This article is going to, be all about the books by Stephen King. I believe I have about seven full-size ones. There are two short stories I’ll mention quickly at the end, but I wanted to focus on the full-size that I have finished, kind of sharing with you my opinion, which ones were the best, the worst ones, in my opinion, and just talked a little bit about Them I originally wanted to try and wait until I had read all of them, but I realized pretty quickly. It’s never going to happen. It keeps going out with so many so quickly that I can’t even keep up so let’s go through them one by one.
1. The Long Walk
I’m going to start with my favorite because I’m constantly asked which one it is? The Long Walk by Stephen King. I don’t know why. I said that it was originally written under Richard Bachman. I believe he wrote under that name, and I have the right so this is the first one. I did read, and love it so so much I don’t hear that many people mention it or it’s part of their favorite ones. Maybe it’s because it’s not. As usual, style is made, that’s why I like it so much, but this is more of a dystopian kind of disturbing book. Instead of being paranormal in this world, you are following the long walk, which is essentially an event that happens once in a while, where a hundred teenage boys walk until one last man is standing and that person gets to get one with whatever they want, and They will get it so, as you can imagine, this event lasts for a couple of days. They can’t sleep, they can’t stop for any reason, and after a few warnings whenever a date can’t keep up, they are shot in front of everyone else.
So essentially, this was a physically and mentally exhausting book to read it is fairly short. This is a mass-market paperback, but my edition has just under 400 pages. I wasn’t able to put it down. I also kind of wanted to put it down, because my legs were hurting for the main character. I enjoyed how you can follow his slow descent into madness, and you feel for the characters. My only issue was the ending, which is usually the case with Stephen King’s. It’s just not his forte. I also wish to have more information about how the long walk. I started more about the dystopian world, but with that said, a still fantastic book. I recommend it if you are looking to pick up a book by him, I enjoyed it.
2. The Running Man
I said it is my favorite so far by him and the second book that I’ve read by him that was written under Richard Bachman is The Running Man which I believe became a movie, and I think it’s I haven’t watched it yet, but this one is also A completely different style compared to other stuff. This is also kind of a dystopian futuristic world, where, as a way to entertain people, there is a TV show called the Running Man and that person has to get to something and in this one, you’re following a man who has to go, save his daughter Right, yes, is desperate for money and we decided to participate into this TV show, which is extremely intense and violent and he is being followed and there’s a bunch of people trying to kill him and he has to try and survive some amount of time. That way, he can get enough money to help his daughter, it’s again very, very exhausting. I did enjoy it if you’re someone that enjoys action-packed movies, for example, this would be a great recommendation to you know, get into books that way. It was also a very, very quick, read but again not his usual style, but I did enjoy it.
3. A Gunslinger
What to pick up first – and I did that which was a mistake A Gunslinger, the first book in The Dark Tower series – and this was the most horrible book I’ve ever read. I do understand that this is part of the universe that he created and how, all of his books are kind of in the same world are all kind of linked, and my issue is that this was so painful and confusing and long-winded, and the number of Adverbs in it was just killing me and understand that now Stephen King came back and admitted this is probably his worst book and everything and he rode this. We were like 19 or something so it makes sense that now his writing style has completely changed. That said after reading that one, it took me a long time to decide to try something else by him. So personally would not be my recommendation.
You know how to start with him gets so much better, but it’s been three years now and I have yet to continue because I just can’t convince myself. I think my main issue was that you know when you’re reading a book, and it feels like the author is trying to sound like he’s great at writing and that I wasn’t sure if some of the choices in the writing style, everything were done on purpose. If it was meant to be up, you know confusing, because you know he’s in the desert. Maybe it’s affecting him, but it just felt like it was just badly written. I gave this one-star a thing. I hated it. I can’t recommend this. I know every time I say that people say to continue again I probably will one day, but again it’s been three years and hasn’t tempted me yet it does feel like this is an improper opinion, but I think that people tend to give this one. Five stars after they’ve read the whole series and that’s why they’re, you know attached to it, and do you think it’s great, but on its own, I think it was terrible.
4. It
Another book that tends to be recommended a lot by him is It and the movies are out I have yet to watch them. I need to do that in October because I mean fall right. I went into this knowing nothing except clowns. I did not grow up. You know watching the other movie. I was not traumatized by clowns. I’d, never understood the fear of clowns. I enjoyed how great Stephen King is at reminding you of your childhood fears right in the beginning. Some of the scenes scared me. I was like wow. I was scared of that as a kid you know like trying to turn on the light in the doctor thing he’s great at describing that I got attached to characters. I hated so many characters in here to bullies yeah. I do think that, overall, it is a good book. My issues with it are that one this is so freakin ridiculously long. The way I got through it was to give myself a goal of 100 pages per day, and that’s the only way people to finish this because damn is it long.
I do feel like some of the stuff wasn’t necessarily necessary. There’s a lot of background about it, how it started everything it’s also kind of difficult to get into, because after that little scene about the kids. It goes back and you’re, seeing the six of five main characters and you’re, seeing them now and then there’s a lot of back-and-forth between now and then and you are presented them as one after the other so you’re like getting into the story. And then you switch and then you that so many times that you start being overwhelmed with the number of characters, but eventually it gets better. But in summary, if you don’t know you’re following a group of friends who again there’s a lot of back-and-forth between them now and then when they were kids kind of encountering it and facing their fears or surviving things – and I think this is the only one.
