5 best and 5 worst King book

[Kurtman518]

Best
The Stand
It
The Dark Tower Series
The Talisman
Bag of Bones

Worst (or least favorite)
I don't have 5 but I didn't really care for Cell
I also struggled through Insomnia and Needful Things

[King fan from trinidad]

Worst (or least favorite)
I don't have 5 but I didn't really care for Cell
I also struggled through Insomnia and Needful Things

I understand Insomnia but i really don't get the hate for Needful Things. It's one of my favorites!

[guido tkp]

best - 1) salems lot - only wins because it was the first great one..and thus gets the edge
2) d.t. 4 - that middle part..?? best writing he's ever done
3) d.t. 3 - near perfect, just a smidgen away from 4's perfection
4) d.t. 2 - ditto, just a hairline fracture divides them all
5) the mist - if these other 3 weren't so damnably great, it's be higher up, but, as it is...

worst - d.t. 5 - king-by-numbers: an action story that actually bored me...
d.t. 6 - same as above, only he gets awfully silly, too
d.t. 7 - same as both, only silly turns to parody/rape of all that went before
the tommyknockers - overly, unimaginatively repetative, not the least bit scary...
and dead last...
insomnia - starts out interesting, but quickly becomes a train wreck..

all those stories about king writing under the influence so bad he couldn't remember a
thing he wrote...well, that describes these last 5 for me just fine...

sorry to all those who actually like 'em,
don't mean to offend, just enlighten

[ShaggyShrvs]

5 favorite:
1) It
2) Pet Sematary
3) Desperation
4) 'Salem's Lot
5) Under the Dome

5 least favorite:
1) The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
....well, that's about it. It's kinda hard to name any Stephen King books that can be considered "least favorite." Well, hard for me too, anyway.

[The Sitting Dude]

Hey everyone, I am new here so go easy on me! I own every Stephen King book bar Cycle Of The Werewolf, although i've not yet read them all. As it is, I would say that I have read ninty five percent of Mr King's output. Here are my best and worst novels published under the author's own name.

Top 5, in no particular order.

The Dark Tower Saga: King's magnum opus. The last three seemed slightly rushed and the series as a whole was far from perfect. I felt he shoehorned in novels that were better left as stand alone tales and made a huge mistake writing himself into the story. And yet I still adored every step I took on this journey. I fought my way to the peak of the tower with Roland. I was there. For that alone, this book will always hold a special place in my heart.

Needless Things: Simply because it was the book that introduced me to the wonderful - and wonderfully weird - world of Stephen King.

Danse Macabre: I've never been the type to re-read books, but with King I always make an effort to give a novel a second read... even the ones i've dislike (we'll get to them shortly). This book was a strange case in that you'd have to force me to stop re-reading it. I can't begin to tell you how often i've picked this book up, dived into my favourite parts and got lost in the voice of a natural storyteller. His views on horror are akin to my own. He, however, puts it better than I ever could.

Pet Sematary: I don't get scared or even creeped out much by novels. I read horror for the ride, not for the goosebumps. This book was a rare exception. Not only was it a fantastic story well told, it was also creepy as hell. The final scene my my hair stand on end. It's also the only novel to have ever inspired a nightmare. For that, I tip my hat.

The Stand: What can I say about this novel that has not already been said a hundred times before? It's nigh on flawless. While other books made me a fan, this one made me a disciple. It's also next up on my re-read list. I can't wait.

My worst, again in no particular order.

Lisey's Story: To me this does not even feel like a King novel. I'd quit on it three times before actually getting to the end. From the messy plot to the downright stupid baby language of the main character - the only King protagonist i've ever disliked - I can honestly say this is the worst time i've ever had with one of the master's novels. It was awful. Just awful.

From A Buick 8: As soon as I finished it I pretty much forgot every word. Even after re-reading it not long back, all I call tell you is that it's about a police station, a weird car and... stuff. At least Lisey's Story has it's sheer badness going for it. This does not even have that. It's merely insipid. A flavourless throwaway of a book.

Gerald's Game: These last three books in my bottom five are not actually bad, just lesser works in a strong canon. This is an... interesting read. Not great, but far from bad. It also has one hell of a spooky villain. Still, I feel he could have gone further with the idea of extreme isolation, which is certainly a good one.

Carrie: Maybe I was expecting to much from this. It's the novel that launched a career. It's the basis of a damned fine horror movie. It's also distinctly average in every regard. Sorry Steve, this one ain't for me.

Cujo: Again, it's not a bad book. It's just a bit too plodding for my tastes. It works to scratch the Stephen King itch we fans get, but the flavour does not linger once you put the book down. It's a case of 'so that was that... what's next?'.

[Mike1967]

Interesting lists. Would this be considered sacrilege? I don't know if I'd call them best books vs worst books. I'd rather just say favorites to not-so-favorites because I may like/dislike a book that another person loves. We each have our own tastes.

My favorite SK books:

1. It
2. The Stand
3. Salem's Lot
4. Cujo
5. Different Seasons

Not-so-favorites:

1. Eyes of the Dragon
2. Thinner
3. Gerald's Game
4. Livesy's Song
5. Cell

... and that's all folks!

[Learah Greene]

1. Dolores Claibourne - a masterpiece. Anyone saying King ain't literary should put their J.M. Coetzee down and check this bad girl out.
2. The Talisman - An orb of perfection.
3. The Drawing of the Three - other worlds and formation of the ka-tet makes this one the most exciting step in the series.
4. The Stand - still relevant as ever. Even more so. *cough*
5. 11.22.63 - Something for everyone and so engrossing. The clarity of writing as countless books tie up here is beautiful, yet it stands alone for new readers and old.

I wanted to do so many honorable mentions and then realised it just makes a longer list!

Least favourite:
1. Dreamcatcher - much as I munched it up on release, I think the ****weasel was a low ebb!

[Haunted]

BEST and WORST?

As our good friend John Daiglish would say and I am paraphrasing here; maybe a particular book did not appeal to you because of what was going on in your life at the time.

Case in point: when the Dark Tower series came out I was going through a dark, dark time and just could not handle the fantasy. I needed hard black and white and steady-as-you-go fiction. But, now is a better time and I absolutely LOVED the latest about Roland as a child!!

[fredthe3rd]

I've yet to read Roadworks. Bit worried now! Bought the Bachman Books collection years ago but have just read one novella at a time every couple of years. That's the one I haven't read yet. And based on TLW an RM I was looking forward to one day reading it!

[70sFan]

I am currently reading :Full Dark, no Stars" and am finding it true to SKs form, He knows what scares you.. right from the start, Salems Lot, shocking and fascinating.

As my name states, been a fan since the 70s.

Faves

Salems Lot
Needful Things
Bag of Bones
The Shinning
The TommyKnockers'
have to throw "Cujo" in there too

I don't have a worst list