This is a great post! I'm also a huge fan of Stephen King, though I still haven't read You Like It Darker. But I will soon. I'm also a huge fan of Stephen Donaldson and have read most of his books. Like you, I don't read as much as I used to, but I still manage to average about two novels a month in addition to my other reading.
It’s a really strong collection. Some of the imagery in Rattlesnakes is probably the creepiest of his I’ve read since the dead boys in the standpipe in IT
I loved Donaldson when I was growing up but I went back to reread it a wee while back and couldn’t get past the overblown prose and, of course, Covenant being an absolute monster
I need to get back to reading books again. Should maybe leave my phone out the bedroom at night to get back to my old routine. That might help 🤔 😁
Ah, something else I'd like to read. But, just like you, I seem to be spending all my time reading on Substack. Sigh! I think that's a common problem.
We also have similar literary tastes, though I must confess that I don't think "Revival" is underrated. It's not a bad piece of writing, but I think I was at the 53% mark when I finally said, "Oh, I guess this is horror, after all."
Yeah, I’m even falling behind in my Substack reading as well 🙄
Revival is a strange one. I found it genuinely unsettling but I know that it left a lot of people cold. I’m a sucker for a bleak ending though and that one was pretty grim 😱😁
I've been one of his Constant Readers as well, except lately I can't keep up with what he's been cranking out.
I love most of his short stories, The Mist scared the living shit out of me and I'll always have a soft spot of Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption because the movie is one of my all time favorites.
His style of writing has definitely been a big influence on how I write.
If you like his short stories you should read this one as some of these are really top tier
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body from Different Seasons are both superb. On both counts I prefer the movie adaptations, which may be sacrilege, but there we are 😁
His latest two novels are really enjoyable. Billy Summers is a strong thriller and Holly is a right good gnarly tale so he’s still going strong
I think if anyone read my horror short stories it would be clear how much he’s also influenced my writing but, I suppose, for both of us, there are worse writers to take inspiration from 😁
You Like it Darker is one of those rare books that, even though I’ve just finished it, I’m already going back and re-reading passages. The last four stories in particular have really stayed with me 👍🏼
Read Holly earlier this year too and although it's not the King I'd love to be reading (give me the dark horror), it was a blast to read and I really enjoyed it.
Great review! I am so glad to see another Holly Gibney fan. There are so many haters out there. Our favorites line up completely, except for "On Slide Inn Road." I think my knowledge of the writer in the dedication (I'm an American lit. prof.) ruined it for me. As soon as I saw the set up, I thought it was too close. I almost wish I would have seen the dedication before I read the story.
I really want to see a "Rattlesnakes" movie. Those ghosts and the snakes being driven to the beach. Such amazing visuals.
I think, apart from Roland, that Holly Gibney is the character King has written about the most and I’ve really enjoyed seeing her develop from the Mr Mercedes trilogy into the fully rounded, complicated person she is in Holly. Which, even though I mentioned about King going back to “proper horror” is really gnarly with those crazy old cannibals!
I get what you’re saying about “On Slide Inn Road” as it does cleave a bit too close to his inspiration but I still enjoyed him giving his slant on it. After 50 years I think he’s still trying out stuff which I think is great.
Rattlesnakes is such a creepy story. The scene with the ghosts in the bed is still giving me goosebumps whilst I’m typing this! 😆
I really appreciate you reading and the feedback Buck 👍🏼
"There were three authors I read at the time. King, James Herbert and Clive Barker." And Dean R. Koontz. ;)
I think if you loved SF/F/Horror - all the "trash literature" as some may call it, or "Schundliteratur" as we say in German, then you have read these authors, including Stephenson et al, none of which may hold up well by today's standards. Different times, my friend. But... the best thing you can do if you want to write is read, read widely, extensively, read it all, from classics to modern, from Anonymous to Zelazy, across genres, any and all.
I have read all of King up until one day, when I decided, I did not want to read another King book. One might say, they all follow the same pattern, and I had become satuated by it. Maybe enough time has passed now, to give him another try, then again, my pile is high as it is.
