TIER 1
High
Misery
One of King's best, tightly written and hyper engaging. Annie is crafted to perfection and steals every scene. The surgically precise descriptions at her introduction, her threatening behaviours, the small details increasing the threat of her psychosis, and everything in between, all of it works so well. Paul is a good protagonist, but Misery is the Annie Wilkies tale.
The brutally violent sequences are fantastic but the constant tension and developing friction between Paul & Annie is what really sells Misery. The lasting moments where Annie just stares at Paul (when he has the pills under his hands, when they're watching each other through the door, and a few other examples) or when she "blanks". Wow. How Misery doesn't come up more in the "best King novel" conversation is beyond me. The scope of the work isn't "epic", but it's perfectly written.
One aspect I really appreciate is how many tempting pitfalls King avoids. A lesser writer might accidentally have Paul do too much reacting instead of acting, but King gets this right. A lesser writer might be tempted to linger too long on Annie's backstory but King gives the reader just enough before Paul has to get back to his room, and quick! A lesser writer might worry the reader needs more characters, needs more points of view, needs more time outside of the room, needs a supernatural aspect etc. etc., but no, King knows exactly where the story is, who the story is about, what's needed and what isn't. To understand that the readers don't need to actually be in the thumb severing scene to make it land the hardest (because it would undercut the foot-ectomy or pale in comparison to it) demonstrates a level of balance and restraint I think all writers should strive towards.
Pet Semetary
Another candidate for the #1 spot, Pet Semetary is a thorough and engrossing exploration of grief, guilt, and how love can turn rotten. One of my least favourite King-isms is his tendency to not just foreshadow but spell out major plot events well before they happen. He doesn't buck this trend in Pet Semetary, but his timing is better (Gage) but more importantly the slow march to inevitable doom is a strong thematic element heightened by King’s technique. Louis Creed's logical but foundationally wrong decisions lead him one by one into an almost classical tragedy and it works great.
Jud steps onto the page and immediately takes his place as one of King's most likeable characters. When the revelations come, we can’t help but extend empathy towards Jud because King has carefully unlocked the door for us to do so. The narrative doesn’t forgive Jud (arguably he is condemned long before we meet him), and neither necessarily does the reader, but we allow ourselves to feel for him and his wife.
The Zelda B plot is genuinely chilling at times and while it doesn't get the same attention in review or discussions it's honestly in the same upper echelon of quality.
Wizard and Glass (Dark Tower 4)
I cycle between whether 11/22/63 or DT4 has King’s best romance, but I think I have to give it Wizard and Glass. DT4 features another gathering of great mid-world characters, but for most of the novel we don't follow the ka-tet we’ve been travelling with up until now. For about 600 pages we follow a younger Roland and his friends, but rather than a side quest, this one feels like a refreshing and necessary part of the story. You know going into it that the flashback will be a tragedy and you're hoping it goes another way, which of course it can't. DT4 does not at all suffer from the I-know-who-lives-because-its-a-flashback tension killer.
The pacing is slower but it works. DT4 is a wonderful, heartbreaking story featuring bursts of beautiful writing, especially when Roland and Susan are together. If you would criticize King’s self described “tin ear for language” (sort of self-described, read DT5), I would direct you to the aforementioned scene.
I also can't skip over the opening sequence of the ka-tet vs Blaine, which is of course, great. I love every bit of that encounter, particularly the occasional perspective shift to check in on the setting as the train rips up Mid-World.
Middle
The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower 2)
DT2 is often considered the strongest Dark Tower entry (and sometimes King’s best work overall) and it's easy to see why. DT2 has one of the best opening scenes in all of King's works. Not only is it high tension devastation for Roland, but King immediately shines a light on Roland's vulnerability. Even after the injury, Roland can at times feel like mid-world’s Superman-lite and King is absolutely correct to establish early that his superstar can bleed the same as anyone else.
Everything that happens in 1987 New York, culminating with the naked shootout, and every moment with Roland and Jack Mort later, are perfect. Eddie's introduction and his adventures with Roland until they leave Eddie's door behind might be the best collection of chapters across all of the DT novels.
My main critique is that Eddie's romantic feelings arrive absurdly quickly and it takes me out of the story. Fans of King will sometimes handwave this moment, citing an infrequent but annoying King-ism: it makes sense because drugs. More importantly, the pacing slows down while Roland is visiting New York in 1964.
The Shining
The Shining's Jack Torrence is an alcoholic wannabe novelist grappling with a fundamental insecurity about his ability to provide as a man and father. He doesn't like being a father almost as much as he doesn't like being sober. Jack establishes himself as King's most revealing and honest self-insert (and the man put himself into the Dark Tower stories). The Shining contains King's deepest most exploratory character work. The relationship between Jack and Wendy feels real and from the lighter touches to the overt acts of negligence, abuse, and dishonesty, every time these characters bounce off of each other, King nails it.
Aside from his relationship to his wife, which is spectacular, there are so many details that make Jack Torrence as strong a character as he is. The wasps nest incidents, the subtle differences in how Jack treats different people giving him the same advice, the George Hatfield incident (did he even have a stutter?), his relationship with his drinking buddy, and more. It’s all great.
The Overlook as a setting is pretty good but I don’t think it’s quite on the level of the burial ground or Annie’s house. Danny Torrence's harrowing adventures work well, but whenever we're not reading about Jack, I'm often just waiting for him to show up. That sounds like a greater criticism that I mean it to be, if anything it should be taken as a compliment to how well Jack is written (I feel similarly about Judge Holden).
Low
11/22/63
Time travel is almost always messy, but as presented in 11/22/63, the mechanic functions wonderfully and I bought in right away. In retrospect, there are some strange decisions here (one character capitalizes on the infinite power of time travel to increase the profit margin on hamburgers), but it's fine. Epping doesn’t do anything too out of pocket.
If you’ve ever heard about the phrase “setting as character” or some variation and wondered what that meant, 11/22/63 knocks this concept out of the park. Derry combined with the antagonistic force of time travel serves to make the town feel as menacing and alive as it does in
It. The force even gets an unofficial name, “the obdurate past”. Love it.
