Stephen King's Best Novel?

Been a King fan for so many years, and read nearly his entire works. For me, funnily enough, along with so many others here, The Stand still stands above the rest. Special mention also to Pet Semetary, IT, The Shining, 11/22/63, and Misery.
 
dask said:
Is it really that much better than the original release? That was good (and big) enough.
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I wouldn't say that much better, just a bit longer and a few minor characters a bit more fleshed out.
As with most King books the longer the better once you get into his world.
I tend to get downhearted when nearing the end of one of his massive tomes, just because "the end is nigh"
 
I never read The Stand, but I heard it was one of his best books.
My favorite book of his that I read (or tried to read) was Hearts in Atlantis. It might be a surprising pick, it is VERY different from his usual writing. My favorite story is probably The Body (a.k.a. Stand By Me the movie), which was loosely based on his own childhood.
 
LeonDaydreamer said:
I never read The Stand, but I heard it was one of his best books.
My favorite book of his that I read (or tried to read) was Hearts in Atlantis. It might be a surprising pick, it is VERY different from his usual writing. My favorite story is probably The Body (a.k.a. Stand By Me the movie), which was loosely based on his own childhood.
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Its a great book one of the best Post apocalyptic novels ever written. (y)
 
BAYLOR said:
Its a great book one the best Post apocalyptic novels ever written. (y)
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I guess I'll check it out sometime! :)
Technically, another favorite of his for me is his book 'On Writing'... I didn't like it, but I learned quite a bit from it.
Fun fact, and some of you guys probably know this, but apparently he has no recollection of writing his book 'Cujo', because he was crazy high at the time. :/
 
LeonDaydreamer said:
I guess I'll check it out sometime! :)
Technically, another favorite of his for me is his book 'On Writing'... I didn't like it, but I learned quite a bit from it.
Fun fact, and some of you guys probably know this, but apparently he has no recollection of writing his book 'Cujo', because he was crazy high at the time. :/
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Off topic for a second

Book you might find of interest Earth Abides by George R Stewart . This is one the best of end of civilization novels ever written.

The Star Rover by Jack London his only fantasy novel unknown and unlike all his other novels . Its a straitjacketed deathRow inmate who discovers he can astral project himself into his pat lives at will. Its great book can be found vain project Gutenberg.



Back on topic just finished Kings book The Running Man. Way better then the movie.(y)
 
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Yeah, he wrote some of his best books under the influence. He's quoted as saying, "I've never met a drug or drink that I didn't like." He's been clean for many years and still writing great books.
 
BAYLOR said:
Off topic for a second
.... Earth Abides by George R Stewart ..... Swann Song by Robert McCammeron ..... The Star Rover by Jack London
Back on topic just finished Kings book The Running Man. Way better then the movie.(y)
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I'll make a note. :) The Jack London one sounds interesting.
And Stephen King didn't write Running Man... that was Richard Bachman (definitely not Stephen King :ROFLMAO:) - apparently he wrote it all in 24 hours, probably also under the influence? (Great film, by the way, one of Arnie's best!) I should check out the book one day.
 
LeonDaydreamer said:
I'll make a note. :) The Jack London one sounds interesting.
And Stephen King didn't write Running Man... that was Richard Bachman (definitely not Stephen King :ROFLMAO:) - apparently he wrote it all in 24 hours, probably also under the influence? (Great film, by the way, one of Arnie's best!) I should check out the book one day.
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Also Robert McCamerons Swan Song truly a great apocalyptic epic.:)

Sorry, Im a a chronic book recommender .

Of Further interesting you might want to checkout Seabury Quinn The Horror on the Links and The Devil Rosary. His Jules De Grandin stores , they are fun to read ! These are the first two books with 3 more to follow.

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marassco

William Hope Hodgson 's The House on the Borderland One the greatest horror novels ever written and it influenced a lot of writers

The Dark World by Henry Kuttner

Black Gods Kiss by C L Moore

Kuttner and Moore were both great writers and they husband and wife.

In a Lonely Place by Karl Edward Wagner.

Ill give out rest now on the recommending, I do get carried away.:D
 
BAYLOR said:
Also Robert McCamerons Swan Song truly a great apocalyptic epic.:)
Sorry, I'm a chronic book recommender.
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Haha, I can see that! That may be a little more than I can handle anytime soon, but thanks for the suggestions! (y)
 
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LeonDaydreamer said:
I'll make a note. :) The Jack London one sounds interesting.
And Stephen King didn't write Running Man... that was Richard Bachman (definitely not Stephen King :ROFLMAO:) - apparently he wrote it all in 24 hours, probably also under the influence? (Great film, by the way, one of Arnie's best!) I should check out the book one day.
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Bachman IS Stephen King, he just used it as another nae to publish work under. And yes The Running Man novel is very different to the enjoyable action flick, it's also a very good read.
 
Bloom said:
Being a middle-aged person, I'm more familiar with his older books, and reread them at intervals. In my opinion his best work is not his 'spookiest'. Misery is brilliant. The Tommyknockers is a good scifi story. And some of his short stories are the scariest things I've ever read.
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I agree; in fact I think that his longer novels, whilst interesting and exciting, are rarely terrifying. But some of his shorter stories are. The Sun Dog is my favourite and has a chilly ending.

I do think that sometimes King does have endings that aren't always...satisfying to me.
 
dolphintornsea said:
How about 11/22/63?

I thought it was brilliant. The time travel aspect was beautifully handled, with wonderful attention to detail (the way food tasted way back when, for example). i also loved the fact that the protagonist didn't just pop into the past to carry out his mission - he had to stay there for five years, building a whole new life from scratch.

Plus, the two main characters are hugely appealing and I really cared about them. It's not too often you see that in genre fiction. And of course it helps if you like time travel, which I do - and the Kennedy assassination, which I've read a lot about. Some readers may find parts of the book a bit long, but for me it was almost perfect.
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I agree,m this was a wonderful book (although the tv series utterly butchered it and ended up being awful).
 
Pedro Del Mar said:
I thought Cell was fabulous. Although for me it seemed to end very quickly, almost as though a Cell 2 was in the pipeline which would have been amazing!
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Any other author and I would agree, but unlike the movies which tend to get sequels, King isn't an author who does follow-up novels, although he often references earlier stuff in later,unconnected, works. Less 'happy' endings would also be a bonus!

Cell is a little unusual in that it has an open ending (unlike the film) , whereas most of his novels have 'proper' conclusions to them.
 
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