Stephen King and short fiction

Submitted by metromesa t3_10pc8by in books

I read horror every now and then, so I've collectively read about ten or so of King's books. I like him alright, but I don't enjoy his novels as much as his novellas and short stories.

Novels I've read: 'Carrie', 'Firestarter', 'The Gunslinger' and 'From a Buick 8'.

Shorter works: 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon', 'Four Past Midnight', 'Everything's Eventual', 'Nightmares and Dreamscapes', 'Just after Sunset' and 'If It Bleeds'.

My favorite's Four Past Midnight. I don't hate the novels I've read, but I start losing steam after a third of the way through. I get impatient, which isn't normally the case when I read other genres. This is also why I get intimidated by books like 'It' and 'Needful Things'.

I have the same problem with Clive Barker. I like his Books of Blood, but Coldheart Canyon felt like it was twice as long as it needed to be.

Does horror lit work better when it's a novella/short-story? Or do you disagree?

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spooteeespoothead t1_j6jrjmd wrote

Nothing to add to the conversation, but I just want to recommend King's Different Seasons collection! Every story is amazing.

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tuhughes t1_j6kb1h5 wrote

Amazing that three of those four were such great movies too!

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keesouth t1_j6kwb3d wrote

I always recommend this. I think it's the best example of how he writes and they aren't really horror all.

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kyle242gt t1_j6jp6sn wrote

I read a lot (most) King voraciously for a long long time. I found I really enjoyed the way a lot of them were interrelated, particularly (maybe almost exclusively) the Dark Tower tie ins - for me, there were many "a-ha" moments where characters or concepts return (Everything's Eventual is a great example).

There's this obsessive sort of branching that gives me the feeling the DT story has been gnawing at his consciousness just about forever.

With that in mind, the short works feel more like a pressure relief valve.

"Yes, yes, yes DT, my master, my muse, I will write more about you soon, but let me scratch a couple itches and take a breath once in a while, 'kay?"

(PS - Needful Things is great, and a lot of it is short-storyish feeling, as the individual characters' backstories are sketched out)

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Adjective-Noun-012 t1_j6jn9nk wrote

> Does horror lit work better when it's a novella/short-story? Or do you disagree?

IMHO: Many horror stories depend on building up and then delivering a "big reveal", and maintaining that buildup without ruining the reveal is easier if you don't have to do it for very long. A Twilight Zone or Shyamalan ending would feel frustrating at the end of a much longer work, and you risk the audience getting bored or figuring out what ending you have planned (or, worse, an even better ending you didn't write.)

Many people say that the movie Jaws was better than it would have been if the animatronic shark hadn't broken, because fear and suspense are not heightened by seeing the scary thing but instead by not seeing the scary thing.

It's hard to have a very long story while hinting at but avoiding showing a scary thing. I'm sure it's possible, and perhaps House of Leaves is an example, or The Shining, or cetera, but I think it's noteworthy that Lovecraft, who firmly believed that showing the scary thing was inferior to either not showing a scary thing or having the scary thing not be a thing, or both, had only short stories and a few novellas.

I'm not a big horror fan, though I've read a fair bit of it because it was there, but if you haven't read it, I suggest Different Seasons, not so much for horror, but just as some of King's best work. IMHO. Odds are you already know two of the stories.

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metromesa OP t1_j6jp7gy wrote

Thanks for the well thought out response. I've heard of 'Seasons', but haven't read it yet. Will pick it up for sure now.

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Maxtrix07 t1_j6jt69i wrote

Soo, his writing style has changed plenty over the years, and personally I think his newer books are amazing. 11/22/63 is top notch, and I just finished his most recent book Fairy Tale. Very different, but I really enjoyed it.

If It Bleeds is so damn good.

You didn't mention Bazaar of Bad Dreams, which is my favorite book of shirt stories by him. I'd recommend that

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metromesa OP t1_j6jvnag wrote

Bazaar is one I haven't got yet, but will be on the lookout. Thanks!

