Worst of Stephen King - Worst books or stories

[Mola Ram]

Maybe I have been giving King too much credit though.

No, I think you nailed it, not least because King all but tells you this is exactly what she's doing. Odetta is, similarly, a too-perfect, too-prissy caricature of the Educated Negro. It's just harder to see because it's light years less offensive.

Of course, one could still argue that "Ooh, ooh, she's pretending to be a pickaninny to fuck with the white folks!" is just an excuse for King to indulge his inner Klansman.

 

[Cr1ms0n_&_C10v3r]

Can't believe I didn't know about this thread until now!
I'm coming to the end of my second reading of IT which has been ongoing for 8 months - I read it whenever I have time to kill at my job (first read it at 13, saw the 2 part miniseries as a kid before that). Reading it again after seeing those 2 movies (which were kinda cringe but I didn't hate them as popcorn flicks) also has made me think more than ever that whilst King really does have a talent for writing horror, it's not the kind that translates well to screen. He can capture uncanny and dreamlike stuff well, and sometimes existential horror, but it's better left to the imagination. One of my favourite bits in the book is when Mike sees the giant bird in its nest at the ironworks during the sunny daytime, something about it is so much like a dream and it's not scary but it is unsettling. I can see why this was never adapted onto screen though, it would look silly.

I don't know whether this is a popular opinion or not because I know King is obviously mostly known for his horror writing, but my 2 favourite books of his are Dolores Claiborne and The Green Mile, and I think those character driven drama stories are him at his best. I also have The Cycle of the Werewolf graphic novel which is one of my favourites but that's mostly because the movie adaptation was a childhood favourite of mine and I loved werewolves.
I think his biggest issue is starting off strong and then not knowing how to end the story satisfactorily so just cobbling some dumb shit together. Though I thought "Thinner" wasn't that great the ending actually was a good horror ending, it's a shame he didn't write more like that. Pet Sematary was also good at capturing the hopeless horror ending, love the old movie adaptation for its cheesiness and Jud (who is frequently parodied in South Park), hated the newer one.

 

[Mola Ram]

I can see why this was never adapted onto screen though, it would look silly.

What do you mean? That's never an issue with King's writing.

 

[Flaming Carrot]

Sorry if this has been asked already (probably by me) but how is Clive Barker anyway?

I think the only thing I've read of him is The Hellbound Heart. Other than that, the phrase "Clive Barker's Clive Barker's Jericho by Clive Barker" echoes in my head for some reason.

Pretty much everything Clive Barker has done ranges from good to amazing. I especially liked Weaveworld, Imajica, and The Thief of Always. The only thing to avoid is The Scarlet Gospels, which is terrible and widely believed to be ghostwritten. He's a fantastic writer.

 

[The Un-Clit]

Pretty much everything Clive Barker has done ranges from good to amazing. I especially liked Weaveworld, Imajica, and The Thief of Always. The only thing to avoid is The Scarlet Gospels, which is terrible and widely believed to be ghostwritten. He's a fantastic writer.

Ghostwritten.....I never considered that though I was broadly struck by how 'Un-Clive Barker' the writing felt in the Scarlet Gospels. One of the few books of his that really let me down, especially as it was the expansion and sequel of one of the best of the Books of Blood in The Hellbound Heart. It explains why I felt it had such a strong disconnect to the original in tone, structure and environment.

It even makes sense in that Barker hasn't really written anything in ages. He seemed to have run out of steam but suddenly The Scarlet Gospels appears. I wonder if he had a contract for a number of novels in a certain time period that he broke and it gave his publishers the rights to do something like that? Hummmm........

 

[Mola Ram]

Ghostwritten.....I never considered that though I was broadly struck by how 'Un-Clive Barker' the writing felt in the Scarlet Gospels. One of the few books of his that really let me down, especially as it was the expansion and sequel of one of the best of the Books of Blood in The Hellbound Heart. It explains why I felt it had such a strong disconnect to the original in tone, structure and environment.

It even makes sense in that Barker hasn't really written anything in ages. He seemed to have run out of steam but suddenly The Scarlet Gospels appears. I wonder if he had a contract for a number of novels in a certain time period that he broke and it gave his publishers the rights to do something like that? Hummmm........

I had a vague memory of him having health problems, and it turns out he nearly died of complications from a dental procedure back in 2012. Toxic shock syndrome, went into a 3 week coma, the works. Apparently there are conflicting rumors on just how recovered he is, but I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with it.

