My Long Walk Through Stephen King's Lot

   Every year, close to Halloween, I like to revisit a few of Stephen King's scariest short stories.  I'm not much of a horror movie fan, but I am never more impressed than when a written work is able to terrify me.  As I've mentioned previously, I do not regard King primarily as a horror writer, and usually his scariest works are not among those that I esteem most highly.  But there is no doubt that he is a master of terror, and when the mood strikes, there are a good number of his works that will get the job done. While there are frightening passages in most of King’s books, I find his short stories especially unnerving, since (being so concise and direct) they very often pack a strong, shocking punch.   The stories I usually like to crack open around Halloween are: ·         "N." ·         The Road Virus Heads North ·    ...

    Recently, a few of my coworkers were interested in starting a book club, and (knowing I am a big King fan) they elected to begin with something by him.   The selection?   Needful Things .   Now, this is a book I had already read—roughly ten years ago—but I was interested in revisiting it.   I remembered the book having at least a few excellent characters, an intriguing tone, and the premise is one that I continue to find fascinating.   Plus, this is “the last Castle Rock story,” or at least had been at the time.   And with the Hulu series “Castle Rock” in development, I’m eager to refresh myself on the goings-on of that particular locale within King’s literary universe.   With all those factors in mind, I figured I might enjoy a reread.   So…did I?   You bet I did.   Needful Things is a book that begins with a highly intriguing premise.   In effect, the Devil sets up shop in a small town with the i...

( Warning: Some spoilers for the book follow.) Currently, I’m reading The Dead Zone .   This is a first read for me; somehow I never read it, despite owning a paperback when I was younger.   That copy is long gone, so I had to reacquire it.   (As the image above suggests, I opted for a decently-priced paperback, but I am sure I'll eventually track down a hardback.)   I have about a third of the book to go, but already I suspect this will end up being among my all-time favorite King books.   Johnny Smith feels more real—and more affected by his circumstances—than a lot of King’s characters.   And somehow, King managed to solicit my emotional investment in him in very short order.   By the time he suffers his car accident, a mere two chapters in, I was already establishing some hopes and worries for Johnny.   Added to that is how quickly and tenderly King begins to build a connection between Johnny and Sarah.   King was dra...

So, no, I'm not really referring to making my way through Stephen King's  Dark Tower series.  I've already completed that.  The title of this post is just a lame Stephen King reference, much like the name of my blog. I simply want to write something at the outset that gives a little of my history as a Stephen King fan.  I haven't read all of his work, but I am on a determined course to do so.  In the last ten or so years, I've come across more and more of King's writing that continues to persuade me that he is more gifted, and capable of deeper, more eloquent writing, than he is frequently given credit for. This post will highlight what I've read up until now, and hopefully express a little about why I value his writing so much.  I consider myself an avid fan of Stephen King’s books, but my journey began with his movies.  I was a young adolescent when I first encountered the frightful, gory, and depressing “Pet Se...