I want to talk about a spoiler. I will keep it extremely vague, so feel free to move forward. If you don’t want to hear anything, I hated the ending first off like, as always, I feel like it ruined the whole book, and I hated that scene like about here in the book, which was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. I will include a spoiler so that once the book is in the background, you can come back if you don’t want to hear it. But what was the point about the freaking gangbang with 11 years old, like it makes no freaking sense the whole like children leaving their childhood? No, no, it was not necessary and there’s no way no way. You can convince me that I will ever want to reread thinking explaining New York as a freaking kid. No, just no, no penises are No. So I think that those issues towards the end brought the whole book down. For me, I enjoyed how disturbing so many this stuff is so great at making you feel so uncomfortable, but I think that the ending in that scene is just the weakness of the boo.
5. The Stand
The Stand, I am a huge post-apocalyptic fan, and this is like probably the main one that people always recommend or tell you to start with, which seriously it might be a bit big if you’re, just starting to get into that genre. I listen to quite a bit of this as an audiobook. It helped me go through it. I think I gave this one about 3.5 stars. The strong points are strong and then the low points are low. I have a complicated relationship with this book. I enjoyed the characters you will get attached to them. Clearly, in this book, you have time. I didn’t like the obsession. I do think that some of the things feel very dated.
I’m reading it through the lines of like was it 2018. I read this so it affects my review of it, but I felt like some descriptions about the slight pull of spoiler. I think the obsession about virginity to give yourself to do evil things was just the fact that I still remember this a year plus later. I think whenever people talk about this, as the worst part of it, is still the ending we’re noticing the pattern, I do think the ending was like Schwing happened so fast and you’re, like like. I remember going back on the audiobook I’m like did I miss something. Did I like not to pay attention for a second, yeah, so I feel like for such a big book? I have very little feeling about it and again it’s usually a topic and into. I have to say the strong point about this book is the beginning. I was fascinated by the way explains how disease spreads, because post-apocalyptic this one is a disease that kills most people, and yeah. That was the best part of it and the weakest part was the ending. The middle was okay.
You know there were some good points, but yes, so whenever I explained this book I’m always a little shocked at how lukewarm I am about it. It was good, I’m glad I read it. I can say that I read it, but I have a feeling that if it wasn’t written by Stephen King, I wouldn’t think twice about it. I do feel like people will disagree about that. I think this is my second favorite by him because I feel like this one: the ending is not weak.
6. Pet Sematary
So Pet Sematary. This was weird but in a good way. If you don’t know you’re following a family that moves to in your house and their backyard kind of links to a weird place, where people go with their pets and they come back to life, kinda weirdly and things happen afterward, which no spoiler Things were interesting. Things were weird. I was incredibly uncomfortable and just weirded out and once again the ending was not weak which was surprising. So, yes, I think that if I had to choose my two favorites, it would be the long walk and then it would be Pet Sematary. So if you’re looking for the perfect read right now for the fall, I would highly be working on this one. There is a movie coming or is it already the movies out? Oh, I’m so out of it, I have not watched it yet, but I need to do that too. I have a lot of movies to watch.
7. Sleeping Beauties
Another humungous, book by him this one is Sleeping Beauties. It is the most recent book. Once again, I have pretty complicated feelings about this one, their topic, the premise is very, very intriguing. A disease starts spreading and affecting only women. It puts them into the yeah, they kind of develop a cocoon around them and if you try to wake them up and remove them from the cocoon they will attack, kill you, and go back to sleep. So obviously, women are trying to stay awake and there’s a lot of drama happening, and you following a bunch of those characters a lot I mean a lot of characters, I believe, there’s a list of them at the end or something because it got so much business in the beginning, yeah it’s in the beginning because there are so many like. Is it pages that you need sometimes to go back to? One of the stories you’re following affects women in a prison, so you can imagine how dramatic things get you to meet.
I do feel, like things, got a bit again long-winded and that I always have a hard time explaining this, but I felt like it felt a bit like. Is it virtuous signaling? The word like, I am absolutely a feminist. What was it when someone called me an aggressive feminist so, like literally no shame about it, however, I felt like sometimes it felt a bit like white knight like it went too far, and I was like okay, I get it you’re, not you know sexist.
I wish had like put posted on the scenes, but it’s sometimes felt a bit much which put me out of the story a bit, but overall there were again some horrible characters in here and the book was good, not amazing, not one of my favorites, but it Is still Stephen King, so I guess people will still read it and enjoy it. It’s an interesting premise and concept. But again the ending was kind of weird for me, which I don’t even know why I’m still saying that, because again it is part of most of my reviews, but I don’t think it’s an unpopular opinion, generally speaking, is ending or known for not being that great.
8. Different Seasons
So, as I was saying, there are two little short stories I wanted to mention the first one is part of a book that I have yet to finish, but I have finished the first story which is to reach us, something Shawshank Redemption, which was freakin amazing. I-I’ve watched a movie in the past and I feel like the short story is so close to it. That one is pretty much like the other. Yeah, would recommend it. I enjoy it. That was one of his favorite books by him.
9. Elevation
The other one Elevation, which you know how I mentioned a virtue-signaling, and all that stuff. I was getting that vibe horribly and that one too and again it just felt this genuine. Is that the word in English in this one you’re following an old man who was kind of grumpy and he hates his neighbor and his neighbors are lesbians? And it’s not the issue with them, but you kind of wonder if it’s a little bit it’s a very conservative town and then you can kind of get where things will happen. It feels like a movie, but while this is happening, the old man is going through it. Something very, very weird: it’s more of a fantasy. I think it was categorized on Goodreads as a good resource award in the horror section because I read this expecting horror and then I got that and the premise would have been interesting. Otherwise, the old guy is going through something weird. He keeps losing weight, no matter what he eats. He pigs out. He tries to put rocks in his pockets and try to weigh himself and he keeps losing more and more weight. He starts being scared of what will happen when he gets to zero.
So those are all the books that I finished by Stephen King.