Worst of Stephen King - Worst books or stories

[Matt Damon]

The Stand started off pretty entertaining, but I lost interest when they all got together in Colorado and it became as compelling as a meeting of the local zoning committee.

I'll admit the guy has a knack for moment-to-moment storytelling and keeping the reader engaged, but any examination of his books after the fact makes it obvious that it's 10% story and 90% fluff that never goes anywhere.

 

[Red Hood]

I think the only King work that holds up in any sense is The Dead Zone and even that's a pretty thinly veiled REEEE CONSERVATIVES MUH NIXON message. Salem's Lot is an okay potboiler. Some of his short stories are readable.

The Kubrick version of The Shining is better and no one should care that the hack that wrote spooky topiaries into his book doesn't like it.

 

[Smug Chuckler]

What was the one where people flew into a pocket dimension inhabited by poorly rendered chain chomps?

 

[PaleTay]

All of the ones where they're supposed to be horror but turn into a weird sci-fi fever dream.

 

[Orange Tabby]

Loved Dolores Claiborne and 1408. But ‘The Library Policeman’ made me quit horror for a while. The rest of the short stories in Four Past Midnight were boring as hell.

 

[Ona Quest]

I thought these three where probably the least engaging. They had some interesting elements, but overall huge yawn fests, especially insomnia.

 

[Kiwi On The Go]

Let us not forget this boring 50 page product placement that made it's way into an otherwise decent collection, Bazzar of Bad Dreams.

Bazzar also had a DeathNote ripoff that I can't remember the name of but other than those two, it was alright.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

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I thought these three where probably the least engaging. They had some interesting elements, but overall huge yawn fests, especially insomnia.

Cujo got King removed from my junior high school library by our fat Karen of a reading teacher (of all subjects).

What was the one where people flew into a pocket dimension inhabited by poorly rendered chain chomps?

The Langoliers.

 

[Toucan]

I hate that most of his protagonists are essentially the exact same person (that is to say King himself) Its unfortunate because I feel that every time he breaks away from this habit he transcends himself. The two exceptions to this are Misery and 11/22/63, Which both have the troubled middle aged english teacher protagonist but succeed regardless.
In the case of Misery though perhaps you could argue that Paul Sheldon is not 100% in that category.

 

[Squirrel Nutkin]

Of the later stuff, Duma Key was beyond terrible. I kind of enjoyed Cell though.

 

[Constellationzero]

King is at his best in the short form. His novels are maybe 60/40 hit or miss in overall quality, but his short stories have a much higher ratio of quality.

This is partly why his short stories are usually better, because he doesn't have the time to bog himself down with drawn out endings or back and forth conflicts. In his novels, the best ones are about human dread and misery, where the conflict is more abstract and the ending more open. From a Buick 8 is a great example of this, where his strength in building atmosphere and characterization can be emphasized.

HARD AGREE. I have Four Past Midnight, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, and Nightmares and Dreamscapes. When he limits his sperging, I truly enjoy it.

Langoliers is great as a novella. Not too long, plus I was entertaining myself trying to see if the passed out drunk passenger would be orphaned, and... King did NOT forget about him! Surprised for a guy on Coke and Alcohol. He must use outlines or a whiteboard to get everything straight. Which reminds me...
I've got an early edition of The Gunslinger. In his own commentary after, he rips on people who use outlines and calls them hacks. Talk about a man who truly sounded like he's lost his own way after getting famous. I was disappointed. The Gunslinger is good, but not his best. Can't bring myself to start The Drawing of the Three.

Just added From a Buick 8 and Cell to my library the other day (thrift stores!) Not sure when I'll start on them since I'm reading Clive Barker's Abarat first book right now.

Worst short stories for me:

* You Know They Got a Hell of a Band (needs a bit of improvement)
* It Grows on You
* Popsy
* Riding the Bullet
* Little Sisters of Eluria




Best short stories:

* Dylan's Cadillac
* Crouch End
* 1408
* Rainy Season
* Langoliers

Of course, I've always wondered just what King really thought about Mr. Toomey. He oscillates between liking/feeling sorry for him to outright hating the character, but I couldn't get a gage on just why that seemed to be. Sometimes I got a sense that he was bored with his own story (could happen a lot), but his editor either didn't catch on or didn't care.


Someone mentioned Bachman. I have The Regulators.

Not. The. Greatest.

