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Stephen Edwin King, known by the nickname “The King of Horrors”, is one of the most popular American writers of our time. Based on his works, a huge number of films were shot, which were positively received. The master of the pen has more than 60 novels and about 200 short stories to his credit. It is read and loved all over the world.
Readers are presented with a rating of books by Stephen King. The top 10 list includes the best works of the American writer.
10 11/22/63
“11/22/63” opens the top ten books by Stephen King. The sci-fi novel will tell about time travel when an attempt was made to prevent the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy … In 2016, a mini-series based on this novel premiered. The film, like the book itself, was a resounding success.
9. Four seasons
“Four Seasons” presents a collection of short stories by Stephen King, which includes four parts. Each of the parts has a title in accordance with one of the seasons. The stories included in the collection contain practically no elements of mysticism and are not similar in style to other works by the horror master. Four seasons – and each of them is like a nightmare that has become a reality. Spring – and an innocent person is sentenced to life imprisonment in a prison hell, where there is no hope, where there is no way out … Summer – and somewhere in a small town a quiet excellent student who has become a capable student of a Nazi criminal is slowly going crazy … Autumn – and four languishing from boredom teenagers wander through a dark, endless forest to look at a corpse … Winter – and in a strange club a strange woman tells how she gave life to what could hardly be called a child …
8. Hearts in Atlantis
“Hearts in Atlantis” – A book by Stephen King, repeatedly nominated for many literary awards. The work includes five parts, which are separate stories, but they are all connected by the same characters. All parts describe sequentially occurring events. The collection tells an interconnected story of time and space, passed through the prism of perception of a small American town.
7. Dead zone
“Dead zone” – another screened novel by Stephen King, which is included in the list of the best books of American science fiction. After a severe head injury, John Smith gains superpowers and is haunted by terrible visions. He becomes able to solve any crime, and he willingly helps people in trouble. Smith learns that a terrible man is rushing to power, capable of plunging the whole world into chaos, and only he can stop the villain …
6. Dark tower
“Dark tower” Stephen King’s best western novels. The cycle includes the following books: “The Gunslinger”, “Extraction of the Three”, “Badlands”, “The Sorcerer and the Crystal”, “The Wolves of the Calla”, “The Song of Susanna”, “The Dark Tower”, “The Wind Through the Keyhole”. The novels were written between 1982 and 2012. The protagonist of the book series, Roland, is the last member of an ancient knightly order of archers. First alone, and then with a group of true friends, he makes a long journey through the post-apocalyptic world, reminiscent of the America of the old West, in which there is magic. The adventures of Roland and his companions will include visiting other worlds and time periods, including New York of the XNUMXth century and the world of “Confrontation” devastated by the flu pandemic. Roland is sure that if he reaches the center of all worlds, the Dark Tower, he will be able to rise to its upper level in order to see who controls the entire Universe and, perhaps, restore the order of the world.
5. It
“It” One of Stephen King’s best horror novels. The work touches on important topics for King: the power of memory, the strength of a united group, the impact of childhood trauma on adulthood. According to the main storyline, seven friends from the fictional city of Derry, Maine fight against a monster that kills children and can take on any physical form. The story is told in parallel in different time intervals, one of which corresponds to the childhood of the main characters, and the other to their adult life.
4. Langoliers
fantasy story The Langoliers The psychological horror genre is one of Stephen King’s best books. According to the main storyline, several people during the flight on the plane wake up and realize that the rest of the passengers, including the pilots and crew members, have disappeared, and the aircraft is controlled by an autopilot. A group of survivors need not only to understand what is happening, but also to escape from the langoliers – nightmarish toothy creatures that devour space. The work developed from the central image – a woman closing a crack in a passenger airliner with her hand. The story was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. In 1995, based on the work, a mini-series of the same name was filmed.
3. Pet cemetery
“Pet cemetery” opens the top three books by Stephen King. In 1989, the novel was filmed. The work was positively received by both the readership and critics, and received the Locus Literary Prize. The idea of writing this novel came to the author after the death of his cat Smaki. But after finishing work on the book, King refused to publish it for a long time, as he himself recognized his creation as very creepy. The main character of the mystical novel, Dr. Louis Creed, moves with his family and a cat to a small town, where he settles on the outskirts, next to the forest. There is a small, old Indian animal cemetery there. Tragedy soon strikes: the doctor’s cat gets run over by a truck. Despite all the legends about the pet cemetery, Luis decides to bury the cat in this place. But the laws of the other world do not tolerate disobedience, which is severely punished …
2. The Green Mile
“Green Mile” ranks second in the ranking of the best books by Stephen King. In 1999, the novel was filmed and nominated for an Oscar. New inmate John Coffey arrives at Cold Mountain Prison on Death Row to wait for his sentence to be carried out. The arrival is a Negro, who is accused of a terrible and cruel crime – the murder of two girls. Warden Paul Edgecomb and other inmates of the prison find that the huge size of the Moor is rather strange. John has an amazing gift of clairvoyance and knows absolutely everything about every person. He sees how Paul suffers from his illness, from which he cannot get rid of. The negro frees the warden from the disease, which accidentally becomes a witness to his gift. Paul will have to learn the true story of John sentenced to death and make sure that people outside are much more dangerous than those who are behind bars …
1. The Shawshank Redemption
“The Shawshank Redemption” tops the list of the best books by Stephen King. Based on the work, a feature film of the same name was released on the screen, which was an incredible success and received many positive reviews and film awards. Shawshank is one of the most famous and brutal prisons, from where no one has yet managed to escape. The main character Andy, a former vice president of a large bank, is sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of murdering his wife and her lover. He has to go through all the circles of hell, hitting the walls of Shawshank. But Andy is not going to put up with injustice and remain to rot until the end of his days in this terrible place. He develops an ingenious plan that should help break out of the hellish walls…