Ranking of the best Stephen King books for 2024

The season of long walks has come to an end. The long winter evenings are coming. It is worth thinking about how to spend time in a warm home environment. You can watch an interesting movie or, wrapped in a warm blanket, read an interesting book. Stephen King's books will help you pass the time. The books have a variety of genres, although he is considered to be the "king of horror". In his works, the writer pays special attention to dialogues, the sharpness of the plot, shows how cruel, inhuman people can be, all this makes him a truly talented writer.

Interesting facts from the life of the writer

• Not all written works have been published under the author's own name. Some of the works were named Richard Bachmann. This continued until fans recognized the syllable of the real author.
• During the filming of films based on the novels of Stephen King, the author appeared in the frame about 15 times. He starred in small roles.
• The "Horror King" is a big baseball fan, a loyal fan of the Boston Red Sox. This command is mentioned in his works.
• Stephen King's autograph can be obtained only at an official meeting with fans; when meeting on the street, he does not sign books, does not take joint pictures.
• King is a person who is not distinguished by superstition, but the number 13 scares him, he always tries to avoid it;
• The author of the books has millions of fans around the world, as evidenced by the number of books sold. According to official data, more than 350 million copies have been sold worldwide.
• The great writer had a serious addiction to alcohol and drugs. The psychological problems received by children have served this. His friends and relatives helped to cope with the problem.
• The author is frightened by the onset of a creative crisis, as well as he is afraid to fly by plane.
• King was disappointed with the adaptation of The Shining, although fans of the author liked the film.
• All members of the King's family are involved in writing. The writer's wife became the author of about 10 books, his sons write novels and short stories. And one of the sons married a writer.

The best books by Stephen King

Green Mile

The novel was published in 1996, and in 1999 a film of the same name was filmed based on the book.

The story is told from the perspective of the prison guard Paul Edgecomb. And most of the action takes place in block "E", where the prisoners of the prison "Cold Mountain" are sentenced to death in the electric chair. The last mile that the prisoner traveled before meeting the electric chair was covered with green linoleum, hence the name of the novel.

Paul talks about the events of the 1930s in Cold Mountain. Paul also introduces readers to the prisoners awaiting their estimated execution, and other guards. For the most part, everyone lives in harmony with each other. The guards try not to darken the life of the suicide bombers, and they, in turn, behave well, do not create dangerous situations. But a new employee who has relatives among high-ranking officials stands out from the friendly team of supervisors.Percy is sadistic, cunning, but besides that, he is an unprecedented coward.

Also soon the Frenchman Delacroix, who was convicted of the rape and murder of a girl, as well as the unintentional murder of 6 people, falls into the E block. And then they bring an unprecedented big man named John Coffey, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of two little girls.

Paul Edgecomb learns about the miraculous healing power inherent in a big black man. After all, he will cure Paul himself, the wife of the warden and even be able to resurrect the mouse. These actions make the protagonist think about Coffey's innocence. But if not John, then who?

During the reading, the reader will not leave the tension. The author creates a lot of heated moments that not only do not let one get away from the book, but also cause tears.

In 1996, The Green Mile won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.

The average cost is 200 rubles.

• Interesting story;
• Easy syllable;
• 1996 Best Novel Award.

• Not.

Radiance

This novel was published in 1977. The Shining became the author's first bestseller published. King came up with the idea for the plot while vacationing with his wife at the Stanley Hotel. Walking around the neighborhood of the "King of Horrors" the idea dawned on the creation of a hotel with ghosts. That same night, he had a dream with his son, who was being chased by a fire hose. Also, the main character of the novel constantly brutally treats his own child, by this the author wanted to get rid of his own desire to punish children.

If we talk about the plot of the book, then the author acquaints readers with the Torrens family. The head of the family, Jack, lost his job as a teacher for mistreating his student. The whole family is now heading to a mountain hotel where Jack will work as a caretaker during the winter. His son Denny possesses supernatural powers. Denny can see the future and the past, and also has telepathy.

Soon, Denny meets the chef, who tells him about his abilities. He also tells him not to approach the number 217 and mentally call him for help in times of danger.

Meanwhile, the "owner" of the hotel takes over Jack's mind. The "boss" makes him do unthinkable things, because he wants to get a son, Danny, such a boy will allow him to increase his abilities. Jack begins to chase his wife and son. Will the heroes be able to escape? Will Danny be able to send a telepathic signal to help the cook?

Writing the novel was very easy, everything went like clockwork. Only one scene caused the writer difficulty. He was scared to write the scene of the collision of the terrible ghost from number 217 and Denny. Until the chapter was finished, King had a dream every day with a nuclear explosion. After the chapter was written, sleep was no longer troublesome.

The Shining was ranked 8th on the New York Times bestseller list. Literary critics believe that this is one of the first works to clearly show the problem of domestic violence.

The average cost is 300 rubles.

• The first bestseller by the author;
• Intense plot;
• According to literary critics, this is one of King's best books.

• Many people think the book is too scary.

Pet cemetery

The novel was published in 1983. Stephen King himself considered the work quite scary, postponed publication for a long time, but due to financial problems, the novel was still published.

The reader meets the Creed family who are moving to the town of Ludlow. The father of the family, Luis, is a doctor and has two children. Louis befriends his neighbor Jud, who has lived here for a long time. A neighbor gives them a small tour of the area, shows them a pet cemetery, which is located not far from their home. Louis gets a job as a doctor at the hospital where a student dies. Then the student's ghost begins to visit the hero, warn about the cemetery. But Louis does not attach any importance to this.