But the real gem in 11/22/63 is the charming romance subplot I referenced above. King exercises admirable patience getting to this thread and the reader stumbles into it with the same pleasant surprise as the characters.
The ending is a bit shaky, a huge miss actually, but I didn't hate it. Everything other than the ending is exceptional.
TIER 2
High
It
It is divided into two interweaving stories: The 1957 "Loser's Club" children the first time they face off against Pennywise (excellent, some of King's best) and the return to Derry as adults to finish Pennywise in 1985 (just OK).
The death of George Denbrough is the strongest inciting incident King has ever written. This scene specifically, (and Pennywise) have become horror icons referenced across countless media. King’s choice to foreshadow the death heightens the tension as Georgie hesitates, withdraws his arm, then reaches toward the sewer again. This scene also informs the reader that childhood vulnerability will define this story. I can't overstate the strength of this opening.
The use of symbolism is great throughout
It. Water (generally a symbol of life and cleanliness) is a marker of decay & death. Think about the storm drains where Pennywise lurks, the floods, the Kenduskeag, and Eddie’s "hydroxy" inhaler. Derry's corruption spreads and resurfaces through the water. Evil is not localized to wherever Pennywise happens to be, it runs through everything. Evil is inseparable from Derry.
Over 400,000+ words and the pacing never dips. We're constantly on the move between conflicts with Pennywise, to conflicts with Henry Bowers, to Eddie vs his mom, back to the adult losers vs the return of Pennywise, and so on.
King captures childhood friendships with a level of authenticity that most writers never manage. Young Ben is so gosh darned endearing. Young Eddie is another standout in a book full of excellent characters. I love the conflict between young Bill and his parents and how he copes with Georgie’s death over the course of the novel. I love Derry as a force of nature and as a character that evolves over the narrative.
It rules.
I guess I have to talk about the other thing... The infamous sewer scene where the children “come together” is indefensible. Not just because it's morally questionable, which it is, but structurally bizarre. Coming from an author with a reputation for telegraphing upcoming events far in advance, the scene feels unearned and sticks out as a sore spot.
Once we get to 1985, a couple of the members of the Losers’ Club get sidelined, particularly Ben and Mike. Mike sacrifices the prime of his life to remain in Derry and keep the group’s memory alive, but once the others return, he fades into the background for Bill Denbrough to take over. While I wouldn't say Mike is sidelined in 1957, he does have the least to do of the Losers, and the narrative has set him up to shine in adulthood. But no, King has to give the glory to the author avatar. Strange choice here that hurts the narrative.
Bill is great as a kid and frustrating as an adult. If Jack Torrance represents King’s darker fears and vulnerabilities, Bill Denbrough seems to represent King's idealized version of himself. Bill is brave and a natural leader. He's the kind of guy who stands up in lecture halls to correct professors about the meaning of stories. King expects readers to attach to Bill, but his confidence is misplaced. Adult Bill cheats on his wife in what is framed as ethical adultery. Aside from bursts of unlikableness, Bill becomes unremarkable despite his successful adulthood.
Which brings us to Beverly. Her treatment by King is often disgusting. Her escape from an abusive relationship and her would-be killer should be one of the most emotionally grounded arcs in the book, but it's spoiled by unbelievable (derogatory) behaviors and thoughts in the aftermath. There is a throughline: Beverly is hyper-sexualized as a child and becomes hyper-sexual as an adult, but the timing and the way it manifests is gross.
Middle
'Salem's Lot
SL is indebted to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but King’s additional idea here is to demonstrate how evil flourishes in environments already suffering from secrecy, complacency, and general moral corruption. The town is filled with abusive relationships, alcoholism, predatory authority figures, and moral indifference. When vampirism spreads through the town, it operates less like an invasion and more like a contagion. SL was King's 2nd published novel, and it's not a stretch to speculate that Jerusalem's Lot is proto-Derry.
Unlike other gothic heroes, (Harker in Dracula for one, Harry Potter for another) Ben Mears fails to save the town. This aligns with the novel’s pessimistic thematic message: that the vampire menace is drawn by moral corruption in the town, and thus cannot be defeated until the battle is won on the same moral battleground. In fact, the battle is lost by Callahan. I think the novel would be better served it Ben stayed away once gone, or failed. Later King works reference the SL vampires which implies Ben failed? I hope that's the case.
As for characters, and comparing to Dracula (which is a high compliment in itself) I do think that Dracula is a more interesting vampire than Barlow; however, I find Straker to be more compelling than Renfield. I hold Ben Mears and Harker equal, maybe slight edge to Harker. Pacing issues keep SL out of the higher tiers.
Low
The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1)
It is my opinion that the worst thing a book can be is boring and King seemed to be of the same mind when writing DT1. The Gunslinger himself, Roland, is the perfect lead for this story: he's infinitely readable, uber competent, and his single-minded drive to surmount the tower at the cost of all else makes him likeable and easy to spend lots of time with. The DT series sees Roland humanized, opened up emotionally, which is great and all, but damn this is a fun starting point. The setting of mid-world is enthralling; I love the idea of the world having "moved on" and everything King does with the concept. DT1 also has King’s best opening line. The plot isn't tight, (erm ackshually it's emblematic of the man-with-no-name character Roland embodies, wandering from town to town + Arthurian quest cycles), but the events themselves make for compelling reading.
If there is one complaint I have, it's that the book doesn't elicit a greater emotional reaction than "frig that's cool", nor does it try to do so. I guess I expect more. I find DT1 endlessly re-readable but it's closer to a high-quality summer blockbuster than a masterpiece.
I should mention I've only read the updated version (2003), not the original (1982) or the original original short stories (1978-1981).
The Dark Tower (Dark Tower 7)
King continues to break down the boundaries between author, character, and reader, completing the series transformation from fantasy to metafiction. DT7 is an examination of fate and choice, and of King's role as the author and his duty to his stories.
The best parts of DT7 are, as always, the characters. Roland Deschain has completed his metamorphosis into a tragic figure. His obsession with reaching the Tower is eroded down to where he attempts to sacrifice himself to save Jake, outright acknowledging that he's giving up his quest for the boy to continue on.
