Worst of Stephen King - Worst books or stories

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

Revival was the last thing King wrote that I really liked. After that he developed TDS and his writing has gone to shit.

 

[Meat Target]

I was severely disappointed in the ending of the Dark Tower. It got too meta. Inserting himself into the story was just idiotic.

 

[Red Hood]

Pet Sematary was the only one of his books that truly scared the shit out of me.
I was 21 and just had my first cheeselet when I read it while staying at my parents. Scared me so damn bad I got in bed with my mom.

Different Seasons was an odd one, Apt Pupil made me wonder what kind of person SK really was after the cat in the oven part.
The Breathing Method had a snippet of another story about a senator that finds something in the woods and can't kill it, and he had it in the trunk of his car. I wanted King to tell more of THAT story.

I've been noticing in more of his books that he's writing more about children being abused, The Institute and a few others are examples of that, and I don't like that direction.

I liked Doctor Sleep, but the movie sucked ass. Carrie, Stand by Me, The Shawshank Redemption, and Kubricks The Shining are the only movies of his that are good.

One thing I'll say for Dean Koontz, if a child has been abused in his stories it's portrayed as a pretty unforgivable sin. Which it should be.

I like Dean Koontz.

 

[Mega Man II Intro - GB]

I read those "he can't be around lights" books by Dean Koontz as a kid and I thought "these are some neat books" but he never wrote another one even though it's been 20 years since I was a kid. Dean Koontz... George RR Martin... Patrick Rothfuss... Stephen King before he got hit by a car... why do popular writers have such trouble finishing their beloved series? Don't these writers know I want to read things?

But since I haven't read those books for 20 years I think I'll give them a reread. Thanks, Red Hood! Hope they're as good as I remember!

 

[Constellationzero]

Finished Jerusalem's Lot. Also read Graveyard Shift. Jerusalem's Lot is a top notch homage to both Robert Chambers and H.P. Lovecraft. I actually liked the part at the very end about rats in the walls (and I won't give anymore away for those who want to check it out for theirselves). But PLEASE DO check out this story if you enjoyed 1408 and Crouch End--even Rainy Season.

Graveyard Shift isn't his best. It wasn't terrible. A bit fucked up with the legless queen rat, but...I just didn't see a real point. It seems like GQ or Omni or Playboy called his editor and yelled about how his contribution to their _________ issue is over 3 weeks late. So he dashed that one out.

 

[Pizza Munch]

I just got into a (long overdue) Stephen King kick.. I'm reading the books and watching the movies right after. Blew through Pet Sematary first and loved it.. absolutely terrible movie (2019 version). Then read Misery which I couldn't put down. Kathy Bates is fantastic in its adaptation and I love that that was her "big break".
'Salem's Lot was good but definitely my least favorite so far. Felt like there was a lot of build up for not much return. Also took me awhile to not imagine the fucking Twilight characters the entire time... lol. Brought up watching 'Salem's Lot to my mother and she said she watched it as a kid with a sitter and this particular scene scared the shit out of her as a kid:

I bring this up because a majority of the comments on this clip are from people her age saying that this movie really scared them as children. I didn't realize it was a made-for-tv movie:

Spoiler: childhood trauma

There is a new release of the movie coming out in September of this year- so looking forward to that.
Anyways, I decided to take on one of the big boys and have started The Stand (yes the uncut version). It's started out promising but y'all have made me weary to continue. Also have The Shining, Gerald's Game, and It. Wish I hadn't seen the films before reading them though.

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

Do you have any suggestions? I'm really not much of a literature buff and typically read nonfiction anyways. I would love some input from people who know more than I do. Part of the SK appeal for me is that you can find his books at basically any thrift store for 50 cents and I enjoy watching the stories "come to life" in movie/TV adaptations.

 

[Constellationzero]

I just began reading The Mangler. No opinion yet, we'll see.
But I did finish reading Sometimes They Come Back and I Am The Doorway.

God, I Am The Doorway is...bad. Stephen King should just stay away from science fiction. And yes, I read The Jaunt (which I did like). This one was just fucked up and read like the screed from a schizoid talking to hisself a 3AM in the Dairy aisle at Meijer.

Sometimes They Come Back is very good, and I HATE ghost/demon stories. This is like an old Paul Harvey The Rest of the Story, but horror. Stephen King really shines when he writes what he knows (teaching, 1950s/1960s, small town). Some people might disagree, but I thought it was perfect and well worth a re-read.

Overall, Night Shift is shaping up to be arguably his best collection.

@Pizza Munch if you are looking for suggestions for horror, consider using interlibrary loan for ones you're not sure you want to buy. I do this myself through my college library.

I have H.P. Lovecraft (a complete treasury plus a small paperback)
Robert Chambers The King in Yellow
Michael Crichton (some say he's not necessarily horror though) Airframe, Andromeda Strain
Bram Stoker Dracula
Sheridan LeFanu Carmilla
Mary Shelley Frankenstein

Oh--and my personal fave!! Clive Barker. I have The Books of Blood, Abarat, and The Thief of Always. PLEASE DO read Thief of Always--I've read this over and over and over and over! It's great for ALL AGES!!

The gothics are all on Project Gutenberg. There is an H.P. Lovecraft archive with all his works available free of charge.