 

[El Microwave]

Salem’s Lot is one of his best books. I’d say the best way to read it is to read Dracula immediately beforehand.

Without spoiling, does King's version of the vampire feel like a novel progression? If so, I'd like to give it justice by going through a timeline of how Dracula and other ghouls were portrayed. Are there any collections of folktales based on vampires to add to the mix? Non-English languages are fine, even preferable due to authenticity. Sorry if it's asking you to spoonfeed me. I just get overwhelmed doing the research on my own because the internet is flooded with fruity modern vampire depictions and biased, politicized articles about the history.

 

[McMitch]

Without spoiling, does King's version of the vampire feel like a novel progression? If so, I'd like to give it justice by going through a timeline of how Dracula and other ghouls were portrayed. Are there any collections of folktales based on vampires to add to the mix? Non-English languages are fine, even preferable due to authenticity. Sorry if it's asking you to spoonfeed me. I just get overwhelmed doing the research on my own because the internet is flooded with fruity modern vampire depictions and biased, politicized articles about the history.

Whereas Dracula was written to codify the various Eastern European vampire myths, ‘Salem’s Lot functions as a sequel to that; it assumes you understand the broad details of the concept before placing it in a new setting with new characters. It’s almost textbook in its functionality as a sequel to great effect.
Hell, the only reason I read Dracula first was because King prefaced the novel about his first time reading it. It’s a labor of love to that memory of his, involving his mom and his brother. Following it up with One For the Road worked really well as well; I’m always super onboard with modern settings handling gothic and traditional monsters the way pre-modern dwellings would: ignore it and try to keep away. It’s the only way a sequel to a Stephen King work would work (this includes the Dark Tower books and his modern trend of writing sequels up his early, good, material).

 

[Constellationzero]

On another note: King apparently said something about how it would be kinda funny if an ancient vampire like Dracula was awakened in the 20th century, he's probably get himself run over by a Yellow Cab.

So he mirrors Dracula's hilarious and anti-climactic death by giving Barlow an equally pathetic death.

 

[Mola Ram]

On another note: King apparently said something about how it would be kinda funny if an ancient vampire like Dracula was awakened in the 20th century, he's probably get himself run over by a Yellow Cab.

So he mirrors Dracula's hilarious and anti-climactic death by giving Barlow an equally pathetic death.

I thought Barlow's death was fairly dramatic. Edge of sunset, surrounded by his minions, the last two surviving Vampire Killers just barely managing to stake him before he awakens and destroys them. Oh, and then they burn down the whole fucking town.

 

[Mr Processor]

I really disliked Rage when I read it as a kid (my school library kept it lol). He just goes on and on about stupid shit, and the way the class just sits and gossips while he holds them hostage is dumb. It's not entertaining nor is it realistic, so why does it even exist? Carrie was nice though.
It was 7 years ago that I last read The Tommyknockers so forgive me if my memory is faulty, but I remember Bobbi letting the machine she unearthed write for her. The idea of it automatically creating stuff from beyond was really cool even if the rest of the book was disappointing. It always reminded me of a song by an early 80s new wave band called Los Microwaves:

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=hS5mhpc71rA

I wonder if Stephen King had heard the song. Is the idea of a typewriter or synthesizer or [insert creative utinsel] writing or composing on its own a trope of some kind? Do any of you know of a book or movie about the topic? And are there any good books similar to The Tommyknockers that are actually well written? Also, what do you think about rumors that Stephen King didn't write all his books and that some, or even most, were ghostwritten by a committee? I haven't read enough of them to be able to say yes or no since you'd need some examples of differing writing styles as evidence. And one more question for my Kiwi friends: is Salem's Lot worth it? I found it in a bargain bin and have put it off for some time. There are more important things to read first but it sits in the back of my mind, eating at me.

Let's see, Stephen King's "The Sun Dog" starts out about a Polaroid Camera that links to another dimension with some sort of horrible creature in it that starts to show up in the pictures. I also remember a Tales from the Darkside episode written by him called, "The Word Processor of the Gods," about a janky homemade word processor made by a dead genius child that had the ability to change reality. Unfortunately, those are both by Stephen King so those are no help.

Another one I remember is "Camera Obscura" by Basil Copper, that I read as a child and was made into an episode of Night Gallery. I remember liking it well enough.

For Salem's Lot, I think it's fine to read it. It's an homage to Dracula, which you may have already read but if not you might want to read it first.