Oy is a surprising stand out in DT7. He is the novel's incorruptible force for good. Throughout DT7, Oy is constantly being hit and getting back up. He endures the death of Jake, although his grief nearly kills him, and in the end (SPOILER)
A common criticism I see of DT7 is that the major 3 villains are dispatched absurdly, but King deliberately undermines expectations by killing them off as he does. The anticlimactic confrontations show that Roland's true conflict is not with his enemies, it's with Ka, or fate, or the story itself. The Tower is revealed to hold up narrative continuity (all of creation as far as Roland is concerned), the axis around which the story of the Dark Tower revolves. Roland’s quest is King's compulsion to write fiction.
Patrick is the novel's sore spot. Patrick comes out of nowhere to solo (hax) the Crimson King. Patrick is always whimpering and slinking around like a sad lanky insect. If you're going to write this kind of deus ex pencil, you ought to make him at least a little charismatic. There are also huge chunks of glacial pacing that you may not remember if you haven’t revisited DT7 in awhile. Between the confrontation in the Dixie Pig and the first major death there's a whole lot of nothing.
The Dead Zone
TDZ is chock full of rich characters. Johnny, Sarah, and Johnny's parents are all well written and the relationships between them feel real and carry weight. Up until the Castle Rock fiasco, which is pretty good, this might be the novel that elicits the strongest emotional reaction from me. It is heartbreaking at times. You will recall that Johnny and Sarah's relationship proper only lasted for a few months at most, and that he is still only 27 when he comes out of the coma with plenty of life left to live, and you might begin to wonder if maybe everyone is being a bit dramatic. Sometimes you forget that stuff though, and the novel sings. Another instance of "ethical adultery" aside, I love this book.
There is some killer writing done by King in this one. Haunting and lingering lines pepper almost every chapter but especially near the beginning. The first 2/3rds of this novel hit hard and stand up to anything else in King's bibliography. This Dead Zone has gotten extra affection in recent years because of how many similarities there are between Greg Stillson and Donny T, and some of the predictions are on the money. As a character, Greg is most compelling as a young salesman but sort of becomes wallpaper as the narrative goes on, and if not for real life connections I think it would be easier to forget him.
The aforementioned Castle Rock fiasco feels crammed in. I get the impression that it had a much larger scale in an earlier draft. I have no idea if that's true but that's how it reads. There is also a chapter with a lightning rod salesman who is suggested to be not Greg Stillson, and this part reeks of another once sprawling story with as much cut away as the editor could manage to wrestle away from King. If any chapter in any King novel is filler it's the lightning rod salesman chapter. Entertaining and good quality filler, but filler nonetheless.
The ending is mismanaged. The plot elements could be said to be one of King's more unexpected-but-inevitable quality endings. The problems begin from the line "Johnny stood up", and end when Sarah arrives at the graveyard. This entire chunk should be rewritten, but especially the boring back and forth interviews. I don't know what post-Dallas footage King watched or read the transcription of that he found so compelling, but it doesn’t work here. If he had stuck the ending, TDZ would be Low Tier 1 at least.
TIER 3
High
Dolores Claiborne
('26) DC is written from the titular characters perspective during an interview. The characters speaking to Dolores don't get a voice but the reader has her replies. This would work better if Dolores didn't answer many of the questions directed at her by first repeating the question so the reader isn’t troubled with having to think about the interaction.
And those are about the only negative things I have to say about this novel. DC is great. The characters are so rich and so readable. King has given them all terrible experiences to struggle through (conflict = good) and the characters respond in thorough and honest ways that make DC a treat to read. There are some quotable lines from Vera and Dolores and a sprinkle of life’s little truths that stick with the reader after the scrapbook pages have closed.
Selena's hardships are handled expertly; King knows both where a light touch is called for and not in order to craft the strongest narrative.
There's a reference here to another book I won't spoil, only that I don't think the tie-in works. It feels pandering and doesn’t fit into the narrative. As with Pet Semetary, DC is a beautiful examination of grief but instead of focusing on regret and mistakes, we delve more into responsibility and how to bear the weight of hard decisions. I regret not reading this one sooner.
Needful Things
It is impressive, before diving into the details, just how consistent Needful Things is given the huge word count and the sprawling cast of characters. This is a function of how interesting and readable Leland Gaunt is, but the narrative voice here is impeccable. The Needful Things narrative/prose voice is hilarious when it needs to be, serious when is called for, and entertaining throughout, while always managing to keep the reader in on the joke. Perfect use of dramatic irony. There are lots of King books that aim and miss what Needful Things hits perfectly.
The large cast of named characters nail their parts, big and small. Gaunt as I mentioned is the obvious standout, but Bryan Rusk, Polly, and Nettie Cobb have genuine depth and are compelling to follow. Pangborn and Buster are pretty good too. You could argue that Sally & Lester stray a smidge too far into the realm of parody, but for me they just avoid putting a toe over the line. Also, I haven't put as much thought into it, but Needful Things might have King's best title.
The showdown at the end feels sort of half baked. I believe King could've thought of something better, but it works fine. One (very) minor annoyance is that the reader is beaten over the head with Gaunt's eye colours. This would've been a bit creepier and just as effective with some subtlety.
The Green Mile
The Green Mile examines power, suffering, and the moral corrosion of institutions, and it does a pretty good job. Cold Mountain Penitentiary functions as a machine that converts human lives into procedures. Every action bends toward the walk along the Green Mile and every interaction exists under its shadow. The guards view themselves as custodians and absolve themselves of any guilt that might come with the role of executioner. King places Paul and the reader inside a structure that asks the reader about the nature of morality.
Wild Bill is violent and insane, but it's Percy Wetmore who comes off as more unsettling because his cruelty is an accepted cog in the machine of the penitentiary. The institution rewards him by shielding his behavior from consequences.
John Coffey is defined by a lack of agency. He is forced to absorb and carry the cruelty of others. The world demands that someone carry these burdens and he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The ending is perfect and I don’t want to spoil anything. It resonates thematically and wraps up the narrative in a satisfying way. Go read it.
