Three Kings
Scott Hardie | September 24, 2022
It's hard for me to pick just three favorites, but Pet Sematary, Gerald's Game, and On Writing are the three works of his that meant the most to me at different times and for different reasons: The first was pure horror and the most King-like book I consumed, the second was much more psychologically complex and maybe the first grown-up book I read, and the third has influenced my writing and thinking ever since. Here's also a shout-out to Gray Matter and The Jaunt for being creepy as hell, and The Mist and The Man in the Black Suit for being fun assignments in school. And I have fondness for many, many other King works for various reasons.
As for his three greatest, man, that's such a tough call, because film adaptations have completely changed the public's relationship with the original works. I guess I'd have to say (in alphabetical order) It, The Shining, and The Stand, narrowly edging out the Dark Tower series because its vastness limits its appeal beyond King super-fans, but I could name at least a dozen other titles with plausible claims to the top three.
Erik Bates | September 24, 2022
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Scott Hardie | September 22, 2022
Stephen King turned 75 yesterday, leading to lots of discussions online about what his best titles were.
As discussed earlier, King believes It will be his lasting achievement.
What do you think are King's three greatest* titles, and what are your personal three favorites of his, and why did you pick those six? Choose any medium -- novel, short story, even screenplay or poem. I think it's fine to factor film adaptations into your opinions; some like Kubrick's The Shining and Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption have forever altered public opinion about the original works.
*I mean "greatest" in the same sense as ranking artists in Rock Block: The titles held in the highest stature by collective public opinion, the titles with the broadest reach or most influence or greatest recognition, etc. Ranking this way is an art, not a science.