So... going forward you'll discuss a book once a month? :D
Yeah, read some Koontz back in the day. In fact, I’m sure I still had some on my shelf but can’t see them now 🤔
The new King collection is good as he’s trying different things based on other authors work in some cases so it’s interesting. Definitely worth checking out
Well, as my head is in King, the next one will either be Pet Sematary or Shawshank and their movie adaptations. So far, I have written the title of both 😁
Also, my next story on Monday is very much related to one of his books and it won’t be difficult to guess which one once you’ve read it!
might have to get that...really engaging review summary. always loved king. superb characters and dialgue. a grand master isnt he. im spending more time writing than reading these days...
He is a great writer and, as I mentioned to Nathan, one of the few whose books I re-read on a regular basis. My plan to go back and look at his greatest works and their adaptations actually has me excited about reading again 😃
ive read pet sematery and IT 3 or 4 times. love them. Very few film adaptations do the books justice... i mean... why did they make the changes to Misery? why did they destroy Hearts in Atlantis? I could have cried.
Well, I have a few opinions about the adaptations that might be a bit controversial. Particularly on Shawshank and Misery but I’ll maybe save them for my articles 😁
Interestingly King considered writing Misery under his Richard Bachman pseudonym as it was so brutal but changed his mind after he was outed as the actual author of the previous Bachman novels. I think Pet Sematary is his darkest book but still makes for a great read. Probably put me off cats for life 😁
Cracking read, Dan. Thanks for this. I'm sure you know I'm a huge King fan, too, though your library far eclipses my own. I too have shied away from some of the short story collections, though I have fond memories of the likes of Four Past Midnight (it felt most appropriate when you said The Turbulence Expert belonged in something like that). I'd really like to read these and will certainly be now picking the book up. I'd love to see him write another epic like IT or The Stand. Part of me wants to reread those, but then I worry some of the magic was in the discovery of the story itself the first time around.
It’s a great collection and I think you’d really enjoy it
I’ve re-read IT and Salem’s Lot a number of times and listen to the audio books of both in the car. I’m thinking I might start doing articles on some of these and look at the book and then the various TV or cinematic adaptations to compare which one is actually better 🤔
This article has made it clear to me how many King fans are out there so could be a worthwhile venture 👍🏼
As always, I really appreciate your kind words and feedback 🙂
First King for me was “The Eyes of the Dragon”, then “Bag of Bones” and “Dolores Claiborne”. I’ve loved every one of them and absolutely plan to read more. At this point, I’ve seen more of the movies than I’ve read the books.
Bag of Bones is a great book and, again, another one that genuinely gave me the creeps with the letters on the fridge. Stuff like that always freaks me out.
The Eyes of the Dragon is another underrated gem. Particularly as it was my first introduction to multiverses and Flagg turning up in this and The Stand.
I love King’s writing but some of the movies are just better than the books. The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me for sure. Misery is a great film and I think James Caan and Kathy Bates elevate it beyond the source. I even like the original Pet Sematary movie from 1989 but that’s not a patch on probably his darkest book.
And I’ve not even mentioned The Shining, IT or Salem’s Lot. I should maybe do a top ten adaptation list 🤔😁
Bag of Bones will always be special. My partner read the whole thing aloud to me. I remember picking it up and trying to read it about half way through, but without his voice I couldn’t figure out who the characters were.
The girl and her daughter, in my mind, look like Lilo and her sister Nani.
I’ve never read IT, and I want to. The old movie adaption is my favorite, and I’ve been told the books are far darker than either movie rendition.
It’s been so long since I read Eyes of the Dragon, I didn’t realize Flagg was in both! Love it!
No one has read a book to me for a long while so the authors voice is always my own, but to have someone else do that for you would always create a strong bond with the story so that sounds pretty special 👍🏼
IT is my favourite book ever. All the horror stuff is great but the characters are what keeps me coming back. Think I’ve read it 6 or 7 times now.
