Top Ten Stephen King Books

For the past year, I've been reading a lot of Stephen King books. I've been a fan of King over the years. But I guess I recently got the King bug, especially after reading 'Salem's Lot last summer. To this day, I've read almost half of King's novels. There's still so much more to explore, given the amount of books, novellas, and short stories he has published over the years. But I thought it would be fun to list my ten favorite books thus far - no particular ranking.

Growing up as a GenX-er, the commercial for the uncut version of this book aired all the time on TV. This was the first book of his I read way back in 1996, and was taken by how much heart and melodrama it had, or what I describe as "horror with heart." It might also be the longest book I have ever read! But never a dull moment. Some of my favorite characters are Trashcan Man, Larry Underwood, and Nick Andros. I also loved Harold Emery Lauder, as tragic as he was.

Next to The Stand, I think 'Salem's Lot is one of King's best novels. There's so much to say about it. For one, the story takes some of the narrative structure from Bram Stoker's masterpiece. Of course, there is a number of scary and suspenseful moments. But what took me by surprise is the small town that King creates for the reader. Early in the book, King describes an entire day and doings of 'Salem's Lot. Knowing that something supernatural is about to take over this town made this section of the book so frightening. In certain ways, 'Salem's Lot is an invasion narrative.

First and foremost, the movie version is one my favorite films. The Shining was what made me go to film school. And like everyone else who loves the film, we all know that King was not a fan of Kubrick's version. I read the book way later in my life, mainly because I was curious about what Kubrick left out from the novel, and why King was not happy about the film version. I think both the film and novel are extraordinary. I have found myself equally scared by both.

This book took me by surprise. It was the first book I read of his during his later years of writing. I felt his writing style was leaner and direct, rather than what Matt Thorne in The Guardian called the "baroque" category of King. I think Rose The Hat is one of King's top villains. And I thought Rebecca Ferguson was amazing in the film. But what struck me about Doctor Sleep was its exploration of alcoholism. This book is not only a sequel to The Shining, it is also a story about recovery. And having read about King's own battles with addiction made this book even more poignant.

I found myself recently reading a lot of 1990s King. Next to Gerald's Game (in terms of graphic horror), it is one of the more gory novels of his. Desperation also demonstrates King's interest in putting a bunch of characters who don't know each other in one setting over a long stretch of time (e.g. Maximum Overdrive). This was a topic I explored in my book Cinema of Confinement. The novel also involves King playing with language, such as Tak! Very cool book.

I am unsure what novel I enjoyed the most out of the series. Perhaps Wolves of the Calla or  The Waste Lands? I was not such a fan of The Drawing of the Three and had stopped reading the series. But after my father died in 2017, I went back to The Dark Tower story. I was in the Hudson Valley and wanted to read something that would take me out of the funk of my father's sudden death. I purchased The Waste Lands and it was everything I expected and more. I think The Dark Tower series is one of King's greatest achievements. I guess that's all I'll say. But I was very much touched by Roland's journey. So glad I stuck with it. I encourage you to read it if you haven't.

I read that King came up with this story when he accidentally slipped and fell down a hill behind a gas station. I was surprised by the tone of the book, where Pennsylvania State Troopers tell their stories of the Buick 8 that they impounded. The Buick 8 is a supernatural vehicle that appears to be a gateway into another world. Again, I loved how the narrative focuses primarily on the barracks and garage were the Buick is kept. I felt that King allows you to ponder the mystery of the car, without explaining too much. It's a strange book that I often think about.

I loved this book and believe it to be in the same vein as Salem's Lot and Needful Things - all about a large cast of characters in a small town dealing with some strange unexplained / supernatural event. The book is very engaging and never slow. It is also a great tale about how leaders can turn into authoritarians. Under the Dome is well worth your time.

I had seen the films The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Apt Pupil before reading Different Seasons. This is a great collection of novellas. My favorite might be Apt Pupil. I was surprised by how dark and disturbing the story was, much different than the movie, which I was not such a fan of.

King mentioned that this book was him trying too hard. I think this is an amazing fantasy book about elderly people. I thought the length and pacing of the book reflected the characters - not to be rude about getting old. Maybe more importantly is the book's connection to The Dark Tower and why I enjoyed the book so much. Unlike King's approach to sci-fi, I think he takes his approach to fantasy quite seriously, exploring very intriguing aspects of out of body experiences as well as playing with time and space, which can be traced back to The Dark Tower story, or even Lisey's Story. Insomnia is a slow burn, but I think it is worth checking out.

I would also like to mention King's book On Writing. This book had such a tremendous impact on me as a writer. It inspired me to write with the door closed, and not be afraid to write even when you don't know the entire structure of your story, or even know where your story is heading. Everybody has their own approaches to writing. But for me, I like to discover things about the characters and their situations as I write.

For academic analysis, check out Tony Magistrale's books on King.

The Aging Movie Star in the Horror and Sci-Fi Genres

A recurring theme of the horror/sci-fi film genre is the figure of the old and wise character who is often performed by the aging star actor. This character is typically a doctor or scientist, and holds knowledge of the monster, alien, and/or of character's superpowers. These characters are often highly educated, speak very intelligently, dress professionally, and have a calming presence for spectators. They often arrive in the narrative with pivotal information that motivates and drives the plot forward.
 