There are pacing issues. TGM was released in serial form, and you can tell where the releases started and stopped. The pacing isn’t slow, but there are strange stutter stops, padding, and some needless repetition. Also, there is an emotional distance that TGM doesn’t manage to bridge. It will often “cash out” emotional development with a high impact event before the connection being leveraged is fully developed (a healing scene, and one execution in particular stands out).
The Talisman
The Talisman fits neatly into the hero’s journey aka Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. The cast is archetypal, likeable, and behave honestly. Jack Sawyer isn't a remarkable reluctant hero but he is a solid hero on a well-supported quest. Speedy Parker is a great mentor. Smokey Updike is a memorable threshold guardian; Wolf is among the best shapeshifters I’ve run across and Richard Sloat is a good unlikely ally although I know some people find him quite annoying. The list goes on. Other classic hero’s journey stories are The Lord of The Rings & Star Wars Ep. IV, if you'd like to draw some of your own parallels.
King & Straub do shake things up slightly with some overlapping and obfuscated roles (Wolf is the shapeshifter, but he's also the Sam Gamgee-esque ally for example). I wouldn't say The Talisman pushes the envelope, but these two authors put their own spin on a classic.
The plot is much the same: hitting all of the monomyth beats, so on that front I'll just add that yeah, this works for me. The audiobook for The Talisman is excellent.
I have read the Territories described as Mid-World-Lite, but I disagree. They are similar settings but distinct in important ways and I enjoy both. Apparently, King is retconning them to be the same world, but while they are separate, I like both.
Other things I like: 1) the idea of twinners, 2) King & Straub stick the ending. I will ragebait by saying I think the quest across America is done better here (although interspersed with the Territories to be fair) than in The Stand.
There are some side quests in The Talisman but because I like the characters and the world so much, I don't mind. I can't pretend that pacing issues don't exist but I can overlook them for the most part. I will admit that we spend an insane number of pages working at the bar and then again at the school.
Middle 1
Blaze
('26) King's hidden gem for sure and another great character study. Blaze (the protagonist) is interesting, readable, and likeable. He represents a rare character type and I can't get enough of him. His interactions with George, his thought processes, his mistakes...he's written perfectly.
The plot elements are serviceable, but if you consider the baby a plot device more than a character (which I do), then I would upgrade the plot from good to great. I could read an entire book comprised of Blaze looking after this baby.
The Long Walk
The Long Walk is a phenomenal concept to blend sympathetic and charming characters with horror. The tension is high from start to finish and doesn't let up for a moment. TLW is the definition of Lean & Mean. In a lot of ways (most superficial, some not), the Long Walk can be considered a better version of the Running Man.
It's just a little too simple to get a higher rating, but I would recommend this to anyone.
The Waste Lands (Dark Tower 3)
DT3 has loads of good sections but frequently we cut back to Jake wandering New York and every time the pacing nose dives. You could skip them and miss almost nothing. The sections with Roland ‘losing his mind’ don't have teeth. The narrative fails to convince me that there will be any consequences.
The confrontation with Shardik early on and the adventures in Lud all work. I'm not a lore guy, but the lore surrounding the beams and the guardian pairings is interesting and fits the atmosphere and setting.
Middle 2
Cujo
A case of high highs and low lows. Every page featuring Cujo (the Saint Bernard) is excellent. By page count, the dog doesn’t feature prominently for the first 4/5th or so of the novel, if not less, but these sections dominate recollection. Brett Camber in the morning before he and his mom go on their trip, when Cujo comes rising out of the mist, man, that’s some great imagery. I’ll say it again, every page with Cujo is good, it’s just a shame there aren’t more. There are occasional bursts of makes-you-think from the mothers that are also interesting and insightful.
Charity Camber’s sections are pretty good. She’s likeable and the emotional chess match she plays against Joe is compelling.
Vic and Steve Kemp are boring beyond belief. It’s hard to believe they share a story with Cujo. You can straight up skip any chapter that mentions the advertising agency or the Sharp account or the red sugar cereal and you will be better for it. If you’re surprised how low I’ve ranked this book, go back and reread it for yourself. There is a lot more that doesn’t work than you remember.
Gwendy's Button Box
Short & sweet. GBB is fun, driven by an endearing protagonist and an engaging concept. It manages to touch on themes of fate vs choice, envy, and love for oneself vs selfishness. There are a couple of stinker lines ("It was the kind of morning that made you wish death didn't exist") but GBB is an easy story to knock out in a single sitting and just as easy to come back to.
The sequel, Gwendy's Magic Feather, was not written by King so it doesn't show up on my list. He comes back to co-author the third book in the series, Gwendy's Final Task.
The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon
(’26) What a great little read this is. I think King balances Trisha's youthful innocence with her advanced survival skills about as well as can be done, although it does put some weight on the believability of the whole affair.
Perhaps a little too shy when it comes to exploring the tug-of-war between Trisha's acceptance of her situation/fate and fight for survival (although it does touch on this a bit, to be fair). Some other deep existential themes get skipped over, and I can see why, but it does feel cheap.
The Stand
The Stand features a great concept and has wonderful pacing, at least for the first chunk of this 1400-page beast. The initial spread of the virus is strong. The characters are simple, but fun enough and they keep the story moving. Harold is memorable and the best written character here, Stu is archetypal to a fault but competent, and I have a soft spot for the plight of Frannie Goldsmith. There are a handful of neat scenes; Nadine's involvement with the demon is done well and contains interesting and unique writing. The trash can man also locks me in whenever he turns up, although he tends to be hit or miss amongst a broader audience.
There is a heavy reliance on cliché (Mother Abigail and Flagg as good vs evil; Stu as the reluctant hero; Larry goes through a pretty typical redemption, and many more). This is deliberate; King is writing myth here. I think myth is a good stylistic choice given the themes and symbolism all revolve around morality and religion, but I can't help but wish for more to chew on. We get into some big ideas like faith, the roots of evil, and moral choice to name a few, but King lands about where you'd expect on everything and there is less of an interrogation of complex ideas than there is an acknowledgement.
