# Stephen King?



## Yuishi (May 28, 2006)

Im planning to buy a Stephen King novel for the first time which do you think is the best?

Just looking for reccomendations people....[-o&lt;  please


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## Omni (May 28, 2006)

*Oh boy...*

Here's some great ones: Pet Cemetary, Fire Starter, Cujo, The Tommyknockers and The Shining.

I'm currently reading Cell and its phenominal!

If your into series, i'd pick up the Dark Tower, they're pretty good as well.


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## Emmett89 (May 28, 2006)

The one that got me hooked, and the one that is the easiest to get "in to" is Misery.


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## Yuishi (May 29, 2006)

Well at the nearest borders Cell is prety easy to get


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## SilverDemon (May 31, 2006)

If you don't want to commit to some of his longer ones, try for something like the Long Walk. I also like his stuff as Richard Bachman like the Regulators. Cell was also a very good book too though...


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## daisydaisy (May 31, 2006)

I agree with Emmett - Misery is a great one to start with.  SK has written some amazing books, and also some god-awful ones.  I guess it depends on your personal preferances.  One of my recent favourites of his was 'bag of bones', but it is quite long, and maybe not the best one to start with.


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## The Hooded One (May 31, 2006)

I would highly recommend the shining.

Sincerely - J.C


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## Yuishi (Jun 1, 2006)

thanx ^_^ ill get to the nearest BORDERS sometime soon!

Probly between

Cell, misery and the shining


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## Anne Lacey (Jun 1, 2006)

Desperation was my favorite so far. I would say also if you're in for the long haul, get an unabridged copy of "The Stand." Good reading there.


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## Omni (Jun 1, 2006)

Just be ready, the Stand is over 1,000 pages long.

I finished Cell earlier this evening. Great read! A great modern doomsday story.


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## Yuishi (Jun 2, 2006)

Omni said:
			
		

> Just be ready, the Stand is over 1,000 pages long.
> 
> I finished Cell earlier this evening. Great read! A great modern doomsday story.



Ill refrain for that until my brain stopps hurtin with so mmany pages


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## rhino8 (Jun 2, 2006)

Hi,

So far I have only read FireStarter and The Running Man as Richard Bachman. I would highly recommend both.

However I am also on the 5th book of the Dark Tower Series and am totally hooked, the main character Roland is as deep as good a character I have had the pleasure of getting to know. I would recommend the Dark Tower Series to anyone...

Rhino8  ;-)


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## Fantasy of You (Jun 2, 2006)

haha bag of bones was a great book its one of the shortest books ive read though... its the only sk iv read because i prefer the books by wilbur smith.. to me his writing is my real  dont linch my sk fans


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## Scarecrow (Jun 6, 2006)

The Stand is considered his magnum opus, but I think the best piece of writing he has ever done is a novella called _The Mist_. It's the first story in the collection _Skeleton Crew_.

A bunch of people are inside a supermarket when a strange mist descends on the area, concealing bizarre and hostile creatures. Trapped inside the supermarket, people are becoming more and more freaked out as the days go by, and are starting to turn on each other.

It was not only King's best, it was one of the best pieces of fiction I ever read.


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## Non Serviam (Jun 6, 2006)

I agree about The Mist.


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## eMb (Jun 7, 2006)

The Shining.


Easy.


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## Omni (Jun 10, 2006)

Many consider The Stand one of the great books EVER written. I however have yet to read it. Too many pages. Oof.


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## eggo (Jun 10, 2006)

I would recommend his short stories, which are some of the best stuff I've ever read..

Skeleton Crew, which has "The Mist" in it

or 

Night Shift

If you are into fantasy/Horror he co-wrote a book with Peter Straub called

The Talisman. It is not only one of the best books King has written, but it is 

among one of my favorite books.


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## Hodge (Jun 10, 2006)

_The Stand_ is too drawn out. The first third is brilliant. The next two could have been condensed into one.

