# What are Stephen King’s five worst books/stories? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312 "2010-09-10T17:56:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/41 "2010-09-11T12:47:23Z")
Haven’t read Dark Tower series or most of his newer stuff, but among the ones I’ve read: 1. Dreamcatcher 2 - 3. (tie) Desperation/The Regulators 2. Insomnia 3. Rose Madder ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/42 "2010-09-11T14:04:49Z")
I am not especially well read with regards to Stephen King. For example, I haven’t read: **Salem’s Lot, Gerald’s Game, Rose Madder** —most of his newer stuff, in fact. I tried to start **From a Buick 8, Desperation** , and **Insomnia** , and just couldn’t get into them. Discovering Pterry and some of the newer Brit Sci-Fi writers, coupled with my slow reading pace, meant that many of his books are still on my shelf, waiting. Of the ones I’ve tried to read all the way through, my picks for worst are: [ol] [li] **Cell**. Which I’ve bitched about repeatedly on other threads.[/li][li] **Dark Tower 7**. Just pure shite, and that’s without mentioning the ending(s). The fates of Walter and Mordred, never mind how the Crimson King is handled, are just insulting to the reader.[/li][li] **Dark Tower 6** : Dumb and dumb squared. Felt rushed. And I detest how the powers of the Gunslingers seemed to wax and wane with the demands of the plot. And let’s not even get into the whole writing yourself into the story thing.[/li][li] **The Dark Half** Hated the ending, and couldn’t quite come to grips with the idea of a pen name coming to life. Too bad, as George Stark is an interesting character to follow. (From a distance)[/li][li] **Dark Tower 5**. Though I don’t hate it, I just don’t like it as much as say, the first 1/4 of **Tommyknockers**. The fight with the riders/wolves is just straight up, drooling, hockey helmet-wearing, retarded though. Thrown dinner plates? Really? If thrown plates were so deadly, half my relatives would be in the morgue by now. [/li][/ol] A lot of the rage I have for the end of the Dark Tower is because the first 4 were so good. I love the first one, and understand why the tone shifted to a more conventional one for the next three. **It** badly needed an editor, but I didn’t hate it. When will authors learn that a tightly plotted 350 page story is much more satisfying than a bloated, sprawling 1000 page one? Oddly, I don’t remember **Needful Things** being the crock of shit that the rest of you do, and I actually liked **Cujo**. **Firestarter** , OTOH, was just a straight, formulaic potboiler. And I’m glad he seemed to abandon “The Shop” entity. Leave the X-Files stuff to writers who do it better. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/43 "2010-09-11T15:49:33Z")
The beginning of the Tommyknocker’s was pretty good and had one of my favorite “character studies” of a minor character - Becka Paulson and the bit about Jesus on the TV. It totally lost me by the ending, though. My list: Dreamcatchers (WTF!) The Cell (started so good, too!) Rose Madder (ugh, the painting) The Dome (couldn’t finish, bored) Duma Key (the ending enraged me, so many plot holes - wish I could find the thread where we discussed this) Lisey’s Story - honorable mention, I didn’t read enough to really critique it, was so bored. Books that just bored me Hearts in Atlantis Bag of Bones (once again, all the metaphysical la la land bullcrap turned me off) Buick 8 Needful Things I guess this list makes it sound like I hate Stephen King. On the contrary, I loooove his earlier stuff. Salem’s Lot, The Stand, Firestarter, The Shining, It, Eyes of the Dragon…LOVE. I also really like it when he adds forwards/afterwards where he talks to the reader. He just seems like a fun guy it would be fun to have a drink with and just talk. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/44 "2010-10-06T00:44:52Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > A surprising amount of Tommyknocker hate! I might have picked it back in the old days, before he cranked out some worse ones. Too much weirdness, and then there are some upsetting scenes (Hilly and David, Peter the beagle). I have missed a lot of his books, I’ve only read a couple since Bag of Bones, though nearly all the ones before that I read as they came out, because my mother would buy them immediately and religiously. 😉 Tommyknockers is definitely one of my least favourites, I tend to prefer his earlier to mid-career stuff for the most part. Some I absolutely love, a few I hate and some are relatively indifferent. Dunno if I could pick the 5 best, but the worst of the ones I read were Misery Tommyknockers The Dark Half (though I liked the joke about how many sparrows does it take to screw in a lightbulb) Dreamcatcher (OMG shitweasels WTF) Gerald’s Game/Rose Madder ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/45 "2010-10-06T00:48:46Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I haven’t read that much Steven King, but I remember not caring for: > > 1 Needful Things. I tried, honestly I tried more than once, but this one was just plain boring. Forgot about that one. Yup, hated it. