• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Where to start with Stephen King?

J

JMovie

New Member
What should be my first Stephen King novel. I read some short stories, interesting, but not fantastic. What would be a good novel to get me hooked on some King?:D
 
I got hooked on Stephen King from reading Pet Sematary, but if you're really familiar with the movie I would try something else like 'Salem's Lot, Cujo, or The Shining. If big books don't scare you, most people consider The Stand or It to be his greatest acheivements.
 
To sample his work Skeleton Crew is good. Mostly for the short story The Mist. There are some other good ones in there to like The Jaunt or Survivor Type. I think The Raft is in there to.

Another one is 4 Past Midnight wich is a collection of novellas. My favorite stories from it are The Langoliers and Secret Window.
 
I started off with Carrie, which I enjoyed, then followed up with Cujo and Salem's 'Lot, which weren't that great for me. I think it just depends on what types of horror you like. :)
 
I'd suggest Carrie, which was his first published novel. Misery is another gem too, even though the supernatural is non-existent in it. If you still want to try more of his stories I'd go with Skeleton Crew, which is King's greatest collection to date.
 
good stephen king intro novel?

i want to start reading some stephen king novels. which of his works should i start with first? which one is most appropriate?
 
Try 'Salem's Lot. It's one of his first few and pretty emblematic of the kind of writing he does. It's about vampires. I remember enjoying it :)
 
I think that if you have not read ANY King, a good place to start is his short story collections.

I agree with CAT that Salem would be good - not too long, just right.

If you are not into vampires I would suggest "The Stand". This is a long one, but is a full adventure with a lot of interesting characters.

I have not been impressed with his recent work, but I will always read whatever he puts out.
 
A quick question? You say you want to get "hooked on King"; why would you want to? You make it sound as if you have to read him regardless of whether he's enjoyable or not.
 
Bountyhunter said:
Contradictory to the others, I'd recommend starting with his early Bachman books. 'The Long Walk', 'Roadwork', 'Thinner', etc.
Click to expand...
"The Long Walk" is probably the best of the Bachman books, and IMO one of King's best, period. Not sure if it gives a proper picture of King as a writer, though, it's not exactly the kind of stuff he usually writes. But well worth reading.
 
The Long Walk" is probably the best of the Bachman books, and IMO one of King's best, period. Not sure if it gives a proper picture of King as a writer, though, it's not exactly the kind of stuff he usually writes. But well worth reading.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately King had it pulled off the shelves due to many school shootings, but his best Bachman novel was Rage. I wasn't too crazy about The Long Walk. I liked the early half of the novel but the later half was tedious. I never understood why people loved it so much.

Just a quick question: how many stories did you read, JMovie? And what were they?
 
I read Carrie when I was in high school, back when it was the ONLY Stephen King novel..and it was 20+ years before I tried him again:p Then I picked up The Eyes of the Dragon, and liked it very much. I would say, choose a storyline that interests you and take the plunge. I don't think I'd want to have "getting hooked on King" as my goal, since that elevates whichever book you pick to a loftier place than any one title ought to have to strive for. Too much pressure to 'love' King, or any other writer can ruin a reading relationship before it starts. Just think of King's booklist as candy in a shop..which one do you want to sample first?
 
I would say a good one to start with is Carrie, mainly because it's shorter than most of his novels. Personally, I prefer his earlier stuff - Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, The Shining and The Dead Zone. The Bachman books are a good place to start, too, though most of them aren't really horror.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top