Worst Stephen King novel

[HarryT]

Dear me. I don't think Mr King would make my "top 1000" list of best writers. I've tried reading several of his tomes and abandoned them. His basic writing philosophy seems to be "why say something in a sentence if you can say it in a whole page instead?".

[Nyssa]

I personally could not get into The Tommyknockers. I tried multiple times, with absolutely no success. I don't even think I made it past the first 10 pages, if that.

My favorite was definitely The Dark Half.

[RolandD]

Originally Posted by HarryT

His basic writing philosophy seems to be "why say something in a sentence if you can say it in a whole page instead?".

Harry, I think you should make a few more attempts before completely abandoning Mr. King. John Steinbeck also suffered from the affliction you mention above, but he is considered on of our greatest American authors.

Originally Posted by Nyssa

I personally could not get into The Tommyknockers. I tried multiple times, with absolutely no success. I don't even think I made it past the first 10 pages, if that.

My favorite was definitely The Dark Half.

What's interesting is that, even though we can almost universally agree on his worst, what we individually consider to be his best covers a wide range of his works. I believe that is his strongest advantage as an author. His appeal to a wide range of readers.

Novels touch us all in different ways due to our own personal experiences and we judge them based, not only on what the author has put into them, but also on what we, too, put into them. Someone mentioned Gerard's Game as the worst that he has written. I remember it as having the most powerful, memorable, albeit cringeworthy, scene I have ever encountered. It may not be his best work, but it, more than anything else I've ever read, made me feel as though I was experiencing what the character was going through.

I think there will come a time where his lesser works are nearly forgotten and he is considered to be a shining example of late 20th century American literature. Of course, I expect this statement to be scoffed and laughed at, but remember that what we consider to be the best examples of authors of great literature from the past, are also those who were the most popular and widely read: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Steinbeck, Hemingway...

[taosaur]

Wow, I never realized I was such a minority in loving The Tommyknockers. Granted I was an impressionable young teen living in a woodland community rather similar to the setting at the time I first read it, but I found the whole 'alien ghost story' approach pretty unique and the loser/survivor protagonist engaging.

[steven522]

Yeah, I'm not sure about all of the Tommyknockers hating going on. For what its worth, I thought it was a pretty decent read. An alternative take on alien invasion.

I wonder if maybe people are letting some of the made-for-TV mini-series or movies color their views of the original books.

[jhempel24]

Lisey's Story. Felt more like Tabitha King than Stephen King

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by steven522

Yeah, I'm not sure about all of the Tommyknockers hating going on. For what its worth, I thought it was a pretty decent read. An alternative take on alien invasion.

I wonder if maybe people are letting some of the made-for-TV mini-series or movies color their views of the original books.

Nope. I don't mix and match with Stephen King. I've either read one or I've seen the other, but not both.

I've seen Carrie (never read the book), The Shining (never finished the movie, but enjoyed the book), The Shawshank Redemption (loved the movie, never read the book), The Green Mile (loved the movie, never read the books), Pet Sematary (never read the book), and I think there is one more..but its not coming to me.

Edit: Of course, my first ever Stephen King movie/story Firestarter!! How could I forget that one. Never read the book. I also watched the TV show The DeadZone, but never read the book .

What I have read: The Shining, The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon (which I really enjoyed), The Dark Half (my favorite of his), Needful Things (which I really enjoyed), Gerald's Game (didn't finish), Dolores Claireborne (didn't finish), and I think I also read Insomnia, but I'm really not sure. One that I've always wanted to read but never got around to was The Talisman.

[JAcheson]

Originally Posted by RolandD

I think there will come a time where his lesser works are nearly forgotten and he is considered to be a shining example of late 20th century American literature. Of course, I expect this statement to be scoffed and laughed at, but remember that what we consider to be the best examples of authors of great literature from the past, are also those who were the most popular and widely read: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Steinbeck, Hemingway...

I suspect that in 100 years, kids will complain about having to read The Stand the way we complained about Crime and Punishment.

I don't love King's prose all that much, and I haven't read him in ages, but I used to admire his ability to structure a novel and get a story out of it.

[BenG]

The Shining is one of King's best novels. He has a sequel called Doctor Sleep coming out in September. I expect the worst.

[crich70]

"Tommyknockers" links up with "IT" I believe. That's another one of his good points, the way several of his novels can link up with others.

[BenG]

Several of his books are set in Castle Rock or Derry, Maine.

I didn't like how he try to connect everything he wrote to the Dark Tower series.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by BenG

Several of his books are set in Castle Rock or Derry, Maine.

I didn't like how he try to connect everything he wrote to the Dark Tower series.

He's not the first to do such a thing with his work. H.P. Lovecraft also did it, and also set a good amount of his stories in Maine or at least New England.

[hidari]

Must agree with Mr. HarryT. King might make the worst 100 writers of all time... Talking about a writer who needs an editor with a Machete...

Originally Posted by HarryT

Dear me. I don't think Mr King would make my "top 1000" list of best writers. I've tried reading several of his tomes and abandoned them. His basic writing philosophy seems to be "why say something in a sentence if you can say it in a whole page instead?".

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by crich70

"Tommyknockers" links up with "IT" I believe.

Only in that a group from Haven passed through Derry - and one of them saw Pennywise peering from a sewer grate. (significant because The Tommyknockers takes place two years after IT - which means either IT actually survived or one of ITs eggs survived, hatched, and is using its parent's favorite guise (Ben Hanscom wasn't sure they'd gotten them all))

[crich70]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

Only in that a group from Haven passed through Derry - and one of them saw Pennywise peering from a sewer grate. (significant because The Tommyknockers takes place two years after IT - which means either IT actually survived or one of ITs eggs survived, hatched, and is using its parent's favorite guise (Ben Hanscom wasn't sure they'd gotten them all))

Actually there is another link. In the book "IT" the kids go through a ritual via which several of them have a vision of the arrival of "IT" on the Earth. They see something apparently crash land in some woods. And in "The Tommyknockers" one of the main characters finds something buried in the ground which had apparently crash landed in the woods a long time ago. I don't think it's too far a stretch to think the two books are linked by that, and that it's a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft who also had some of his stories based on creatures from beyond. In fact Mr. King wrote in his non-fiction book "Danse Macabre" (if I remember correctly) how he'd come across some of his father's books where they had been stored above his aunt's garage after his father had abandoned the family. And I believe some of the stories were reprints of stories that H.P. Lovecraft had written.