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Maxtrix07 t1_j6k7z88 wrote

Glad to hear!

Also, his son made a few short story books. Full Throttle is definitely worth picking up. Its interesting because he has a similar style to King, but I do enjoy his writing more than King for some reason. Definitely look out for Full Throttle as well, I haven't read much from his other shirt story books, "20th Century Ghosts" and "Strange Weather"

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ExistenceNow t1_j6kbgxg wrote

Completely disagree. My favorite King books are his longer ones. The Dark Tower series is like 4200 pages and I'd read 5000 more of that world if he wrote it.

If you like his shorter works, check out The Long Walk. I read it in one sitting. Awesome book.

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fatamSC2 t1_j6kdrf6 wrote

Honestly my only issue with King is no fault of his own. I think he's a great author of course, but it's gotten ridiculous how the TV/film studios are with him. There's so many amazing stories out there by other authors that would make great adaptations but instead they choose some random deep cut that king wrote in 15 min when he was high a random day in 1977. Now some of his lesser known stuff is good, but come on now. Are we really turning down magnum opuses for king's b-sides? You'd think he was the only author has ever written anything, the way this has gone

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jwolfsoj t1_j6jmccj wrote

I've also read some of S.King's novels and short stories and I'm just like you, I love his shorter stories a lot more

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metromesa OP t1_j6jnrp7 wrote

I think his writings tighter when he has a word limit.

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Mumbleton t1_j6jta49 wrote

I’m a big King fan and enjoy both his giant novels and his short story collections. For the intro to one of them he compares a story to dating. A novel is a serious relationship. Maybe it’s a good one, maybe it’s a bad one but it’s deep and there’s commitment involved. A short story is a kiss in the dark. Maybe it’s amazing and meaningful, but it’s also fleeting.

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Dotwacher t1_j6keh4v wrote

I've heard some ppl consider his work as " ppl in superstituos event" as opposed to horror.

But you should definitely check out arita Hayworth and the Shoshanna redemption as well as the body!

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somethngrandom2635 t1_j6kg40d wrote

I liked Joyland quite a bit. Skeleton Crew, Nighrmares and Dreamscapes (short story collections), The Bachman Books, Eyes of the Dragon, Different Seasons are shorter books.

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jpon7 t1_j6l6zcw wrote

I’ve liked some of the King novels that I’ve read but have generally preferred his short stories. I do think that horror is better suited to the short story format, and as much as I enjoy the genre, horror novels are almost always a disappointment.

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TheOldSchlGmr t1_j6jy2qm wrote

Whatever you do, stay away from The Stand. I don't think you could handle the 1100+ pages!!

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BrowniesNCheese t1_j6lm42x wrote

'My Pretty Pony.' You wouldn't know it's SK. Then out of nowhere you get slapped in the face and then the story just continues. I'd love a first edition of it. Thats probably one of my first lottery purchases. ~ 600 bucks

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llama_raptor89 t1_j6m1e64 wrote

My favorite King book is “It” so I guess I disagree, but if you like his shorter work I do highly recommend “The Long Walk.”

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LizzyWednesday t1_j6p3x3j wrote

I think it depends on the author.

As for King, I feel he truly excels in short fiction, but struggles with sustaining his longer books.

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Icarium1981 t1_j6k3tyd wrote

He's not much of a writer IMO. You churn out a hundred or so attempts, you'd be really pathetic not hit a few out of the park, so many of his books are just terrible though. The plot is absurd, the writing is subpar at the very best, but the concept/premise of a lot of his writing IS good. He's just not the one to pull it off. For me his only good works were a half dozen short stories from his collections, I think he did an outer limits episode (sand kings ??) And Christine. His second attempt at a car novel blew chunks, A Buick from 8 or something. Interesting premise but no conclusion, or even very much plot between pages 5 and 5 from the end.

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