13 best Stephen King books

Best Book Ratings

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

There is not a single person who has not heard the name 'Stephen King'. And even people who do not like to read books, having once seen a film adaptation of the creations of the greatest master of horrors, become his fans forever and in the future enjoy the bestsellers of all times and peoples with rapture. The American writer works in a variety of genres. These are thrillers and mysticism, drama and fantasy, detective and science fiction. Stephen King is one of the few authors to have received the highest awards for his work. These are the O. Henry, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe awards and many other recognitions from dedicated admirers and experts.

In our rating, we have collected 13 books of the great master, which have been in the top of the world's best works for decades, and, according to readers and critics, serve as examples of real art.

Rating of the best books by Stephen King

Nomination a place Name of product Rating
Rating of the best books by Stephen King 1 Green Mile 4.9
2 Rita Hayworth or the Shawshank Redemption 4.8
3 Pet cemetery 4.8
4 Radiance 4.8
5 It 4.7
6 Misery 4.7
7 11/22/63 4.6
8 Langoliers 4.6
9 Slimming 4.5
10 Confrontation 4.5
11 Dark tower 4.5
12 Kujo 4.4
13 Carrie 4.4

Green Mile

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.9

Green Mile

This book by Stephen King was published in 1996 and immediately gained popularity among fans of horror and mystery. Its adaptation made a splash, and for almost 20 years, interest in either the film or the work has not diminished. The plot revolves around a death row in which they await sentencing. The Green Mile is a road along the lime-colored linoleum that lays the corridor, and along which the convict takes his last steps in life to finish it in the electric chair.

The story is told on behalf of the prison guard Paul Edgecomb, who is in a nursing home, and surprises his interlocutor not only with a mystical story, but also with his longevity. All his loved ones left this world long ago, but he lives, and this became his punishment. Paul says that his meeting with the African-American prisoner John Coffey, who has supernatural powers, predetermined his entire future. Big and good-natured, he confesses to everyone that he is not guilty of murder, but is so tired of cruelty and injustice that he is ready to leave this world.

The novel is completely immersed in a story where suicide bombers can be sympathized with and even forgiven, and the guards with their particular cruelty cause anger and hatred.

Rita Hayworth or the Shawshank Redemption

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.8

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Rescue

The book was presented in 1982 and tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a former vice president of a bank who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. Screened in 1994, the picture is included in the list of the best films of all time. In Shawshank, the main character will have to experience the whole nightmare of prison life. Intelligent Andy has had many trials, which he endures no matter what.

The acquaintance and subsequent friendship with a black Red, who was sentenced to three life sentences, became predetermining for both. Andy, once hearing the conversation of the guards about the incredibly high taxes, suggests lowering them in a completely legal way. So he becomes an indispensable person for the administration, who helps to launder money and hide financial fraud.

When the hero learns from the prisoners that there is evidence of his innocence, he goes to the head of the prison. But he does not want to lose a valuable and free worker and refuses to help him. Eighteen years later, Dufresne ran through the hole, which he dug from day to day, inch by inch, in his cell, and which even Red's loyal friend did not know about. For lovers of psychological realism, it is this book by Stephen King from our rating that we recommend reading.

Pet cemetery

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.8

Pet cemetery

Published in 1983, the book was greeted with enthusiasm by admirers of Gothic literature. The idea of ​​writing came after the funeral of a pet, the cat Smaki. Upon completion, the master considered it so creepy and scary that he decided never to publish it. But financial problems disrupted plans, and on November 14, one of the most terrible stories ever written by the master saw the light. And in 1989 Mary Lambert filmed his creation, showing the whole nightmare of losing a child.

The idea is twisted around a married couple who move with their children from Chicago to the town of Ludlow. Not far from their house there is a cemetery where pets are buried. Creed's neighbor Jude, who has lived in these places since his birth, will be a true friend for them. He and Louis' wife discourage constant talk of death and disapprove of his interest in animal graves.

The first to be resurrected is the daughter's pet, the cat Church. Lucas buries it in the burial place of an ancient Indian tribe. The next morning he returns alive, but not that affectionate pet, and Lucas begins to regret his deed. But after his son is hit by a truck, his father's clouded mind again brings him to the same cemetery.

Radiance

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.8

Radiance

In 1977, Stephen King's third novel, The Shining, is published. It is noteworthy that it was he who was the first to be issued in hardcover. His writing was prompted by a dream in which his little son escapes along the long and tangled corridors of the hotel from a certain entity. To get rid of unpleasant and nightmarish sensations, the master transferred his fear to paper. The novel was adapted for theater and film productions, but the 1980 film starring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance was the most popular.

