Billy Summers

9.1

Billy Summers

Near Fine in a Very Good dust jacket. Black and white and color photographs accompany the text which tells the story of Harlem in the 1920s and 30s from the perspective of a young black man. A beautifully produced hardcover edition, inscribed by the author.

POSITIVES

Hardcover First Edition First Printing 2021.

NEGATIVES

Billy Summers is a gripping novel that tells the story of a young man’s journey from innocence to experience. It is a story of love, loss, and redemption. Billy Summers is a must-read for anyone looking for a riveting read. Order your copy today and be sure to tell your friends!

Best Stephen King Books

The Shining

Stephen King’s favorite book is also his most-read: The Shining, a horror classic written in 1977 that inspired both a movie and its sequel. It’s a deeply suspenseful paranormal story about Jack Torrance, who starts a new job as a caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, hoping to spend more time with his family and work on his writing. Jack Torrance is trapped at the hotel by a cold winter storm. Sinister forces emerge. The classic haunted house tale has been terrifying readers for over 50 years. Number of 5-star reviews on Goodreads: 589,454 $7.65 from Amazon $8.21 from Bookshop

The Best To Worst of All the 61 Stephen King Books

Stephen King’s literary career has seen him write 61 novels, and more than 200 short stories. But how does his work compare with one another? Stephen King Tweet Share He is an expert in literary horror and his 61 books are a masterpiece of literature. His tales include the supernatural, the murderous, the haunting, the bizarre, the most horrible, as well as the strange. When he authored Carrie , his first novel, in 1974, his name immediately skyrocketed to one of the most recognizable in the horror genre. Director Brian De Palma picked up Carrie almost immediately to make a film with SissySpacek playing the title character Carrie White. The horror writer’s most beloved author has continued to be a force in the world of horror, with new stories appearing every year. But how does King compare? King, who has been writing for nearly fifty years now, has written over 200 stories and novellas along with 61 novels. Carrie was his first movie adaptation. However, it was far from the end. Stanley Kubrick created The Shining, starring Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson. Stephen King novels are adapted for film at the same pace as his literary stories, with at most one new movie every year since 1980. There are currently 14 upcoming King stories in development to become a series or movie. King is known for his collaborations with other writers. He has co-authored screenplays and novels with Joe Hill (NOS4A2 & Locke & Key) over the years. With a reputation that can make King the ultimate king of literary terror, his name could become the last word in the history of the genre. While some of his written works are short story collections, the most recent being 2020’s If It Bleeds , he has a total of 61 novels as of this writing. King, who is currently publishing his full-length next story under Hard Case Crime, plans to do so in 2021. Although each King novel is exceptional in their own ways, there are some that are more impressive than others. This is a complete list of Stephen King novels, with the exception of short story collections. It’s not long at all. 61. The Gunslinger (Dark Tower Book #1) The Gunslinger is King’s first installment in The Dark Tower series. Roland Deschain, the final gunslinger, was featured in it. Deschain must navigate through an incredible world full of demons, monstrous creature, and other dangers. While it is not a particularly bad novel, it’s the weakest out of his entire bibliography. King is known for his horror stories, and The Gunslinger is more fantasy-oriented than any other book he has published since 1982. This was something new for King, which was evident in the writing.

The 13 Best Stephen King Books To Horrify You Or Warm Your Heart

Any list of Stephen King favorites reveals something about who people are and what they fear most. Our editors have independently chosen all products on Vanity Fair. Affiliate commissions may apply to purchases made through retail links. Ranking the best Stephen King books becomes a kind of Rorschach test. What people reveal as their favorites inevitably shows you something about who they are and what they fear most. It is the road map of our beliefs and values that we are most concerned with, as well as what scares us or worries us. King’s books have been an integral part of the lives of generations for over four decades. For many, they’re parts of growing up, and stealing through his pages at a young age often felt like an act of daring and defiance. Stories that are part of this coming-of age tend to be a bit higher. The best and the worst of King are not always easy to measure. The Stand, It, and The Shining jockey for number one like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman competing for best DC Superhero. These clunky characters are evident even to King who appears to be able to maintain his nose whenever Dreamcatcher and The Tommyknockers is mentioned. Once you get past his classic novels and On Writing, the real discussion about the Best of King starts. The serialized Dark Tower books and On Writing are both great, but the most important (The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Land) feel unintelligible without the other. It’s important to forget about the collaborations he had with Peter Straub: The Talisman & Black House, Sleeping Beauties (with his son Owen King), and Gwendy’s Button Box w/ Richard Chizmar. I’m also going to leave out the short story collections, but keep the novellas. This may frustrate Constant Readers. But I will focus on longer-form King stories. Where his imagination is so far gone that we all race to keep pace despite fearing what lies ahead,

