The Best of the Best (2018 Edition): Top Ten Novels

Soon I’ll be posting my thoughts about the King novel I’m currently reading. I’m just about finished; I have less than a hundred pages to go. It’s definitely a good one, so I’ll be eager to share my thoughts on it.

In the meantime, given that it’s been so long since I posted anything, I figured I’d share my current top ten list of King novels. I wanted to do this somewhat early on in my blogging journey, thinking it might be neat to see how the list evolves over time as I continue reading King’s books. This isn’t necessarily a list of my “favorite” King novels, but rather my attempt to identify those I think are his “best.” This kind of task is notoriously difficult, particularly when you are a fan of the work you’re assessing. I also realize it's a silly exercise. But what can I say? I love lists, and it's fun to make them! At any rate, after much debate, this is my attempt to highlight the novels I consider to be King's most essential.

My list (bottom to top) is as follows:

10. 11/22/63

9. Bag of Bones

8. The Gunslinger

7. The Shining

6. Pet Sematary

5. Dolores Claiborne

4. Misery

3. IT

2. The Dead Zone

1. The Stand

The reality is that there are great and worthy King novels that aren’t on this list. He is such a gifted and prolific writer that it’s impossible to place all his essential work into just ten slots. Additionally, I have not considered books like Different Seasons and Full Dark, No Stars, because they are collections rather than novels. But man, are they excellent!

Coming up with this list was a challenge, and proves just how great King really is. Undoubtedly, your own list will be different than mine. And that's great! I'd love to hear from you!

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