A friend suggested I read Salem’s Lot so I did, and I loved it.
Then I read the Dark Tower series, and yes I do mean I slogged through all seven books. I could probably write a whole separate post on that, but the long and the short of it is I thought some parts were fantastic and the storyline as a whole had a lot of promise; however, King’s editor could’ve condensed the good stuff down to two or three books at most (and probably should’ve advised him to lay off the crack).
After that, I made an attempt at Holly. Couldn’t get past the kidnapping scene. The narrative style was incredibly dull and flat.
So, I decided to give it one last shot, and here I am procrastinating finishing The Shining. Now I will admit, I found the story to be engrossing, but again, I don’t care for the narrative style, and on top of that the scary stuff just isn’t…scary. Like, at all. The only part where I felt the slightest twinge off suspense was when Hallorann was driving up the mountain in the middle of a snowstorm. Other than that, I’m left scratching my head as to why so many people consider this to be a masterpiece. To each their own, I guess.
Anyway, I’m done with King.
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Yep. I’m reading Christine right now. I’ve also read other novels of his in the past. And I’m not a fan. King rambles on about details that are insignificant to the story. For example, I’ve just finished a chapter in Christine where Dennis talks about his history in football.
I simply don’t care about that. Just talk about the thing with the car, for crying out loud!
King deserves credit for defining the horror genre in books. But that’s all.
He’s written some of my all time favorite books, and some I couldn’t get 50 pages into. His writing is really all over the place, which makes sense due to his addictions, accident (he got run over by a car), and sobriety.
If you don’t like The Shining, most of his stuff probably isn’t for you. My favorites are that, 11/22/63, The Stand (though that has a bad ending), On Writing, and Doctor Sleep.
Yeah, I’m getting the sense his style just doesn’t suit my taste. Which is disappointing, because Salem’s Lot is now one of my all-time favorites.
Eyes of the Dragon is an all-timer, plus it’s fairly short by his standards
I think also just his prolific nature means he’s not always going to be writing stuff that hits the same for everybody, but to me it seems that each of his works appeals to different people. I enjoyed The Shining a lot when I read it. It inspired me to read The Haunting of Hill House, and tbh while I didn’t find that ~scary~ in the same sense as I did certain parts of The Shining, it’s still a very good book.
I didn’t read any of his books til I married a woman who buys the new king book every year, reads it and gives it to the neighbors for Christmas. Since then I have read two or three, I didn’t love them, can’t remember which ones except this last one, Polly. Really enjoyed it, finished it in a weekend something I never do. There was a sense of reality to an otherwise unreal situation , good read!
11/22/63 is a very fun story. Like any author his writing isn’t for everyone and not all his books are good. SK creates some of the best characters I’ve read but he can be a bit wordy. I’m prepping myself to try and read IT in a few days but it’s HUGE.
I’m pretty much like the OP, I don’t care for King. But after seeing Part 1 of the IT movies (and part 2 hadn’t been released yet), I couldn’t just not know the ending.
So, it took a while, but I patiently made my way through the book. It was awesome.
It led me to re-read Pet Sematary, which was nice and atmospheric but otherwise King constantly ruined the mood with his ridiculous interruptions—he is the only author I know that interrupts himself and takes you right out of every scary scene.
So I was done with him again lol. (Though I did read The Institute … just in case I preferred his newer stuff, and it was tedious.)
I thought it was a slog as well. Thanks for the in on IT.
I find the middle part of 11/22/63 pretty tough going. I have tried to finish that book multiple times and every time I get to the part where he sets up shop in Texas I just can’t get past it. Even when it starts picking up steam again leading to the JFK assassination I’m so sick of Jake and his 1960s love interest that I have no desire to finish. There’s just something about late era King I find so boring and verbose. I gave up on him after not finishing Fairy Tale.
Honestly, I can in all seriousness advise you to look at his short stories. Like Rudyard Kipling, King can write good novel-length work but he can get lost when given that much free rein. His short stories (as with Kipling) are often masterpieces that stay with you for years.
as another said try some older, way older like his bachman books. I hate they separated but getting them in the original single cover versions is pricey as hell. Rage and the long walk are my favs
I feel like there is a before and after of the Dark Tower series. I used to read everything he wrote until that series and the Bachman books. I didn’t like either series and stopped reading anything from him. I’ve tried a few of his newer books and they just don’t draw me in like his older books.
King is a bit of an acquired taste, IMO. Though I will say he might be the most prolific writer who can actually delve into the psychology of characters from all walks of life. He’s basically a savant when it comes to writing the meticulous analyses of each of his character’s minds. They seem so fully formed and alive, even side characters. I love a lot of his books. But despite this, I tire of King as well. I can read him for a bit then I’m good for a straight decade before I do another round. His stuff is heavy and, at times, oddly paced.
I read Salem’s Lot in 1976 when it came out. I thought it was really a scary book. I read a few more of his books that came out in the 70s like Carrie, The Shining, The Dead Zone, and The Stand. I liked them as well. At some point his books just seemed repetitive and not very interesting. There probably are a few books that I would have liked, but I wasn’t willing to wade through all of the other stuff. I just don’t read his books anymore. I’m about the same age as he is so I’ve developed this opinion over quite a few years.
Give Needful Things a try if you are willing to give him another try. A slow burn, but very descriptive writing and really really good. I also LOVE On Writing, but that’s non fiction so very very different. But I reco that book to anyone.
I agree. Mr. Mecedes was good, but I’ve read Pet Sematary, The Stand, The Green Mile, and a couple others that I can’t remember, and they were all just kind of meh. The plots are interesting, but the prose is pretty shitty.
I’d say to check out It and The Stand, which are generally regarded as two of his best novels. 11/22/63 is excellent as well, although it’s not really a horror novel. Pet Semetary is good too, and quite a bit closer to Salem’s Lot than much of the King stuff you’ve read.
Honestly, the bulk of his older stuff is pretty good. His newer stuff tends to be more hit or miss.
A lot of folks here saying if you don’t like “The Shining,” you won’t like King in general. I’m going to say that this is false - out of King’s books, “The Shining” was kind of dull for me. I much prefer “Salem’s Lot,” “The Stand,” and “11/22/63.”
I have many more of his to read, but don’t let anyone tell you that thinking “The Shining” is super great is some kind of litmus test for how you’d like the rest of his body of work. He’s published enough that any fan of his is bound to dislike just as many books as they love.
'Salem’s Lot is, I’d say, a great example of his work. It’s an early one and it prefigures some of his other work, like the whole-town setting being similar to Needful Things and Ben Mears coming to his hometown to confront the creepy thing presages It - as does Barlow.
But then there are the “eras” of King. There’s Early King, Coked Up King, Rehab King, Post-Accident King, and Modern King, and it’s like reading five different authors. If you read 'Salem’s Lot and then Fairy Tale, the only thing to tell you they’re by the same author is the name on the cover (well, and the blue chambray workshirt). You might like one and hate the other, and that’s OK.
I love me some Stephen King, but you know what, if you’re not into it, that’s great. There’s soooo many good books out there that you can read instead of forcing your way through King books.
Damn The Shining is one of my favorite books. I’m a huge King fan though. It’s cool you read all of Dark Towers. Some do drag on but I loved that series. I’d say give Misery a shot. It’s a pretty short book but intense and suspenseful. Hearts in Atlantis is great too. Not really horror but a fantastic book. Pet Cemetery is great too. Super dark and disturbing!