B&N Blogs

B&N Reads: Kids Teen Scifi & Fantasy Search takes a stand. The definitive list of all Stephen King novels ever published by Jeff Somers Stephen King, who is an literary icon because he a. defined a genre; B. wrote brilliantly; and C. was prolific. Stephen King not only wrote some great novels and short stories (and essays and works of critique), but also a large number of them, 51 of which are due to be published soon. Notice, however, that the phrase “some” was used up there. Although we would be able to argue King isn’t a terrible writer, there are certainly some good novels. Stephen King is not just a beloved author. But we enjoy reading them again, debating their merits, and comparing them. Without further delay, here is our Stephen King list. We rank the books we love and those we don’t. Notice: We’ve not included King’s short-story collections in our ranking. The Institute Hardcover $30.00 Add-to Bag King’s next book is expected to be published in September 2019 but the novel sounds very promising. We know it involves a strange and sinister institution where “special” children children with extra-normal abilities like telepathy and telekinesis are experimented upon like rats, and one such boy, Luke Ellis, who winds up a prisoner there after his parents are murdered. Mrs. Sigsby keeps an eye on the children, and she is keen to find out the secrets of how they harness their talents. It is not easy living at the Institute. But it’s nothing compared with the fear that the kids feel about the possibility of being “graduated” into the Experiment’s “Back Half”, from which nobody has ever come back. It seems like the one we love about King’s “80s” hits Firestarter or It will be back. The Institute, in short, is something we are eager to explore. $19.99 Add to Bag Add to Bag See All Formats & Editions > The Tommyknockers King has been open about his past drug abuse and other issues, and admits he wrote this book while high as a kite. It shows. It does. Under the jittery, heart-pounding self-loathing there is a fascinating germ. People in small towns are obsessed with finding alien artifacts, including an entire spaceship, and the term “hot mess” fits perfectly. Paperback $1.20 – $1.50 See all Formats and Editions > Rage. There is a term that describes a writer’s first work, juvenilia. King published this first novel under his pseudonym Bachman. It tells the story of a teenage who kills two teachers and holds a class of students hostage. This book is not as good as what came next. The writing was filled with overheated prose that young writers often indulge in, while pretending to be provocative. King withdrew the book after a series of school shootings. It’s difficult to find nowadays and is not worth your time, unless you are super-fan or curious.