The Tim Curry TV movie is a classic. I’ve watched the recent ones as well but only remember snippets whereas the original has so many great scenes
Yeah, Flagg makes a few appearances in the King universe. Can’t keep a good villain down 😁
I think I mentioned before about reading the Thomas Covenant series back in the ‘80s and it sort of traumatized me. 😂 He’s a very difficult character to like. The thing that bothered me the most about it was that, even though he doesn’t believe that the world he’s been trapped in is real, he commits so many horrible acts and it feels like he doesn’t experience any deep reflection on what he’s done—no sense of guilt—when he finally does finally believe that he is the hero of that world that everyone has been telling him that he is. But I remember being taken by the writing style.
Yeah, reading it again recently, Covenant really is a bit of a monster. However, I did really enjoy it back in the day. Probably because it seemed so grown up at the time. I’m sure I enjoyed The Gilden Fire, which was the outtake from The Illearth War, all the more because Covenant wasn’t in it! 😁
What an excellent review, Daniel! I’ll have to pick up You Like it Darker sooner than later. “Rattlesnakes” and some of the others you mentioned sound like they’re right up my alley. I read Holly last year and enjoyed it, but based on your review I have a feeling I’m going to like YLID more.
Well, pretty much anything. I do prefer horror and fantasy but I also like crime as you can see from all the Lehane and Pelecanos books at the bottom of the photo. All that being said, if it’s got good characters and a strong story then I’m all in 👍🏼
Well, Pelecanos is probably my favourite as I’ve read all the Stefanos series and most of the Strange series. The ending to one of his books is probably still the most shocking I’ve ever read that actually made me re-read it twice just to make sure it actually happened
Lehane is good as well with the Kenzie and Gennaro series particularly strong. Gone Baby Gone is a great book and movie 👍🏼
I've literally just picked this book up to read tonight after finishing (the absolutely wonderful Dark Matter novel) and look forward to it. I loved this article, not least because I'm a huge King fan (and Constant Reader) but you hit the nail on the head with your description of King and his work. It felt like you were taking the words straight out of a pen I was holding.
Also, I'd recommend reading his collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Perhaps one of my favourites. Fun fact: this was the short story collection which was Number One until a collection I had a short story in knocked it down to Number Two!
Thanks very much, Chris. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙏
It’s a great collection. Really varied stories that run the whole gamut of emotions from terrifying to heart breaking. I’m sure you’ll love it
I’ll check out Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Now that I’ve broken my duck with his shorter fiction, I’m eager to go back and find some of his earlier classics. Ha, that is a great story. So you can say you knocked Stephen King off the top of the best seller chart!
I’ve not read Dark Matter but watched the TV show that got better as it went along. I have read Recursion which is also by Blake Crouch and that is a great book and highly recommended 👍🏼
One of my favourites from Bazaar of Bad Dreams is called UR which was a story that Amazon commissioned him to write to promote the Kindle. It's a really clever fun story despite being a corporate commission to sell products!
I can officially say that yes! What a great moment; a real pinch me one!
Recursion is terrific and just read that this year. It was my first Blake Crouch novel. Needless to say I'm now an avid fan. He goes into my Top 5 favourite writers.
I can't wait to read it! .... As for Donaldson, you're right, his prose isn't for everyone. And Covenant isn't particularly likable. But I do think that Donaldson's prose, though verbose, is a master class in complex structure.
This is a great post! I'm also a huge fan of Stephen King, though I still haven't read You Like It Darker. But I will soon. I'm also a huge fan of Stephen Donaldson and have read most of his books. Like you, I don't read as much as I used to, but I still manage to average about two novels a month in addition to my other reading.
Thanks very much, Jim 🙏
It’s a really strong collection. Some of the imagery in Rattlesnakes is probably the creepiest of his I’ve read since the dead boys in the standpipe in IT
I loved Donaldson when I was growing up but I went back to reread it a wee while back and couldn’t get past the overblown prose and, of course, Covenant being an absolute monster
I need to get back to reading books again. Should maybe leave my phone out the bedroom at night to get back to my old routine. That might help 🤔 😁
Ah, something else I'd like to read. But, just like you, I seem to be spending all my time reading on Substack. Sigh! I think that's a common problem.
