Which is the best Stephen King book?

[SolemnBoy]

I used to be obsessed with Stephen King, but that was many years ago and I no longer think he's an awesome writer. I think The Dark Tower series is his masterpiece though!

[Counselor]

Roland from the Dark Tower came.... That series is the one I have read the most. I'm not saying it is the best - It is my own personal favorite 'story' of his.

I have read every paper published work of Stephen King and Richard Bachman.

If you know Stephen King then you know exactly who Richard Bachman is and the relevancy of that penname.

Best? No such critter can possibly exist. In all honesty each work of King/Bachman can stand on its own, and trying to pick one that is better than the others is going to be difficult based on the mere fact that each tale can stand on its own two feet and trying to compare them and decide if one is better than others is going to be like comparing the orangy goodness of apples and oranges.

King does a very good job of tying up loose ends by the end of a book where loose ends need tying. The Mist left us without knowing what happens next - but that is how that story should have ended.

Unlike others in the genre who leave too many things left dangling, or worse apparently lose tract of the tale and rely on stupidity to end what would be a wonderful tale/story, King has a clear 'ending' for his works.

I hated the Movie 'The Mist' - Its ending was an ending - albeit a good ending for a story, but a bad ending as it departed from leaving us wondering what happens next, it gave us the answer instead of leaving us stranded in the middle of the desert with our own nightmares to finish the tale for us.

This is a big problem with taking a book and converting it to a movie - the director/producer often murders the story to suit his own personal take on the story.

I hadn't read The Mist before watching it, and I knew that wasn't how the story ended...

[partisan]

I agree with solemnboy, i read him a lot and personally now i think hes overrated (in the whole) some scenes in some of his books just dont ring true, i dont mean the supernatural elements but just some conversations, scenes, though the stand is his best, i even love the corny low-budget tv adaption just because its the stand.

[MisterLove]

Stephen King is not brilliant but he's not fast food either. I like him. His writing is far from sophisticated but his observation skills and attention to detail are remarkable. Like Kafka, he's able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary facts of our daily lives: an empty hotel becomes the perfect horror setting, a passing truck becomes a deadly weapon.

[SolemnBoy]

Stephen King is not brilliant but he's not fast food either. I like him. His writing is far from sophisticated but his observation skills and attention to detail are remarkable. Like Kafka, he's able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary facts of our daily lives: an empty hotel becomes the perfect horror setting, a passing truck becomes a deadly weapon.

I'd be thrilled if Stephen King tried something as bizarre and humorous as 'The Metamorphosis'!

[megumidesu]

i love it when people try and pretend that they've read certain stephen king novels, when they clearly haven't. like when people talk about the scene with the twins or "heeere's johnny" in "the shining" (ONLY IN THE FILM NOT THE NOVEL) , or people talk about the ankle-breaking scene in "misery" (ALSO ONLY IN THE FILM LOLOLOL)

[partisan]

I'd be thrilled if Stephen King tried something as bizarre and humorous as 'The Metamorphosis'!

Franz kafka - loved that book :-)

[Juniorlove]

Christine the movie sucks but the book really does take it to another level.

[partisan]

Theres always some stephen king i wont read because ive seen the film too much like the shining, for me thats great film and dont need to read the book, same for misery, it, shawshank redemption. Others i saw after the book - salems lot, what crap film, 1408 film is completley different. Oh b.a i disagree, i loved the film version of the mist, I thought it was an above average horror film, never read the short story though, there's so many bad TV/film adaption of king, its notorious for it.

[deaner]

I'll go a different route and nominate "Different Seasons" (a short story/novella collection), simply because it contains "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" which was turned into one of the best movies ever, and also "The Body" which was developed into the film "Stand By Me" (with the late great River Phoenix in a starring role).

But I generally like all of his stuff, and have been into (and then out of) his stuff since my high school days.