How King wants the reader to interpret and feel about everything is made crystal clear. Some won't mind this, in fact many King readers love it, but there are no challenges in The Stand and for a novel of this magnitude, that tackles some pretty big concepts, I want to be allowed to think a little. The abrupt glassing-of-Vegas ending is pretty weak.
Under the Dome
I would argue most of UtD is excellent. We get a great protag in Barbie and a strong antagonist sticking out in a sea of great characters. However, bearing in mind that King has a reputation for not sticking the landing, UtD has arguably the worst, most out-of-nowhere ending of all of his works. I look back on Under the Dome fondly but can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone.
Low
Fairy Tale
('26) Moreso than other novels (even The Green Mile which was released serially), it feels appropriate to go through the plot elements of Fairy Tale and discuss them in order because 1) Fairy Tale can be cleanly divided and 2) there are stark differences in quality between sections. Each section by my definition contains multiple chapters and they are not the same length.
The first 3/10s of the book, or everything that occurs in our world, is excellent and this is when Fairy Tale is at its best. Charlie is at his most likeable, active (narratively speaking, he makes things happen), and realistic. Bowditch is a stereotypical curmudgeon of a character but he rides the line between grumpy and likeable. Radar as an elderly dog is also at her best. The mysteries are intriguing and the characters are sympathetic. The plot marches at a slower pace but it doesn't ask for too much patience from the reader. To quote Goldilocks, it's just right.
Fairy Tale is at it's worst from the arrival in Empis until Charlie enters the ruined city. Charlie is instructed to go from person to person like a series of fetch quests, where instead of fetching an object, he's given a spoonful of lore and then sent on his way to swallow the next one fifteen pages later. None of the characters he meets here are interesting and none of what he learns is interesting or surprising. Narrative progression slows to a crawl.
From entering the city to arrival in Deep Maleen the pacing picks up again. Charlie resumes his role as the protagonist instead of just an audience member to the narrative. Deep Maleen seems to get complaints online but I think it's fine, and the ending is about what you'd expect by the time you get there.
To be plain, if not a bit childish, here is how I feel about Fairy Tale, in order:
GREAT GREAT GREAT, awful awful, pretty good, fine fine fine fine. I can't make it any clearer than that.
"Giants never sing when you want them to". Ok Charlie, but the one time Hana was singing you admitted that her timing saved your life so what are you talking about.
Gerald's Game
King let's you know when he can that "(Gerald’s Game) isn't about thinking, it's about escape." You've got to be in the mood for this one, so fair warning. For the uninformed, Gerald's Game is about a woman who becomes trapped. She is left alone with her thoughts, the occasional desperate escape attempt, and a couple of guests.
Off the top of my head, I would guess the actual events of the central narrative account for maybe 1/15th of the word count if not less. Gerald's game takes place in Jessie's head as she is confronted/confronts herself with a traumatic past. It is well done for what it is, but as you may expect it is easy to get bored. There is another book in this list that spoils the reveal Gerald's Game wants to save for 1/4 mark, and if you know that going in it's even easier to find your eyes blurring over or your hands moving towards your phone.
Big, deep ideas, and no stone is left unturned. This isn't one of those bloated works where if you cut 50,000 words it gets better (Tommyknockers) or even 20,000 (From a Buick 8) because the depth of Jessie's introspection is sort of the point. If you know that you're signing up for a slow burn, you'll like GG fine.
"I think we have to, don't you?" is such a good line and I wasn't expecting it. It knocked my socks off. This line alone almost raised this book by a sub rank.
TIER 4
High
Carrie
A good coming of age story with a splash of memorable moments. Trying to understand the motivation behind Sue Snell's prom ploy lingers after you put the book down (in a good way). The pacing is good, the plot is good, but the characters are Carrie’s greatest strength. Her mom is an excellent antagonist.
I think Carrie gets extra credit or more special fondness than it deserves for being King's first published work, but that's not his fault nor is it the fault of the book. Carrie is tight enough to be an easy work to revisit.
Joyland
Charming story. I'm a sucker for an earnest teenage heartbreak and coming of age with a horror backdrop. In this case the horror feels a bit limp. Overall, a simple, but fun ride. Not deep enough for me to think about a reread anytime soon.
The Eyes of the Dragon
Interesting throughout, and compelling when we're in and escaping the Needle. Archetypal but solid characters in an interesting, page-turning setting. Predictable and simple, but that's kind of the YA genre so I don't mind too much.
The Wind through the Keyhole (Dark Tower 4.5)
The nested story structure is interesting. Of the two nested stories, I find the Tim Stoutheart part makes for a good read but there is a whole lot of book that isn't about Tim.
The werewolf ending is anti-climactic and the ka-tet is charming to revisit (this book was published after DT7) but DT4.5 falls short when you hold it up to the rest of the series. DT4.5 feels more like King had some Mid-world shorts that he felt he could get away with by putting them on Roland’s shoulders.
Middle 1
Christine
(26') A charming story about high schoolers and a haunted car. Christine is also concerned with obsession, jealousy, and teenage insecurity, and credit to King, he interrogates these ideas in a way that other writers might shy away from.
The writing feels a bit disjointed at the beginning, with sentences sort of jumping ahead to the next idea a little too soon and without much grace. My main issue with this novel is that by the 3/4-mark, King has left the reader with no characters to root for.
That's a shame, because for the first half of the book I like the main trio of characters. They're not complex, but neither was I as a senior in high school. The tension builds and I can empathize with Arnie as the walls begins to close in on him...until it's made clear that he's not getting out of this thing and that he will remain a jerk. The. most of the tension runs out. Christine is a compelling villain.
I admire King for main risk taken with Dennis's character, even though I don't think it works. I feel positive towards Christine, but I don't see myself coming back for a reread.
Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep starts on a strong note but goes downhill. I would say everything leading up to Danny's sobriety is excellent. In the beginning the tension is up, the stakes are high, and the characters are interesting. King does an excellent job of guiding the reader through the POV of a sympathetic asshole. The best stuff lasts about 1/8th of the book if not less, although Dan Torrence remains a highlight character throughout. He just has to share or give up the spotlight more often. The horror elements are done well. I thought Azzie the cat was a cute touch. The ending, when Dan shares his low moment shows a good deal of insight from someone who’s clearly been at the same podium.