We also have similar literary tastes, though I must confess that I don't think "Revival" is underrated. It's not a bad piece of writing, but I think I was at the 53% mark when I finally said, "Oh, I guess this is horror, after all."
Thanks Bill 🙏
Yeah, I’m even falling behind in my Substack reading as well 🙄
Revival is a strange one. I found it genuinely unsettling but I know that it left a lot of people cold. I’m a sucker for a bleak ending though and that one was pretty grim 😱😁
I've been one of his Constant Readers as well, except lately I can't keep up with what he's been cranking out.
I love most of his short stories, The Mist scared the living shit out of me and I'll always have a soft spot of Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption because the movie is one of my all time favorites.
His style of writing has definitely been a big influence on how I write.
Thanks very much for reading 🙏
If you like his short stories you should read this one as some of these are really top tier
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body from Different Seasons are both superb. On both counts I prefer the movie adaptations, which may be sacrilege, but there we are 😁
His latest two novels are really enjoyable. Billy Summers is a strong thriller and Holly is a right good gnarly tale so he’s still going strong
I think if anyone read my horror short stories it would be clear how much he’s also influenced my writing but, I suppose, for both of us, there are worse writers to take inspiration from 😁
I really appreciate your thoughts and comments 👍🏼
Also read Holly this year and You Like It Darker. I really enjoyed both! I love King’s short stories and YLID did not disappoint.
Thanks Jenovia 🙏
You Like it Darker is one of those rare books that, even though I’ve just finished it, I’m already going back and re-reading passages. The last four stories in particular have really stayed with me 👍🏼
I’ve found myself re-reading passages as well! It really is that good. 🙏
Read Holly earlier this year too and although it's not the King I'd love to be reading (give me the dark horror), it was a blast to read and I really enjoyed it.
Same! Give me all the horror!!!
Great review! I am so glad to see another Holly Gibney fan. There are so many haters out there. Our favorites line up completely, except for "On Slide Inn Road." I think my knowledge of the writer in the dedication (I'm an American lit. prof.) ruined it for me. As soon as I saw the set up, I thought it was too close. I almost wish I would have seen the dedication before I read the story.
I really want to see a "Rattlesnakes" movie. Those ghosts and the snakes being driven to the beach. Such amazing visuals.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks very much, Buck 🙏
I think, apart from Roland, that Holly Gibney is the character King has written about the most and I’ve really enjoyed seeing her develop from the Mr Mercedes trilogy into the fully rounded, complicated person she is in Holly. Which, even though I mentioned about King going back to “proper horror” is really gnarly with those crazy old cannibals!
I get what you’re saying about “On Slide Inn Road” as it does cleave a bit too close to his inspiration but I still enjoyed him giving his slant on it. After 50 years I think he’s still trying out stuff which I think is great.
Rattlesnakes is such a creepy story. The scene with the ghosts in the bed is still giving me goosebumps whilst I’m typing this! 😆
I really appreciate you reading and the feedback Buck 👍🏼
"There were three authors I read at the time. King, James Herbert and Clive Barker." And Dean R. Koontz. ;)
I think if you loved SF/F/Horror - all the "trash literature" as some may call it, or "Schundliteratur" as we say in German, then you have read these authors, including Stephenson et al, none of which may hold up well by today's standards. Different times, my friend. But... the best thing you can do if you want to write is read, read widely, extensively, read it all, from classics to modern, from Anonymous to Zelazy, across genres, any and all.
I have read all of King up until one day, when I decided, I did not want to read another King book. One might say, they all follow the same pattern, and I had become satuated by it. Maybe enough time has passed now, to give him another try, then again, my pile is high as it is.
So... going forward you'll discuss a book once a month? :D
Yeah, read some Koontz back in the day. In fact, I’m sure I still had some on my shelf but can’t see them now 🤔
The new King collection is good as he’s trying different things based on other authors work in some cases so it’s interesting. Definitely worth checking out
Well, as my head is in King, the next one will either be Pet Sematary or Shawshank and their movie adaptations. So far, I have written the title of both 😁
Also, my next story on Monday is very much related to one of his books and it won’t be difficult to guess which one once you’ve read it!
