Best of Stephen King

[Vil7]

Another thing I don't care for about King as I get older is his dependency on horrible shit happening to kids in his books. Read the Library Police or whatever it was called and see what I mean. Who writes shit like that?

What used to annoy me about his books is that the protagonist was a writer 90% of the time. I used to wish they'd be a mechanic, or electrician or anything other than a writer.

 

[Mike]

Still can't believe anyone actually liked the ending to the Dark Tower. As a big King fan that shit pissed me off pretty bad. Didn't read any of his books for a couple years after that. Fuck that terrible ending and the last couple books in the series in general.

 

[sickc0d3r]

The Stand
Eyes Of The Dragon
The Shining
IT
Misery

*Honorable Mentions : The Tommyknockers, The Talisman, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger

 

[Brampton_Boy]

Still can't believe anyone actually liked the ending to the Dark Tower. As a big King fan that shit pissed me off pretty bad. Didn't read any of his books for a couple years after that. Fuck that terrible ending and the last couple books in the series in general.

I loved it - When he is yelling the names of his katet as he approaches the tower, I got chills (Oy the brave of midworld). The Epilogue was also bitter sweet, but very fitting for somebody who was an anti hero like Roland.

I will admit that Mordrid and the Crimson King were total cans as far as supervillains go.

 

[Satur9]

Pet Semetary
It
Nightmares and Dreamscapes(fav SS book)

 

[Mike]

I loved it - When he is yelling the names of his katet as he approaches the tower, I got chills (Oy the brave of midworld). The Epilogue was also bitter sweet, but very fitting for somebody who was an anti hero like Roland.

I will admit that Mordrid and the Crimson King were total cans as far as supervillains go.

There were good and bad parts, but the actual ending pissed me off so, so bad. Probably the most infuriating ending I've ever read.

1. As you mentioned, Mordred and the Crimson King were total cans after years of build up

2. All of Roland's buds got killed off except Susannah, who inexplicably just fucking abandoned him.

3. The time loop thing, and for all reasons because he didn't remember to grab the fucking horn. I mean for reals? Painfully stupid.

4. The tower giving Roland a retarded lecture, everything is like this because of your personality Roland, everything is your fault. REALLY? In the books I read he found out that not just his world but ALL worlds were going to end if he didn't stop the Crimson King. It's not like he sacrificed everyone he loved just for the lolz, he had no choice. That preachy bullshit reeeealllly pissed me off.

5. After all that bullshit spanning 20 years we didn't even get to see Roland win, because fuck you that's why.

No cool showdown or final fight of any kind. You finally get to see the inside of the tower and the only thing in it is smug Captain Hindsight lectures.

 

[mmascene]

Salem's Lot
Skeleton Crew
Night Shift
Thinner

 

[LionExMachina]

Dark Tower (minus the ending)
Black House (with Peter Straub)
Skeleton Crew

 

[drstrangelov]

11/22/63 was his best, in my opinion. It had a huge scope, probably his best romantic plot, an exciting plot and, what really sets it apart, it didn't fall apart at the end. Some of his other books wrapped up cleanly (The Shining, Revival, Duma Key) but they were smaller scale stories.

After that id say It and The Stand. It just for the scenes with the kids, he could have written that without the monster and it would have been hugely enjoyable. I guess that's what Stand By Me was, but much shorter. The Stand was just a great epic scifi horror story.

Next tier down I'd say The Shining, Duma Key, Revival, Joyland, Under the Dome, Finders Keepers. These are all really good, just lacking a little bit In scope, plot, characters compared with the few I've listed earlier.

A few I didn't like: Mr. Mercedes, Doctor Sleep, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, Bag of Bones.

I also found the Dark Tower series a little tiresome, giving up after book 3. I read them in college though, and was a bit of a snob back then, so I plan to revisit them next time I'm traveling for work.

 

[fightingrabbit]

If any of you want a really gory Stephen King short story, read "In the Tall Grass" - you can probably go through the whole thing in under an hour.

It is far and away the darkest and most twisted story of his career. I felt squeamish reading some parts, and it was genuinely unsettling.

By comparison, Pet Sematary was light hearted.

Read the wiki summary and didn't understand what it was about. So what was the story about and what happened in the end? Was the rock some sort of evil magic thingy that drove people mad?

 

[Mike]

Read the wiki summary and didn't understand what it was about. So what was the story about and what happened in the end? Was the rock some sort of evil magic thingy that drove people mad?

Reading the description it sounds like it. King has a thing for magical macguffins that drive people crazy or turn them evil.

