misery and Pet Semetary

Danse Macabre is my favorite, but it's not horror, or even fiction. it's King's ideas and thoughts on the horror genre (books, radio, and film mostly) from the 50's to the end of the 70's.

no offense to the fans .. but i think Salems Lot is the only one worth reading.

Shit, here comes another twenty page thread.

In my opinion, King has always done his best work in short form. Night Shift is probably the best collection, although Everything's Eventual contains what I consider to be his best story ("1408".) If you must do a novel, Pet Sematary is probably the standout.

I'm not a fan either, but Danse Macabre was the first thing I ever read that discussed horror movies seriously, so it really made an impression.

I second that.

I agree with noctuary, his best work is in short stories...

but his best book?
On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft

i think im getting his new one "Cell" because after i read this review:

Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous. Cell, the king of horror's homage to zombie films (the book is dedicated in part to George A. Romero) is his goriest, most horrific novel in years, not to mention the most intensely paced. Casting aside his love of elaborate character and town histories and penchant for delayed gratification, King yanks readers off their feet within the first few pages; dragging them into the fray and offering no chance catch their breath until the very last page.



Awesome.

yeah cell was really good.....said a whole lot bout our society.....tho i love it......just cause i read it when i was younger......and then watched the long ass film.......my grandad even read some of it to me as a kid so tis special.....plus now im scared of clowns because of it.......i like skeleton crew and diffrent seasons too cause its got the body in

Cell was good. I think It and the Stand are really amazing, however. I like how raw and archetypal they are and how well he captures so many diverse voices.

the stand chills me.......really great book

None of them, he is a hack and should be...just kidding. I like reading his stuff.

I have to agree with a lot of the books I have already seen on here but the best in my opinion has to be "On Writing". Sure his fiction is good but this is great, it really shows what it is like being a writer and give really good tips on how to be a writer yourself.

I havent read a whole lot of his work, but from what Ive read, The Green Mile is far-and-away his best novel.

The Shining is a good runner-up...didnt really care for Pet Sematary though.

Salem's Lot is his best hands down. The stand is a obese drawn out piece of shit, if it was 500 pages shorter it might be good. And yes I do read monster books like that, and love every minute of them. Those books however have something interesting going on awt al times. The stand is just long for the sake of being long.

Stephen King
 

hmm..My favorites are The Green Mile,IT ,Carrie,and Pet cemetery.

Just read Carrie. Not bad, but it isn´t horror. Salem´s Lot, The Stand and The Shinning are in my Must Read List.

Salem's Lot is my favorite, also. Very scary book.

My favs are Eyes of the Dragon, The Gunslinger, and (though I'm only half-way through it) Cell.

I enjoy a lot of King's work. Cell was great - I loved the atmosphere throughout the book. I really liked From a Buick 8 because of the shifting POV. His short stories are great too. The Long Walk would also have to be another favourite.

Danse Macabre was another non-fiction bok by King that I adore. It was an early musing on the horror genre and the writing is indicative of King at his most cocaine-fueled. Fun, fast, informative and often wildly off-the-mark. It's a great read for anyone interested in the history of or analysis of the horror genre.

I've read pretty much all of King's books and the only ones that I would not recommend would be "Gerald's Game", "The Tommyknockers", "Dreamcatcher", and "Needful Things".


One that I haven't read is "Roadwork". Has anyone read this? Is it any good?

Has anyone read "Roadwork"?

Yes, it's pretty good. I would not call it horror, and I'm certain it wasn't meant to be, but it's a solid story of a man's struggle to defend what he believes in, even if it drives him to insanity. Literally.


I like King's work, I find it simplistic and overworded, but very enjoyable. I can see why others wouldn't be too fond of him.

I like Dreamcatcher, Salems' Lot, The Shining, Cujo, Thinner...Thinner and Cujo had unjustifiable movies made out of them, so before you laugh, give the books a try.

Most have been mentioned, but you should all check out Stationary Bike, it's almost like somebody else wrote it. I'm not saying Steven King isn't good but it's so different from his usual stuff, especially for being so recent. I also liked Regulators and Running Man a lot which I didn't see mentioned but maybe missed.

I really wasn't a fan of Dreamcatcher and Thinner is one of the few that I haven't read. Maybe I'll give Roadwork a run as my next read. Have you read Misery or The Long Walk? I loved both of them.

"Gerald's Game" is one of the select books I've finished. Actually, maybe the only one. I think there is more horror found in this one than his other stories.

Yeah, most didn't like Dreamcatcher. I was totally engrossed by the descriptive accounts of the characters involved, individually, as each discovers the horrors that are happening around them. I found the layout marvelously chilling.

Thinner is just a lot of fun. Good, weird gypsy story, and a fast read.

Didn't care too much for Gerald's Game, I'm with Master on this one. The idea was strong, and terrifying, but it ended up just sagging in all of its ideas, and the main character's reflections were only uninteresting perversions to me.

Master, give Roadwork a try. It's quite enjoyable.

Gerald's Game had tons of potential and it probably could have been great if 150 or so pages had been cut.

After reading this thread and realizing that I had never read The Stand, I went and got it. I zipped through it in three nights (lost a bit of sleep) and found it fantastic. I did like the first half the best but it was a good read. The Long Walk is a great story as well but it is depressing. I have to be in the right mood to read it. I have found that most of his Bachman books are very depressing but novel because they don't follow the hollywood happy ending pattern. (side note: I have an early copy of Thinner with the fake author photo in the back)

I liked The Stand a lot. However, I much preferred Swan Song by: Robert McCammon. It was very similar to the Stand in many ways, but I found it to be a better overall book. Have you read it?

The Stand 3 nights?! You're a readin' machine!

I thought the same thing. I've read quite a few books in a day or two, but the Stand took me a bit longer.

Yes I read very quickly. It can be a blessing and a curse. The story flows fast but I run out of books all the time. I like King books because they are often huge and I can stretch it out to more than 6 hours. The Stand took me about 17 hours. I am good at english but suck at math - that's why I teach english. Anyway- yes I have read Swan Song and thought it was fantastic. I need to buy a copy as I borrowed the one I read. I am working my way through The Talisman right now. I think it is ok but nowhere near as good as Swan Song or The Stand.

It's a bit off topic, but read "Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis.

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

Did you try Staionary Bike yet? It's a novella so it's well worth the 20 minutes you would need to read it. :)

LOL! Funny you are. No I have not read Stationary Bike - is it a short story? Is it in an anthology?

Whoops Duh! You just said it was a novella. What collection is it in?

It's in From the Borderlands: Stories of Terror and Madness.
Some amazing stories in this one and a couple forgettable tales as well.