A young teacher with his wife and child comes to work at a mountain hotel to calm down and relieve stress. In the recent past, a balanced man becomes unbearable, he opens his hands and not only in relation to his household, but also to his students. Suspended from work at school, he settled in a hotel and began writing a short story.

Jack's five-year-old son is a psychic and telepathic. He begins to see the true face of the hotel, which houses the ghosts of the past. Gradually, the mind of Torrance Sr. is seized by the 'Innkeeper', who makes him give him Denny with his superpowers. The manuscript ends with a happy ending, but not for everyone.

It

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.7

It

For lovers of classic horror, we included in the rating the book 'It' – a work that within 12 months after its release was sold over 2.5 million copies. Stephen King put his childhood memories into the basis, and took the collective image of the monster from the most terrible and terrible nightmares.

The storyline of the book is based on the brutal murders committed in Maine. Heroes live through several age periods. First, there are seven eleven-year-olds who have united in the Losers' Club to destroy the monster that everyone calls It. Realizing that none of the adults will help them, the children fight and injure the monster. After 27 years, we have serious, respectable citizens, each living his own life. But after the disappearances of children began to occur again, the friends remember the oath and are forced to unite to fight evil.

In the clown Pennywise, whose guise takes on a creepy Ono, the author has combined all known monsters. According to critics, his prototype was the serial maniac John Gacy, who lured children at the holidays in a clown costume, and then brutally killed them.

Misery

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.7

Misery

Critics and fans of psychological thrillers without elements of horror reacted positively to the book 'Misery', published in 1987. As Stephen King himself noted, he dreamed of the plot in a dream, like the ideas of many of his other works. The name can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, this is the name of the main character of the novels of the famous writer who has an accident and became a hostage in the house of the psychopathic personality Anne Wilkes.

Secondly, misery is translated from English as suffering. And here is the main meaning of all the experiences of the hero, who is powerless because of his condition to somehow change his fate. While receiving a strong pain reliever, Paul gradually gets used to it and becomes dependent on the drug. Anne forces him to resurrect the woman killed in the last part of Misery, to which the exhausted man agrees, fearing attacks of cruelty and uncontrollable rage from the former nurse.

Realizing that before him is a sophisticated killer who stops at nothing, the hero gets rid of Ann. But even after her death, having lived a normal life, Paul feels her presence and it seems to him that she is alive.

11/22/63

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.6

11/22/63

The novel, selected in our rating, was released in November 2011. The fantastic story of the rescue of the American president shocked many, and the book was included in the list of the best bestsellers. Your average English teacher asks you to write an essay on the theme 'The Day That Changed Everything'. He is deeply shocked by the story of the cleaner Harry, who told about the brutal murder by a drunken father of his mother, brothers and sister, and he was left permanently disabled.

A couple of years later, Jacob learned about the existence of a temporary portal, which takes him back to 1958. The owner of the diner, in the back room of which he is located, asks the teacher to help save Kennedy. Not really believing in the movements, he nevertheless agrees and immediately finds Harry's father and kills him, preventing the death of the entire family.

The President is also saved, but at what cost? In a shootout, Epping's beloved is killed, and he himself, falling back into the present, sees a global catastrophe, which led to changes in the past, and it was he who helped make them. Trying to rectify the situation, he returns again in 1958. Having moved to our time, he finds his beloved, who is already 80 years old, and she does not at all remember who this man is.

Langoliers

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.6

Langoliers

The book has become a gift for fans of horror and fantasy. Published in 1990, it was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. The idea of ​​time travel has been used by Stephen King more than once in his works. In the center of the plot, the passengers of the Boeing 767, who fall asleep and wake up, find that only 11 people are left on board, the rest mysteriously disappeared. Moreover, on the chairs were clothes, wigs, dental fillings and even surgical pins.

Pilot Brian Engle, who is as a passenger, not finding anyone in the cockpit, takes control of the ship. Over time, everyone realizes that they have fallen into the past, having flown through the northern lights, which was a hole in time. The situation is aggravated by langoliers – terrible toothy creatures that devour the surrounding space.

Having united, the survivors confront not only monsters, but also an inadequate passenger who does not fully understand the complexity of the situation and takes one of the girls hostage, but as a result he himself becomes a victim of the Langoliers.

Slimming

Book Author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.5

Slimming

We have selected in the rating a mystical novel, which was published in 1984 under the pseudonym of Stephen King – Richard Bachman. Many fans, comparing the similarity of writing, came to the conclusion that this is the same person. The mystery of the 'Master of Horror' was revealed, which increased sales several times. In 1996, the film adaptation of the bestseller of the same name was released.