His short stories ARE good. I particularly like "The Moving Finger," but there are others as well. "Dolan's Cadillac" is a cool revenge story, and there's one he did I can't remember the name of where a dying man calls for help on the phone and ends up calling himself a decade earlier. 

I think his best novel is either _The Tommyknockers_ or _Misery_, although I haven't read them all yet.


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## Jukebox (Jun 25, 2006)

i don't know about anybody but i also enjoyed hearts in atlantis 
though it's far from horror genre...


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## DrKilljoy (Jul 18, 2006)

Neh, I'd say just about anything. Although I've only read The Shining, It, and the first three parts of The Dark Tower, I'd say just about anyone from him is worth reading.


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## Stewart (Jul 19, 2006)

DrKilljoy said:
			
		

> I'd say just about anyone from him is worth reading.



I'll try out Owen King's new novel then.


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## nelijane (Jul 19, 2006)

I grew up devouring Stephen King - I must have read my favourites tens of times.  I would go for It or Carrie or Firestarter.  Probably because I went through my 'king' stage in my early teens, I found The Stand and The Dark Tower stuff hard to get into.  I'm not too keen on his newer stuff, but I think it's because my reading tastes have changed as I've matured.  He's a great writer and has been an inspiration of mine all my life.

The Dark Half is one of his 'newer' better books.

Why not read them all and then make your own top ten list?


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## nelijane (Jul 19, 2006)

Needful things is good too, and Salem's Lot was always a good one.  There are so many.  But do read the books first before seeing the films, I don't think they translate well.


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## Sand (Jul 19, 2006)

I've read several of his books and found them quite entertaining, but my all time favourite is his memoire "On Writing."  I've just read it for the second time.  I love his no-nonsense get-to-the-point style. And he has terrific advice.


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## Deathwishboy (Jul 19, 2006)

"Misery" and "Cell" are the only ones I've read. I make it my tradition to read "Misery" once a year (normally during winter) as its such an amazing book which translated into an amazing film. But as "the king" once said...

Movies and Books are like apples and oranges, they are both delicious but taste different.

Anyways I'd always recommend Misery as a first read. Carrie is good too I hear (and short, if that helps).


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## Talia_Brie (Jul 20, 2006)

Read _Cell _if you haven't read _The Stand_. They are in fact two versions of the same story.

His best book? _The Shining_ imo, which is the best horror novel ever written as far as I can tell.

If you're after something shorter then try _Carrie_, which is his first book, and therefore a little shorter than the others. As he went on they got longer, with _It_ being the longest (1400 pages?).

I didn't like _The Tommyknockers_, but I thought _Misery_ was excellent. Full of malice, and some of the most gut-wrenching scenes I've ever experienced (the hobbling of Paul Sheldon ... bugger me).

I loved all the Dark Tower books, and seeing as he's re-released (read re-written) _The Gunslinger_, that would be a good place to start. 

His short stories are brilliant. _Nightmares and Dreamscapes_  and _Skeleton Crew_ are my favourite collections. But if you can get your hands on _Different Seasons_, then there are some great novellas in there (_The Body, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption_).


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## Stewart (Jul 20, 2006)

I think I'm going to have to trust Talia's signature.


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## Shade (Oct 26, 2006)

Only read two of his books. I was able to read was the Shining and the Gunslinger. I tried to read the 2nd book in the Dark Tower series, but the usage of the F word wrecked the book for me.


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## Fantasy of You (Oct 26, 2006)

Should read On Writing, even just for enjoyment. It's a great book. None of the artsy fatsy crap. (The first time I've ever used artsy farty. I don't like it so much...)

-Fantasy


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## Basilisk (Oct 26, 2006)

I'd reccomend either the shining or pet sematary. They were the first ones i read. Also, could someone please explain to me what The Stand is about.


