Stephen King's Greatest Hits

[the_last_gunslinger]

If you were given the task of compiling a representative sample of five of King's work to someone who had never read his books, which ones would you include? I'm not talking about which five you think are his best, just those which you feel accurately represent his ability as a writer, those volumes that would act as a snapshot of his illustrious career.

My five would include:

The Stand:

A massive, end of the world fantasy that is generally considered his best work.

IT:

I feel this is the quintessential Stephen King book, something that embodies all of his traits and attributes as a writer. IT is also one of his scariest reads.

Different Seasons: I'm not a big fan of this collection, but they were well written and they show that King can write more than just horror.

On Writing:

I feel a collection like this has to include a non-fiction book. This is a useful tool for anyone who likes to write, or anyone interested in the life and habits of an established literary name.

Night Shift:

I've only read two of King's short story collections, this and Just After Sunset. Night Shift was the better of the two, and I think it is important for readers to acquaint themselves with his short fiction

So, what do you think? Anything I missed?

[Checkman]

The Stand
Night Shift
It
Salems Lot
The Shining

[-The Road Virus-]

It
The Dark Tower Saga
The Stand
The Shining
On Writing

[Hagie]

* The Stand (simply his best)
* It (friendship has never been described this good)
* Lisey's Story (awesome love-story, very well written)
* The Bachman Books - especially The Long Walk & Rage (shows how gruesome King can be)
* Carrie (to show how it all started)

[Q'smum]

I would suggest Night Shift and Different Seasons first, only because I don't know the person's taste, and these collections would "ease them in". Novels - The Stand, It, Bag of Bones, Insomnia, and finally DT Series (but only after you are hooked).

[Matthew.Degnan]

The Stand (absolute epic)
It (Can't get much better)
On Writing (Very funny book)
Lisey's Story (beautifully written)
Different Seasons (His best stories in my opinion)

[TheHardcase]

I think about this a lot, not surprisingly because I get asked about it a lot. If I had to pin myself down, my list would be thus --

1. The Stand -- Simply put, an absolute masterpiece. It stands head and shoulders above everything else SK has done, including some of his best work. I could go on and on about this book. Let's just leave it at that.

The rest are just too difficult for me to rate. Not because any one of them lacks quality. Quite the contrary. They're all outstanding. So . . . as they occur to me --

2. Salem's Lot -- An absolute heart-pounder of a vampire story. Considering all the hysteria about this latest Twilight series, it's comforting to know that SK penned one of the classic nosferatu tales of all time. A vampire story with teeth, so to speak.

3. Wizard and Glass -- Tragic love was something of a departure for SK. Yet he managed to bring it off without undue sentiment or sentimentality. All the while, we got greater insight into the depth of Roland's soul and how the obsessive quest for the tower took root in him.

4. Bag of Bones -- As complex and riveting a book as SK has ever done. I liked that he returned to a platform of looking at the incestuous nature of inbred New England small towns. We hadn't seen that since the early days of Carrie and Salem's Lot.

5. IT -- Childhood trauma, loyalty, commitment, the nature of evil . . . This book has it all. In many ways it rivals The Stand for its depth and richness of character development. It has been one of a handful of SK books I've returned to again and again.

[Srbo]

Make any list you want guys, but if there is no place in the top five for The Green Mile, than something is wrong with the list...:smile2:

[tak113454]

Hmm, I haven't read all of King's works (now I really want to read IT! I recently bought it but just haven't had time)

Going from what I have read I would say:
1) The Stand - a penultimate classic
2) Needful Things - a classic story told incredibly well
3) Either Gerald's Game or Rose Madder - to show how well King can capture the female psyche
4) The Gunslinger - I think it would be hard to represent SK without DT (and you might as well start with the first)
5) Pet Sematary - I would probably have put a short story collection here, but I haven't actually read any of them (eep! I've only listened to Nightmares and Dreamscapes on tape!) ... I also haven't read The Green Mile, or else I might suggest that.

[Robert DeSoto]

'Salem's lot-i agree with "TheHardcase"(whoever that is?), this is way better than the gay Twilight books and

[Robert DeSoto]

Salem's lot
Misery
Everything's Eventual Collection
Pet Sematary
Carrie

[Trailmix]

If we can include a series, I'd definitely go with The Dark Tower series as one of the books, because that's simply the best series I've ever read. As for stand-alone novels...

The Stand - The best book King has ever written
It-Stands right under The Stand, amazing novel
Needful Things
Different Seasons
Duma Key - shows how good he still is to this day

[adrianmarley]

My top 5 (ask me tomorrow, and I'd probably have a different 5):

Misery - a book, I feel, that's often overlooked. This is a brilliant work of suspense. The writing is tight and it has a lot to say about the nature of the relationship between an author and his fans. Absolutely brilliant.

Pet Sematary - for my money, this is SK's darkest and bleakest book. It's also genuinely frightening and heartbreaking. One of the few books that ever made me cry and the final line is one of the most chilling in horror fiction. Superb.

Night Shift - I'm picking this one because it was this book that got me into reading Stephen King. There are a number of terrific stories here: Quitters, Inc., The Last Rung on the Ladder and The Woman in the Room are very memorable.

Danse Macabre - one of the best books on horror I've ever read. A wonderfully impassioned book that shows a genuine love on the part of the author for a genre that a lot of people scoff at. Not only that, but SK is a very perceptive critic. Essential reading for anyone wanting to broaden their horizons. I really wish he'd consider writing an up-to-date volume.

The Shining - there's so much here: the woman in room 217, the hedge animals, the wasps, the writer with writer's block, Jack Torrance's relationship with his son. It's scary and sad and brilliantly written.