Stephen King MAINE stories ???

[Atomic Mama]

Now that I live in the same state as Stephen King, can you Dopers recommend any tales/stories/novellas/huge books, etc. written by him that are specifically set in Maine?

I usedta be a big SK fan -- but back in the old days of "The Stand" -- a loooong time ago.

And, FWIW, I am a HUGE H. P. Lovecraft fan! Wotta mix!

Find me some good stuff to read, OK? Thanks :-)

[Superdude]

Insomnia
Salem's Lot
Rage
Long Walk
Cujo
Christine
It
Dark Half
Tommyknockers
Needful Things
Gerald's Game
Deloris Claiborne
Bag of Bones
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Dreamcatcher
Cell
Lisey's Story
Under the Dome

That's just right off the top of my head. I'm sure I've missed some in his short stories.

The ones bolded were written under the name Richard Bachman.

[Tangent]

Yeah, pick a King book at random and there's a 50% chance it's set in Maine.

[cmyk]

11/22/63 starts off in Maine, and some of the first act delves into Derry, even.

Also, Misery, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and The Mist (first story in The Skeleton Crew anthology).

Don't pass up The Long Walk, if you haven't already read it!

But yeh, more times than not his stories are set in Maine.

[Superdude]

Well, I deliberately left off the short stories, and the books where the setting moves out of Maine.

But thanks for including those.

[Hockey Monkey]

I was going to say pretty much all of them, because that's the way it seems. I know there are several set in other locales, like the Dark Tower series and The Stand, but I can't think of any others.

[drewtwo99]

I'm not a huge King fan, but I can't recommend The Long Walk highly enough. Fantastic novella.

[PeacePlease]

Originally Posted by cmyk

Don't pass up The Long Walk, if you haven't already read it!

Originally Posted by drewtwo99

I can't recommend The Long Walk highly enough. Fantastic novella.

Thirded! My favorite King novella (which is high praise as he's written quite a few).

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by Hockey Monkey

I was going to say pretty much all of them, because that's the way it seems. I know there are several set in other locales, like the Dark Tower series and The Stand, but I can't think of any others.

The Shining is at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Soon to have a sequel, Doctor Sleep, coming out next year.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by PeacePlease

Thirded! My favorite King novella (which is high praise as he's written quite a few).

Probably one of the best pieces of fiction of the 20th century, IMHO.

[elfkin477]

Originally Posted by Tangent

Yeah, pick a King book at random and there's a 50% chance it's set in Maine.

It's got to be way more than 50%. I'd be shocked if someone was anal enough to go through all of his stories and found out that more that 25% of them are set outside of Maine.

[Tangent]

Yep, see my edit line.

[drewtwo99]

Originally Posted by cmyk

Probably one of the best pieces of fiction of the 20th century, IMHO.

Though I'm no literature expert by any stretch, and not an avid reader, and while I'm not prone to hyperbole, I can honestly say I agree with this.

Anyone who hasn't read The Long Walk should do so. What's even more incredible is that it was the first thing he ever wrote! Not published, but first he wrote. And he was so young too.

And again, not a King fan (not that I hate him, I've only read a few things by him ever), so it's not just nostalgia or whatever talking. I just read The Long Walk a few months ago, so, there you go!

[Neidhart]

Christine is not set in Maine, but in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA.

[Unauthorized Cinnamon]

Even The Dark Tower has sections set in Maine or to do with Maine (though I personally like to pretend they don't exist).

I wonder how many Hunger Games devotees realize it's pretty much "The Long Walk" redux. (And yes, I realize it's also Battle Royale with some brutality removed. And also, that's not to put it down - I thought especially the first book was excellent.)

[Scumpup]

Originally Posted by Neidhart

Christine is not set in Maine, but in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA.

It's set here, but King did not display any great knowledge of the local geography or highway system. I, personally, prefer to think of it being set on a floor in The Tower where there is another Pittsburgh that is only slightly like this one.

[kaylasdad99]

Wasn't The Dead Zone set in Maine? As in, that was the home of the protagonist? Coulda sworn he solved a murder for the sheriff who got eaten in Cujo.

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by Scumpup

It's set here, but King did not display any great knowledge of the local geography or highway system. I, personally, prefer to think of it being set on a floor in The Tower where there is another Pittsburgh that is only slightly like this one.

I agree. If Christine was set in Pittsburgh, why were all the characters Phillies fans? They would have seemed like oddities to all of the Pirates rooters.

[Idle Thoughts]

Originally Posted by kaylasdad99

Wasn't The Dead Zone set in Maine? As in, that was the home of the protagonist? Coulda sworn he solved a murder for the sheriff who got eaten in Cujo.

Yeah, the fictional town of Castle Rock. Needful Things takes place there, too.

[digs]

Originally Posted by cmyk

11/22/63 starts off in Maine, and some of the first act delves into Derry, even.

I'm currently listening to this, and I loved the part set in Maine. The reader does a great accent ("Downeast"?). It's the longest book I've ever listened to (28 CDs!), but I really don't want it to end.