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## Fixed (Oct 28, 2006)

well King just wrote his new book for halloween and it's called Lisey's Story
I haven't read it yet and neither have anyone I know and I don't have enough proof but apparently this is king's most personal novel where Lisey the main character and wife to a dead writer revisits some dream world of horror where the writer gets all his inspiration for the horror stories

apparently the writer is a close immitation of King himself and that world are many of his great ideas, so yes I think this would be a great book to start with

otherwise you could always read his classic dark tower series which is phenomenal


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## rydenthorne (Oct 28, 2006)

How is that fantasy series he wrote?  I think it's called the Dark Tower or something....  Is that any good?


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## Fantasy of You (Oct 28, 2006)

You should buy it.


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## Talia_Brie (Oct 28, 2006)

> Also, could someone please explain to me what The Stand is about.


 
At some point in every horror writer's career they feel the need to destroy the world. King did that in _The Stand_, which is about a biological weapon with a 99.4% fatality rate escapes a laboratory in the US and kills off most of the population.

In a more philosophical manner, the book is about the nature of the human species, and the propensities for both good and evil that exists within. It's a classic battle between God and the Devil, each through their own representatives. Right now you'd probably call the theme a bit tired, but at the time of it's release it was a lot more effective. The Cold War was still in top gear and everyone knew the US was experimenting with these kids of weapons.

The book in a minor way also addressed the lengths the US government would go to to remain the superpower (they had agents release the bug on all other continents once it was clear the outbreak couldn't be contained in the US).


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## Mike C (Oct 28, 2006)

Fixed said:
			
		

> well King just wrote his new book for halloween and it's called Lisey's Story



I haven't read it, but it was reviewed on BBC TV last night. One of the critics said it was without question the worst book he had ever read (and he's even read Dan Brown!). The other three thought it was pretty dismal also.

Regular King fans will no doubt love it, but they don't know any better anyway.


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## Stewart (Nov 7, 2006)

Mike C said:
			
		

> I haven't read it [_Lisey's Story_], but it was reviewed on BBC TV last night. One of the critics said it was without question the worst book he had ever read (and he's even read Dan Brown!). The other three thought it was pretty dismal also.
> 
> Regular King fans will no doubt love it, but they don't know any better anyway.


 
I'm not a regular King fan. I was way back in the day. (Although at 27, I'm only talking about six or seven years ago, perhaps less.)

I posted the following on Book & Reader yesterday:



> I started the book on Saturday and will try to review it properly once I'm finished, but initial thoughts are that the opening is a rambling mess. But it eventually gives way to something coherent around the 150 page mark and has been plodding along okay since.
> 
> The title of the novel, _Lisey's Story_, seems to be a bit of a misnomer given that she doesn't appear to have a story. I do note that the third part shares the name of the novel, so I'll reserve judgement there. The language is really annoying and repetitive. An editor could have cut through the majority of it with his red pen and probably produced a better narrative. It's also rife with annoying transliterations of accents (if anyone can tell me what 'a puff-ickly huy-yuge batch of orifice' is supposed to mean...perfectly huge _something_...then let me know). I don't mind an author using a phrase I don't understand in the book as the context may explain it or I'm not meant to know just yet, but King is putting these words and phrases in Lisey's head  - surely she doesn't occasionally think in all manner of accents. Another page expander happens to be the annoying habit of using 'as so-and-so would say' and 'what so-and-so would call a' with regards to almost every phrase in the book. And then there's the word _smucking_.


 
That was when I was just over the 200 page mark. I'm not approaching page 400 and it has went downhill from where I left off. From approx page 150 to 220 there was a story beginning to come out of King's _faux-Joycean_ drivel but that has been cast back in favour of more rambling and a narrative that stretches the notion of a willing suspension of belief. And while the book may be stretching it fine, King's belief that this is his best novel shows that he's snapped.


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## cbrmale (Nov 7, 2006)

Hmm, I've never read Stephen King, I've always been put off by the doorstop-size of his books. I know he writes without a plan, so the fact that some of his works ramble and plod isn't surprising! My wife read one of his works, and commented the characters were 'like mine' (I assume broken people with lots of backstory), but the plot had huge leaps of logic that really put her off. She liked the character transformations, although she didn't think it needed 500+ pages to achieve what it achieved.


