Stephen King - Best Book??

[HoopyFrood]

It's strange, I know they are considered, probably by general consent, his weakest novels, but I still really quite like Rose Madder and Delores Claiborne...

[that old guy]

I liked Dolores Claiborne, but loathed Rose Madder. There're about five or six King novels I think are complete clunkers: Insomnia, Gerald's Game, Dreamcatcher, Road Work (as Bachman), a couple others I can't think of at the moment. But I think Rose Madder was by far his worst. I doubt if you or I wrote Rose Madder we could have ever gotten it published. It was just a mess, one that got worse as the book progressed.

In fact I'd just about given up on his new stuff until I read Hearts In Atlantis, which was very good. Ditto Cell. So he's still stuck with me as a fan.

[HoopyFrood]

I absolutely loved Cell.

I admit I didn't enjoy Dreamcatcher all that much. It was intriguing and I liked the five main characters, but it didn't create as much enjoyment as his other books.

Gerald's Game was equally uninspiring...not a bad story, but not really that arresting.

Insomnia I liked quite a lot.

The only ever Stephen King book that I've started and never finished because it just bored me too much was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I just couldn't get into that at all. One day I might go back to it, I suppose...

[andrew.v.spencer]

1. The Stand
2. It.
3. Salem's Lot
4. The Shining.

[that old guy]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

The only ever Stephen King book that I've started and never finished because it just bored me too much was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I just couldn't get into that at all. One day I might go back to it, I suppose...

I've never even picked up that one, since I've never heard anyone say anything good about it. Plus Tom Gordon is long gone from the Red Sox.

The only King novel I've started and not finished was The Regulators (as Richard Bachman). I'd have had it on my "clunker" list, but I figured I couldn't say for sure since I hadn't finished it. I took it out of the library and just got bored with it. When it was due I brought it back, didn't even try to renew it. I've sometimes wondered if I should have started with Desperation. Perhaps it would have made more sense.

[HoopyFrood]

Ah, Desperation is a good'un.

Yes, The Girl Who Loved etc is about the only Stephen King book I wouldn't recommend to anyone...

Oh, and I got halfway through Thinner and gave up on that as well...It wasn't that the book wasn't mildly interesting but...well, I don't know! Perhaps another one that I'll go back to one day!

[McMurphy]

Not to distress the King fans out there, but my personal favorite novel by this author is still Carrie. To me, it seemed the tightest and most interested in relating a sociological theme to the readers.

The book really captured the unique and sometimes awful experience people have in High School. Considering the heinous crimes that have taken place on school campuses in the last decade, I would venture that this book is even more significant and telling than when it was first penned.

[Angeline]

• The Shining
  
• The Stand
  
• It
  

[dustinzgirl]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

Anything except Geralds Game, Delores Claiborne and Rose Madder which were rubbish.

Personl Favs are The Stand or IT.

Amen to that...

You can also add Song of Susanna (although if you don't read it you have no idea what happens in the DT series so you are forced to read it but it bit the big one)


Although the stand took for freaking ever to get to any kind of point, I had to put it down and restart it like a million times.....

My favs are

The Gunslinger
Wolves of the Calla
The Dark Tower
Pet Semetary
The Eyes of the Dragon
The Dark Half
Needful Things (I have no idea why, but that movie creeped me out. Now I can't buy second hand)

The Regulators (as Bachman)

And the one that really freaked me out:
The Tommyknockers.

[Nesacat]

Could not get into Delores Claireborne at all and had to force myself to finish it simply because I have this thing about leaving books unfinished. I had the same problem with The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and Hearts In Atlantis. Gerald's Game was probably the worst. I skipped and skimmed through that one.

Pet Cemetary, Carrie and Christine I didn't think much of when I first read them way back when I was in school but I re-read them much later and have come to like them very much indeed. The same with Cujo. They have all grown creepier with re-reading.

Misery started of alright but for me at least it dragged on for too long. The suspense sort of wore away and you could see where it was going and as I got closer to the end of the book I just wanted it to hurry up and get done.

The Cell is good. Loved that. The ones I re-read the most are his short tales, Salem's Lot and IT (aside from the huge spider of course )

One more. I keep forgetting this and it's one of my favourites to boot. Cycle Of The Werewolf. I love this one and the fact that as you go along it's not always easy to hate the werewolf. And I really like the way the personality of the person changes as the story progresses. The sort-of cliche solution aside, it's very well done and beautifully illustrated.

[sci-fi girl]

The "Dark Tower" serie!!!!!!

[murphy]

The Stand
Salem's Lot
The Shining

[roddglenn]

IT was the first SK book I read, so I'm still hugely fond of that one. I do also love Needful Things, The Stand and all the Dark Tower books too.

[G.D.]

Ah, the works I've enjoyed reading most were The Stand (unabridged), and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard & Glass. I can't really relate to some of the statements made commenting on the length of The Stand, I wouldn't have thought 1.000+ page novels all that much to tackle, but I do have a good deal of time on my hands. Wonderful book, I enjoyed all it had to offer and never found myself bored with it, though towards the end it did leave me a bit frustrated. Wizard & Glass is probably the best book in the DT series, aside perhaps The Gunslinger, but I really enjoyed book four. Definitely read a few of his novels before starting The Dark Tower.

Insomnia was my first King book, I enjoyed it immensely and it got me to reading all that I have of his, presently The Dark Half. All Hail The Crimson King, Ralph should have put him in his place book seven.

You really can't go wrong with any of his novels, just make sure to stay away from all the movies adaptations! Rob Lowe had no business playing Nick, and that movie had no business being made.

[that old guy]

Originally Posted by Nesacat

Pet Cemetary, Carrie and Christine I didn't think much of when I first read them way back when I was in school but I re-read them much later and have come to like them very much indeed. The same with Cujo. They have all grown creepier with re-reading.

King claims he has no memory at all of writing Cujo. He wrote it when his drinking/pill problem was at its worst. Bit of useless trivia.