I finally made it up to Maine last summer, and it felt like coming home thanks to all the King books I've listened to. I even got to try Moxie, and hated it, just like a number of his characters (including the protagonist in 11/22/63).

[GuanoLad]

Originally Posted by Idle Thoughts

Yeah, the fictional town of Castle Rock. Needful Things takes place there, too.

I read somewhere, may have been at Cracked, that every one of his books fit within the same Universe, and have consistent crossover continuity.

[SeldomSeen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neidhart
Christine is not set in Maine, but in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA.

Originally Posted by Scumpup

It's set here, but King did not display any great knowledge of the local geography or highway system. I, personally, prefer to think of it being set on a floor in The Tower where there is another Pittsburgh that is only slightly like this one.

From a Buick Eight is also set in Western Pennsylvania, Butler County, TBE. And King does a more creditable job of capturing the local atmosphere in this one.

[Feyrat]

Originally Posted by cmyk

Probably one of the best pieces of fiction of the 20th century, IMHO.

I agree with this so hard.

I'm always surprised it isn't required reading in any English classes I'm aware of. It's a fantastically deep, well-written and literary novel. Any time I pick it up, I'm completely sucked in and have to read it all over again.

[Elendil's Heir]

Originally Posted by kaylasdad99

Wasn't The Dead Zone set in Maine? As in, that was the home of the protagonist? Coulda sworn he solved a murder for the sheriff who got eaten in Cujo.

There's a lot that takes place in New Hampshire, too, what with Greg Stillson, the presidential primary, etc.

Tabitha King's 1993 teen romance/drama novel One on One is set in Maine, and there are references in it to both Derry and Castle Rock.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by drewtwo99

Though I'm no literature expert by any stretch, and not an avid reader, and while I'm not prone to hyperbole, I can honestly say I agree with this.

Anyone who hasn't read The Long Walk should do so. What's even more incredible is that it was the first thing he ever wrote! Not published, but first he wrote. And he was so young too.

And again, not a King fan (not that I hate him, I've only read a few things by him ever), so it's not just nostalgia or whatever talking. I just read The Long Walk a few months ago, so, there you go!

Originally Posted by Feyrat

I agree with this so hard.

I'm always surprised it isn't required reading in any English classes I'm aware of. It's a fantastically deep, well-written and literary novel. Any time I pick it up, I'm completely sucked in and have to read it all over again.

It's required reading in this family. Or wil be, once my kids reach 16. ::evil grin::

[digs]

Originally Posted by cmyk

It's required reading in this family. Or wil be, once my kids reach 16. ::evil grin::

Watch out -- "Literature You Just Love" often skips a generation. Ask my kids about their profound appreciation of my Marvel comics from the 60s, or my hand-picked "Bestest Short Stories Ever, No, Really, At Least Try One!"

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by digs

Watch out -- "Literature You Just Love" often skips a generation. Ask my kids about their profound appreciation of my Marvel comics from the 60s, or my hand-picked "Bestest Short Stories Ever, No, Really, At Least Try One!"

Don't I know it, however I've been doing pretty well so far. My daughter's favorite film (she's almost 14) is Back to the Future, in which I introduced her to at 10. She loves Star Wars since she was in diapers, and every Thanksgiving, I like to watch all the LotR films. This was the first year she paid attention and became enraptured by it all, on first viewing.

She just finished Watership Down (the book), and loved it (one of my all time favs), and today I said to hell with it, and gave her The Long Walk. She agreed to read it; I can't wait.

But yes, on some things, it's like pulling teeth. Though, she's beginning to realize, I think, that her old man knows a thing or two about good reading and movies.

One of the coolest parts about having kids is reliving these gems with them.

[kaylasdad99]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

Tabitha King's 1993 teen romance/drama novel One on One is set in Maine, and there are references in it to both Derry and Castle Rock.

And another of her novels, Pearl has a character saying she's too young to go to Shawshank.

Or maybe it was too old...

[Renifer]

Carrie takes place in Maine. (Chamberlain, Maine. You wouldn't necessarily know that from the movie.)

The Mist.

Fran is from Maine in The Stand, so Maine is one of the locations in the novel.

For stories that don't take place in Maine, I'd add Desperation.

[Just Ed]

Question's been asked and answered, but I thought this flowchart might be of interest.

[outlierrn]

Isn't Pet Cemetary set in Maine?

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by outlierrn

Isn't Pet Cemetary set in Maine?

Ayuh.

[Annie-Xmas]

Originally Posted by Elendil's Heir

There's a lot that takes place in New Hampshire, too, what with Greg Stillson, the presidential primary, etc.

Tabitha King's 1993 teen romance/drama novel One on One is set in Maine, and there are references in it to both Derry and Castle Rock.

Originally Posted by kaylasdad99

And another of her novels, Pearl has a character saying she's too young to go to Shawshank.

Or maybe it was too old...

Pearl and One on One are actually 2/3rds of a trilogy, the third book being Book of Reuben.