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## Stewart (Nov 8, 2006)

cbrmale said:
			
		

> Hmm, I've never read Stephen King, I've always been put off by the doorstop-size of his books.


I wouldn't let the size of a book put you off reading it. Some books require the length to get everything across. Some books are truly epic. That said, I do have reservations about the length of some, notably fantasy novels. I get the feeling that they are long for the sake of being long. And, having almost completed my first King book in years, I would say that his books are overlong because he doesn't know when to shut up. Take, for example, this short passage I read this morning; this is two consecutive paragraphs:



> "Time to call Miss Buggy Bumpers," she said, using a childhood name for Darla Lisey hadn't heard in years.
> 
> Lisey glanced at her watch and saw it was now after three. Not much chance of Canty and Darla (once known as Miss Buggy Bumpers, and how she'd hated it) still being at lunch.


 
I take it the editor missed that one.



> I know he writes without a plan, so the fact that some of his works ramble and plod isn't surprising!


 
Many writers write without a plan. I know that I do. Writing without a plan, to me, is much more rewarding as it allows your characters to control their own destiny and act as they would. When you write to a plan you begin to constrain them within your rules and their actions can seem contrived. Give them free reign and let them surprise you. If you need a basic outline, then go with it, but don't expect your characters to let you get there. And don't make them get there.



> She liked the character transformations, although she didn't think it needed 500+ pages to achieve what it achieved.


King is someone who there seems to be a general agreement that he does write good characters. I can't speak for his older stuff that I can't remember, but based on this I'm not seeing it. If good characters is someone who speaks in an accent, has little phrases for things, and is utterly boring, then King does write good characters.


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## cbrmale (Nov 9, 2006)

Stewart said:
			
		

> Many writers write without a plan. I know that I do. Writing without a plan, to me, is much more rewarding as it allows your characters to control their own destiny and act as they would. When you write to a plan you begin to constrain them within your rules and their actions can seem contrived. Give them free reign and let them surprise you. If you need a basic outline, then go with it, but don't expect your characters to let you get there. And don't make them get there.


 
I would beg to differ on this one, the requirements to get published first time are pretty strict.  Maybe unpublished authors, and a few like King, don't use plans, but my research indicates that most published authors do plan.

I write a plan, because I do a different style of writing as my job, and it has been my habit for many decades to sketch a plan and write to it.  

I think you misunderstand the process, the planning includes knowing the characters, and when you know the characters they will tell you what the plan should be.  The plan itself is a tool to focus the end result.  And a focussed work does not mean contrived, because the characters have gotten you there.


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## Stewart (Nov 9, 2006)

cbrmale said:
			
		

> I would beg to differ on this one, the requirements to get published first time are pretty strict.


 Rot! They have nothing to do with a planned out novel.



> I think you misunderstand the process


I think you have invented a process. There's nothing set in stone; it's simply what works for you. And, if others like it, well...



> the planning includes knowing the characters, and when you know the characters they will tell you what the plan should be.


The way I see it, the characters make the story and what happens is because they make it so.



> a focussed work does not mean contrived, because the characters have gotten you there.




What I said is that putting a plan in place can constrain the characters because, in moving toward a specific conclusion, you are submitting them to your rules rather than letting your story grow as an organic piece.


Also, I would love to know more about this uncited researh of yours into the publication of planned versus unplanned novels.


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## cbrmale (Nov 9, 2006)

Stewart said:
			
		

> Rot! They have nothing to do with a planned out novel.


 
Have a talk to some agents about writing and genres and expectations.  For genre 'x', the requirement is a word count between 60,000 and 80,000 words, and the plot points should occur at specified intervals in the work.  For my genre, the 'hook' occurs between pages one and five, the mini-crisis occurs at the 10% point, the dilemma at 15% and so on.  This is known as 'pacing'.  Of course you don't need to follow these guidelines exactly, but you can't wildely deviate from them either.  In my second work, the first I've submitted, the mini-crisis happens around 20%, but there are a two events that increase the tension to compensate.  Even so, I am pushing the boundaries, and while I have an agent who likes the work enough to represent it, I am concerned that the first point is too far outside the norms for the genre.  Time will tell.

