Pic credit: Signet Books. We don’t boss you around; we’re simply here to bring authenticity and understanding to all that enriches our lives as men on a daily basis. Think Jaws, but with a 200-pound Saint Bernard. It has become a cultural phenomenon and is one of those “my favorite books of all time!” novels people brag about reading 20 times. When a cat belonging to his daughter was killed on the busy truck route in front of his house, King wondered: what would happen if he buried the cat, and three days later it came back, somewhat altered? Looking for more like this? For decades, Stephen King has been considered one of the undisputed masters of the horror genre with his legion of books, miniseries, and films. 10. The Green Mile Stephen King originally published The Green Mile as a serial. King once wrote that horror writers are afraid to open the door all the way and show the monster’s face. Recognized as one of the most prolific horrors and suspense writers in the world, he has successfully sent shivers down the spine of thriller readers. Luckily for her (or unluckily for them), she has telekinetic powers that lead to a prom-night massacre. And if you’ve only seen the film, double shame. Mahima Shah September 29, 2020, 9:34 pm 532 Views. King's second book cemented his place as the master of horror. But it’s also a vampire story, which is somewhat out of character for the supernatural storyteller. Top 10 Stephen King Movies, Ranked. World-ending scenarios were on everyone’s minds in the ’70s and ’80s, as global tensions escalated and means of mass destruction proliferated. Stephen King recently apologized for writing the novel when he realized it was making people even more scared of the real-world horrors. Top 10 Stephen King Books. Premium pick The Dark Tower Series. Famed novelist Paul Sheldon is taken in by his number-one fan after getting into a car accident in the middle of nowhere. As Pennywise creeps back into theaters this week for the Andy Muschietti-directed It Chapter Two, float into the list of Stephen King books ranked below and find out where the source material lands on our list of King’s best novels. —Steve Foxe, By the time Pet Sematary was published in 1983, a mythology had grown around it. That’s because it’s relatable. His successful role in the investigation creates enough of a stir that he is let go from his job and must start over in another state…where he encounters Greg Stillson, a rising politician who raises an alarm for Smith. Written during what many consider the height of King’s literary prowess, Salem’s Lot includes many of King’s favorite topics: A writer protagonist, a haunted mansion, hometown horror, and murder. Lewis to Tom Clancy. Originally intended as a Bachman book, Misery finds Stephen King unpacking toxic fandom decades before Twitter would allows Annie Wilkeses the world over to vent their frustrations around the clock. '11/22/63'. King’s later book, Firestarter, used a similar concept of a young girl who can start fires with her mind, but Carrie is the OG. The protagonists are a collection of fairly broad stereotypes (geek, fat kid, sickly kid, “the girl,” etc. The Dark Tower Series turned out to be a major hit for King, who wrote the first book in the ’80s. Think Jaws, but with a 200-pound Saint Bernard. Last year’s The Outsider even touches upon some of the same themes, to chilling effect. The Stand (1978) Nick and Tom, two of the heroes of King’s The Stand, prove that courage and … Dies gilt aber nicht für den Clown aus Steven Kings Meisterwerk „Es“. King isn’t content to simply explore a post-pandemic wasteland, though; The Stand is his most epic standoff between good and evil, the latter concept embodied by Randall Flagg, a recurring antagonist of King’s who becomes essential to the sprawling Dark Tower saga. An evil clown that kills kids? 182 . The Manual is simple — we show men how to live a life that is more engaged. Expect A-plus gore, blood, and psychopaths worthy of sleepless nights and paper cuts. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images. You’ll be both terrified and captivated by the “bad guy,” the delusional Annie Wilkes. There’s a potent anger present in most of the Bachman books, and The Longest Walk mines that most potently. The ending of It is occasionally cited as its weak point, but it’s a big, fat novel that is far more about a journey, both in the ’50s and ’80s, and the horrifying visions suffered along the way. Many readers (King fans or not) have called The Stand the best post-apocalyptic book ever (debatable). The darkness and the dim shape of Oz, the great and terrible, awaits. Thanks to King’s hand, this No. Known best today as a precursor to Battle Royale, The Hunger Games and countless other “teens compete to the death at the behest of a totalitarian society” iterations, The Longest Walk takes place in a world in which 100 teenage boys annually participate a walking competition. King came out with the sequel sort of, Doctor Sleep, which follows the little boy Danny when he’s an adult with supernatural abilities. Here are the top 10 best Stephen King novels of all time. i.e. Nor is it his scariest. 