Worst of Stephen King - Worst books or stories

[Ewan McGregor]

I sometimes wonder if drugs are actually beneficial to some artists since it seems that his cokehead days produced the strongest work. What do you think?

I think some people do struggle with the sort of inhibitions that you need to put away if you want to do anything creative and, for some people, drugs might help opening the tap.

I think King is a fucked up guy with a lot of shit from his upbringing and stuff he wasn't able to write down without the speedball, and, while using drugs, he had absolute no filter, that's why his writing is oftentimes disturbing, questionable and all over the place with, more often than not, bizarre, surreal imaginery and underwhelming closures.

He's on record saying he is no fan of planning or editing, because that's the way he likes it.

When he went sober, his writing also became noticeably more sober, restrained and conventional. However, he has managed to access some of his creative potential without drugs, we think. Also, he is happier and wealthier now, which also does usually hurt a writer's output.

So, in short, if you don't have it inside yourself no amount of drugs is going to turn you into a good writer. Or an interesting one.

 

[DrNow]

I like ‘The Reach’ a great deal, the simpler stories like word processor of the gods that have a kind of proto Creepypasta feel about them. The Jaunt was very uncomfortable. Ballad of the Flexible bullet is good too.

I think a lot of what he wrote is best appreciated when you’re younger, The Body and It are both children’s books written to an adult standard. You relate to the characters as a young adult whilst getting to experience literature for the first time.

I’m willing to separate the art from the artist when it comes to King. I try and remember enjoying his books when I first started reading rather than dwelling on his Twitter account.

 

[Mola Ram]

I’m willing to separate the art from the artist when it comes to King. I try and remember enjoying his books when I first started reading rather than dwelling on his Twitter account.

It's a lot easier to do with his older stuff. Last few years his views have really begun to intrude into his fiction in a way that's even more hamfisted than it used to be (check out Holly for what may be the worst of this).

 

[Ewan McGregor]

It's a lot easier to do with his older stuff. Last few years his views have really begun to intrude into his fiction in a way that's even more hamfisted than it used to be (check out Holly for what may be the worst of this).

I'm not touching modern King, not even with a 3ft stick

 

[Constellationzero]

I'm not touching modern King, not even with a 3ft stick

I'm not touching it with Tabitha's dick.

 

[std::string]

I sometimes wonder if drugs are actually beneficial to some artists since it seems that his cokehead days produced the strongest work. What do you think?

It's hard to tell if it was King getting sober or him hitting middle age. In the mid-90s he starts to get obsessed with aging as a theme in his novels and his characters get a lot softer overall.

At least he avoided making every single novel about addiction and recovery like happens to some authors.

 

[Ewan McGregor]

At least he avoided making every single novel about addiction and recovery like happens to some authors.

Or did he?

 

[The Un-Clit]

The last good thing King wrote was The Institute. It really felt like it belonged in the Firestarter universe and felt like much more of a return to form to a certain extent, though it lacked a real good 'Rainbird' type antagonist.

Everything else lately has been a huge let-down. 'Fairy Tale' has to be the most boring, watered down Dark Tower lite crap I've ever read, and I hate the Holly Gibney character so much I refuse to read a book fucking NAMED after her.

Someone needs to send King a care package of blow and viagra and a fifth of whiskey. Maybe there's still something left in there. Maybe,

 

[Constellationzero]

Finally made it to the part where Gard kills Bobbi. THANK FUCKING GOD. What a shitty, unlikeable character. I actually care a lot more about Gard this far into the book. Bobbi just fucking SUCKED completely all through the book.

 

[std::string]

Everything else lately has been a huge let-down. 'Fairy Tale' has to be the most boring, watered down Dark Tower lite crap I've ever read, and I hate the Holly Gibney character so much I refuse to read a book fucking NAMED after her.

I have to assume it was King's attempt at a YA novel.

It's not terrible or anything. It's just very, very boring. If it wasn't written by King it would've never been published. It's also a good example of just how out of touch King is because Charlie is supposed to be a 17-year old boy in the year 2016 but talks about shit from the 80s and 90s.

 

[The Un-Clit]

Has anyone had a chance to check out the new short story collection "You like it darker" that dropped last month?

I only just found out it existed now. I'll be grabbing it of the high seas and checking it out tomorrow when I have time. Curious if anyone else has an opinion yet? His short stories tend to be better on average then his long fiction of late, especially as many have been written years before but not yet published.

 

[catsandsoup]

Has anyone had a chance to check out the new short story collection "You like it darker" that dropped last month?

I only just found out it existed now. I'll be grabbing it of the high seas and checking it out tomorrow when I have time. Curious if anyone else has an opinion yet? His short stories tend to be better on average then his long fiction of late, especially as many have been written years before but not yet published.

I read it. IMO, it was probably one of his weaker collections, but still light years above 'Holly' or 'Fairy Tale' (the later of which I gave up on, and there's very few of King's that I'd say that about.)

There's 12 stories, all kinda derivative of previous stuff (as I guess you'd expect at his age.)

Two Talented Bastids - aliens, exploring how people get their talent, not for me (might hit harder for Owen and Joe...)

The Fifth Step - previously published short piece about a guy in AA, I liked it

Willie the Weirdo - very reminiscent of 'Gramma', but I liked it

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - reviewers seemed to like, for me, this one dragggggged. A guy dreams about finding a body, calls it in, and the cops railroad him, assuming he did it. There's a cop who obsessively counts who reminded me of that Jim Carrey movie about the guy who fixated on number 23.