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > 4 Was there one about his wife finding shorter and shorter shortcuts while driving the car to some town? Stories where the climax is reading a car odometer are less than gripping. I don’t remember the title, or even if this was one of Steven King’s short stories though. Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut. I actually really like this one. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/46 "2010-10-06T00:51:52Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > p.s. If you liked the feel of The Talisman, give another one of Peter Straub’s a try, an older one called ‘Shadowland’. I am not a Peter Straub fan, except for those two books. But Shadowland rocked my scary little world when I was in jr high; you might like it. Similar feel to The Talisman, and I don’t think it’s just because the main characters of each are about the same age. I can’t promise that the reason I liked Talisman so much later WASN’T because I read Shadowland first, though. I read The Talisman first, and remember liking Shadowland after, though I can’t remember what it was about. Guess I won’t be reading Black House, from the sound of it. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/47 "2010-10-06T01:14:41Z")
I haven’t read anything since Dreamcatcher and I don’t remember most of the short stories. Tommyknockers Insomnia Dreamcatcher Gerald’s Game Needful Things ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/48 "2010-10-06T01:51:06Z")
> [@rainwalker78](#): > > The Tommyknockers can have all 5 spots as far as I am concerned. This is the only King book (and one of maybe a dozen from any author) that I couldn’t finish (or even get 1/2 way through). > > In three tries. > > I didn’t care for Gerald’s game, or the Dream Catcher that much. Cujo wasn’t awesome. > > so: > > 1. Tommyknockers (The first time I tried to read it) > 2. TommyKnockers (The second time I tried to read it) > 3. TommyKnockers (The third time I tried to read it) > 4. TommyKnockers (Just thinking about this book upsets me) > 5. Tie between TommyKnockers/Gerald’s Game/Dream Catcher/Cujo I agree except I would remove Cujo and substitute it with Needful Things. I never finished Lisey’s Story or From A Buick 8. I just didn’t care enough to try. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/49 "2010-10-06T02:58:51Z")
> [@Jeneva](#): > > Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut. I actually really like this one. Oh, me too. You’re not alone. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/50 "2010-10-06T03:04:51Z")
_Misery_… really? ☹ I tried re-reading _Lisey’s Story_ because of this (and the other SK) thread… couldn’t get through it. I wanted to read more about her crazy sister, but the _babyluv’s_ and the _strap it on’s_ and the idiocy of the main character made it so I… just… couldn’t… take it anymore. Not to mention the horrible research - you’d think SK would’ve spent 2 minutes on Wikipedia to learn that: a. There’s not a “University of Tennessee” in Nashville… it’s in Knoxville. (There’s not even a branch of UT in Nashville). b. It’s called UT (“You-Tee”), not “U-Tenn” by, well, everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/51 "2010-10-06T03:53:49Z")
It looks like I’m the only one that actually likes **Tommyknockers** :p. I don’t get the hate for it, I thought it was one of his better books. I haven’t read a lot of his newer stuff. I remember him promising to retire sometime around “The Plant”, as soon as he was finished with his “contractual obligations”. I note that most of the books and stories people have listed in this thread are newer ones. My list is more than 5. I hope that’s ok ;): **The Dark Half** (that’s when King jumped the shark for me). Just an awful book. **The Dead Zone** not scary, not funny, not interesting. **Cujo** **Needful Things** A hell of a lot of buildup and not much of a payoff. Would have been okay as a 40-50 page short story, as a nearly 800 page book it sucked. **Insomnia** Again, the last 1/3 was good, the first 2/3 could have been ripped out and thrown away without really missing anything. **Secret Window, Secret Garden** - Horrible from start to finish. **The Green Mile** - what pissed me off about this one was that it was released one teeny tiny 100 page book (roughly) at a time, and SK was harping on and on about how it was something really unique and different in today’s publishing world, a throwback to the days of the serial stories which used to appear in magazines, when you had to wait until the next issue to get the continuation of the story. This story would not be available in any other format, he promised. You had to buy these little books as they came out or they would be gone forever, and you’d _never_ get another chance to read them. About a year later it came out in novel form… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/52 "2010-10-06T04:42:55Z")
