STEPHEN KING - THE KING OF HORROR

What a thrill to be able to write a review of the works of the Master of Horror himself – Stephen King - especially at this creepiest time of the year!

I first became enamoured of Stephen King’s twisted yet thrilling take on life back in 1975 when I read Salem’s Lot. Although this wasn’t his first novel, it was the first available to me and I ate it up in record time. With the seeds of curiosity and a desire for more chills and thrills now deeply embedded in me, I vowed that I would make it my goal to read everything that would ever be written by this unequalled Frightmaster. Soon, I had access to his first (though later released) novel, Carrie, a book that was rescued from the dumpster by his wife, Tabitha! From then on, I was hooked.

Over the following three decades, his prolific pen continued to produce such thrillers as The Dead Zone, Firestarter, Cujo (not recommended for animal lovers!), Christine, Bag of Bones, Insomnia, and a seven-book series titled The Gunslinger. Many of these novels were made into feature-length movies starring such well-known actors as Sissy Spacek in Carrie, Jack Nicholson, who gave one of his most sinister and yet somehow delightful performances in The Shining, Gary Sinese - most notable today as Mac Taylor on the television series CSI: New York - starring in the epic novel The Stand, and Kathy Bates who gave an excellent and bone-chilling performance as a crazed fan of a novelist (ahem!) in Misery.

To view available Stephen King books, click here. Stephen King Novels

However, the one that tops my list is IT. I would warn anyone who has even the slightest phobia of clowns to take a deep breath (or two) before venturing into this novel. To my mind, it is the most memorable of all of Mr. King’s works and the one to which I most connected. It somehow manages to evoke the reader’s feelings of fear, terror, pity, sympathy and empathy almost simultaneously, as it takes us on a journey that feels so familiar that any one of us could have experienced it in his or her childhood. I first attributed this immediate connection to the fact that Stephen King and I grew up in the same era. However, I’ve learned from many readers much younger than I that they too shared these feelings as they read IT. For those of you who loved the book so much that you'd like to see the movie version, it is worth noting that the casting for this six-hour made-for-television mega-production of IT was brilliant. The lead roles were held by such TV actors of the day as Richard Thomas (The Waltons), John Ritter (Three’s Company), Harry Anderson (Night Court) and Richard Masur (One Day at A Time). Who couldn’t relate to them?

To view available Stephen King novels, click here. Stephen King Novels

Aside from the thrills we receive from reading his stories, Stephen King has truly given us lots to think about because of the depth of his stories and the complex personalities of his fictitious characters. I have yet to be able to detach myself immediately after reading one of his novels. There always remains a lingering feeling that I’m somehow leaving behind a part of myself – the part that became so embroiled in the story that it somehow mysteriously evolved into yet another character that was born of his unstoppable and brilliant imagination put to paper.

No matter who else comes along, it can be safely said that Stephen King truly is “The King” and I doubt that he’ll ever be dethroned.

P.S. By the way, Stephen King also wrote a collection of books under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Sadly, Mr. Bachman had a short-lived career, as he died suddenly in 1985. Fortunately, a collection of his works including Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man can be purchased to this day as a four-book set.

A complete collection of novels by Stephen King can be found here. Stephen King Novels