Books

I'd suggest his Richard Bachman pen name stuff too.

Like any creator that has a huge body of work, there are gonna be hits and misses. I haven't read much of his older stuff, but I'm currently reading 'Salems Lot. I wouldn't say it's knocked me over, but I am enjoying it.

I have also read the Shining and Dr. Sleep and I enjoyed those immensely. Of his more recent stuff, I really like the Holly Gibney character and her arc in various novels and short stories.

You can start with "If it Bleeds", it's an anthology of short stories, the last of which is a Holly Gibney story.

I didn't care for "Sleeping Beauties", which he co-authored with his son Owen.

I like the stories he tells; but I do not particularly like his style of writing. I prefer watching the movies made of his stories than reading them the way he wrote them.

Meanwhile, I don't really like Dean Koontz's stories; but I like the way he writes. I want him to write a Stephen King novel.

Very slow-burning books, and I almost always lost interest before finishing them. I found The Dark Tower especially tedious. After I couldn't force myself read it, I got the audiobook version a lnd tried to listen to it three times, but always fell asleep. Ironically, the books I genuinely enjoyed were some of his longest ones: It, and The Stand.

As Richard Bachman, on the other hand, he wrote loads of entertaining books. It almost seems like in that persona he didn't give a shit what others thought of his works, and the books ended up eminently readable.

I find his earlier works are better. Salems Lot, Carrie. The Shining. His short stories are also usually good. He also wrote a lot of early stuff under pseudonyms.

But his later works are hit or miss for me. “Pet Semetary” was an interesting idea ruined by characters doing stupid things to move the plot forward. “It” has a huge following, but the underage orgy scene is disgusting and seems like something from a writer who used too many stimulants while writing it, and a publisher that didn’t have editorial control over his later works. “The Institute” was awful. Doctor Sleep was an unnecessary sequel. Etc etc.

I can't stomach most King. My wife has every book he's written.

That said, The Stand would be in my top 5 books ever. I've read it seven or eight times. 11-22-63 is also spectacular. I read it. Watched the Hulu mini-series and now am listening to the audio book.

Overrated.