# Are there any Stephen King novels you don’t like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [November 30, 2023, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883 "2023-11-30T00:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/81 "2023-12-01T17:11:21Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > yes, Stephen King sucks at endings. When my gf reads anything by Stephen King she always tells me when she is 90% finished. Her POV is that she should walk away from the book at that point. Instead, she always finishes and wishes she hadn’t. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/82 "2023-12-01T17:54:23Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > His primary weakness is, as so many people here have noted, is that he doesn’t know where his storyline is going and so his stories wander off into the desert and die of neglect instead of coming to a satisfying resolution. One example, mentioned by others, is _Under the Dome_, where he decided that for some reason he was going to get into what the Macguffin actually was rather than leaving it as a Macguffin. It detracted from what was an otherwise interesting, although admittedly lengthy, story up to that point. I wonder if he did that in response to past criticisms about his endings, and ended up botching the attempt at doing a different ending than what he was used to. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/83 "2023-12-01T17:54:51Z")
Will counter that I thought the ending of _Cujo_ to be one of the best I’ve read, and the ending of _Misery_ to be as emotionally satisfying as any other pop American fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/84 "2023-12-01T18:01:08Z")
Yeah, I’m not agreeing with the statements that King doesn’t know how to end a story. I will offer as evidence _The Dead Zone_, _Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption_, and _'Salem’s Lot_. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/85 "2023-12-01T22:28:37Z")
I actually _liked_ the Dark Tower series, and I didn’t hate the ending as some others have. I did not like the part about inserting himself into the story, but other than that… ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/86 "2023-12-01T22:31:03Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I did not like the part about inserting himself into the story, but other than that… That is EXACTLY why I didn’t like the ending! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/87 "2023-12-01T23:01:48Z")
@Rebo I did like how he portrayed himself as a narcissistic jerk, at least in Roland’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/88 "2023-12-01T23:34:53Z")
I didn’t like that twist at all for a long time. But on reflection, I think that King has spent most of his life with these characters in his head - he deserves an opportunity to have a conversation with them. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/89 "2023-12-01T23:41:50Z")
My issues with the _Dark Tower_ series was less about plot points than issues of tone and character development. Damn story would ricochet from dark and dystopian situations and characters to maniacally annoying ones that seem to have escaped from Sesame Street or Beavis & Butthead. Detta was cringeworthy and I had a hard time dragging myself through Blaine the Train who’s a Pain. It wasn’t without its good moments… which, since this is King, often means goodly creepy and horrifying, like the ritual murder of Susan Delgado, or the lobstrosities on the beach. But mostly the whole “drawing of the three” felt like “I’ve run out of things to write about this solitary character in this dark landscape, we need some sidekicks”, and the reason for having or needing them felt flimsy and unnecessary to the story. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883/90 "2023-12-01T23:54:32Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > All of them. Yep, pretty much. Some of his short stories are tolerable, but if I have the choice of reading one of his novels or watching paint dry, bring on the Krylon! Personal opinion only. I really like some of his non-fiction. _Danse Macabre_, for example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-stephen-king-novels-you-don-t-like/993883.md?page=4)