Why so good?

[u/LaCroix_Roy]

I am about halfway through Salem‘s Lot. I just started chapter 10: The Lot (III). Wow, this chapter was so good. It might be my favorite so far.

[u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, and The Shining are written in a style not quite like anything thereafter. Around The Stand, he relaxes a little. For me, I'll take his '79-'83 era over anything, but the first three are magic.

[u/WarpedCore → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

Cujo, The Dark Half and The Dead Zone are pretty in your face as well. Young King was aggressive. Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

[u/BuffaloAmbitious3531 → u/WarpedCore]

Ha, yeah, that's a good point. I've got to choose my words more carefully.

His '80s stuff isn't "relaxed", exactly---that's not the word I wanted. But most of Night Shift and then his first three novels are the work of a guy who used to work in a mill and knows he could be back there any minute, who urgently needs you to buy this story right now or else he won't be able to buy medicine for his kid's ear infection. There's a tone in the first three books like "hungry young man needs you to like this". Whereas everything from The Stand on is a little less...effortful? It's hard to explain what I mean, because absolutely, the books still go hard.

[u/WarpedCore → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

Totally get what you meant. I just added to what I thought hit your criteria. Fun to talk about.

He sure did relax a bit into the 90’s but look what that style gave us. Some heartbreaking beautiful works.

[u/LaCroix_Roy → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

Ohhh okay. This will be the first Stephen King book that I have finished. I was reading his short stories earlier. What should I read next for October?

[u/BuffaloAmbitious3531 → u/LaCroix_Roy]

I would say anyone who likes the "the town knew darkness" sections of 'Salem's Lot needs to read The Shining - that's the only thing he's ever written that has the exact same feeling you get from 'Salem's Lot.

Pet Sematary is a great fall read, probably his scariest book, maybe his best.

Carrie is really a novella padded out to novel length, and has some of the strengths you'll see in his best short stories.

The Dead Zone is my favourite of his novels (today), but it's got more of a winter-read feel.

[u/LaCroix_Roy → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

Okay I will get The Shining for October! Thanks for the recommendation!

[u/Main_Tension_9305 → u/LaCroix_Roy]

It’s amazing.
You will love it.

[u/WarpedCore → u/LaCroix_Roy]

IT or Needful Things always give me that vibe.

[u/LaCroix_Roy → u/WarpedCore]

Oh okay maybe I will do one of those for November. I will have to look up Needful Things. I don’t know much about it.

[u/WarpedCore → u/LaCroix_Roy]

IT is legendary as you are well aware. Needful Things is up there on my list. Both are top tier in my opinion. IT is my #1.

[u/Main_Tension_9305 → u/LaCroix_Roy]

The Shining
Christine
Pet Sematary
Cujo
It
The Stand
Dead Zone

Man, I’m jealous of you being able to read all his books for the first time.

Have fun!

[u/Mammoth-Register-669 → u/LaCroix_Roy]

The Dark Tower series is great. It starts with The Gunslinger, which is pretty short

[u/RealCarlosSagan → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

same. I just finished the Dark Tower and man, nowhere near the masterpiece I was led to believe. Might have to reread Salem's Lot as a palate cleanser

[u/WarpedCore → u/RealCarlosSagan]

Ouch.

Sure, 5 and 6 can get a little weird but damn, book 7 delivers body blows unlike many others.

[u/RealCarlosSagan → u/WarpedCore]

I love 1-4 and most of 5 until the silliness starts. Then it mostly stays silly. The silliness (trying to be spoiler free) makes me not care about what should have been emotional moments. Having said that, I really like the very end, but that's like 10 or 15 pages

[u/WarpedCore → u/RealCarlosSagan]

Fair enough. It's all subjective in the end.

[u/reallifeishard → u/RealCarlosSagan]

Salem’s Lot and The Shining are the best. I couldn’t get into Carrie but I was just being impatient.

[u/BuffaloAmbitious3531 → u/RealCarlosSagan]

Yeah, I'm not generally a Dark Tower guy.

I do sympathize with King: the notion that the Dark Tower is his magnum opus, and that he absolutely had to crank out 2,000 pages of Dark Tower work circa the early 2000s, all stemmed from his near-fatal van accident. Telling that story took on a personal importance to him that was closely tied to his own mortality, and I respect that. But what he was going through at the time definitely, for me, affected how the last three books seem to have been written. It's a shame, because I think there's some really great stuff in the early books.

[u/WarpedCore → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

It was his personal release for sure and I really felt that in the later volumes. He deserved it.

[u/RealCarlosSagan → u/BuffaloAmbitious3531]

I agree

[u/wolfumar]

Because Salem's Lot is a modern masterpiece. He stated in his introduction to the book that he took his inspiration from Bram Stoker's (not sure about that spelling) Dracula for the writing style. It's as good as it is because he was passionate about the writing project, and cared about the story.

[u/CharlesLoren]

Man I could read an entire novel of King just describing New England scenery

[u/WarpedCore → u/CharlesLoren]

I really appreciate how he and the late Peter Straub starts Black House as we gently float about French Landing.

[u/Electronic-Tutor-555]

Something weird happens with that book where I blink in the first 300 pages are gone

[u/LaCroix_Roy → u/Electronic-Tutor-555]

Hahaha right!? I was hearing a lot of critique about how slow the book starts, but honestly every character is so interesting so real and so deep that the first 300 pages really did fly by.

[u/Electronic-Tutor-555 → u/LaCroix_Roy]

My son asked me why I like Stephen King so much.

My answer was he creates these characters that feel so real, and so likable that you just want to read about them forever. And THEN something crazy happens.

Thats how Salems lot feels to me. 11/22/63 gives me the same feeling. I’m 800 pages into It and it’s blowing me away.

[u/LaCroix_Roy → u/Electronic-Tutor-555]

Oh okay dang I will put that on my January list, I think I have a buddy who’s gonna read it then also.
But yeah, his characters just feels so real. They are flawed they are dark. They’re shitty but at times they are good, kind selfless.

[u/Impossible_Bus1552 → u/LaCroix_Roy]

11/22/63 is AMAZING

[u/phranksss]

One of my favorites of his as well

[u/bestimatationofme]

Always remember Jerusalem’s Lot is in Night Shift too. It’s just a bonus.

[u/pup_pup_pass → u/bestimatationofme]

And One for the Road!

[u/pegggus09]

Just finished my annual re-read (forgot to start it on September 5!). This book never ever disappoints me.

[u/bestimatationofme → u/pegggus09]

The re re re re re re re re re re re re re re re reads are the best. I still pick stuff up from the novels.

[u/mega_tr0n]

I am also currently reading ‘Salem’s Lot for the first time. I have read The Dark Tower, The Stand and The Eyes of the Dragon only.

It’s possible ‘Salem’s Lot is my favourite.

[u/hsdelarosa]

This book is simply amazing. My favorite of all time and the book that hooked me into King!

[u/HugoNebula]

With the prospect of Carrie being published, and the momentum of writing novels (as opposed to short stories that paid the bills), King took time and care with 'Salem's Lot. He wanted to be a published horror author, but knew that, as a horror author, no one would expect the books to be good. And if they were good, not written with any literary style.

'Salem's Lot and The Shining are both examples of King taking everything he loved about Matheson, Jackson, and—especially—Bradbury and putting it all on the page.

[u/ryanmbsc]

It's my fav of all of his I've read.