Jan 12, 2018 stephen king is a literary icon, a status hes achieved by a defining a genre. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. An underrated classic, rose madder 1995 is the story of rosie daniels, a wife who has finally found the courage to. The wind through the keyhole 2012 could also be read between books four and five as is chronologically correct amazon novellas short stories collections by stephen king. Stephen king, one of the masters of american horror fiction, has an. Had there not been such content, the book may well have been less than half its len. Author of 59 novels, 5 nonfiction works and countless short stories, stephen king books should. In other words, not only has stephen king written some genius novels and short stories, novellas, essays, and works of criticism, but hes written a lot of them51 novels to date, in fact, with number 52 coming up shortly. Stephen king books in chronological order stephen king. When i was a voracious bookworm, constantly outreading my budget, my mom tried to get me interested in stephen king.
Stephen king is a literary icon, a status hes achieved by a defining a genre. And like any maine bookworm with a love of the macabre, i adored him as sort of local hero. The 10 best movies based on stephen king books according. Gray matter, a black comedy about a hideous mutation caused by a bottle of beer. In our recent interview with stephen king, we asked the author to. Stand by me cast the film was based on kings short story the body. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many of them have been adapted into feature films, television movies and comic books. All of the best stephen king books, ranked reedsy discovery. The bulk of kings short stories exist only in the series of 11 anthologies hes published during his career.
List of best stephen king books to read in 2020 stephen king has so many nailbiting classics to his name that it is unfair to classify or rank them. The titular creature awakens every 27 years to feed off of the residents of derry, maine, and it. Im not saying that is a bad thing, but it might not appeal to some people. Her work has appeared regularly in the orlando sentinel. Aug 28, 2015 in this way, kings books transcend genre and appeal to all lovers of the written word. If youre feeling overwhelmed by the number of great horror books. Unfortunately there isnt much with teenage main characters. This week, stephen king releases his latest novel, mr. Pretty much everything by stephen king has gruesome instances. His output includes some of the best short, shivery tales in the horror canonranging from the earliest days of his career, when he was publishing in magazines like cavalier, up to some of his most poetic and powerful yarns in more recent years. Different seasons rita hayworth and shawshank redemption. But by some off chance youre a stranger to his writing, weve rounded up 10 of the best, most ghastly horror books written by stephen kinghis greatest hits, if you willin no particular order. Awesome it really is a good read, totally recommend this book. King has, to date, written or collaborated on more than 70 books, including collections of nonfiction essays, and published over 200 short stories.
Jan 22, 2019 and that says a lot, since this author stands 64. With more than 70 books in his catalog, stephen king has long been one of the few blockbuster writers who regularly publishes short fiction. I dont regard the shining as the authors most lavish work at least, when compared to other stuff hes published. It is his 65th book, if you count novels, nonfiction, and shortstory collections, and we are using its publication as an excuse to. Technically, four of these collections contain a handful of. Stephen king is one of the most prolific authors alive, known for writing horror, fantasy, and psychological thrillers. Stephen king is considered not only one of the most prolific horror authors of our time, with over sixty novels and approximately two hundred short stories to his name. Apr, 2020 stephen king may be known for his doorstopper novels, but hes a hell of a short story writer when he sets his mind to it. Theres no doubt that the mans publishing career is impressive, but king was perhaps most prolific with his short stories. See where misery, the shining, pet sematary, and the dark tower land and which horror gem takes the top spot. So forget what youve seen in the movieswhether youre new to stephen kings oeuvre, or youre working on indoctrinating a friend, reading the following 10 books is nonnegotiable. Every single stephen king book, ranked from worst to best. In some 45 years of writing, stephen king has published 31,271 pages across 59 novels, plus five works of nonfiction and more than 200 short stories. Curious about where to start with horror master stephen king.
After graduating from college in 1970, king worked as a high school teacher while writing short stories and novels on his own time. Stephen king is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Ghost stories was an adaptation of stephen king s short stories the return of timmy baterman, about zombies. Here is the list of stephen kings books were reading as part of stephen king revisited, along with links to the essays and other content we have posted for each book. The 10 best stephen king books monsters and critics. King has published 63 novels, including seven under the pen name richard bachman, and five nonfiction. In the meantime the author kept writing books, many of which again were translated to powerful movies, such as christine, and the dead zone starring christopher walken. Uncle ottos truck, and the boogeyman, about a distraught fathers encounter with a child. But however you know him, from the films or his books, there is little doubt that stephen is the king at what he does.
Hes known for writing gruesome scenes and grotesque villains. His recent work includes the institute, elevation, the outsider, sleeping beauties cowritten with his son owen king, and the bill hodges trilogy. The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor. Another stephen king book that became a major motion picture, this first installment in the dark tower series introduces readers to roland of gilead. Heres some background on the mainebased writer and a bibliography, featuring details about some of his most notable works.
From an oeuvre of almost 100 books, here are the best stephen king books, ranked. Short story collections from authors like stephen king. To be honest, it wasnt until a very knowledgeable and experienced editor told me that he was a bad writer that i began to look at him from that angle. In our recent interview with stephen king, we asked the author to name the best book he ever wrote. I suggest reading these collections in chronological order to allow you to see the changes in stephens writing over the years. Kings 60plus novels and ten long collections of short fiction reflect and. In this way, kings books transcend genre and appeal to all lovers of the written word. Vote on the best to the worst of stephen kings short story collections and novella collections. As one of the most prolific horror and suspense writers in the biz, stephen king has enough books in his extensive oeuvre to last thriller readers quite some time. Each is accompanied by a synopsis directly from the stephen king web presence.
