It’s an autumn tradition for many to curl up with a blanket and a good book, and when it’s spooky season, there’s nothing better than a good Stephen King novel to bury your nose in. When it comes to the undisputed master of the macabre, you can trust that you’ll be spooked.
So, you wanna read a Stephen King book, but you don’t know which of his brilliant masterpieces to start with? Well, here’s five of his most critically acclaimed novels!
Number Five: The Dark Tower Series
This one isn’t exactly a quick read considering that it’s a series. But if you’ve got a lot of time to kill and you like fantasy, western, and (of course) horror, this is the series for you. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world, the basic premise of the series is a gunslinger by the name of Roland Deschain who travels in search of the dark tower. The tower is said to be an adhesive that holds worlds together. King’s website has this to say about the series: “It is Stephen King’s magnum opus, and is the center of his amazing creative universe.“
Number Four: The Stand
Amazon, Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, Modern Library, BBC, and countless reviewers have described this book as one of Stephen King’s best. The plot is definitely ambitious and the execution is powerful. A deadly virus escapes from a biological weapon facility and wipes out much of the human population. Survivors of the virus have the choice between following two different leaders to two different places. Somehow, it winds up as a battle between good and evil. Many writers try to take on the concept of good versus evil, and you could certainly call it overdone. However, King hit the nail right on the head with such force that he actually demolished the nail entirely.
Number Three: It
It is one of Stephen King’s most iconic books, especially due to the films created based on the novel. It chronicles the battle between a group of boys who dub themselves “The Losers Club” and a deranged clown named Pennywise who kicks it in the sewer. The Losers’ fight to defeat Pennywise spans over decades, leading the boys well into their adulthood. It is 1,142 pages, which sounds long, but when you consider the fact that Stephen King managed to fit decades into those pages, it’s pretty impressive.
Number Two: Misery
Now, I almost put Misery as number one due to how horrifyingly well it does its job of being a horror novel. The book details the story of an author by the name of Paul Sheldon who is kidnapped by a feral fangirl of his books. This unstable fan reads his latest, unreleased book and is very upset with the ending. Filled with rage, she violently forces Paul to write a new book that ends the way she wants it to. Something that makes this book so terrifying is how real it is. No ghosts, ghouls, or predatory clowns. You can’t help but wonder if such a thing could happen to you.
Number One: The Shining
The Shining is one of Stephen King’s most famous books, and for good reason. This book chronicles Jack Torrences’ descent into madness. He is a writer who struggles with alcoholism and can never quite seem to control his anger. He moves into the Overlook Hotel with his family to be the caretaker and while Jack is there, his alcoholism and anger management problems worsen, and his sanity snaps. Meanwhile, his son, Danny, discovers his psychic abilities called “shining”, hence the title of the novel. It’s a terrifying tale of tragedy that you’ll never be able to put down.
