# Ranking All 64 Of Stephen King's Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923 "2014-04-12T06:09:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/61 "2014-04-15T15:06:14Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I was really shocked Rage was ranked so low. I think it’s the best of the Bachman books except maybe for Thinner and thought Roadwork was horrible which was ranked #20. Rage is a complete train wreck. King wants us to sympathize with a school shooter, and he offers hints that the kid’s home life isn’t ideal, but he was always just a psycho to me. And the way the class turned on the one kid who saw through his bullshit (like 80% of the book was the shooter telling the other kids, “Adults suck, amirite?”) was disgusting. King is great at disturbing, but all the stuff that happened in Rage could never happen. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/62 "2014-04-15T15:43:31Z")
My take on _Insomnia_ was pretty much the same as _Needful Things_: It took him waaaaay too long to build up. IMO you could have cut at least the first half of both books out pretty much entirely and they’d have been better. Then again, I kind of started to dislike Kings “Demented Norman Rockwell” scenes at some point around 15 years ago. It feels played out and stale to me now. I also have a hard time with his overuse of repeating single phrases or words (redrum). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/63 "2014-04-15T16:38:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I loved that story, but I don’t know how that would work as a movie - the whole thing kind of hinges on the shock value of the body continuing to breathe and give birth after it’s been killed, and that’s just one scene. What I liked was the framing device: the weird club where the men gather to tell stories. I don’t know how that could translate to film, however. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/64 "2014-04-15T17:55:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Well, his best book - of the first 20 or so - is _ **The Shining** _, so there’s that. > > The Stand is fun ride that fumbles the ending. ^^^^^ This. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/65 "2014-04-15T18:21:55Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I know, I know. I wasn’t being very serious. It might work as a story within a completely different movie, told partly in flashback to preserve the integrity of the one essential scene. > [@Spoons](#): > > What I liked was the framing device: the weird club where the men gather to tell stories. I don’t know how that could translate to film, however. Now you’ve got me thinking about it, and I think we could come up with a very interesting episodic tv series - each hour-long episode is one of Stephen King’s short stories, so “The Breathing Method” becomes one episode, which I think would work with that story and so many of his fascinating short stories. Hey, tv land - get on this, would you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/66 "2014-04-15T18:30:00Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Now you’ve got me thinking about it, and I think we could come up with a very interesting episodic tv series - each hour-long episode is one of Stephen King’s short stories, so “The Breathing Method” becomes one episode, which I think would work with that story and so many of his fascinating short stories. Hey, tv land - get on this, would you? 🙂 [It’s been done.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmares_%26_Dreamscapes:_From_the_Stories_of_Stephen_King) ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/67 "2014-04-15T19:24:32Z")
For me, \*The Stand \*still ranks high, because despite the Deus ex machina ending, everything prior to it is amazing. And for me, it’s one of those “meh” endings that manages not to poison the rest of the work. He told an incredibly intriguing story with great characters, and couldn’t quite come up with a finish that came up to that standard. I’m OK with it. (Though as I think about it, I don’t think I’ve read it since I became an atheist. I might have more of a problem with the whole God thing next time around.) On the other hand, I have no idea how I would rank _It_. How do you assess a novel that is more than 90% brilliant terror and poignancy, but that wraps up with an ending so stupidly offensive and offensively stupid that you would like to pretend the author never thought of the idea, never mind writing it down in words and publishing it? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/68 "2014-04-15T22:18:03Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > For me, \*The Stand \*still ranks high, because despite the Deus ex machina ending, everything prior to it is amazing. And for me, it’s one of those “meh” endings that manages not to poison the rest of the work. > > On the other hand, I have no idea how I would rank _It_. How do you assess a novel that is more than 90% brilliant terror and poignancy, but that wraps up with an ending so stupidly offensive and offensively stupid that you would like to pretend the author never thought of the idea, never mind writing it down in words and publishing it? See I slightly prefer **It** to **The Stand** and it has nothing ( much ) to do with the endings. Both endings are pretty poor, but I think **It** at its height is King at his very best. The history of Derry passages may be the most evocative of writing he has done. Also **The Stand** starts to totter as a story a bit earlier for me, basically with the congealing of the community in Colorado. **It** may have a little deeper bottom, but it is a quicker dive :D. All that said I’d say **The Shining** is his most _complete_ novel, so I’d probably give it top billing. Though a compendium of his best short fiction would beat that as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/69 "2014-04-16T06:02:25Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > [It’s been done.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmares_%26_Dreamscapes:_From_the_Stories_of_Stephen_King) Sweet! I think I knew about that, but I don’t think I caught any episodes. That said, I won’t be happy until ALL of his short stores are filmed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/70 "2014-04-16T07:08:46Z")