For me, I can't pace the hook, the mini-crisis. the dilema and so on without planning.  If you are not writing to be published, then that is a different story.  But if you are writing to be published, then planning is the only way to do it unless you are prepared to re-write the finished article to get the pacing right.

As far as research goes, I haven't done anything official except face-to-face discussions with six published authors and three agents, and all of them plan, and all of them plan to a very detailed level, several pages in most cases.  Beyond my discussions, every single article (at least twenty) I have read on writing (except for Stephen King) mentioned planning, only King mentioned not planning.


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## Stewart (Nov 9, 2006)

Ah well, you're writing genre. I can't help but feel that restriction pushes work to the point of incest. I would prefer to write what I want without being tied down. More of a literary bent, than a follower of form. That's our difference. More power to you.


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## cbrmale (Nov 9, 2006)

Stewart said:
			
		

> Ah well, you're writing genre. I can't help but feel that restriction pushes work to the point of incest. I would prefer to write what I want without being tied down. More of a literary bent, than a follower of form. That's our difference. More power to you.


 
If you don't write a genre, then you need to be both very good and very lucky to get published.

Within a genre you can be creative, as long as you plan. In my case I explore inter-cultural relationships, in particular the lack of intimacy in family and personal relationships in the West versus a culture that is economically backward but socially richer. I tie this into a crime / mystery work that has a romantic sub-plot. I can't see why (or how) this is incestuous (sexual intercourse between persons who are closely related)! 

I don't profess literary greatness, I am not good enough for that, but I did try to produce a work that was a good read and had interesting messages as well.


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## MrPenguin589 (Dec 15, 2006)

Stephen King is easily one of my favorite writers of all time.
I was put off at first but the sheer size of his books, and how everyone would say they are just _so_ complicated and weird, and I avoided them.
But one day in English class we had to do reading, and I didn't have a book.  The teacher handed me a Stephen King book (Hearts In Atlantis) and told me to read.
I did.
And I didn't stop.
Since then, I've read many of his books, including the entire Dark Tower series, The Talisman, Black House, and the short story sompilation of Nightmares & Dreamscapes.
I would recommend his books to anyone who wants to get really involved in his book, as the plots often time twist repeatedly, and for some people, can be hard to understand.  I always understand them the first time through, and have thoroughly enjoyed each one.


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## Zerath (Dec 15, 2006)

Two months till The Dark Tower comic. I can't wait.


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## MrPenguin589 (Dec 15, 2006)

They're making a comic?
It better be good.


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## EricRoach (Dec 15, 2006)

I grew up on King, and I'm very heavily influenced by his work. I think his ability to mesh fantasy and reality is truly astounding. One of the most genius stories I've ever read was "The Jaunt", which appeared in one of his collections of short stories (_The Skeleton Key_, I believe).


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## MrPenguin589 (Dec 15, 2006)

I agree, King is incredible when it comes to combining the natural and the supernatural.
He does so well at making the people seem like real people, that it makes the scary parts just that much scarier.
I really enjoy his work, and aspire to be at least half as good as him some day.


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## The Great Usurper (Dec 15, 2006)

The problem is that there are so many good stories by him. As mentioned by a few others, I would try out his short stories first. The Long Walk, The Mist, Cain Rose Up, and the Raft are all awesome. As for longer stories, I would try Pet Cemetary, The Shining, and It. There are just so many to choose from.


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## lisajane (Dec 15, 2006)

The only novel of King's I've read is Carrie, which I thought was great but doesn't interest me to read the rest of his novels. I've not heard one person saying that Lisey's Story was any good. The thickness of his books doesn't put me off (I'm reading a series of three books, all of them 800-900 pages long by Paullina Simons, I'm in the middle of the final one),his books just don't appeal to me.

I don't plan any of my work, that said, I go back afterwards and start shifting through the good and bad, any major plotholes.


