This may sound dumb, but I’ve never read for this man. I’ve always just heard about him on social media but never ventured to read his work. Opinions, please. Should I invest? Feeling like fiction lately. I’ve read so much non-fiction through throughout my life that I think I deserve a couple of fiction books to get busy with for a little while.
Thanks in advance
The Dark Tower series is pretty good for the first three or four books, the rest I couldn’t vouch for. I find a lot of his stories hit the same beats to the point that they feel formulaic, but his best-known works - the ones you’ve heard of over and over again - are all worth a read.
Also, if you’re looking for really long, really dense, really dark fantasy in a thoroughly rounded and meticulously crafted world, check out Steven Erikson’s Malazan saga. King does horror, Erikson does horripilation.
Thank you so much. I’ll check out Malazan for sure. I was at Walmart and see King’s book “Fairy Tale” and it got me curious. Have you read this book?
“Fairy Tale” is good but it’s not King’s best work. It has some of his classic tropes I really like, such as portals to alternate worlds, and thematic similarities to classic literature (in this case, fairy tales). But it’s also a bit drawn out in parts. I periodically reread some of Stephen King’s books, this probably won’t be one of them.
An alternative King story that has similar themes that I’d highly recommend instead is “The Talisman”, which was cowritten by Steven King and Peter Straub.