Horror Legend Stephen King - His Best Novels

Stephen King is considered by many horror enthusiasts to be the king of the genre. The author, who was born in 1947, is a native of Maine. It is in Maine that many of his popular novels have taken place. A former teacher, King's career as a novelist began in 1973 when he sold his first book, Carrie, to Doubleday & Co. The success of King's books made him a household name and resulted in a number of his books being adapted into film. His books changed the horror industry by making it more mainstream. For a time, between the late 70s and the mid 80s, he also wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. This was done for two reasons. One was to determine if it was talent or luck behind his writing success. The second reason was to publish more than one book a year, which at the time was not allowed by publishers. As of 2013 King has written an impressive number of short stories, novellas, and novels. He has published more than fifty books and has been the recipient of numerous awards. Despite the volume of books written by King and their successes, some of his books stand out more than others.

His freshman novel Carrie opened the door to Stephen King's future success as an author. The book later became a motion picture in 1976. It is the story of a girl who is an outcast and who also has certain telekinetic powers. The story illustrates what happens when this teenager is pushed too far during her prom. Carrie seeks revenge and ultimately destroys her home town.

The novel The Stand was published in 1978 and is a post-apocalyptic horror film. It was re-released in 1990 in an uncut edition which contained scenes that were cut from the original. The book is divided into three parts and tells the story of a virus that infects and kills 99 percent of the world's population. The survivors are faced with a battle between good and evil. The Stand is widely considered King's best work. It is also one of the longest novels. The Stand has since been made into a graphic novel and a television miniseries.

The novel known as It is one of Stephen King's most frightening works. The story is about a group of kids who live in Maine. The children must confront their fears and fight off an evil that appears as a clown and is terrorizing their small town and killing children. They must again face and defeat this evil when it returns after they have become adults. The book was published in 1986 and was the winner of the 1987 British Fantasy Award. The book was turned into a made-for-television movie in 1990.

Misery is a story about a fiction writer by the name of Paul who is nursed to health by his "number one fan" following a car accident. The fan, Annie, has an obsession with the author and slips further into madness when she learns the fate of her favorite character. The primary storyline is Annie's insistence that he rewrite the novel under threat of her obsessive adoration, pain and torture as she holds him hostage. The novel was published in 1987 and adapted for the big screen in 1990.

As a writer of horror stories, Stephen King has made a place for himself as a master of the genre. His novels entertain as much as they frighten their readers. With over 350 million copies of his works in print, Stephen King has become a name recognized across the globe. In addition to horror, he also writes works of fantasy, and continues to entertain his fans.

For more information about Stephen King and his novels, see the following links.

• Popular Culture - Carrie by Stephen King: An overview of the novel Carrie. The novel is broken down into categories, including beliefs, stereotypes, and rituals.

• It: This page is a brief summary of the film Stephen King's It. The movie is based on the novel by the same name.

• Standing Up With The King: A Critical Look at Stephen King Epic: A dissertation on the Stephen King epic novel The Stand. The document breaks down the book's theme, set-up, the players and writing style.

• StephenKing.com - The Author: This is the author's page on his website. It gives a brief overview of King's life and his writing career.

• Stephen King Bio: The biography of Stephen King on the Bio channel. The page also includes short videos about several of his works.

• Stephen King's Novel Idea: Will it Change the Publishing Industry?: An article about Stephen King's approach to releasing a novel online for free. The article discusses how King is conducting a test on self-publishing and selling on the Internet.

• Stephen King's Books from 1974 to 2008: On the page readers are given a listing of books written by the author over a thirty-four year time span. Each book includes a brief summary.