Once, when the children and their mother are leaving to stay with their grandparents, the family's pet is hit by a car.Then the kind neighbor shows Luis another cemetery, which is located behind the one where the heroes had already been on the tour. The cemetery belongs to an Indian tribe. The main character buries the pet according to all the orders of the neighbor, but the next morning the cat returns home. But the pet is not the same as before. The cat became cruel, not friendly and smelled disgusting.

After a while, the little son Luis suffers the same fate as the cat. During the funeral, Louis decides to resurrect the boy. The neighbor, guessing about Louis' thoughts, warns him by telling a story that happened during the war.

Will Luis stop the old neighbor's warnings? And what will happen to the heroes if you do resurrect the boy? This can be found out by reading one of the most terrible books of the "King of Horrors".

Pet Sematary has won Locus and World Fantasy Awards. In 1983 it became the best-selling hardcover novel.

The average cost is 300 rubles.

• The main idea was that horror can come when you don't expect it, have any guise;
• The work was filmed in 1989 and 2024;
• Critics consider the work to be the most terrifying ever written by King.

• The author himself does not like the novel, and now he would not publish it.

It

The novel was first published in 1986. Here the author touches on such important topics as cohesion, childhood trauma and memory.

The reader is transported to 1958. Here, mysterious murders of children take place, which are performed with special cruelty. Seven friends unite to resist the evil that their comrades call "It". Each of the group of guys individually encounters him, and evil can take any guise. In addition, the company begins to pursue a bully, but this only positively affects the attitude of friends.

A close-knit team of friends, gathers all forces, rebuffs evil. Friends inflict wounds on him that do not kill the villain, but send him into hibernation. After that, the comrades conclude an agreement that when evil returns, they will gather again and destroy it.

After 27 years, evil returns again. The team of friends has already grown up and have left for different cities. But one of the comrades still remained, and recognized the enemy by a series of murders. The team meets again, except for one member who committed suicide immediately after hearing the news.

Will friends be able to fight back evil again or will they die? What other trouble is the enemy going to make in a Maine town? And what will be the price of getting rid of evil?

The idea of ​​writing the novel first came to King in Boulder while he was walking along the old bridge. He decided to create an evil hero who would live under the bridge. He had to embody a troll, a vampire, a werewolf and have something of aliens. Childhood images are based on the author's childhood memories.

The work is ranked 144 on the BBC 200 Best Books. Critics were divided over the novel. Part considers it a worthy work of the author, and the other half considers that the level of King's writing has decreased.

The average cost is 600 rubles.

• It speaks of friendship and solidarity;
• Has the Auguste Derlet Prize;
• Included in the ratings of the best novels.

• Too large (more than 1000 pages);
• The high cost of the book.

11/22/63

The science fiction novel 11/22/63 was published in November 2011.

The main character Jacob works as a teacher for adults. One of the assignments was to write an essay about the day that changed my life. One of the students in a wheelchair shared the story of their father's abuse, who disabled him and killed the rest of the family. The student receives the highest score for his work, and this story deeply touched Jacob.

Later, the teacher receives an invitation to a meeting from a friend. He shows him the portal, which he transfers to 1958, asks to help save the life of President Kennedy. The portal has its own characteristics.For example, once in the past, it is possible to change it, but the past will fight back and in every possible way interfere with making changes. In the same way, you always find yourself at the same time, and after returning to the present, only 2 minutes will pass.

So, the main character goes on a journey. First of all, Jacob wants to save his student's family and see how this will affect the present. It was not possible to completely save the family, some of them were injured, but the student did not become disabled. Returning, Jacob found that the student had long been killed in the war. And the friend who showed the portal could not stand the pain caused by the cancer and committed suicide. But before that, he writes a note asking him to save the life of the president and a plan to earn money through bookmakers.

Jacob saves Kennedy's life, but what will be the payback for saving Kennedy? Was it worth the changes that will overtake the world in the future?

This work by Stephen King was included in the bestseller list in 2011. And in 2016, a series was released based on the novel "11/22/63"

The average cost is 500 rubles.

• An addictive plot;
• Good reviews from fans of the writer and literary critics.

• It is better to read the work before watching the film adaptation.

Dead zone

This work of the author belongs to the genre of political thriller, which also contains elements of horror and detective story. The novel was published in 1979. According to the author himself, this is his first serious work.

The reader meets the main character, whose name is Johnny Smith. Soon, the hero gets into a serious accident, after which he falls into a coma for several years. Only Smith's mother believes that her son will wake up. After a long sleep, Johnny discovers that he has a gift for foresight. This feature helps him to help people. But reporters call Johnny's gift a hoax.

Later, the main character becomes an assistant to one rich man. Thanks to this, his interest in politics awakens. In this regard, Smith meets two people and through a handshake sees their future. One of them is to become president, and the other is preparing to unleash the Third World War.

After reading the book, it will be possible to find out if Smith will save the future from a new war and what it will cost him.

King in this work supports the idea that the killer may be right, one death can save more than a dozen innocent people. The work was released on TV screens in 1983, and in 2002-2007 it was broadcast in the series of the same name.

The average cost of a piece is 250 rubles.

• According to critics, one of the best works;
• Took first place on the New York Times bestseller list.

• The novel was written during the author's severe alcohol and drug addiction. Therefore, in the course of the plot, there is confusion with the names of the heroes and the events taking place.

Where to begin?

Stephen King is truly one of the most prolific authors. Moreover, the writer's works have different genres. Most of his works were filmed, but not all films exactly coincide with the plot of the book.

Most fans recommend starting your acquaintance with The Shining. The work is small in volume and has an interesting plot. Science fiction fans will love the novel 11/22/63.

Since King is very attentive to details, "It" is too long and too long, it is better to put this novel on hold for later.

But no matter what novel or story you start your acquaintance with, you will definitely fall in love with the "King of Horrors" and replenish your home library with his books.