Abra is a boring non-character. The True Knot is a group of violent creeps but even Rose the Hat (a ridiculous name, not intimidating in the least) doesn't interest me as much as King's other villains. The measles subplot they have to deal with is dumb and requires far too much "just don't think about it" to get through.
The familial connection reveal feels cheap & unnecessary. The final """redemption""" of Jack Torrence is petty and cringe. iykyk
Mr. Mercedes
Solid, by-the-numbers crime novel. Great opening. Mid tier characters get assisted by well written, jarring plot events to keep the pages turning. The best of the trilogy & the other books in this world, but I don't see myself coming back to MM soon.
Rose Madder
(‘26') The first half of Rose Madder is great. We start off with a gut-wrenching inciting incident, and the tension never lets up. Rose is a compelling, sympathetic character and Norman (at least for the first half) is an excellent & readable antagonist. Sadly, he goes from crafty villain to batshit insane rage monster too quickly. King is at his best when he's writing abusers, and for the stretch of novel when Norman remains a realistic abuser and not the aforementioned batshit rage monster, he is a top-quality character.
Around the time that Rosie returns from (SPOILERS) RM takes on a cartoonish/ridiculous quality where Norman is concerned. I think there is a better story here that doesn't stray from the very real terrors of domestic violence, but RM worked for me well enough. I like the Greek mythology elements, you don't see them often in King works, but maybe they should've found their home somewhere else.
Middle 2
Bag of Bones
(‘26') Bag of Bones resonated more emotionally and felt more honest than the other novels in the same sub-tier, but it has larger flaws than these others too.
I liked the characters here and they're the best thing going for BoB. Mattie is charming and Mike is likeable as an author stand in. I also want to mention that I think this is one of King's better titles.
The baby talk from Kiya is at the best of times bearable and the worst of times infuriating. Child/toddler dialogue is a weak spot across King's bibliography and it's not at it's worst in BoB but there are some real tear-me-out-of-the-story lines. The pacing on this thing is glacial. At just over 200,000 words, BoB is in the longer 1/4 of King's works but I'm confident that an emboldened red pen could get this down to 150,000 at least and it would improve.
"They didn't turn to look at us either. They were clapping and stomping and bellowing along with the music, totally involved. They stepped aside unconsciously, as if some kind of magnetism were at work here--ours positive theirs negative."
NOT HOW MAGNETS WORK
Black House
Too cute by half. Black House wishes that it had the narrative voice of Needful Things, but it just doesn't. Mid characters (neat, but not compelling) and mid plot. Nothing terrible, just bland.
Firestarter
This is the longest book I've ever read in a single sitting (unless The Road is longer than this? I don't know, won't check). Firestarter is decent, but I was never blown away and the events of the story pretty much roll out as you’d think. Still, the pages keep turning and there isn't anything here that stuck out as a sore spot. It's similar to the Running Man in that unless I'm in the act of reading it, I don't think about Fire Starter.
Later
Check it out. A fine little story. Jamie is bland but his mother is an excellent character and even though the ties to
It can feel cheap, it works. The ending reveal surprised me, but like any good twist, the pieces were all there I just didn't see them.
The massive exposition dump from Liz as we head towards the scene of the final showdown is enraging and exhausting. King won't let all of the back story he's pieced together go to waste, but I wish he had. It just goes on and on and has nothing to do with anything. Why would she share this? Because drugs.
Revival
Revival follows Jamie across several decades as his life intersects with Charles Jacobs, a small-town minister turned obsessive experimenter with electricity. The first 2/3s hit the classic beats of rebellious young-adulthood (for King's time anyways): rock music, drug addiction, and a lost love. The best parts are Jamie’s childhood and everything from the lighthouse reunion to the end.
The ending works. You can see the Lovecraft influences and maybe Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (although I think King doesn’t care for Frankenstein). King combines these influences in a way that feels fresh. Revival ends on one of the most nihilistic conclusions he has ever written, which I enjoy!
The pacing can feel slow in the middle sections where Jamie’s life comes out in episodic plodding steps. Jacobs disappears for long stretches of the novel and his absence is felt.
Thinner
The concept is not quite deep enough to write an entire book around and yet King does so anyway without adding enough to generate an interesting story. Thinner isn't terrible but it could've been a short story.
I think this would be a good 1st King book for 12–13-year-old looking to try out horror. A bit by-the-numbers but the ending is creative and satisfying.
Low
Cycle of the Werewolf
A short but sweet story. King gets brutal in the best way. The characterization is good and it's impressive to me that King was able to breathe life into the whole of Tarker's Mills with such a small word count.
In a short story like this one, I don't give too much extra credit for tight pacing but CotW meets expectations on that front. I hate to play editor on these but I do think CotW is the rare case that would benefit from a bump to the word count. The writing is clunky.
From a Buick 8
('26) I didn't know B8 would have cosmic horror elements, so that was a pleasant surprise. An interesting story but at times this book becomes the king slug of sluggishness. There’s too much meandering introspection, uninterrupted pages of it, and the interesting details of Shed B are drip fed to the reader. It isn't enough.
The characters are serviceable but none of them are likeable enough to prop up the word count. I can see a lot of people getting bored of this halfway through and flipping to the end for the inevitable crossing. I did enjoy this overall but if I ever come back to B8 it will be for certain parts rather than the whole, and I probably won't be back.
Some readers rank this as their worst King novel and even though I disagree I can see how they arrived there. OK I can't see ranking this below Rage or The Regulators but maybe they just haven't found those books yet.
Holly
('26)
Holly starts off on a good note with Emily and Rodney Harris, two uncommon and compelling villains. The elderly couple are the two deepest and best written characters in the novel and whenever they're on stage,
Holly makes for good reading. The narrative voice can be simpering and annoying but the book is a smooth read and the pacing is great.
