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I've never read a Stephen King book... which do you recommend?

Arcadio

Arcadio

Diamond Member
I want to read a Stephen King book just to see what all the fuss is about. Which one should I read?
 
The Stand would be a poor choice for a 1st book. He'd put the book down before he reached page 400. I was a Stephen King fan and it took me weeks to hit pg 400. Then about 2 days to finish the other half of the book.

I'd recommend one of the compilations of his short stories. Maybe Night Shift or Nightmares & Dreamscapes. After reading a few of the short story collections, then It, The Stand, etc.
 
Definitely not It or The Stand. It falls apart in the end and The Stand takes way too long to develop. Those are for devoted fans only, or dumbasses who don't read King and only know those two titles.

I'd start with one of the shorter and more approachable classics. Pet Semetary, Cujo, Christine or Carrie.
 
The Stand is still one of his books I have yet to read, but I really must do so at some point.
Hell, there have been a TON of books I feel a need to read at some point, but just haven't had the desire to run out and pick up.

... lately, I've been really getting into fanciful stories - spec-fic and sci-fi, massive stories with detailed worlds much unlike our own. I've found I haven't really wanted to read too many pure drama, rooted in this world type stories... in many ways, that is because I'm tired of this world and its people and want to be awed with awesome possibilities instead of "oh yeah, this has probably happened and it's depressing as all hell" 😛

On that note, once you've read a Stephen King novel or two, you really owe it to yourself to pick up his Dark Tower epic. Read the first two novels (even if the first novel is a little off-putting, King's story-telling really evolves after the first novel), and then decide if the rest of the epic is worthwhile. 🙂

Absolutely my favorite story from King, and if you get around to reading quite a bit of his stuff, as the Dark Tower progresses, you'll see quite a few crossovers from his other novels.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Definitely not It or The Stand. It falls apart in the end and The Stand takes way too long to develop. Those are for devoted fans only, or dumbasses who don't read King and only know those two titles.

I'd start with one of the shorter and more approachable classics. Pet Semetary, Cujo, Christine or Carrie.
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I disagree. It was the first book I read from him when I was young and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. Was the whole reason I even started reading the genre.

Desperation and Dream Catcher are 2 of his "newer" books that are pretty good. Any of his older stuff would be fine, it just depends on how much you like to read. If you have a short attention span, then I wouldn't suggest a Stephen King book 🙂 or as someone else stated, one of his short story compilations. These days I don't think I'd have the patience to read any of his longer novels.
 
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The stand is fine as a first book. It's not like the OP is a idiot and just picking up a book for the first time.

Yes it starts out slow and takes a while. well worth it though for the story.
 
ImpulsE69 said:
I disagree. It was the first book I read from him when I was young and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. Was the whole reason I even started reading the genre.

Desperation and Dream Catcher are 2 of his "newer" books that are pretty good. Any of his older stuff would be fine.
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I really enjoyed Under The Dome. Between the characters and situation, and pacing, I thought it was quite astute.

However, it seems the ending was very polarizing in terms of opinion/reception. I personally don't think the very specific portion of a story that is the ending, should make or break it, as quite a few critics/detractors tend to argue against such cases. Personally, I also didn't mind the ending - for the entire story, it really wasn't an easy concept to sell in any fashion, but leaving out an answer (like some argued) really would have been a major cop-out that critics would have rallied against anyhow. The rest of the novel was a very enjoyable read and kept me glued and satisfied... much the same as Battlestar Galactica (newer series), something many people said the ending sucked so much they basically suggested not to even watch the series. I don't get that opinion, I guess... even if an ending isn't a satisfying conclusion, can one argue against the rest of the enjoyment provided by 99% of a story?
 
destrekor said:
I really enjoyed Under The Dome. Between the characters and situation, and pacing, I thought it was quite astute.

However, it seems the ending was very polarizing in terms of opinion/reception. I personally don't think the very specific portion of a story that is the ending, should make or break it, as quite a few critics/detractors tend to argue against such cases. Personally, I also didn't mind the ending - for the entire story, it really wasn't an easy concept to sell in any fashion, but leaving out an answer (like some argued) really would have been a major cop-out that critics would have rallied against anyhow. The rest of the novel was a very enjoyable read and kept me glued and satisfied... much the same as Battlestar Galactica (newer series), something many people said the ending sucked so much they basically suggested not to even watch the series. I don't get that opinion, I guess... even if an ending isn't a satisfying conclusion, can one argue against the rest of the enjoyment provided by 99% of a story?
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King has always had problems with what people would consider "good" endings. It's always been more about the journey. I think (IIRC) Tommyknockers was a prime example. I thought it was a great book that ended the worst of any of his books except for maybe The Stand.

Sidestep note: The last actual book I read was Black House. I only read it because I had read The Talisman (a book that I had to restart 4 times before I finally made myself finish it) and was intrigued to see what they'd come up with. I was surprised to find so much Dark Tower in it considering it was supposed to be a co-op effort. I actually enjoyed it though.
 
ImpulsE69 said:
If you only ever read one Stephen King book, read IT.
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Read that pocket book a few years after it came out (before the TV movie). IIRC it took me a week or two to finish It.
Trying to finish his latest book 11/23/63. I have the hard bound book and the ePub version on my HP TouchPad. 🙁
 
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