Non-Horror Novels by Stephen King?

[~Kate]

For non-horror, as others have said, The Dark Tower Series and Eye of the Dragon.

If you get up enough nerve, though, you really have to read "The Stand". A lot of people think it is SK's best.

[tecweston]

Originally Posted by ~Kate

For non-horror, as others have said, The Dark Tower Series and Eye of the Dragon.

If you get up enough nerve, though, you really have to read "The Stand". A lot of people think it is SK's best.

The Stand is good up until the end, but it is a classic example of the fact that King doesn't know how to end his stories. He is fantastic at character dialogue, and coming up with interesting ideas for stories, but his third acts almost always disappoint. The Stand has some great characters and is fascinating up until the final battle, which ends in a kind of "WTF?" way.

In fact, 11/22/63 was the first King novel I've read in a while where the ending didn't seem thought up on the spur of the moment. I remember reading in something (might have been "On Writing") that he never has an ending in mind when he starts writing, he doesn't make an outline or a spreadsheet or anything, he just starts writing and lets the stories go where they want to go. Which might explain why his third acts suck.

This all makes it seem like I hate King's books, but I have read most of them and enjoy them a lot. It just annoys me when I read one of his books where he clearly wrote 500 pages and then said "how the eff do I end this thing?"

[AlexGrama]

I started The Stand on paperback three times and I never got to finish it. The thickness of the book discouraged me. Now that I have a Kindle, will give it a go after 11/22/63.

[MichelleR]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

I didn't consider Duma Key to be a horror. It's a really long book though.

Hmmm, what would you consider it? I can't imagine another category that would better fit it.

[orlok]

How about The Green Mile, originally put out in serialised form, but now a novel, and of course a pretty good film.

[hard-boiled pat]

Originally Posted by AlexGrama

I started The Stand on paperback three times and I never got to finish it. The thickness of the book discouraged me. Now that I have a Kindle, will give it a go after 11/22/63.

his best book in my opinion.

[hard-boiled pat]

Originally Posted by orlok

How about The Green Mile, originally put out in serialised form, but now a novel, and of course a pretty good film.

yes of course... excellent call orlok!

[Ninjalawyer]

Originally Posted by tecweston

There are buses in Antarctica? Wait... there are libraries in Antarctica? I assumed it was all penguins and research stations.

By the way, The Dark Tower progressively gets worse as it goes on. Well, book one is decent and book two and three are the best, but after that it goes downhill. I gave up halfway through book six and never read book seven.

I have to agree with this; I thought books 1 to 3 were really excellent, some of King's best, while the rest fell on a continuum somewhere between mediocre and terrible. You think it's bad when King appears as a character in a movie adaptation of one of his books? Let me tell you, that's nothing compared to the awfulness of King appearing as a major character in a book.

When I was younger, I read the book "The Long Walk" (published under King's pen name Richard Bachman), and thought it was really good. King has some misses, but when he hits he hits hard; the man really is a very good writer.

[AlexGrama]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

I have to agree with this; I thought books 1 to 3 were really excellent, some of King's best, while the rest fell on a continuum somewhere between mediocre and terrible. You think it's bad when King appears as a character in a movie adaptation of one of his books? Let me tell you, that's nothing compared to the awfulness of King appearing as a major character in a book.

When I was younger, I read the book "The Long Walk" (published under King's pen name Richard Bachman), and thought it was really good. King has some misses, but when he hits he hits hard; the man really is a very good writer.

Very well said. His ups and downs are there but he overwhelms them with some great books.

[spindlegirl]

Re: the dark tower. I will keep that in mind.

11/22/63 is actually looking like it's right up my alley, so I may look into that one. I cannot find the e-version in my library yet, but I just downloaded the sample size preview of "The Stand" from the library. So, I have a few for the short term, to look at and see.

[MichelleR]

I literally cried my face off reading 11/23/63. (Yes, I know this is a blatant misuse of "literally," but it's a funny image.)

[hard-boiled pat]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

I have to agree with this; I thought books 1 to 3 were really excellent, some of King's best, while the rest fell on a continuum somewhere between mediocre and terrible. You think it's bad when King appears as a character in a movie adaptation of one of his books? Let me tell you, that's nothing compared to the awfulness of King appearing as a major character in a book.

When I was younger, I read the book "The Long Walk" (published under King's pen name Richard Bachman), and thought it was really good. King has some misses, but when he hits he hits hard; the man really is a very good writer.

yep that did it for me.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by MichelleR

I literally cried my face off reading 11/23/63. (Yes, I know this is a blatant misuse of "literally," but it's a funny image.)

I am wanting to give that a try, badly. There are a few limitations at the moment, but I hope I can get my hands on it soon.

[6charlong]

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is straight fiction. It's a short book and it's one of my favorites. I found the tension palpable.

Deloris Clayborne is another. Interestingly written as a first person narrative through the first two-thirds. The narrative is written as a long statement presented in real time.

He wrote two nonfiction books about writing. On Writing is half autobiographical and half an essay on writing a book. And Danse Macrabre is a treatise about the horror genre.

[AlexGrama]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is straight fiction. It's a short book and it's one of my favorites. I found the tension palpable.

Deloris Clayborne is another. Interestingly written as a first person narrative through the first two-thirds. The narrative is written as a long statement presented in real time.

He wrote two nonfiction books about writing. On Writing is half autobiographical and half an essay on writing a book. And Danse Macrabre is a treatise about the horror genre.

Will definitely try Danse Macabre.