 

[bigbangspiritbomb]

What are your favorite Stephen King books???

Here's mine:

1. Dark Tower Series
2. On Writing
3. The Stand
4. The Green Mile
5. 11/22/63

I enjoyed the jfk time travel prevention plot. I liked the breakdown of time travel and the misconception of a "reset." I was fascinated by the story and the way it was put together. I would watch a movie but not do sure the American people would go for it. Even if any event could be altered in time would make a great story. The love story aspect seemed a little bit of a deterrence from the core of the actual plot. I still really enjoyed it.

 

[CinderBlox]

Spoiler

Everything about the last 3 books. I mean, King actually wrote himself into the story. There were Harry Potter references (WTF?), there was no conforntation with the man in black. All that buildup and the guy gets eaten by a spider? Fuck off. I waited years and years for King to finish that story. Oh and everyone gets killed at the end but not really. They actually live happily ever after. Everything about those last 3 books was garbage.Garbage. But wait, lets see what the Tower is all about. Oh nothing. I see. Thanks Stephen. I honestly think its the worst ending to any series I've ever read.

Spoiler: Dark Tower Spoilers

You're dead on- the series totally jumped the shark with the Harry Potter shit. Also, the dude who draws doors? Dandelo? What the FUCK was all that? Sloppy, lazy and a complete slap in the face to those of us who waited for him to get over himself and finish the damn series. The Drawing of the Three was the best book in the series, IMO and one of my favorite books of all time which made the last 3 books even more painful to read.

 

[BEER]

Still haven't read anything other than the first three Dark Tower books, and so long ago that I can't remember anything except nipples described as worms.

 

[JSN]

I found the Dark tower series silly inconsistent (yet enjoyable), but oh man, Wizard and Glass, yo. That's some rill ass shit, players.

 

[Brampton_Boy]

Read the wiki summary and didn't understand what it was about. So what was the story about and what happened in the end? Was the rock some sort of evil magic thingy that drove people mad?

Pretty much - the rock was some sort of alien/sentient being that lured people in and drove them crazy.

The story was actually pretty thin, but the description of who they killed and how was truly nauseating.

Ever wonder what a miscarried baby tastes like? Apparently, it is sardines.....

 

[fightingrabbit]

Pretty much - the rock was some sort of alien/sentient being that lured people in and drove them crazy.

The story was actually pretty thin, but the description of who they killed and how was truly nauseating.

Ever wonder what a miscarried baby tastes like? Apparently, it is sardines.....

Yeah I read about the "woke up hearing slurping part" and deduced that baby got turned into chinese fetus soup.

 

[JSN]

There were good and bad parts, but the actual ending pissed me off so, so bad. Probably the most infuriating ending I've ever read.

1. As you mentioned, Mordred and the Crimson King were total cans after years of build up

2. All of Roland's buds got killed off except Susannah, who inexplicably just fucking abandoned him.

3. The time loop thing, and for all reasons because he didn't remember to grab the fucking horn. I mean for reals? Painfully stupid.

4. The tower giving Roland a retarded lecture, everything is like this because of your personality Roland, everything is your fault. REALLY? In the books I read he found out that not just his world but ALL worlds were going to end if he didn't stop the Crimson King. It's not like he sacrificed everyone he loved just for the lolz, he had no choice. That preachy bullshit reeeealllly pissed me off.

5. After all that bullshit spanning 20 years we didn't even get to see Roland win, because fuck you that's why.

No cool showdown or final fight of any kind. You finally get to see the inside of the tower and the only thing in it is smug Captain Hindsight lectures.

Later editions of the last novel even have a fuck you from Stephen King where he shits on readers who want a good ending because the ending is just one part of the story yada yada. So fucking stupid. Next time I have sex I'll just stop in the middle because everything before the orgasm was fun too.

 

[Mike]

Later editions of the last novel even have a fuck you from Stephen King where he shits on readers who want a good ending because the ending is just one part of the story yada yada. So fucking stupid. Next time I have sex I'll just stop in the middle because everything before the orgasm was fun too.

Yeah I remember that. A big fuck you if you want a happy ending or even a real ending section. This after he had already inserted himself as a major character in the story. Imo that car accident really fucked him up for a long time, and the end of Dark Tower was ruined as a result.

 

[Mike]

I found the Dark tower series silly inconsistent (yet enjoyable), but oh man, Wizard and Glass, yo. That's some rill ass shit, players.

Yeah Wizard and glass is flat out brilliant. That is STILL one of my favorite books of all time. Reread it a year or two ago and it still holds up.