The Dark Tower film is coming out this weekend, so we thought it was a good opportunity to feature the best works of Stephen King, one of the most successful writers of all time, who started out as a horror novel master, but has since gone on to deliver epics in other genres as well.
You can check out his massive bookography, or you can go by our recommendations for Stephen King’s 10 best novels.
10. The Dark Tower Series
Although the 8 Dark Tower novels vary in quality, we decided to put King’s Magnum Opus, which is something of the epicenter of his multiverse of works, in one piece. You can get each book separately and see if you’d like to go on from one to another, or you can buy all 8 books in one go.
9. Needful Things
When this book came out in 1991, it was dubbed as the final Castle Rock story. It’s another King take on the small town, with a wholesome and simple exterior, hiding something much more sinister underneath. If you’d like to read about the shopkeeper who exchanges good for deeds, a story that packs quite a punch, you can find it on Amazon.
8. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Part of a four-novella book called Different Seasons, it is now mostly famous for being a celebrated movie starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It tells the story of Andy Dufresne and his life in a New England prison for 27 years before escaping. It’s great in literary form as well, and you can find it on amazon.
7. Salem’s Lot
While vampires have been done to death in recent years, King’s take on the genre came in 1975, and his view on the whole vampires in the small town is terrific, horrific, and pretty violent and evil, like a good Stephen King should be, and perhaps the best way to deliver vampires through a book, which you can find on amazon.
6. 11/22/63
One of King’s most recent books, it details the tale of a time traveller who goes back to the early 1960’s to try and stop the JFK assassination. A terrific science fiction/alternate history novel, it does a very good job of avoiding the pitfalls and cliches of other well-known time travel stories, shows and movies. Despite being quite different to other Stephen King books, it was very well received, and is available on Amazon.
5. Misery
Another one of King’s books that enjoyed a rather successful adaptation into the big or small screen, Misery tells the story of what happens when a writer, or famous person, falls into the hands of a fan that happens to be a little bit unbalanced. Coming out in 1987, it has retained its edge and spark, You can buy it on Amazon.
4. The Green Mile
Six stories eventually published as one book, The Green Mile is another prison story that is one of the finest examples out there of Magical Realism, and the embodiment of goodness and evil. You can buy The Green Mile in Paperback, Hardcover or Kindle.
3. IT
Maybe King’s most terrifying story, it puts together a lot of the themes he usually likes to deal with in his novels: Childhood trauma and the way it surfaces in adulthood, as well as the ugliness behind the small town facade. A book that made people afraid of clowns, It is on Amazon as a book, e-book and audio book.
2. The Shining
The Shining came out in 1977, and put Stephen King firmly on the map as the biggest draw in horror literature and much closer to the mainstream. It tells the story of writer’s block inside a hotel with demonic powers, which makes the author in question try to murder his family, among other stuff going on. Despite being 40 years old, The Shining might be the first horror book you should buy if you want to get into the genre.
1. The Stand
The Stand is a horror & fantasy book that takes place in a post apocalyptic world. What makes it so good? Good vs Evil has been done before, but King’s portrayal of this battle for survival in a world that has almost no one left in it is as close to flawless as novels get. You can buy it on Amazon.