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## Psycho (Dec 15, 2006)

I'm in love with Stephen King...he's a beautiful writer and has the most amazing mind. Pet cemetary is good, as well as Insomnia, Christine, and The Firestarter. The Dark Tower series and dreamcatcher were some that I did not like...but he is an overall very powerful writer. I plan to get into his mind some day...


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## modified7 (Dec 20, 2006)

His book "On Writing" is great, half autobiographical, half discussion of the craft of writing and books that have influenced him.
Of his fiction, I've never been disappointed, usually loved it, and though the movie stunk, The Dead Zone was a great book when I was about twelve, and The Shining is likely my favorite of his, though I was lucky enough to read it before seeing the movie..... The Dark Half is a good one,too, and Salem's Lot, and Carrie, which started it all for him.......


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## suicidedesign (Dec 27, 2006)

The Shining - possibly his most famous novel - is obviously a good place to start, although I would consider Pet Sematary, The Green Mile or The Dead Zone.


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## HelenSpringer (Dec 27, 2006)

Pet Semetary is really, really good! Another good one is Salem's Lot, though only after reading did I realize how much I liked it.


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## OncePossesed (Dec 29, 2006)

My favorite is The Green Mile, it's much better than the movie. If you like short story collections, Everything's Eventual would be your best bet, it's actually the first Stephen King I ever read, and the one that got me hooked.


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## Collins (Dec 31, 2006)

The Shining as others have said. I personally prefere to film, but thats because I'm a Jack Nicholson freak. 
Fancy a short? Rita Hayworth and The Shawshanks Redemption is great. Although, yet again, I love the film hehe. 
Carrie and Misery are great too.


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## zallan (Dec 31, 2006)

His short stories collections are the best... The Richard Bachman Books, The Night Shift, etc. Two of his short stories I enjoy the most: Children of the Corn and the Mist. Really, have you read the Mist? My god, it's much more terrifying than the Fog.


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## Raging_Hopeful (Dec 31, 2006)

What about Misery? That one was.... well, I read it at a younger age than I probably should have. Even It (though it was very long and lagged in some places) was wonderful. Dreamcatcher also did it for me and I even liked to movie. I think Stephen King is an excellent author and yes, some of his works are more appealing than others (depending on personal taste) but thats whats so great! There's something for everyone! 

I'm watching Nightmares and Dreamscapes and though I'm extremely disappointed with the video, I'm curious as to how those short stories were written. Probably much better in print I'm sure.

Cheers,
Linz


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## Holliston (Jan 2, 2007)

I would hope that by now you've at least read one of his books!  I am a huge King fan and the most fun I have is when he subliminally references another book in the story you are reading.  That's a real treat for his loyal readers   Print out a list of his books and read them from the start of his career.


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## suicidedesign (Jan 2, 2007)

Holliston said:
			
		

> I am a huge King fan and the most fun I have is when he subliminally references another book in the story you are reading.


Sometimes the references are not so subliminal. Take "The Dead Zone" for instance. A character - whose name I forget - proclaims "Just like in the book _Carrie_!". Although I see what you mean, he does refer to his other books in many of his novels.  Lots of characters star in more than one book.

May I add, I have a feeling that the creators of _South Park_, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, are fans of Mr. King. They have parodied a few of his stories and characters. A Jude Crandall (Pet Sematary) type character appears in more than a few episodes. The Dead Zone is parodied in the episode "Cartman's Incredible Gift", and "Children of the Corn" is parodied in "Wacky Molestation Adventure".


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## A dream within a dream (Jan 3, 2007)

I personally love Desperation, so far I have read this 12 times. I have not read all the posts on th is thread so I'm not sure what other people have wrote. I could not really get into the Dark Tower series. I like the Green Mile also. Bag of Bones was good but a bit slow to start. Also liked Dreamcatchers.
Also you can go to http://stephenking.com/pages/works/list_written.php and that is a list of all his works where you can click on any title and read more about each title and make your decision.


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