There was too much epistlatory stuff between the chapters. Tak was just nonsensical in his machinations and too underdeveloped. King has some kind of magical nigger fascination with autism and retarded kids all while writing them as being more unhygienic and disgusting as Chantal Sarault--for no functional reason.
The story leaves you with more questions than answers, like... if the lady who adopted her brother's tard kid LOVED her husband, why don't they end up together? Why doesn't the tard kid end up with his real family? Why does the tard kid end up in his aunt's fantasy land when he was so absorbed in watching The Regulators and that irritating cartoon show?

I heard Rose Madder is pretty awful too.

 

[Matt Damon]

Of the later stuff, Duma Key was beyond terrible.

I kept expecting that one to go somewhere and it just never fucking did.

It was like an anti-story.

 

[Tootsie Bear]

Loved Dolores Claiborne and 1408. But ‘The Library Policeman’ made me quit horror for a while. The rest of the short stories in Four Past Midnight were boring as hell.

Oh man! I hated the Library Policeman. From the wimpy protagonists to his annoying ex-girlfriend, I wanted them to die at the end but all we got was a crappy ending to a terrible story.

 

[The Cunting Death]

The question is, did he write better when he was on coke?


Edit: can we all agree The Stand tv adaptation was god awful?

Which Stand Adaptation?
The recent one or the one where Bill Fagerbakke played a retard?

Because they're both shit




That being said he's extremely hit or miss and I almost agree he did his best on Coke and that Maximum Overdrive is a fucking fun as hell movie

 

[The Cunting Death]

I also want to add, I enjoyed 1408.
Both the short story and movie

 

[Jason Wynn]

If we’re on the subject of worst short stories, I didn’t like a lot of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, I think it’s his worst short story collection. Aside from a few good ones like Dolan’s Cadillac and The Night Flier it was pretty ho hum.

Night Shift and Skeleton Crew are tied as his best for me. Jerusalem’s Lot is one of my favorites, despite it being a standard Lovecraft entry. I’ve been interested in checking out Chapelwaite (the miniseries based on it) but I don’t know if it’ll just be another shit adaptation or not

 

[Megaroad 2012]

Maximum Overdrive is a fucking fun as hell movie

I love Maximum Overdrive. Dunno why King hates it, it's the best representation of his overall work.

 

[Dom Cruise]

Hearts in Atlantis is the worst collection, a pretty boring batch of boomer navel gazing, not terrible but not very exciting, I barely remember anything beyond "Low Men in Yellow Coats" which got a movie adaption.

There was one moment in Hearts in Atlantis that I didn't think was pretty interesting, it was maybe the last story when the boomers are old and like, someone has a heart attack while on the road and random objects start falling from the sky? I can't remember the details but it was weird and seemed like a good visual metaphor for growing old.

As for novels, Carrie is one I didn't finish and don't really care to, it felt very rough and unvarnished, like watching a student film, the movie is all you really need.

Most of what I've read of King, which has been a pretty decent amount, I've liked, some of it's great, some of it's middle of the road, but rarely is it an unpleasant experience to read and something you regret reading.

Loved Dolores Claiborne and 1408. But ‘The Library Policeman’ made me quit horror for a while. The rest of the short stories in Four Past Midnight were boring as hell.

It was pretty shocking how far he took it in The Library Policeman.

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I thought these three where probably the least engaging. They had some interesting elements, but overall huge yawn fests, especially insomnia.

I actually really liked Insomnia, yes it was kind of slow paced, but the old man protagonist was an interesting change of pace and it had some real interesting moments, plus the only actually good appearance of The Crimson King.

Of the later stuff, Duma Key was beyond terrible. I kind of enjoyed Cell though.

Duma Key had some great south Florida atmosphere that felt like a good change of pace from the usual Maine settings, but it was very, very mediocre, I still kind scratch my head at what the secret of the island turns out to be, it's overall a pretty mediocre one, but not terrible.

 

[childofthedavil666]

Cujo got King removed from my junior high school library by our fat Karen of a reading teacher (of all subjects).


The Langoliers.

I'm sorry? You weren't allowed to read a book at school? I've never heard this before. Yes, Mein Kampf from A.H.

Why is Stephen King so overrated? There are plenty of more horror/weird stuff writers.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

I'm sorry? You weren't allowed to read a book at school? I've never heard this before. Yes, Mein Kampf from A.H.

There's some scene where the husband character whacks off and being 13 or 14 years old at the time I thought it was funny and shared with my friends.

She swooped in and had a stroke over it and all his books were removed.

Nothing was ever made of it because no one but me read him (and kids don't read usually) and it didn't really phase me at the time since I would read my mom's copies.