It will be about... The Gunslinger! Just guessing, looking forward to it!
might have to get that...really engaging review summary. always loved king. superb characters and dialgue. a grand master isnt he. im spending more time writing than reading these days...
Thanks very much Nick 🙏
He is a great writer and, as I mentioned to Nathan, one of the few whose books I re-read on a regular basis. My plan to go back and look at his greatest works and their adaptations actually has me excited about reading again 😃
ive read pet sematery and IT 3 or 4 times. love them. Very few film adaptations do the books justice... i mean... why did they make the changes to Misery? why did they destroy Hearts in Atlantis? I could have cried.
Well, I have a few opinions about the adaptations that might be a bit controversial. Particularly on Shawshank and Misery but I’ll maybe save them for my articles 😁
Interestingly King considered writing Misery under his Richard Bachman pseudonym as it was so brutal but changed his mind after he was outed as the actual author of the previous Bachman novels. I think Pet Sematary is his darkest book but still makes for a great read. Probably put me off cats for life 😁
my cats have put me off cats ... ungratefulness incarnate.
😁
Cracking read, Dan. Thanks for this. I'm sure you know I'm a huge King fan, too, though your library far eclipses my own. I too have shied away from some of the short story collections, though I have fond memories of the likes of Four Past Midnight (it felt most appropriate when you said The Turbulence Expert belonged in something like that). I'd really like to read these and will certainly be now picking the book up. I'd love to see him write another epic like IT or The Stand. Part of me wants to reread those, but then I worry some of the magic was in the discovery of the story itself the first time around.
Thanks very much, Nathan 🙏
It’s a great collection and I think you’d really enjoy it
I’ve re-read IT and Salem’s Lot a number of times and listen to the audio books of both in the car. I’m thinking I might start doing articles on some of these and look at the book and then the various TV or cinematic adaptations to compare which one is actually better 🤔
This article has made it clear to me how many King fans are out there so could be a worthwhile venture 👍🏼
As always, I really appreciate your kind words and feedback 🙂
I'd absolutely be keen to hear more thoughts along those lines (or even just taking another book and discussing it as you have here).
First King for me was “The Eyes of the Dragon”, then “Bag of Bones” and “Dolores Claiborne”. I’ve loved every one of them and absolutely plan to read more. At this point, I’ve seen more of the movies than I’ve read the books.
Bag of Bones is a great book and, again, another one that genuinely gave me the creeps with the letters on the fridge. Stuff like that always freaks me out.
The Eyes of the Dragon is another underrated gem. Particularly as it was my first introduction to multiverses and Flagg turning up in this and The Stand.
I love King’s writing but some of the movies are just better than the books. The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me for sure. Misery is a great film and I think James Caan and Kathy Bates elevate it beyond the source. I even like the original Pet Sematary movie from 1989 but that’s not a patch on probably his darkest book.
And I’ve not even mentioned The Shining, IT or Salem’s Lot. I should maybe do a top ten adaptation list 🤔😁
Thanks very much for reading and commenting 🙏
Bag of Bones will always be special. My partner read the whole thing aloud to me. I remember picking it up and trying to read it about half way through, but without his voice I couldn’t figure out who the characters were.
The girl and her daughter, in my mind, look like Lilo and her sister Nani.
I’ve never read IT, and I want to. The old movie adaption is my favorite, and I’ve been told the books are far darker than either movie rendition.
It’s been so long since I read Eyes of the Dragon, I didn’t realize Flagg was in both! Love it!
No one has read a book to me for a long while so the authors voice is always my own, but to have someone else do that for you would always create a strong bond with the story so that sounds pretty special 👍🏼
IT is my favourite book ever. All the horror stuff is great but the characters are what keeps me coming back. Think I’ve read it 6 or 7 times now.