 

[LolRaccoon]

His entire bibliography nigga

 

[Mega Man II Intro - GB]

have started The Stand (yes the uncut version). It's started out promising but y'all have made me weary to continue

The "shit going wrong" parts are great. The "now we have to fix it" parts are not so great. You can stop there and skip to the last chapter if you want. King himself admitted he didn't know what to do at that point.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

Michael Crichton (some say he's not necessarily horror though) Airframe

My wife and I have both read that book several times and are of the opinion that it is Chricton's best work. It's just so interesting.

The "shit going wrong" parts are great. The "now we have to fix it" parts are not so great. You can stop there and skip to the last chapter if you want. King himself admitted he didn't know what to do at that point.

I loved The Stand. I think it is by far the best thing King has written, and even one of the best long novels written by anyone.
I didn't find the Colorado parts boring; King is trying to explain how a society works and shows that people need to either co-operate willingly (Colorado) or be forced to do it (Las Vegas).
The Stand could be made into an incredible tv series but I know it never will.

 

[Mega Man II Intro - GB]

The Stand could be made into an incredible tv series but I know it never will.

Hollywood and his publishers must regard him as nothing but a cash cow. There's never any interest in turning anything he does into something better. The interesting thing about the Vegas part is they created the more functional society. King got it right with "all the engineers will follow the leader". Really the thing only falls apart because they are following a literal Hitler Demon Bad Guy with powers that flicker on and off as the plot requires. Under a competent editor the book could've been a classic rather than a bestseller.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

'Salem's Lot was good but definitely my least favorite so far. Felt like there was a lot of build up for not much return. Also took me awhile to not imagine the fucking Twilight characters the entire time... lol. Brought up watching 'Salem's Lot to my mother and she said she watched it as a kid with a sitter and this particular scene scared the shit out of her as a kid:

Huh, I remember this scene vividly but kept thinking it was in Fright Night, only to be confused when I'd watch it and no little brat flies into the room.

King himself admitted he didn't know what to do at that point.

And that's his biggest problem, dude just doesn't plan and wants to feel like he's a part of the adventure when he writes. Only works for so far.

 

[Constellationzero]

Finished The Mangler last night. Not bad. He gets pretty comic book-ie with the ending which made me think that this should've been included in the original Creepshow because just the way he wrote this fits right in with those stories--plus, I'd like to see a visual of the mangler freeing itself from the concrete floor of the Blue Ribbon Laundry.

 

[Jason Wynn]

Finished The Mangler last night. Not bad. He gets pretty comic book-ie with the ending which made me think that this should've been included in the original Creepshow because just the way he wrote this fits right in with those stories--plus, I'd like to see a visual of the mangler freeing itself from the concrete floor of the Blue Ribbon Laundry.

You probably already know but there was a 1995 adaptation of The Mangler that’s good campy fun. Tobe Hooper directed it, Ted Levine and Robert Englund star in it. Not a good movie at all but it’s fun enough for at least one watch

 

[Constellationzero]

I just read One For the Road last night, and I gotta say...I loved it! But I also loved Jerusalem's Lot, so now I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a copy of Salem's Lot because, yeah, I want more. This is Stephen King at his best, in my opinion.

But yesterday I was at the Goodwill in my city. I now have a copy of Dreamcatcher. I saw the movie when it first came out many years ago. So, Lampreys coming out of people's asses: the movie scares me. I heard Rose Madder was pretty suck, and I imagine this one might suck just as hard because Goddamn with that movie. Morgan fucking Freeman couldn't carry it. And on top of everything else, it's supposed to be an allegory about having cancer??

 

[SpotOnTheWall]

I'm curious why there are votes for If It Bleeds in the poll. It was a pretty bland collection, but I wouldn't call any of it outright bad.

Although I didn't really like how The Life of Chuck works its way backwards or its overall premise, or the shoehorned "sequel" to The Outsider. The other 2 were decent imo

 

[Luna Mothews]

What’s that one short story where essentially trucks and other big vehicles gain sentience and force people to pump gas into them? I realize he was coked out of his mind but that’s definitely the stupidest.
I agree with the sentiment that Richard Bachman stuff is better. It’s more unpolished maybe, but a lot less pretentious and full of itself.

 

[Tootsie Bear]

What’s that one short story where essentially trucks and other big vehicles gain sentience and force people to pump gas into them? I realize he was coked out of his mind but that’s definitely the stupidest.
I agree with the sentiment that Richard Bachman stuff is better. It’s more unpolished maybe, but a lot less pretentious and full of itself.

The story was called Trucks. Movie based on it was Maximum Overdrive. Another movie was named Trucks too and had one of the silliest movie kills of all time.

 

[Constellationzero]

The story was called Trucks. Movie based on it was Maximum Overdrive. Another movie was named Trucks too and had one of the silliest movie kills of all time.

Trucks is in the Night Shift collection. It's actually very good and well worth the read.

Maximum Overdrive has that hilarious scene where Stephen King retardedly peers into the ATM and whines "Honeyyyyyy, this machine just called me an asshole!"

 

[LetteWitch]

I didn't mind the ending of The Dark Tower, but getting there was a bit rough. It was kind of a fresh change since usually the opposite is true of his books.

IT felt overrated because of the movies. I did not find it nearly as scary as it had been heralded. I can't say it was terrible but between the expectation and child orgy it kind of fell apart for me. I don't think I've outright hated any of his books, but I will say I'd like more to hit the nerves that Pet Semetary did for me.