Post your favourite Stephen King book and say why....

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 26,853
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Ok a poll would be a nightmare, because he's written so many. So I invite all SK fans to give me the one book of his that they consider his best.

Mine is "The Stand" mainly because the characters are SO good. It stayed with me long after finishing it and I still sometimes wonder what they are up to as if they are real people :D

I'll leave this thread up for a while and then do an analysis, although I think already I know which one will win...

BUT you never know!!
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  • burton07burton07 Posts: 10,869
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    The Stand
    It
    All the Dark Tower Books
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,187
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    Would have to say The Stand too. :) It was the first SK book I ever read, and still my favourite. Brilliant well thought out characters and gripping storyline, and despite the length of it it didn't drag on at any point.

    My second choice would be 11.22.63, I loved the idea of the story, but the only issue I have with it is that it seriously lost a lot of momentum during the middle section. (unlike The Stand). But still an excellent story.
  • TurbsTurbs Posts: 7,078
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    Another vote for The Stand. I have only read the extended unedited version, probably the thickest book i have ever read. I think it has really aged well, with the exception of Larrys music i wouldnt have guessed it was first published just a few months after i was born.

    I just think its a really epic tale and i was gutted when i finished the last page because it was over. I read it again every few years.

    I also really like "Under The Dome". I know that both this book and The Stand have elements of the supernatural, but mainly they focus on the dark side of mankind which appeals to me more.
  • TurbsTurbs Posts: 7,078
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    Ive also got the first 4 or maybe 5 of the Dark Tower series queued up on my Kindle to read but i have tried a few times to get going on the first one but for some reason i packed it in and moved on to something else.

    I take it its worth another shot ? If anyone can give me a brief idea about what they are all about i would appreciate it ( not that i want to hijack the thread ). I had heard Randal Flagg is a part of the series which was what made me buy them.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 26,853
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    Turbs wrote: »
    Ive also got the first 4 or maybe 5 of the Dark Tower series queued up on my Kindle to read but i have tried a few times to get going on the first one but for some reason i packed it in and moved on to something else.

    I take it its worth another shot ? If anyone can give me a brief idea about what they are all about i would appreciate it ( not that i want to hijack the thread ). I had heard Randal Flagg is a part of the series which was what made me buy them.

    The problem with The Dark Tower and the reason I nearly didnt read them was that the first one in no way does the others justice - my advice is just try to get through it as you need the information in it to continue...Book 2 is MUCH better and once The Gunslinger gathers his people around him and they set off for the Tower together from then on in it is almost impossible to put down...From about the middle of Book 3 I think I didnt stop reading til I was done :D

    Yes, Randall flagg makes an appearance the odd time or two..as, if you get further along, will other characters from other King books....for example you will meet again someone who hailed from Salem's lot :)

    Edit to add: Its about one mans quest to reach the mysterious "Dark Tower" and save his world....
  • peacelilypeacelily Posts: 4,239
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    I loved the Dark Tower series best, as was excellent. As usual (with his books), the ending was disappointing for me.
  • MrMarpleMrMarple Posts: 3,424
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    Unusual choice maybe, but I'm going for 'Rose Madder'.
    It pulled me in in a way that's unusual for a fantasy book IFKWIM?
    To be honest, if I had known what direction the book was going to go in, I probably wouldn't have bothered buying it, but I'm really glad I did........... until the last 50 or so pages when I really started to struggle. (IMO it was a bit of a dragged out, disappointing ending that should have ended a lot sooner).

    Apart from that, I loved it.
  • Phoenix LazarusPhoenix Lazarus Posts: 17,305
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    peacelily wrote: »
    I loved the Dark Tower series best, as was excellent. As usual (with his books), the ending was disappointing for me.
    MrMarple wrote: »
    Unusual choice maybe, but I'm going for 'Rose Madder'...... if I had known what direction the book was going to go in, I probably wouldn't have bothered buying it, but I'm really glad I did........... until the last 50 or so pages when I really started to struggle. (IMO it was a bit of a dragged out, disappointing ending that should have ended a lot sooner).

    It seem to be quite a common verdict on King books, that the endings let them down. I've seen similar comments elsewhere, although having read none of them, I wouldn't know for myself.
  • metanoiametanoia Posts: 635
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    The Bachman Book for me, I think The Running Man and The Long Walk are both fantastic stories.

