Happy 62nd Birthday Stephen King

“I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.

-       Stephen King

Today was the birthday of my all time favorite authors Stephen King and he truly is one of the best modern day horror writers out there. His books are so intriguing and so terrifying that they tap into our childhood fears, primitive fears and even our memories. He has become an icon for horror as well and his books have become a staple in American literature. Most importantly, some of his books have gain so infamous that they have been used in many pop culture references and trivia from time to come.

His books are about very simplistic stories of good and bad cut they often have an underlying story that is more complex. His novels, as well as his novellas and short stories, are brilliantly written and each character is taken care of and he especially gives a lot of attention to second hand characters as well. His books tackle very controversial subjects such as Catholicism and the believe of a higher God, sexuality, violence, domestic abuse, the law, teen angst, social cliques, conformity and traditional family values.

He has contributed so much to the horror society that it is almost overwhelming. Mostly all of his works have been adapted and even put into TV miniseries’; he has written screenplays, teleplays and even directed a pretty corny movie (Maximum Overdrive). Somehow, when reading his stories, audiences are filled with terror and biting their nails to see what happens next and anticipate the next fright that blindsides them when least expected; to still be able to do that in a society that his mainly dependant on a visual representation of these scares takes a lot of talent. 

I have personally loved his work ever since I stopped reading Goosebumps and picked up The Shining for the first time. I was so enthralled by his words and the way the he described things that I started reading more and more of his work. However, the one novel that I have loved time and time again breaks in at number one on my list and that is Desperation because of how gritty, raw and brutal that book is, and it coming in at second place is The Stand. Funnily enough, Desperation the TV miniseries was one of the worst adaptations of his work that I have seen but The Stand is my favorite adaptations of his work.

Some of my favorite books include:

The Shining (1977)

The Stand (1978)

The Long Walk (1979)

Roadwork (1981)

Cujo (1981)

Danse Macabre (1981)

Christine (1983)

Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)

Skeleton Crew (1985)

It (1986)

Misery (1987)

The Tommyknockers (1988)

Needful Things (1991)

Gerald’s Game (1992)

Dolores Claiborne (1993)

Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993)

Insomnia (1994)

The Green Mile  (1996)

Desperation (1996)

The Plant (2000)

Dreamcatcher (2001)

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (2004)

Cell (2006)

Stephen King Goes to the Movies (2009)

The Dark Tower Series (1982,1987, 1991, 1997, 2003, 2004)

 

No author is more recognizable with modern day horror and literature than Stephen King. He is a great influence on horror as a whole and he is a huge influence in my life and I attribute him to pushing my obsession of horror further by providing me with so many great novels to read. I thank you Stephen King and have a happy birthday!

For a complete list of all books by Stephen King… click here.

For all merchandise of Stephen King… click here.