Politics are front and centre in this novel so they need to be discussed. Rest assured that no matter which side of certain issues you fall on, you will find it annoying the 4th time characters compare vaccination statuses and bemoan (without teeth, which also makes it boring) those who disagree with them.
Holly is full of dismissive superiority towards the cardboard cutouts conjured up to offer themselves as sacrifice to the righteous...like if you don't want to engage with opposing ideas or at least the psychology behind them then don't put it in your book?
When politics do clash, the characters will agree to disagree or not even acknowledge their disagreement. The narrative voice or Holly's internal dialogue will let us know who is in the right just in case you didn't figure it out, but King seems afraid to have any conflict other than the good guys vs the Harrisons.
Holly is afraid to have the smallest amount of tension. You know the answer to every question before it is posed. Barbara's entire side plot is a toothless snooze.
Side characters offer their life stories without provocation like a Skyrim NPC. Without exaggerating, this behaviour gets laughable by the time Holly goes to interview the members of the bowling team.
Even though Holly gets bailed by the Harris's throwing the W, and Barbara is only in the story to get Holly out of the corner she's been painted into, the ending works for me. I'm also thankful King retracted the supernatural elements present in End of Watch.
The Dark Half
('26) The Dark Half has a compelling villain and a few great death scenes that keep the pages flipping. Whenever George Stark is not centre stage, we go back to Thad and/or Sherriff Pangborn. The Thad sections get as high as "fine" and as low as "what a bore". All Thad does for a huge chunk of this novel is sit in the various rooms of his house and think about his books or talk with his wife about what's been going on. Pangborn & Thad have huge chunks of writing dedicated to turning over questions that the reader already knows the answers to.
I think King does a good enough job of keeping the grounded sheriff skeptical for as long as he can, but Pangborn befriends Thad & Susan too fast.
I wish I could rank this higher because the writing is interesting, but the boring parts are too many and too long, and they overshadow "the cool parts". I wish I liked the Dark Half more than I do. Most people seem to enjoy it so I would recommend giving it a try, but it wasn't for me.
The Running Man
Fun story that falls apart the moment you think
about the worldbuilding and plausibility of the central concept. A good book to stumble upon for a rainy afternoon, but The Running Man won't stick with you after you put it down.
TIER 5
High
Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher is a bit too ridiculous at times for a book about sickness & cancer. It's also gross and crude. At times the gross-out adds to the horror and the tension and keeps the pages turning (fate of Beaver), but often it’s unwelcome and distracting (much of the rest of the novel).
Duddits is an interesting, memorable, and page-turning character. The characters comprising the psychic-inclined version of the Loser's Club are all solid and enjoyable. Kurtz is a memorable villain, although the book does take a bit of a jarring left turn when he's introduced and some readers might not like the shift. Dreamcatcher is too long, way too long. I don’t get bored per se, but there’s just one weird thing after another after another on and on and on.
One could argue that Dreamcatcher is a spiritual successor to
It, and while Dreamcatcher is nowhere near as strong, I find the parallels interesting when they show up. Dreamcatcher is worse than Later but it’s not as pandering.
Like Tommyknockers, I think Dreamcatcher gets over hated because King has disclosed that he doesn't like the novel. I've read Dreamcatcher twice but I don't expect there will be a third.
Lisey's Story
The first 2/3-3/4s of LS are boring. The frequent baby talk is enraging. The Boo'ya moon sequence is very different from everything that comes before it, which many readers won't like, although I did. The ending is strange for sure, but that fantastical & out of left field darkness works for me. I like the Long Boy. The antagonist Zack McCool, while amazingly named, is mid.
The Tommyknockers
King himself speaks negatively about The Tommyknockers in "On Writing", and I feel like a lot of people have taken that as permission to rank this (and Dreamcatcher) as the worst of his novels without needing to go to the trouble of forming their own opinion. I’m here to tell you that Tommyknockers is over hated and not King’s worst. It is a total mess, but I don’t hate it. This is the worst King book I still like more than I dislike. You can strike “King” from that last sentence and it holds.
I enjoy when a writer just goes for it, whether or not they hit the target every time...or even most of the time. Bobbi and Gard are both compelling characters and the ensemble cast is alright from character to character. There are just too many of them.
Tommyknockers is an absolute mess at times. At 240K+ words, it is orders of magnitude too long. Aside from the books I would get rid of (Tier 6 and below), this is King’s most bloated work. There are just too many side characters and not enough happens to justify the word count.
You could cut at LEAST 100K words from Tommyknockers and improve it. No exaggeration. Rip out some of the side cast and the extra digging scenes. Heck, a short story with just Gard’s POV going to visit Bobbi might be a better yarn and you’d save 220K words.
Cell
('26) Cell asks, what if Eggsy and the Kingsmen failed their mission in the 2014 spy action comedy:
Kingsman: The Secret Service?
After a frantic and high quality first chapter, Cell slows down and doesn’t recover. It slows down again after a character death, and what should be a high-tension ending falls flat. Cell has one of those cliffhanger endings that I think would still leave the reader with something to think about no matter which way King committed, but since he didn't care enough to tie off the end I won’t care either.
This is 100% a Luddite boomer doomer concept but I don't hate it. It was kind of funny. The reliance on psychic powers, as pretty much always, is unwelcome and dampens the story whenever it's relied upon to keep the plot moving. Not an engaging read after the first chapter. Easy to put down and forget.
Middle
Elevation
Short, uninteresting in a British humour but-it's-meant-to-be-flat sort of way. It has charm, but I won’t revisit Elevation.
Finder's Keepers
The sequel to Mr. Mercedes and 2nd in the trilogy, Finder’s Keepers shares many of the same elements: mid characters caught in interesting events propelling the narrative forward. FK lacks the compelling inciting incident of its predecessor and doesn't make up for it elsewhere. The seeds of supernatural influences at the end here, which flower in End of Watch, annoy me.
Insomnia
Not as insane as Dreamcatcher, but I wouldn't say that's a good thing. The characters in Insomnia are less likeable & the plot is not as interesting. Insomnia just sort of limps along, able to survive by the strength of the occasional reference. Scratch that, constant references. I have to admit though; I did like the Pet Semetary nod.