Consider the movie Them! (1954) one of the first atomic-age monster films, which casts aging star Edmund Gwenn as Doctor Harold Medford, an entomologist, who discovers that the mutant ants are powerless without their antennae. Even though the scientific discourse in the film seems be a bit obvious, the knowledge of the mutant has to pass through Medford as the figure of knowledge to legitimatize it's narrative exposition.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there seemed to be a plethora of horror/sci-fi films with the aging star as the figure of knowledge and reason. For example, John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) starred Donald Pleasence as Dr. Samuel Loomis, Michael Myers' psychiatrist. It is Dr. Loomis who knows Michael's condition and intentions that he will kill his sister and believes he is the only one knows how to stop him.

 

In Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980), it is the Overlook Hotel's chef, Dick Hallorann (played by Scatman Crothers), who discloses to Danny's that they both have the gift of "shining," the power to telepathically read each others thoughts as well as seeing premonitions. In this case, Hallorann is not a scientist or doctor, but the figure who has a direct pipeline to the Overlook hotel's past. 

 

In David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone (1983), Herbert Lom plays neurologist Dr. Sam Weizak as the figure of the older erudite man who provides knowledge to viewers about Johnny Smith's (Christopher Walken) power of seeing a person's future through physical contact. 

As a side note: The Dead Zone has a fantastic and creepy opening credit sequence where the lettering of the title's typography slowly appears on the screen over images of the town of Castle Rock, Maine. Here the title sequence emphasize the letters' negative space, which reflects the concept of "the dead zone," a void in the future that Johnny cannot predict-such as the ending of the film. 
 
We also find the casting of the aging actor as the conveyer of knowledge in fantasy/science fiction films. Most famous is the casting of Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi in Star Wars (1977). Ben plays the figure of the aging Jedi Knight who explains to young Luke about Darth Vader and the Clone Wars.

Even the political sci-fi thriller Children of Men (2006) casts Michael Caine as an aging hippie cartoonist, Jasper Palmer.  Palmer as the conveyer of knowledge and comic relief helps propose the plan for Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) and Theo Faron's (Clive Barker) escape.

As such, the icon of the aging star plays an important function in the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genres as the communicator of knowledge, wisdom and reason.

The role of the aging star actor also raises the question of science fiction and horror films as occupying a B-film status. Certainly many sci-fi, superhero and horror films are produced with high quality, especially given the power of today's special effects. And many of these fables and story worlds are well written, and inform us about our own experiences of everyday life on planet earth.

But given that the overall body of work of these older actors is not often associated with fantasy and horror films suggests how the presence of an aging star can help legitimize a film's exploration of topics such as mutant bugs, telepathy, monsters, and other forces beyond the everyday world.

A.I. - Kubrick and Spielberg

Like many who love cinema, I was devastated when Stanley Kubrick unexpectedly died in March of 1999.   

 

Kubrick is known for his highly calculated approach to filmmaking - both in terms of narrative and aesthetics.  The preciseness of the Kubrick's approach to cinema sugges that his movies as being cold and vapid, which is, for example, evident in his symmetrical photography. At the same time, there is also an argument to be made that Kubrick's films are very much about what makes us human.

A theme that repeats itself in Kubrick films are the dangers of systems such as war, computers or even the family.  And Kubrick likes to show the consequences when human emotions circulate within these systems. For example, when a character expresses an emotion, it tends to feel strange or out of a place. A notable example is Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) over-acting or melodramatic conversation with Brady the bartender in The Shining. Or, even better, the scene where Jack and Wendy (Shelley Duvall) debate over the state of their son Danny.

Or, probably the best example is the computer Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey, who seems to have more emotions than the humans that created him. 

These scenes suggests that when one goes against the system, whether it is a haunted hotel, the family or futuristic computers, it creates an abstract or surreal disruption within the narrative.

Another oddity of Kubrick is how he was able to meld his modernistic vision of cinema within the framework of pop culture.  Take for example how A Clockwork Orange and Dr. StrangeLove has been parodied in popular television show such as The Simpsons. Or, the famously quoted dialogue from Full Metal Jacket: "Let me see your war face" or "Here's Johnny!" from The Shining.

This brings me to Spielberg's A.I., which tells the story of a robot named David (Haley joel osment) who is programmed with real emotions. A.I. was suppose to be Kubrick's final film.  It had been reported that Kubrick decided to film Eyes Wide Shut first, so the digital technology would catch up to his futuristic vision of artificial intelligence.  Kubrick had been working with Spielberg on developing A.I. At one point, Kubrick and his brother-in-law/partner Jan Harlan were even considering Spielberg to direct. But when Kubrick died in 1999, Jan Harlan reached out to Spielberg to make A.I. in honor of Kubrick.

My experience of seeing A.I. in the summer of 2001 was quite disappointing because I was expecting to see Kubrick's dystopic futuristic vision. I mean, I had been hearing about this film since the early 1990s!  I admit now that I did not like the film because it was too close to Kubrick's death.  But after speaking with a friend, he recommended I see the film again. And then hearing that A.O. Scott from the New York Times picked A.I. as one of the best films of the decade, I decided to revisit the film.  And glad I did.

A.I. is a frightening, yet beautiful film about a robot who goes on journey to to find the Blue Fairy who will transform him into a real boy.  The imagery and special effects are fascinating.  A notable sequence is when David and the other deformed robots escape from Lord Johnson-Johnson (Brendon Gleason) who runs the Flesh-Fair, a ceremony that destroys robots for public spectacle. Lord Johnson-Johnson's moon balloon hovercraft that seeks out the robot is a strange melding of E.T. and Orwell's 1984.

 

Most points of tension on A.I. center on its bizarre ending.  I am not going to say much about it, in case you have not seen it.  One can certainly add that the end tends to fit with Spielberg's sensibility and probably not Kubrick's.  Though, we will never truly know how Kubrick would have handled the materials for A.I.  But above all, it should not block one from seeing, arguably, one of Spielberg's best movies.