    Of his full length novels it would have to be another vote for The stand. I've not read alot of his later books.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,046
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    I've still reasonably new to Stephen King but of the books I've read so far The Green Mile would be my favourite I know it was published as a series of books but I count it as a novel. Still haven't read The Stand yet I'll after to check it out.
  • SeasideLadySeasideLady Posts: 20,766
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    It would have to be The Green Mile. The film was true to the book and just as enjoyable. My other favourite is Dolores Claiborne.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 671
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    It
    The Shawshank Redemption
    The stand
    The Green Mile
    Rose Madder

    Sorry I love SK so being really strict only putting up 5
  • sadoldbirdsadoldbird Posts: 9,626
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    Torn between 'The Stand' and 'Needful Things'.
  • Sniffle774Sniffle774 Posts: 20,290
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    "It" and "Salems Lot" for me. They were the first ones of his books I read and Salem Lot is one of the few books I have reread a few times.
  • The 12th DoctorThe 12th Doctor Posts: 4,338
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    The Stand had so much promise, until the supernatural stuff swamped the sociological questions and it became a new book of the Bible. The "stand" of the title wasn't a stand at all, although I won't give away the ending. Suffice to say I don't regret reading it, and in some places, and in some broad ways, it was solid gold stuff, by the end it became messy and far too supernatural and religious.

    My fave King book is Roadwork, although Rage comes in close too. Desperation was very powerful, and really made me think about God and religion in my own life. In many ways it was one of, if not the, most influential books I've ever read.
  • stoatiestoatie Posts: 78,106
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    Probably The Shining, though that's based on me reading it as a 14-year-old who was pretty new to horror fiction. I've never been back, because I don't want it to not be as much of a complete headf*ck, which it almost certainly wouldn't be to me now.

    But I'm gonna be contrary and say From A Buick 8, because it's one of the few books I've ever read that have given me the same sense of awe as my favourite SF novel of all time, Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. (I can only think of another two books which tickled the same bit of my brain; Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock, and to a lesser extent Where Time Winds Blow, also by Robert Holdstock).

    But my favourite King STORY is "N", which is one of the best HP Lovecraft tributes I've ever read (and believe me, I've read a shitload of the buggers), up there with anything Ramsey Campbell's managed at his best (apart from possibly The Hungry Moon, but it's close).
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 90
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    I'm going to have to say the same thing, the Stand is by far and away my favourite. I loved that it was such an epic novel and the characters were so well defined and so full of life. Although, I have to say now I know it well there are bits and pieces I skip through as I find them over-long and tiresome. But all in all an excellent story. My second choice is It - love the descriptions of childhood here, maybe even more than the horror stuff. Finally I'd nominate Insomnia - I thought that was really great, a superb idea and so well written. I coudn't put it down. All other early works I really liked but after I read Cell and half way through it was chucked under my bed (where all bad books go to die) I kind of gave up on him.

    Sorry, you only asked for one.... I get so greedy sometimes :o
  • georgeshairgeorgeshair Posts: 1,443
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    I've only read a few, but my favourite so far is Needful Things. The way the Leland Gaunt moves into a small town filled with petty unresolved jealousies and then proceeds to set neighbour angainst neighbour is just gripping.
  • Pepperoni ManPepperoni Man Posts: 7,798
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    Under The Dome
    The Langoliers
    The Long Walk
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 482
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    I'm a real SK junkie, and I would be unable to pick between The Stand, Rose Madder, The Dark Tower series, and (strangely) The Tommyknockers.

    I have currently got the Dark Tower series on my Kindle, and am now on book three. I haven't read them for a few years, and although I knew they were good, I had forgotten just HOW good they are. :)
  • GlengavelGlengavel Posts: 1,925
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    The Dead Zone, Salem's Lot, Needful Things.
  • Debs79hDebs79h Posts: 175
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    The eyes of the dragon is my favourite Stephen King book and features alot of flagg under one of his many aliases and is just a wonderfully written story.
  • Miss HavershamMiss Haversham Posts: 877
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    The Bachman Books
  • Yobaba**Yobaba** Posts: 4,108
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    The Stand is excellent. I loved the characters of Nadine and Harold.

    The Shining I like because it is a lot more psychological than the movie, and there are other good ones like Desperation, Needful Things. I'm just trying to get into the Dark Tower series again, I think the first book put me off the first time.
  • Pepperoni ManPepperoni Man Posts: 7,798
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    Yobaba** wrote: »
    The Stand is excellent. I loved the characters of Nadine and Harold.

    The Shining I like because it is a lot more psychological than the movie, and there are other good ones like Desperation, Needful Things. I'm just trying to get into the Dark Tower series again, I think the first book put me off the first time.

    Never tried the Dark Tower books - I don't think they are my thing. Perhaps one day..........
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