In no particular order: **Black House** - a sequel to a book I liked, and I couldn’t finish it. I’ve only done that with about 10 books, and I read a lot. **Under the Dome** - a newer book, so I’ll spoiler it I hate the ‘brain tumor makes someone violent’ trope. I know it happens, but so does amnesia, and that’s been done to death as well. Also, damn, Big Jim Rennie was like a cartoon character, a problem with a lot of his bad guys. King hates himself some religious authoritarians. It’'s a shame that my favorite thing was the shout-out to Lee Child’s _Jack Reacher_ character. **Lisey’s Story** - Another book of King’s I didn’t finish. Dude’s ruining my record 🙂 **The Dark Tower** - read the first book when it first came out, and never read any more of them. Didn’t see what he fuss was about. That was a long time ago, and maybe my tastes have changed, but after the outrage over the last book, I’ll not try it again. **Cujo** - “Nothing wrong here!” my ass. A big drooling dog and way too much marriage angst. Could work as a Lifetime move with just a little rewriting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/53 "2010-10-06T05:46:41Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > > [@Lemur866](#): > > > > It might not be his worst work, but Stephen King was dead to me after “The Tommyknockers”. > > Tommyknockers only missed out on my list as I have no recollection of reading it, though I know I did. [Eh, join the club.](http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-dont-even-remember-writing-the-tommyknockers,10929/) ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/54 "2010-10-06T13:36:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > _Misery_… really? ☹ That one surprised me too! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/55 "2010-10-06T14:24:24Z")
I guess I agree with the idea that once King quit the sauce, his writing went down the crapper. _The Dark Tower_ books are as dull as ditchwater, and I couldn’t finish _From a Buick 8_. I’m too old to slog thru something just to make it thru to the end. His other problem is that he needs a more ruthless editor. He is too successful for someone to say, “Hey Steve - I cut three hundred pages from your latest. Next time, quit farting around and get to the scary part.” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/56 "2010-10-06T14:36:03Z")
I haven’t read much of his recent stuff, but I seem to remember some commenting that getting hit by a van also afffected his writing somehow. Not sure when it happened - I have the vague impression it was just recently, which at this time in my life usually translates to about fifteen years ago, give or take. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/57 "2010-10-06T17:01:05Z")
I propose a (dis)honorable mention for everything written after he got hit by the van. The all-time worst is Susannah’s Song. I know three people who are/were stuck on the Dark Tower series because of that book. I took an afternoon and just banged it out and yes, it did hurt a little. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/58 "2010-10-06T17:06:22Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I haven’t read much of his recent stuff, but I seem to remember some commenting that getting hit by a van also afffected his writing somehow. Not sure when it happened - I have the vague impression it was just recently, which at this time in my life usually translates to about fifteen years ago, give or take. Close. It happened in 1999. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/59 "2010-10-06T17:37:04Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > a. There’s not a “University of Tennessee” in Nashville… it’s in Knoxville. (There’s not even a branch of UT in Nashville). > b. It’s called UT (“You-Tee”), not “U-Tenn” by, well, everybody. If there was a University of Tennessee Institute, it could be UTI… 😉 …sorry, I’ll get my coat. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312/60 "2010-10-06T17:51:57Z")
I’m surprised there aren’t more votes for the last three Dark Tower books, which were exhausting marathons of blather. All three were absolutely terrible. Then I’d nominate Lisey’s Story, which I couldn’t even get through - I gave up around Page 150 - and Insomnia, which was an excellent short story packed into an 800-page novel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-stephen-king-s-five-worst-books-stories/553312.md?page=4)