I have long been a fan of Stephen King books, film adaptations, etc. Some of the films do not quite stay faithful to the storylines, and can therefore be considered irrelevant to the author’s adept ability to write. The books; however, are among my favorite fiction collection and always manage to keep me entertained. Some of my favorites among the exceptional list include It, Salem’s Lot, and Rage.
I chose It as one of my top few because it was the first Stephen King book I had ever read. The movie scared the likes out of me, so I got the novel to better understand the characters and their feelings. The story revolves around seven teenagers, the Loser’s Club, who each come face to face with Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Apparently, Pennywise is from outside our universe and has supernatural powers; transformation among them. He frightens the teenagers individually, but as the story plays out, the children unite to form a power equal to It’s. The novel also included events probably removed from the film due to the nature of the content; murder, sex among children, masturbation, etc. 1,100 pages full of horror and grotesque sequences later and we have a superbly written piece of fiction.
It appears that 2009 is the year of the vampire, with the Twilight craze infecting the latter of our society’s teenagers. But in 1975, King published his second novel about the small town of Jerusalem’s Lot being dominated by vampires. Although the vampires are strikingly different from those of Twilight, and are based on a more traditional sense, they are not the focus of the story. The novel instead concentrates on its human characters and their interactions among each other in town. Of course, each has their own unique history related to the town. Moreover, I believe the story tends to focus on the town’s morality and corruption, and eventually its death. It also has a film adaptation.
Finally, Rage is one of the more thought provoking stories written by King. Void of supernatural beings and malevolent forces, Rage accompanies a young man with mental issues who sporadically decides to shoot his teachers. After obtaining fellow classmates as hostages, he forces them to relate by expressing their more personal qualities. In all actuality, this story is not based on actual events but does relate to similar occurrences across the nation. The story concludes with the shooter being declared mentally insane and committed to a psychiatric ward until deemed rehabilitated.
Of all the Stephen King books available, I would have to acknowledge these as my favorites; primarily because of the way they caught my attention and insisted that I keep reading. However, I have read nearly all of his books (excluding recent publications) and can honestly say that I have not found one to bore me with romantics or other quirky storylines. Although I know that most readers today are familiar with his work, and I am not one to join the crowd congregating around the latest fad, I honestly admit that King remains one of my favorite story tellers.