The Tim Curry TV movie is a classic. I’ve watched the recent ones as well but only remember snippets whereas the original has so many great scenes
Yeah, Flagg makes a few appearances in the King universe. Can’t keep a good villain down 😁
I think I mentioned before about reading the Thomas Covenant series back in the ‘80s and it sort of traumatized me. 😂 He’s a very difficult character to like. The thing that bothered me the most about it was that, even though he doesn’t believe that the world he’s been trapped in is real, he commits so many horrible acts and it feels like he doesn’t experience any deep reflection on what he’s done—no sense of guilt—when he finally does finally believe that he is the hero of that world that everyone has been telling him that he is. But I remember being taken by the writing style.
Thanks Daniel 🙏
Yeah, reading it again recently, Covenant really is a bit of a monster. However, I did really enjoy it back in the day. Probably because it seemed so grown up at the time. I’m sure I enjoyed The Gilden Fire, which was the outtake from The Illearth War, all the more because Covenant wasn’t in it! 😁
What an excellent review, Daniel! I’ll have to pick up You Like it Darker sooner than later. “Rattlesnakes” and some of the others you mentioned sound like they’re right up my alley. I read Holly last year and enjoyed it, but based on your review I have a feeling I’m going to like YLID more.
Thanks very much, Justin 🙏
Yeah, it’s a great collection 👍🏼
Ah, I also read Holly this year, and I've got the short story collection lined up.
Recommendations? Depends, are you a genre reader, or what are your tastes?
Thanks Caz 🙏
Well, pretty much anything. I do prefer horror and fantasy but I also like crime as you can see from all the Lehane and Pelecanos books at the bottom of the photo. All that being said, if it’s got good characters and a strong story then I’m all in 👍🏼
Oddly, except for on Substack, I don't read fantasy, or even much horror.
It would be great to hear about your favorite crime novels, maybe that's a future post!
Well, Pelecanos is probably my favourite as I’ve read all the Stefanos series and most of the Strange series. The ending to one of his books is probably still the most shocking I’ve ever read that actually made me re-read it twice just to make sure it actually happened
Lehane is good as well with the Kenzie and Gennaro series particularly strong. Gone Baby Gone is a great book and movie 👍🏼
I've not read or seen Gone Baby Gone, perhaps oddly, it has a lot of coverage.
I'll have to look up the other writer's you've mentioned, see what appeals to me.
Gone Baby Gone is a very good movie. Ben Affleck’s best as a director and with a really strong cast including Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman
It has a strong cast.
Love Morgan Freeman, he's a treasure.
I've literally just picked this book up to read tonight after finishing (the absolutely wonderful Dark Matter novel) and look forward to it. I loved this article, not least because I'm a huge King fan (and Constant Reader) but you hit the nail on the head with your description of King and his work. It felt like you were taking the words straight out of a pen I was holding.
Also, I'd recommend reading his collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Perhaps one of my favourites. Fun fact: this was the short story collection which was Number One until a collection I had a short story in knocked it down to Number Two!
Thanks very much, Chris. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙏
It’s a great collection. Really varied stories that run the whole gamut of emotions from terrifying to heart breaking. I’m sure you’ll love it
I’ll check out Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Now that I’ve broken my duck with his shorter fiction, I’m eager to go back and find some of his earlier classics. Ha, that is a great story. So you can say you knocked Stephen King off the top of the best seller chart!
I’ve not read Dark Matter but watched the TV show that got better as it went along. I have read Recursion which is also by Blake Crouch and that is a great book and highly recommended 👍🏼
One of my favourites from Bazaar of Bad Dreams is called UR which was a story that Amazon commissioned him to write to promote the Kindle. It's a really clever fun story despite being a corporate commission to sell products!
I can officially say that yes! What a great moment; a real pinch me one!
Recursion is terrific and just read that this year. It was my first Blake Crouch novel. Needless to say I'm now an avid fan. He goes into my Top 5 favourite writers.
I can't wait to read it! .... As for Donaldson, you're right, his prose isn't for everyone. And Covenant isn't particularly likable. But I do think that Donaldson's prose, though verbose, is a master class in complex structure.