Finn - previously published, unlucky boy escapes kidnapping, yawn.

On Slide Inn Road - previously published, Flannery O'Connor fanfic, yawn.

Red Screen - previously published, guy kills his wife and blames his irritation with her on her being an alien. I liked it okay.

The Turbulence Expert - previously published. What if being scared of the turbulence is what keeps you alive? Meh.

Laurie - previously published, old dude's dog protects him from an alligator. Meh.

Rattlesnakes - Cujo sequel where we see Vic Trenton as an old man. Yawn.

The Dreamers - Lovecraftian 'some doors shouldn't be opened', reminded me of Revival and kinda of the Green God of Agony.

The Answer Man - A man on a roadside gives a guy guidance with his answers. Kinda reminded me of Fair Extension.

 

[The Un-Clit]

I read it. IMO, it was probably one of his weaker collections, but still light years above 'Holly' or 'Fairy Tale' (the later of which I gave up on, and there's very few of King's that I'd say that about.)

I'm totally with you there, as I mentioned a few posts above Fairy Tale bored me to tears and I refuse to even read Holly as I hate the character and the whole "Mr Mercedes" universe.

So it looks like the collection is a pretty mixed bag, which is about as expected. I was hoping for one or two knockout 'The Mist' style tales, most collections have at least 1 but I guess I'll find out today. Thank you for the feedback!

(If anyone wants a link for a torrent, let me know in a PM.)

 

[std::string]

(If anyone wants a link for a torrent, let me know in a PM.)

I'd recommend using loginzlib2vrak5zzpcocc3ouizykn6k5qecgj2tzlnab5wcbqhembyd.onion on TOR for all your pirating needs.

I doubt anyone cares about book torrents, but you never know.

 

[Jerri's Kid]

I'd recommend using loginzlib2vrak5zzpcocc3ouizykn6k5qecgj2tzlnab5wcbqhembyd.onion on TOR for all your pirating needs.

I doubt anyone cares about book torrents, but you never know.

It's probably the best way to get King's no-no story Rage now so this is helpful. I used to have a copy of it, but after you move to a new place a few times you begin to think that maybe you don't need so many books.

 

[The Un-Clit]

So far I've read up to The Turbulence Expert. I pretty much agree with @catsandsoup 's summaries so far, except that I quite enjoyed Coughlin's Bad Dream. Of the short stories so far, all are pretty average except The 5th Step which was very good. I was a bit leery of it by the title, King's worked AA into so many of his stories it's getting a bit annoying but I did not expect this one to go the way it did, though I should have. It was the first thing to really make me smile. I should be finished the rest of the book tonight.

 

[std::string]

It's probably the best way to get King's no-no story Rage now so this is helpful. I used to have a copy of it, but after you move to a new place a few times you begin to think that maybe you don't need so many books.

Rage is a hell of a lot better if you assume King thought "hey what if Holden Caulfield had a gun" and just ran with it.

It gets kinda funny in that context.

 

[Constellationzero]

FINALLY.

Finished The Tommyknockers. In the end, King managed to make me care about Gard. I feel like Ev Hillman and Peter's deaths were anticlimactic and a letdown considering the gravity of the situation in general. I still feel like Everett and Peter could be characters in one of the Dark Tower books like Father Callahan.

Onto the technical stuff:

King takes WAY TOO LONG with the climax. This goes also for the stories within the larger story. What could've been EASILY summed up in a couple paragraphs is rendered in an hours and hours long Nick Rekeita crunk Greer stream with Siracha. It had me rocking back and forth internally screaming SHADDUP! Hell, he had me wanting to zap him into the great Repple Depple in the sky.

He really does shine brightest through short stories. Anyway... taking a King break to read Mister B. Gone next.

 

[CowPox]

Stephen King pounds his fists against the posts but refuses to see the ghost of race realism and the myth of a two party system and a great many other things. Also i stand by that he was a poser coke head party animal until further proof is provided etc.

 

[The Un-Clit]

I'm finished 'You Like It Darker' (And was happy to read King giving credit for the title to Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' album, a reference I saw immediately as a huge Cohen fan.) and overall consider it one of his weaker but far from the worst collections he's made.

Of the remaining stories, I found a LOT of them very derivative of things he's done before. As noted, The Answer Man was very similar in theme to 'Fair Extension' and a great many of the stories also featured elderly protagonists and musing on the pains of being old. This was much more interesting in "Insomnia" 30 years ago then it is now.

I really had high hopes for 'The Dreamers' but not only was it highly derivative of "Revival" as noted by @catsandsoup yet without any cool backstory as to why the mad scientist became so, it was SUCH badly done Lovecraft Lite that I can't believe King was willing to publish it as it stood. It even took the 'deathbag' imagery from Insomnia and threw it in for some reason. Not awful, but a big let down from my expectations.

There's really only 4 standout stories in this collection of 12, and only 1 of which are likely to stick to me long term. The 4 in question are 'The 5th Step', 'Willie the Weirdo', Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream' and just barely, 'Rattlesnakes'. The 'Duma Key' references as well as being a sequel to 'Cujo', a book King dosen't even remember writing make it interesting.

The remaining 8 aren't terrible by any means, just not all that great either. Merely servicable to decent. Still well worth a read, but probably not worth your $40 or whatever a hardcover costs these days.