Worst Stephen King novel

[MissKittiness]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

No way is Cujo the worst SK novel, imo. I haven't read it since I was a teen but I loved it. And for once, one of his endings actually took me by surprise.

Desperation is way worse than Cujo, but still way better than Dreamcatcher, which is pure puppy pooh.

I haven't read Desperation, but I'd take Dreamcatcher any day over Cujo again...

[cearbhallain]

Originally Posted by MissKittiness

I haven't read Desperation, but I'd take Dreamcatcher any day over Cujo again...

I've read Desperation. It sucked.

[Kindoll]

I thought Liseys Story was yawntastic.

[hard-boiled pat]

Originally Posted by Kindoll

I thought Liseys Story was yawntastic.

yep it was craptabulous.

[Kindoll]

Originally Posted by hard-boiled pat

yep it was craptabulous.

New word!

I generally love SK and I own most of his work in PB and just bought 22.11.63 to add to the collection.

My faves are probably The Shining, 'Salem's Lot and The Green Mile but I like a ton of his books, and this isn't the thread for that.

[steven522]

I enjoy reading SK, but tend to cherry-pick through his books and only read what I think I might enjoy. Even so, the one book I read of his and felt like I could never get back that lost time was "Gerald's Game".

After going through a listing of his works I realize I have maybe only read about one third of his stuff. Personally, his novella "The Mist" will always sit at #1.

[usuallee]

Stephen King lives in the town I grew up in!! Given that, I liked SK as an adolescent, but not as much as one might think. SK was what my mom read so that limited the appeal a bit. Loved Different Seasons, though, and enjoyed Eyes of the Dragon, Gunslinger. Then my tastes changed and I didn't read any of his books for a long time. As an adult, I was a bit underwhelmed by Dead Zone, and Dreamcatcher was dreadful.

So when my mom, a King fanatic, foisted King's latest doorstopper on me and pestered me to read it, it was without any enthusiasm that I opened it up, just to get her off my back. That book was Under the Dome, and needless to say, I loved it! What a pulse pounding climax to that book! Since then I've had a bit of a King renaissance, & have read and enjoyed 11/22/63, Full Dark, No Stars, It, Firestarter, and plan to read more, especially The Stand, The Shining, Salem's Lot, The Green Mile, Duma Key. Someone else said it, this guy is a great storyteller.

[AintLDS]

I think context is everything when reading, listening to music, or watching a movie. The state of the current culture and your life will have a definite impact upon whether or not you like something. Something that was fantastic in the 80's may be weak in 2012.

That being said, I read The Stand when it came out in the 80's and enjoyed it but the apocalyptic thing has been done to death so it may not stand out today. And the ending sucked.

The recent 11/22/63 I thought was amazing - after I finished reading it I wished I could be mind-wiped so I could read it again, not knowing the ending. If you haven't read it, get yourself a copy - it starts out slow but is well worth the time.

Under The Dome was too long and the bad guys were just plain unbelievable - I really struggled to finish it. A lot of stuff that happened in the book was idiotic and the hero was a putz. My recommendation is pass on this one.

Didn't care for Dark Tower 1 - The Gunslinger. Probably won't read the rest.

I also liked Insomnia, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Bag of Bones, and Full Dark No Stars. I'm not a rabid SK fan and have only read about a dozen of his books, but when he's on task, he's very good. I plan on reading Salem's Lot, The Shining, and It next.

[megthered]

The Stand is one of my husband's favorite books but I quit after 100 pages. He wants me to start again, but I have so many other books I really want to read. I may try again, maybe not.

[cearbhallain]

Originally Posted by megthered

The Stand is one of my husband's favorite books but I quit after 100 pages. He wants me to start again, but I have so many other books I really want to read. I may try again, maybe not.

Which version did you try. I've read both, and I prefer the edited first edition version. The unedited version is much longer, wordier, and only has one scene that I think made the story better.

The first published version I found to be very involving and fast-moving. It won't negatively impact your life if you don't read the book at all, but if you want a medium light entertainment, it should suffice.

[SuburbanSteve]

I really enjoy Stepen King books, well most of them but I followed The Dark Tower series from the start and think they are his best.

[Scarpad]

Originally Posted by raychensmith

I believe Stephen King is the most talented commercial writer working today, and his best novels, like his recent 11/22/63, are so beyond the abilities of most novelists, it's not even funny. His way with prose, character development, and most especially dialogue is just stellar. Even minor characters (for example, Lee Harvey Oswald's mom in 11/22/63) are fleshed out to an extent that rivals other writers' MAJOR characters.

Having said this, some of his stories are pretty bad. Long and meandering and anticlimactic. I nominate Under the Dome as probably his worst book; at least, his worst recent book. This novel is like 1000+ pages long and has the most ridiculous protagonist in it (this wimpy soldier guy [I forgot his name] who is somehow entrusted by the US government to help out but is promptly arrested and stays in jail for like half the story). Worse is the ending. It's like Stephen King said to himself, Hey, my novel's starting to get too long, and he just threw his arbitrary tragedy into it that abruptly ends everything. I can't really explain it more without spoiling it (though this turd of a story can't really be spoiled), but it just truly sucked.

I'm trying to get thru it, but I agree, there are so many characters, it meanders and goes off on meaningless tangents so much I'm about ready to give up on it, I understand CBS is doing an adaption, maybe they will tighten things up a bit. I thought the ending of the Stand, was pretty anticlimactic.

[ucfgrad93]

For me, his worst was definitely Gerald's Game. I read most of his earlier stuff, but stopped reading him for a long time after reading about half of the book. It is one of the few books I have ever not finished.

[Nothingness]

I agree with some here, I'm not a fan of Stephen King but there are books that I really like he wrote: It, The Stand, Salem's Lot, Needful Things, the Dark Tower (except Song of Suzannah), The Dark Half, The eyes of the dragon, The Long Walk, The Talisman, Misery, The Shining. Some of his short stories are really good too.

And others I found awful or so so: Tommyknockers, Cujo, Carrie, Firestarter, Song of Suzannah, The Running Man, Gerald's Game, Dolores Claiborne, Desperation, The Dead Zone.

I have not read all his books, especially the more recent novels.

[haydnfan]

Following your example, my favorites are The Stand, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Duma Key, The Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands.

My absolute favorite is Wizard and Glass. Perhaps the only volume in the Dark Tower to actually be a western romance. It has wonderful characters, comedy, bitter sweet tragedy, tender romance and amazing gunfights! It really has it all. That is your Saturday matinee cranked up to 11. Readers that wanted to see the continuation of the plot were disappointed, but as a standalone novel Wizard and Glass is exceptional.

It is a shame that same author would end up bitterly lecturing his readers in the final chapter of the final volume.