'The Dead Zone'. The Bachman identity was largely a way for King to publish more novels, faster, but fans often like to distinguish the Bachman books as King’s non-supernatural outings, although Thinner bucks that trend and King has since run wild across ample non-horror genres. The sheer number of film and television adaptations of Stephen King's stories alone (50-plus, and counting)—from Stanley Kubrick's thriller, The Shining (1980) to Rob Reiner's Stand By Me (1986) and HBO's 2020 miniseries, The Outsider—would have made King the undisputed Master of Horror. It often feels like anything goes within the pages of The Dark Tower, but that genre-busting spontaneity is part of the charm, as is the epic hero’s journey at the series’ center. The highway soon consumes his daughter’s cat and later his son. The Dead Zone is a novel-length treatment of the old “Would you kill baby Hitler to prevent the Holocaust?” conundrum, and feels more relevant than ever in our current political climate. It is, however, a good book showcasing his shorts. Carrie is also on our list for the best classic horror books and a classic horror movie. She holds him hostage, forcing him to write another novel that brings the main character back to life. In it, Ben Mears returns to Jerusalem's... 16 The Outsider: A Novel. July 22, 2016. (Stockholm syndrome perhaps.) I have no shame in saying, don’t waste your time on this book unless it’s the only one you can find on this list. John Coffey arrives at penitentiary “Green Mile” on death row after being charged with murdering two girls. When Smith arranges a chance to touch Stillson’s hand, the vision of a horrible future he receives may finally be enough to spur Smith into action. She motivates him through torture. And what if a child were killed, too, then came back changed (and not for the better)? After all, it’s about a quiet Maine town terrorized by a rabid dog. terrifying, page-turning, other-worldly, horror gems. Copyright ©2020 Designtechnica Corporation. —William Gay, “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With what is now considered one of the best opening lines in fiction, Stephen King kicked off the most ambitious—and perhaps the most inconsistent—undertaking of his long and storied career. 'The Green Mile'. Top 10 Beste Stephen King Boeken De Amerikaan Stephen King heeft meer dan 50 boeken geschreven waarmee hij uitgroeide tot een van de populairste schrijvers aller tijden. We’re going to cheat and lump the whole saga together, from The Gunslinger in 1982 to The Wind Through the Keyhole in 2012, because separating out just one installment is nigh impossible. Stephen King Bücher: Die Top 10. The man is responsible for such classics as The Stand and The Green Mile, but King's true gift lies in the creation of his monsters. For most modern readers, legendary director Stanley Kubrick’s stay at the Overlook Hotel looms… The titles include 1922 (about a man who murdered his wife), Big Driver (a drive home that went really, really bad), Fair Extension (a man makes a deal with the actual devil), and A Good Marriage (I’ll let your imagination do the guessing). This makes picking the best Stephen King books a daunting challenge. Share Share Tweet Email Comment. At over 800 pages (more, if you’re reading the uncut edition), The Stand includes as much horror as any of King’s other novels, spurred by a viral outbreak that kills off 99.4% of the population. 10 Cell Beyond the printed page, King is in the midst of an ongoing film and television revival, with adaptations like Gerald’s Game, the upcoming Doctor Sleep and the two-part It lighting up screens big and small. It’s 100% classic King and a quick read with a finely woven narrative. That could at least be dealt with in ways accessible to adults. All rights reserved. After all, it’s about a quiet Maine town terrorized by a rabid dog. The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. In theory, it’s about not wanting your beloved pet to die. The titular “IT,” on the other hand, is probably King’s most enduring and iconic monster, an interdimensional being of pure malevolence and alien mindset that seems so much simpler on the surface. Go ahead, you can argue with us about the No. Stephen King’s Top 20 Rules for Writers. That takes skill, people. Most authors can only dream of producing something as grand and sprawling and beloved as The Dark Tower; for King, it’s an accomplishment plenty of his fans avoid, which speaks to just how much legendary paper and ink he can claim as his own. Even King admitted that. The children are watched over by the cruel, exacting dire… Carrie was King’s first big success and he wrote the story in a closet in his trailer. What is even scarier about The Stand is that King said he spoke to an infectious disease doctor to find out the best way to decimate the world and learned the flu could do it. 8. By this time, King had mastered the art of writing sentences that readers ate up quickly and left them starving for more. Fighting the actual evil of It is a much trickier proposition, one that depends upon a perfect blend of mysticism and childhood faith necessary to overcome It’s greatest weapons: fear and entropy, and the ability to make an entire town forget about the atrocities it commits and allows. An 11-year-old boy's corpse shows up in a park and … Rumors among King’s fans suggested that the book was too frightening to publish, the sort of death-saturated manuscript you had to read wearing rubber gloves. 1. Nearly all of the moments lodged in the public consciousness—everything you’ve seen parodied on The Simpsons—are only in the film: the elevator of blood, the ghoulish twin girls in the hallway, the typewriter, “Here’s Johnny!” Pushing past these iconic bits of pop culture reveals one of King’s greatest accomplishments, a hauntingly compelling look at a troubled man’s descent into madness.