'Slimming' was created at a time when the author was obese and underwent annual medical examinations. The plot revolves around a lawyer who, distracted while driving, knocks down a gypsy woman to death. Using his connections, he manages to avoid punishment. But it will surely overtake him. And it will be something mystical and frightening that cannot be explained scientifically.

An old gypsy, the father of the deceased, puts a curse on him, as a result of which Billy Halleck begins to rapidly lose weight, and no medical examinations can find the cause of the disease. Persuasions and threats do not work on the gypsy, and he does not remove the curse that overtakes not only the lawyer, but also his family.

Confrontation

Book author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.5

Confrontation

Confrontation was published in 1978. But in 1990 the novel was published without abbreviations in augmented form. It tells about the consequences of the apocalypse, which was created not by nature, but by man. A bacteriological weapon is escaping from a secret US laboratory – the most dangerous influenza virus, which leads to catastrophic consequences. Almost 3 weeks of the pandemic has resulted in the massacre of civilians, but the epidemic is spreading at lightning speed and extending beyond America.

Those who escaped death unite in small groups and try to survive. A black woman comes to all of them in a dream, and when they wake up, they go to her in Nebraska and make her their spiritual leader. Together they are trying to build a renewed society. But in the west, Randall Flagg is gathering assassins, rapists and followers of the fascist ideology under his banners, who will do everything to destroy Boulder.

Everything ends well, but not only for the followers of Mother Abagail. Flagg survives a nuclear explosion and gathers new like-minded people into his ranks.

Dark tower

Book author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.5

Dark tower

Readers will surely enjoy the cycle of works included in our rating, thanks to the mixture of numerous genres. There is horror, detective, fantasy, science fiction, western. A total of 7 books were published, starting from 1982, ending in 2004. In 2012, a sequel was written, in which there are no usual main characters, and the action takes place between the works of 'The Wizard and the Crystal' and 'The Wolves of Calla'.

The author tells about the life and wanderings of Roland Descein, the last of the ancient knightly order, who first travels the earth alone and then with a group of like-minded people to restore a fragile peace. Hoping to reach the Dark Tower, he wants to understand who is at the top and controls the universe.

The shooter finds himself in different time spaces and eras, which are described in other works of Stephen King. “The Dark Tower” is one of the author's best creations, which left no one indifferent. And if chases, mystical transformations, and everything related to the salvation of the world are close to you, then do not postpone these books until later.

Kujo

Book author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.4

Kujo

Unlike many other works, the plots of which were taken from Stephen King's dreams, the idea of ​​writing the book 'Cujo' arose after the writer's real encounter with the evil St. Bernard. The animal became not only the fundamental line of this book, the dog can also be found in other works of the author. Released in 1981, the novel immediately attracted the attention of fans of horror and mysticism. He entered the top ten bestsellers of the eminent master.

In a small town, nothing bodes well, everything goes on as usual. Young Brett's St. Bernard turns into a ruthless killer, infected with rabies. The boy, not knowing about the danger, leaves with his mother to relatives, leaving the dog in the care of a cruel and rude father. Donna Trenton with her little son finds herself locked in her own car at Brett's house, realizing that there is no way out of it – a rabid dog is wandering around, later tearing apart several innocent people.

In 1983 the novel was filmed. Critics and readers alike agreed that the film further enhanced the experience of the novel.

Carrie

Book author: Stephen King

Rating: 4.4

Carrie

We finish the rating with a mystical thriller, which brought the author not only fame and success, but also a fabulous fee of $ 200,000 for those times. The main character, Carrie White, is an unremarkable teenage girl. But she is under pressure from her mother, who became a religious fanatic after her father's death, and terror from her classmates, who by any means try to humiliate the quiet and downtrodden Carrie. After a joke at the prom, she took advantage of superpowers discovered at the age of three, and is ready to destroy anyone who ever tried to offend her.

Through telekinesis, she blows up the school boiler room, and all those who did not manage to run out into the street die in the fire. The town has been declared a disaster zone. And although the government allocates money for its restoration, many leave this place to forever forget about the terrible night that claimed 440 human lives.

Carrie dies after stopping her mother's heart. The Commission of Inquiry does not detect any significant abnormalities in the structure of the girl's brain and believes that a repetition of such a phenomenon is impossible. But King would not be the greatest horror master if the story ended simply with the death of a girl. There are still many children in the country who have telekinesis, and no one knows what will happen next and what their superpowers will lead to.


Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

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