Theres a reason it tops this list of stephen kings scariest books. The good guys who, through their flaws, show that its possible to persevere in uncertain circumstances. May 20, 2017 the fact that stephen king can take an idea like this one and turn it into a very readable short story is a testament to his writing ability. Tv, bestselling author stephen king discusses the art of writing short stories and short fiction, and the fact that many. The dark tower series 19822012 the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Jul 22, 2016 theres a reason it tops this list of stephen king s scariest books. Stephen edwin king born september 21, 1947 is an american author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, and fantasy novels. The ultimate guide to every single short story collection stephen king has. Nov 05, 2014 stephen king poses during a portrait session on november 16th, 20 in paris, france. Dark tower is what keeps so many king fans from taking the eight book plus one short story. Jan 14, 2020 stephen king is one of the most prolific authors alive, known for writing horror, fantasy, and psychological thrillers. Stephen kings 10 scariest books, because sleeping is. Stephen king, one of the most established authors in the world today, is by no means an unfamiliar author, maybe unfavoured in terms of writing style for some, but definitely not in terms of fame.
The following is a complete list of books published by stephen king, an american author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Before, i had thought he was perfect except for his endings, of course. It is his 65th book, if you count novels, nonfiction, and short story collections, and we are using its publication as an excuse to. All of the best stephen king books, ranked as the greatest living master of both jump scares and slowcreeping dread, stephen king has reshaped an entire genre in the image of his imagination. Feb 18, 2016 however, the sheer number of books 54 novels, six nonfiction works, and countless short stories can make a trip to the king section of your favorite local bookstore feel like entering a.
Hes also known for creating multidimensional protagonists. But the reaction i get most often is the good old ugh. His most wellknown works include the shining 1977, it 1986, carrie 1974, misery 1987, pet sematary 1983, and the green mile 1996. Apr 16, 2020 list of best stephen king books to read in 2020 stephen king has so many nailbiting classics to his name that it is unfair to classify or rank them. Stephen king on the craft of short story writing youtube. Author stephen king, the undisputed legend of modern genre. This is a list of media based on work by stephen king including the richard bachman titles. Regardless, it has long served as one of the best stephen king books for beginners, and has rightfully remained a shining ha. With what is now considered one of the best opening lines in fiction, stephen king. Kings fundamental battle between good and evil has never had a more epic stage. Oct 21, 2019 short story collections from authors like stephen king. In other words, not only has stephen king written some genius novels and short stories, novellas, essays, and works of criticism, but hes written a lot of them51 novels.
In it, the characters are around 1112 through half of it. That is why we have decided to name 11 of our favorite stephen classics which we believe you should pick up for a visceral reading experience. May 30, 2017 the artwork from pet sematary, without doubt one of the best stephen king books of all time. Apr 06, 2020 as one of the most prolific horror and suspense writers in the biz, stephen king has enough books in his extensive oeuvre to last thriller readers quite some time. However, the sheer number of books 54 novels, six nonfiction works, and countless short stories can make a trip to the king section of your favorite local bookstore feel like entering a. It has me interested in listening to some stephen king books but the last one i listened to was a really bad book on tape version of the stand. The 10 best movies based on stephen king books according to. The 10 best stephen king books your picks for the horror masters scariest, most suspenseful pageturners, from it to the dead zone. The titular creature awakens every 27 years to feed off. Author stephen king, the undisputed legend of modern genre fiction, first became known for horror, then. He also happens to be one of my favorite storytellers, an author i. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. Blog posted on wednesday, apr 03 stephen king short stories did you know that there are over stephen king short stories in existence.
Stephen kings 10 scariest books, because sleeping is overrated. For two generations of literary thrillseekers, his very name is synonymous with horror. Technically, four of these collections contain a handful of novella length stories rather than 20 or so short stories. Stephen king is one of the most prolific authors in the world, with more than 50 books in print, and more coming out every year. King is also considered one of the best horror authors of our time, and it makes filmmakers itch to adapt his written works for the screen related. Stephen king was very longwinded with the characterizations and sidestories in it. Stephen king books, ranked from worst to best vulture. Buy products related to stephen king short stories and see what customers say about stephen. The stand by stephen king, it by stephen king, the shining by stephen king, misery by stephen king, salems lot by stephe. The artwork from pet sematary, without doubt one of the best stephen king books of all time. Dec 18, 2016 stephen king was very longwinded with the characterizations and sidestories in it. Stephen king is one of the most successful writers of our time, and hes certainly my favorite. A definitive ranking of every stephen king novel ever.
Mar 10, 2020 based loosely on stephen kings short story quitters, inc. So, with the newest release of one of his novels in movie form, the mist, i present you with the top fifteen of his novels. Top 11 best stephen king books everyone should read in 2020. A person who champions reading as a prerequisite to better writing, he writes 2,000 words a day and has sold more than 350 million copies, many of. The fact that stephen king can take an idea like this one and turn it into a very readable short story is a testament to his writing ability. Many more king books have adaptations in the works, so many horror fans might be. Carrie 1974 historical essay richards thoughts guest essay by ray garton richards followup salems lot 1975 historical essay richards thoughts guest essay by christopher golden the shining. Except for his standalone novels and short stories, stephen king also wrote the popular dark tower series, with the first book published in 1982, for a total of 7 books. Stephen king poses during a portrait session on november 16th, 20 in paris, france.