The Talisman...Probably his best...

[Manxkitti]

I might have to disagree with this. The Talisman is awesome, one of my favorites, but King has proven he can write a gigantic cast of characters with deft and clarity. IT comes to my mind immediately, with the losers and the Henry Bowers gang and all the secondary characters. Salems Lot also--it's those minor characters that really bring the town to life, make it seem like a real community. The Stand. Needful Things. The Tommyknockers. I think they were all successful in their boast of a huge list of characters used to flush out the story.

I'll agree that Under the Dome was bloated with people that I found hard to keep track of, and I didn't love the book.

...You skipped entire chapters of the Stand?

I agree. The Stand is one of those books that you can't skip chapters, or else you miss huge sub plots.

[cinders]

The Talisman was my favorite. Even when I read it at age 16 (I am 44 now), I was mesmerized. The blending of the two talents of SK and PS are amazing. I could see, even back then, the influence and difference in the work contributed by Straub. And SK was there fully, and at his best.
Interestingly, while I was reading this huge, engrossing book at age 16, I found I could not sleep until I was done. If I did sleep, I would suffer freakish nightmares with elements of this story- bad nightmares that followed me into day hours. It took me three evenings/nights to finish it (little sleep), and as soon as I did, my nightmares left. At 16, for a few days, I was afraid to sleep. I had dreams of stuffed bird models in museums coming alive, horrible wind storms in forests, and cemetery statuary coming alive and turning their heads. My mom was ready to take me to the shrinky-dink! It was super duper freaky, but went away after I finished that AWESOME book!

I just bought this book again. I plan to read it again, now that I am older/wiser.

[DaveJessop]

Took me four attempts to read The Talisman and never got past the first 50 pages in the first three (maybe because it was co-written with Straub so never felt "pure" to me) - then bought Black House and realised it was a sequel so forced myself to read the first one - one of his best IMO

[dsurrett]

Might as well throw in my two cents. I thought The Talisman started slowly, but have told others that if they stick with it, they'll be glad they did.
King has said some of his books are character studies, going deep inside a few characters, and others are great arching panoramic views of a lot of characters (paraphrased, cry pardon). I think it depends on which type of book you prefer.
I disagree with others who commented on the thread though, and think Talisman would be a good first King read, as long as the reader knows they'll need to trudge through the first few chapters. Talisman, Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, Black House (to get them back to Jack), and anywhere else from there.
And I don't even skip chapters in re-reads, but that's just me.

[Owlnuggets]

Oh, Wolf....

[Doc Wilson]

For myself I can't pick a very best, but rather a top tier and Talisman is definitely on it. The Stand too.
If I am so bored with a book that I skip chapters, I put it down. Too many good books I'll never get to in one lifetime.

[DebA913]

I really like The Talisman! It is definitely one of my favorites.
I can never decide which one I would say is 'The Best' though. I love sooooo many of them.

[clarisse]

The Talisman was one of kings finest

[bryantburnette]

Personally, I think it ranks close to the bottom. It's not bad; it just isn't one of my favorites.