Recommend me a Stephen King novel

danqi · #1 05-22-2009, 02:56 PM

I have never read one of his books but seen a bunch of movies based on them. I'd like to try reading him for once, but have no idea which novel to pick. I'd like to read one that I have not seen as a movie yet (I guess I have seen most of those you'd expect me to have seen). Also I don't feel like taking on anything too "mean" and heavy right now (like I would imagine "Pet Sematary" to be). I am rather looking for dense entertainment. Finally, I like books which manage to create an intense atmosphere.

Relic · #2 05-22-2009, 03:16 PM

I'm not sure which to recommend as I've pretty much only read the books that correspond to his movies.
"The Stand" is my fav but is a very long novel. Salem's Lot is also great

Kipaste · #3 05-22-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relic

I'm not sure which to recommend as I've pretty much only read the books that correspond to his movies.
"The Stand" is my fav but is a very long novel. Salem's Lot is also great

Brings back memories. I think I was around seven years old when the "big boys" gave Salem's Lot for me to read. Didn't sleep too well for the next month or so.

ugly_bassplayer · #4 05-22-2009, 03:27 PM

Thinner

Relic · #5 05-22-2009, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kipaste

Brings back memories. I think I was around seven years old when the "big boys" gave Salem's Lot for me to read. Didn't sleep too well for the next month or so.

oh man, so true. The original Salem's Lot movie, I believe was made back in the 1970's. I was just a kid and a few of us were having a sleep-over at a friend's house when it came on television. His mom and dad, having no idea it was a scary movie, let a room full of 8-10 year olds watch it before going to bed. NO ONE slept a wink that night. We were all crapping ourselves every time we heard a noise..

rcarraher · #6 05-22-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danqi

I have never read one of his books but seen a bunch of movies based on them. I'd like to try reading him for once, but have no idea which novel to pick. I'd like to read one that I have not seen as a movie yet (I guess I have seen most of those you'd expect me to have seen). Also I don't feel like taking on anything too "mean" and heavy right now (like I would imagine "Pet Sematary" to be). I am rather looking for dense entertainment. Finally, I like books which manage to create an intense atmosphere.

My all time favorite is The Stand, but a lot of people hate that one. A great concept, and an epic story. From a Buick 8, was a good story IT had a lot in common with Stand By Me, which was a short story. A recent one I enjoyed was Duma Key.

hover · #7 05-22-2009, 04:36 PM

Thinner, Skeleton Crew, the Dark Tower series, Christine, Tommyknockers.

MatticusMania · #8 05-22-2009, 04:53 PM

I'd recommend some better fare than a Stephen King novel, there's much better reading material available.

Akeris · #9 05-22-2009, 05:07 PM

The Stand, definately.

Gordon of Eden · #10 05-22-2009, 05:44 PM

Any book you choose will be entertaining. His writing style is fun and easy to digest for casual reading. I always liked the shining best.

machine gewehr · #11 05-22-2009, 06:08 PM

Buick 8.

Sick book,sick read.

Deluge Of Sound · #12 05-22-2009, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

I'd recommend some better fare than a Stephen King novel, there's much better reading material available.

What are you, some kind of literary fascist? Stephen King is (self-admittedly) the Big Mac of literature, but he's a fantastic writer, and there's a lot to be said for his success and his consistency. He's certainly a great deal better than many of the "fashionable" new writers on the block. Not to mention he wrote the best book about writing ever.

Personal favorite of mine has always been IT, but The Stand, Salem's Lot, The Gunslinger series, and The Shining are also pretty good.

If you want Short Stories, you can't go wrong with Skeleton Key, but my favorite short is undoubtedly Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Yes, it inspired the film.

jruberto · #13 05-22-2009, 06:28 PM

I'm not really a huge fan, I liken his work to eating popcorn when you could instead have a real meal of actual literature.

Notwithstanding that, I actually think The Dark Tower series is pretty great storytelling. The first book is called "The Gunslinger" and I couldn't put it down. If you like it, there are six more books where that came from.

Also, oddly enough, I think his "On Writing" is a pretty great read.

Not that I don't think he's a great writer. To me, he's a great writer in the same way that Christina Aguilerra is a great singer: I get it, I appreciate the craft of it, I can dig that the work has integrity and quality, and I understand why they are loved by millions, but it just isn't my thing.

ErikP.Bass · #14 05-22-2009, 07:14 PM

I would recommend "The Long Walk" and "Rage" from the Bachman Books. I guess those really fall under short stories rather than novels. For a novel maybe "Eyes of the Dragon".

Papazita · #15 05-22-2009, 07:22 PM

I never really got into Stephen King, I was more of a Clive Barker fan.
His early stuff was ok, but once he began cranking out a novel a day, it just got boring.
Someone gave me a copy of Duma Key last Christmas. I put off reading it, thinking "Oh look...a guy's paintings turn evil and come to life and start killing people, and blah blah blah... Gee, he's never written that before!"

I finally broke down and read it. It wasn't bad!

Papazita · #16 05-22-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danqi

Finally, I like books which manage to create an intense atmosphere.

Ever read Clive Barker's Imajica?

Bongolation · #17 05-22-2009, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

I'd recommend some better fare than a Stephen King novel, there's much better reading material available.

Truly.

I don't hate Stephen King. He's a competent (and very lucky) writer who makes big money writing some terrible, condescending books for non-readers who read a book a year while riding the subway...but some are not bad and some of his short stories really are excellent.

For the most part his books are very much too long for what they are. They often become repetitive and bog down, and he generally writes down to his audience (who probably don't realize they're being written down to). These are his worst faults.

There's a saying among genre writers that Horror works well as short stories but almost never as novels. That's what King's up against and he has as much trouble with it as anyone else.

I've heard that The Shining is probably his best book, but I have not read it.

MakiSupaStar · #18 05-22-2009, 11:18 PM

The Stand.
The Shining.
Pet Semetary
It.
Salem's Lot.
Christine

All good stuff.

Oh. And i was an English major, and person who has written his own novel or two, and dabbles in a heavy literature, philosophy, and graphic novels. Read whatever the hell you like. Stephen King is good stuff.

excane · #19 05-22-2009, 11:41 PM

I personally like most of his short stories better than his novels.

Pick up "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" with a few personal favorites being "Popsy", "Dolan's Cadillac", and "Suffer the Little Children"

"Four Past Midnight" has 4 novellas, one of them another personal favorite "The Langoliers"

For novels, my favorites were:
The Shining
The Tommyknockers
The Talisman

heroincredible · #20 05-23-2009, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

If you want Short Stories, you can't go wrong with Skeleton Key, but my favorite short is undoubtedly Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Yes, it inspired the film.

Three of the four short stories in Different Seasons were made in to movies! Shawshank Redemption being the best, closely followed by Stand By Me.

As for recommendations:
The Shining
'Salems Lot
Misery
It
The Eyes of the Dragon