 

[William Murderface]

The most unbelievable thing about The Tommyknockers was that any little boy would want the Crystal Ball G.I. Joe figure. At least Raptor (the Cobra who dressed up like a giant bird) had a falcon as an accessory. Crystal Ball just has some shield that's supposed to be a hypnotic effect. he looks like a carnie version of Doctor Strange. Totally weak figure boys got from relatives who were told to just get something for a birthday gift.

 

[Oxyjen]

In terms of works that have met the screen, every single one is bloody awful with the sole exception of The Shining. A film he disowned because he didn’t like what Kubrick did with it.

Misery might also get a pass I suppose.

I’ve read very little of his stuff consequently.

 

[Mola Ram]

The most unbelievable thing about The Tommyknockers was that any little boy would want the Crystal Ball G.I. Joe figure. At least Raptor (the Cobra who dressed up like a giant bird) had a falcon as an accessory. Crystal Ball just has some shield that's supposed to be a hypnotic effect. he looks like a carnie version of Doctor Strange. Totally weak figure boys got from relatives who were told to just get something for a birthday gift.

This may have been an in-joke, because there is a longstanding rumor that Crystal Ball was, either through a rigged contest or through celebrity connections, designed by one of Stephen King's sons. On the other hand, Crystal Ball would have been a new figure at the time Tommyknockers was published, so it's possible that's how the rumor got started.

In terms of works that have met the screen, every single one is bloody awful with the sole exception of The Shining. A film he disowned because he didn’t like what Kubrick did with it.

Misery might also get a pass I suppose.

I’ve read very little of his stuff consequently.

Shawshank Redemption is pretty damn good.

 

[Jason Wynn]

In terms of works that have met the screen, every single one is bloody awful with the sole exception of The Shining. A film he disowned because he didn’t like what Kubrick did with it.

Misery might also get a pass I suppose.

I’ve read very little of his stuff consequently.

Stand By Me was pretty good. I liked De Palma’s adaptation of Carrie as well.

It’s pure cheese, but if you’re ever in the mood for B movie schlock, Thinner is a riot and very fun.

 

[The Un-Clit]

This may have been an in-joke, because there is a longstanding rumor that Crystal Ball was, either through a rigged contest or through celebrity connections, designed by one of Stephen King's sons. On the other hand, Crystal Ball would have been a new figure at the time Tommyknockers was published, so it's possible that's how the rumor got started.



Shawshank Redemption is pretty damn good.

So was The Green Mile, much as I dislike Tom Hanks.

Doctor Sleep wasn't terrible either, despite DEIing and thus race-swapping Abra Stone destroying the family link to her and the Torrances.

 

[Cardinal Cardinal]

It might have been covered already but in how many of his stories does he portray some sort of "inappropriateness towards children"?
I can think of :
It (kids fucking to get superpowers or some shit), The Raft (teenagers fucking on a raft before a big blob eats them, the girl might have been asleep), and one of the Dark Tower books around 4 (village elder or mayor dry humps a teenage girl and nuts in his pants).
I never really thought about it until I started to wonder why he woke posted on Twitter so much. Kind of like how male feminists overcompensate for being opportune rapists.

 

[Constellationzero]

I never really thought about it until I started to wonder why he woke posted on Twitter so much.

Trying to get out ahead of his pedophilia and racism. But he's not the brightest crayon in the box. Just the yellow one, so he has no idea what kind of scrutiny he attracts.

 

[The Un-Clit]

Okay I gotta address the 'Steven King writes about pedophilia' thing:

He dosen't write pedo-bits into his stories because he's a secret coomer who gets off on it, he writes them because:

#1 they're fucking disturbing to read, and he writes to disturb, he's a horror fiction writer after all.

#2 because incest, child molestation and pre-teen sex are sad realities in our world, and see #1.

It's not complicated. Not every writer is automatically a proponent of the things they write about. Some are, and they say so. We were talking Clive Barker's penchant for including gay buttsex in his works. He's openly gay.

Some authors REALLY give off a pedo vibe in their writing: I present Piers Anthony, who'se Xanth books are FULL of perving on little girls, and who'se Bio of a Space Tyrant has whole multi-chapter segments about the graphic sex life of child prostitutes and whose protag fucks one. Whole ships full of women and children are borded and mass-raped repeatedly in the first book. Many of his other books contain graphic lip-smacking stories of child rape and general perving. THAT'S an author who is sus as Fuck. Steven King? He's a good horror writer who knows what horrifies and saddens.

 

[Biker]

i wish i could get paid to poorly re-write old twilight zone and outer limits plots into rambling novels.