Here are 10 of the Best Stephen King Novels

September 6, 2019 This is why it’s difficult to pick the best Stephen King book. King was one of the most significant American authors. His work helped create a new culture of horror in America. King lived to see The Institute released, King’s 61st published novel since 1974. This staggering figure doesn’t include short-story collections and scripts, nor other ephemera. King may not have maintained an exemplary batting average over the dozens and even dozens of publications, but he doesn’t lose his fire. Early buzz about The Institute was highly positive and new releases The Outsider and Revival continue to attract praise and impressive sales. King’s legacy extends beyond the pages of the book. King’s adaptations such as Gerald’s Game or Doctor Sleep are thriving on television and film. It is also a popular TV and film series. It Chapter Two director Andy Muschietti has Pennywise back in the theaters. Click below to float into our Stephen King Books List and discover where the source material is located on our King’s Best Novels list. This list does not include short stories and novella collections. King’s memoir On Writing is also excluded. The Long Walk was published as Richard Bachman. It is the original Stephen King novel. However, he didn’t complete it or sell it before Carrie. A few of his most beloved classics had already been on shelves. King was using the Bachman identity to increase his publishing speed. But, many fans prefer to see Bachman books as King’s more non-supernatural endeavors. Thinner disagrees with that notion and King continues to be a popular author in many other genres. Known best today as a precursor to Battle Royale, The Hunger Games and countless other “teens compete to the death at the behest of a totalitarian society” iterations, The Longest Walk takes place in a world in which 100 teenage boys annually participate a walking competition. Walking may not sound as thrilling as a fast-paced sci-fi death-match, but these boys must maintain a minimum speed throughout their march, and the contest only ends when all but one walker has dropped dead or been eliminated for violating rules. This is where you can see the Vietnam War’s influence. King paints a country willing to kill its youth with promises of a better future. There’s a potent anger present in most of the Bachman books, and The Longest Walk mines that most potently. Steve Foxe Misery, largely due in part to Kathy Bates’s Oscar nominated performance as Annie Wilkes by Rob Reiner in Reiner’s 1990 adaptation of the story, is undoubtedly King’s best-known or most widely-read stories. Paul Sheldon, a novelist, is involved in a tragic car accident while driving on snowy roads. Annie Wilkes, a former nurse, rescues him. Annie Wilkes happens to be Sheldon’s biggest fan. Annie is disappointed that Paul became bored with Misery Chastain his protagonist and killed her in the latest book. Paul doesn’t like the ending. Annie is determined to change it. Originally intended as a Bachman book, Misery finds Stephen King unpacking toxic fandom decades before Twitter would allows Annie Wilkeses the world over to vent their frustrations around the clock. King has stated that Misery was not about his fans’ expectations, but rather about cocaine’s grip on him for much of the 1980s. King is known for his ability to create tension without a single ghost or goblin. Wilkes, in all her human form proves terrifying. You haven’t yet read Misery if you think Jack Nicholson was the King legend who posed with the biggest axe in King history. Steve Foxe Carrie was an explosive start, but Stephen King’s second published novel best forecasted what to expect from the horror genre’s most outstanding author. An epitaph that was referred to as “Peyton Place meets Dracula”, a comparison that makes little sense to modern readers, ‘Salem’s Lot was King’s first published novel. The book brought the myth of the vampire to the yards of semi-rural Americans and showed him at his most ruthless. Characters you fall in love with will find themselves facing grisly endings. Amusingly, the novel also features the first of King’s many writer protagonists. King bought ‘Salem’s Lot from the buyer for an incredible sum, even if it was only in 1975. King didn’t slow down. The Outsider last year even touched on many of the same themes. It was a chilling result. Steve Foxe Modern readers will be more familiar with Stanley Kubrick’s visit to the Overlook Hotel than Stephen King’s novel. Nearly all of the moments lodged in the public consciousness everything you’ve seen parodied on The Simpsons are only in the film: the elevator of blood, the ghoulish twin girls in the hallway, the typewriter, “Here’s Johnny!” Pushing past these iconic bits of pop culture reveals one of King’s greatest accomplishments, a hauntingly compelling look at a troubled man’s descent into madness. King’s novel is more sympathetic toward Jack Torrance, a recovering-alcoholic writer (sound familiar?) To improve the family’s lives, Jack takes on the job of caretaker at a remote resort. It has a dark history and a very violent past. Jack’s talented young son Danny wants the Torrance family to kill him. Kubrick’s adaptation was a resounding failure. King hated it, but the novel, which is far more detailed and much scarier, has a better place in horror movies. Topiary monsters aside, this version of the story can be debated. Steve Foxe They might be among the King books that focus on the lives of plucky little kids. These protagonists come with a variety of stereotypical characteristics (geek, fat child, sickly boy, “the girls” etc. It’s a sweeping pastiche from 1950s American Life, but it is the essence of the film. King was and is obsessed with early teenage life. King’s iconic and most beloved monster is the “IT”, the titular, interdimensional, malevolent, and alien-minded being. It seems simpler than it actually is. A clown who kills children? This could be addressed in ways that are accessible to all ages. The actual evil behind It is much more difficult to defeat. It requires a combination of childhood faith and mysticism to be able to overthrow its greatest enemies fear and entropy and to have the power to erase the horrors it allows and commits. Its end is frequently cited by critics as the flaw. It is, however, a large, thick novel that is far more about a journey in the 50s and ’80s. It shows the horrors of what happened along the way. Jim Vorel Stephen King’s classic opus nearly missed Paste’s Best Horror Novels of All Time. Fitting, as its title suggests, into both post-apocalyptic and fantasy fiction, it almost did not make Paste’s Best Horror Novels of All Time. The Stand has over 800 pages, and more, if you are reading the uncut copy. It is fueled by a virus that causes 99.4% death, which led to the publication of King’s most famous novel. Global tensions increased and the proliferation of weapons and methods for mass destruction meant world-ending scenarios were constantly on people’s minds during the 1970s to 1980s. King does not want to explore just a post-pandemic wasteland. The Stand represents his greatest standoff between good & evil. This concept is embodied in Randall Flagg who is a regular antagonist and becomes integral to King’s sprawling Dark Tower story. It doesn’t take much knowledge to read The Stand. All you need is a few months of dedication reading and an intense resistance to nightmares. 10:13am Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller to Write/Direct New Adaptation of Stephen King’s Christine By Brianna Zigler June 8, 2021

Which Stephen King book is the best?

The Shining (1977). Shame on you if you do not know the story. The Green Mile (1996)
Pet Sematary (1983).
Misery (1987)
It (1986)
The Stand (78)
The Craft of Writing: Memoirs of the Art (2000)
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (82).

Where can I find the Stephen King Book of Excellence?

These are the Best Stephen King Books for Beginners. 1 of 10. Carrie.
2. Shining.
3. of 10. It.
4 out of 10. Pet Sematary.
Five of the 10. Misery.
6 of 10. Dark Tower I – The Gunslinger.
7 of 10. Different Seasons
8 of 10. The Stand.

Which book does Stephen King consider his best?

King named his three favorite novels: Misery, Lisey’s Story (which he had recently adapted for Apple TV due its deep personal nature) and The Stand. Aug 10, 2021

Stephen King: What is Stephen King’s Scariest Book?

It. It.2 Salem’s Lot.
Three Black Houses
4 Pet Sematary.
5 Shining.
Six Reasons to Be Desperate.
7 Cujo.
8 Carrie.

.Best Stephen King Books