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Recommend me a Stephen King book

One of my students is reading all his books in order of publishing. She's told me you can't buy The Bachman books with Rage in it anymore and old copies with it included are changing hands for silly money.
Luckily I've just found my copy and will lend her it until she's read Rage
 
King's also-ran Dean Koontz worth a go if you like King as the styles are very close. Also-ran is a bit harsh, he's accomplished in his own way but that way just happens to be ripping off King.
 
The Tommyknockers was good imo, not talked about as much as some of his other books.

The Stand is a massive read, but the first of the three parts, dealing with the initial outbreak and how human civilisation as we know it ceases to be, is extraordinarily good and convincing imo. The first time I read it I would have the odd dream for some afterwards in which I was one of the few lucky survivors, with the whole world (or a deserted London anyway) my oyster.

Firestarter is a very good ‘shorter’ novel. Though my all-time favourite is probably Salem’s Lot, though neck and neck with The Shining.
 
I grabbed one from the library before shutdown as part of my allowed 12 but can't for the life of me remember what it was called. I enjoyed it though. :oops:
 
thanks all

i remembered i have an old copy of Christine and, in classic king fashion, already done a 100 pages. Love it!

But as per the recommendations, and if i'm still in the mood after it, will get needful things.
 
his books remind of how i used to get utterly lost in films as a teen. just totally tranfixed. If I snap out of it, the writing is not exactly literary, it's often full of stuff like "He had a round face, like the moon" etc but he just hooks you in. Wonderful. Makes me forget the world!
 
He's always been good about setting an atmosphere and having stuff go on under the surface of normality - I think that is why it has such broad appeal tbh.
 
I don't want his "political/social" commentary types. Just pure spooky nonsense, pref set in lovely small towns. For some reason I love the way his small town Americana cross breads with horror.
From a Buick 8 is a good more recent one like this.
 
Only recent one of his that I've read was Doctor Sleep, the follow-up to The Shining, which I really enjoyed.

I think he asked Twitter if he should write another Dark Tower or Shining 2 and he went with their recommendation. I like him on Twitter. Seems like a decent sort.

Devoured his stuff when I was a kid. 'Salems Lot, The Shining, The Stand are all proper page-turner scare-the-shit-out-of-a-teenager stuff. Ace horror writer.
 
I think I'm at the point where I've now read more Stephen King than any other writer and I've still only read about half of his stuff. I have plenty of reservations which probably flow from his rich liberal politics. Working class characters are either dysfunctional trailer trash or family minded salt of the earth, ditto women. He also very much does a white writers take on black characters, who seem to come pre-packaged in terms of style, musical tastes, language etc. Having said all that I manage to remain a fan and have been 'rereading' a few of his novels on audiobooks recently. I previously read half of the Dark Tower series in the 90s and the rest in the last 5 years. They are a much better read if you do them one after the other and, give or take a few slow points and a not brilliant ending, it's great. I've also read a few dark tower related works:

Hearts in Atlantis (a bit too sentimental for my taste, ditto the film with Anthony Hopkins)
The Talisman + Black House, both jointly written with Peter Straub. There's a tendency towards dense prose, which must come from Straub, but enjoyed both of them.
Insomnia - great book. Enjoyed it even more as he chooses to have mainly elderly characters
Eyes of the Dragon - in the same universe as the dark tower, but done as a fairly story. Okay when you read it in those terms.
Little Sisters of Eluria - a short story that slots into the dark tower series. Readable. Just.
 
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