To me the ranking is pretty hit and miss… The Long Walk is way too low, The Shining is what introduced me to King, so it’s still one of my favourites I enjoyed Firestarter more than the ranking would indicate, and as for Chistine - I found it every bit as good as The Shining. Full Dark, No Stars is way scary as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/71 "2014-04-16T09:51:11Z")
I’ve only read a few Stephen King books and mostly can’t remember them. However…at the end of Pet Semetary I could taste earth in my mouth. What an awful book and what a writer! Apart from that his short stories are magnificent. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/72 "2014-04-16T12:38:08Z")
One thing I wanted to mention about _The Dark Half_: I’ve never really believed it was a Stephen King book for some reason. I keep expecting him to confess it was some sort of hoax along the lines of _The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer_. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/73 "2014-04-16T13:17:47Z")
> [@XanderCrews](#): > > I want to read The Stand; I’ve never read it before. Should I get the uncut edition or the original? The original. King has a tendency to ramble and throw in stuff that doesn’t belong, and drags down the story. As he became more and more successful, editors became more and more reluctant to cut out sections, because they understandably thought the public would demand more rather than less. FWIW I no longer consider myself a King fan, and have not read much if any of his work since I was unable to get into _The Dark Tower_ stuff and unable to finish _From a Buick 8_. For my money, his best work was _The Dead Zone_, with _The Stand_, _The Shining_, _Misery_, _Carrie_, and _'Salem’s Lot_ nearly on the same level. _Eyes of the Dragon_ was a good fairy tale. Some of this short work is good. Everything else was dreck. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/74 "2014-04-16T13:24:04Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > One thing I wanted to mention about _The Dark Half_: I’ve never really believed it was a Stephen King book for some reason. I keep expecting him to confess it was some sort of hoax along the lines of _The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer_. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer was never a “hoax,” it was a spinoff novel of [Rose Red](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Red_%28miniseries%29), a miniseries that was most definitely written by King. He can’t really be blamed that people thought he wrote if he never actually said he wrote it, right? ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/75 "2014-04-16T14:29:44Z")
I think my biggest surprise was 11/22/63 being ranked #22. Personally, I liked Duma Key, but the ending was a typical “King psychotic spiral” Would have moved “From a Buick 8” up, and “Under the Dome” way down. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/76 "2014-04-18T03:52:12Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > What I liked was the framing device: the weird club where the men gather to tell stories. I don’t know how that could translate to film, however. That broad idea is the framing device of approximately 75% of anthology films. Do the framing story. Once the storytelling starts segue to the story shown (with voiceovers or not)…one can drop out of the story for elements of the framing story when desirable (don’t remember ever seeing an anthology do that, but it worked for The Princess Bride)…once the story is finished segue back to the framing narrative for the reactions. As to how to make it a workable movie…combine it with The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands (set at the same club), and another short story or two which lend themselves to adapting into the framework. (I think Strawberry Spring would serve well as a third because the twist could add a suitable discomfort to the framing narrative.) ---
**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:** [April 18, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/77 "2014-04-18T15:30:32Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > I’ve only read a few Stephen King books and mostly can’t remember them. > > However…at the end of Pet Semetary I could taste earth in my mouth. What an awful book and what a writer! > Apart from that his short stories are magnificent. I would put Pet Semetary and Misery in a top-5 list - I think PS is possibly his finest _horror_ work, with the feeling of dread and hopelessness so palpable you could almost see it. Misery was his best “this could really happen” book (i.e., one w/o any supernatural stuff in it), and I found the ending of Misery, with Paul, nearly broken from the experience but finally finding his voice again, to be the best closing passage(s) of any of his novels. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/78 "2014-04-18T18:28:04Z")
Something to keep in mind: being on the bottom of this list does not necessarily mean bad. I’m sure a lot of writers would kill to write any book that’s as good as King’s worst. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923/79 "2014-04-18T19:03:06Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I would put Pet Semetary and Misery in a top-5 list - I think PS is possibly his finest _horror_ work, with the feeling of dread and hopelessness so palpable you could almost see it. Agreed, I was wondering why PS wasn’t mentioned for most of the thread. It absolutely deserves top-tier placement with Shining, The Stand, Misery… I can accept most of the list, even those I don’t agree with, as just different tastes for different folks. The one I would argue over, though, is **Cujo**. It doesn’t deserve such high placement, and if written in his modern era, would be as lambasted as horribly as Dreamcatcher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-all-64-of-stephen-kings-books/685923.md?page=3)