There are some interesting ideas here (Purpose vs Random, The Crimson King, I like Atropos as a concept), but I don't have any motivation to come back.
The story feels a bit too put on, like it was written out of obligation. That's not a helpful descriptor but that's how it reads to me (shrugging emoji). If you enjoy YouTube videos about video game lore, you'll like this more than I did.
The Institute
The Institute is way too long for the little that happens. The mysteries surrounding what goes on at the institute are not compelling and most characters do not deserve the word count dedicated to them. The novel isn't great (even on the first read) but I wouldn't say it's bad or that I dislike it either. I just can't come back; The Institute just takes too much work to get through.
Low
Billy Summers
Billy summers is a bad action movie in book form. Predictable and derivative. Billy Summers reads like King copied his homework off of a kid making straight C’s. The pacing is good, maybe even great, but it’s vacuous, like eating nothing but candy. The characters are serviceable and not interesting at all, except Alice, who manages to be terrible. This is a book for likers, NPCs, whatever you want to call ‘em.
Song of Susannah (Dark Tower 6)
It isn't fair to say nothing happens in DT6 because quite a lot happens, but almost all of it is boring. I can respect how weird King is trying to get here, but much of DT6 is just setting up the pieces for DT7; it often feels like we're going down a checklist.
This is also one of King's more annoying reads. I don't have an electronic copy but if you get your hands on one and ctrl+F "chap" I will eat my shoes if you get less than 100 hits. I wish an editor had the courage to tell King that the Mia stuff is not interesting. It reads like they told him the opposite. DT6 does not earn the cliffhanger it tries to end on.
The controversial character inclusion in this book does work for me. I also don't find the 9/11 reference in poor taste, but I'm 1) not American and 2) I’m many more years removed from the event than readers who snapped this up on the publication date. They may have a different opinion.
In isolation, DT6 doesn't land quite as low as I've got it here, but within the context of the rest of the series (which I think is fair, it is numbered 6th after all), it loses some standing for how disappointing it feels after some great works.
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TIER 6
Low
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Duma Key
('26) Duma Key is cheap tricks the novel and features King's most unlikeable protagonist (aside from Charlie Decker, but Charlie is unlikeable on purpose, and Edgar might still be worse).
I’m supposed to like Edgar, but how could anyone like Edgar? He is self-centered, the epitome of a stereotypical "boomer", but Duma Key never once calls him on his BS. Here is a non-comprehensive list of examples:
- Edgar states without any guilt which of his daughters he prefers, with no provocation.
- Edgar finds an old photograph of himself and his infant daughter. Nearly all of the description of that picture is dedicated to Edgar admiring how he used to look with almost nothing dedicated to his daughter or the time they were sharing together when the picture was taken.
- Edgar seems as hurt by his divorce and the death of (SPOILER) as I am when I forget to take out the garbage.
- Edgar is a millionaire many times over, but when it's Christmas time, he does not even consider that he might get a present for the young guy who works for him. This young guy's job is to be Edgar's caretaker, driver, and errand boy, but he is constantly going beyond the job description.
Duma Key is overflowing with contrivances: Constant near-psychic insights out of nowhere to push the plot forward (worst in the first 1/3rd) and SO MANY chapters that end with obvious bait like "and I never saw her again", or "that was her last cigarette," or "I wonder if he knew he would never do that again". A hook is alright once in awhile, but the unending barrage is exhausting.
One older character suffers from severe dementia and MULTIPLE TIMES reveals a key piece of information in a not-all-there ramble before stopping just short of giving away the crucial point. There's no reason for the start or the stop, other than plot convenience. If this happened once it would be forgivable. Duma Key thinks the reader is an idiot and does everything to communicate that short of spelling it out in the sand. The climactic final confrontation was a bit of a let down.
These problems persist throughout the book to some degree but Duma Key is at it's worst for the first 1/3rd. A character divulges their tragic back story and that scene and everything following is better (not good, better) than everything that came before it. The pacing picks up too. The supporting cast is mid to low-mid, but they're welcome when the alternative is spending time with Edgar or the plot treating me like I have a 62 IQ.
End of Watch
The returning characters are not built upon in an interesting way and Brady is a limp villain. Like the other books in this universe, we follow a paint-by-numbers plot structure with the unfortunate King-ism that plagues all of his crime thrillers: there is no mystery or tension allowed.
2/3 of this trilogy is grounded, realistic, crime thrillers. EoW jumps the shark and for what? Was (SPOILER) worth breaking the realism of this world for? You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. EoW is angering to read, perhaps moreso than any other modern King. Gameboy fish??? Really? Dare I invoke that dark appellation, "cringe"? I think so.
Lowest
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Sleeping Beauties
SB is slow, predictable, and thinks itself far more insightful and important than it is. This book is a 1st year Philosophy undergrad home for Thanksgiving, unloading righteous vitriol on their low-minded relatives during dinner. The final decision is not surprising and really sums up how much nothing this novel really had under the hood.
TIER 7
Low
Gwendy's Final Task
When I started writing these little reviews/bursts of thought, I told myself to not write anything that I wouldn't tell King in person if for some insane reason I was prompted in front of him for honest feedback. It is actually pretty easy to write something short, viciously mean, and dismissive, then call it a day. Gwendy's Final Task tested me.
- Gwendy begins the series as an average, relatable teenager, and that's sort of the point. Fast forward to GFT, Gwendy has become a US Senator, a published author, and a junior astronaut.
- GFT seems to largely exist to make sure readers know that King doesn't like Trump. Donny T crops up from time to time in King novels. I'm not surprised King felt the need to clarify his position in this medium, but the constant superficial shots get distracting. The narrative treats weak insults as far more biting than they are, we’re talking "Mango Mussolini" level criticism. You half expect to read, "there's a freakin’ Cheeto in the white house!"
- The references are constant and pandering. I won't list them all, but It & the Dark Tower series feature prominently. I even caught a nod towards Cynthia from Rose Madder & Desperation.
- I'm not a fan of lore dumps generally, but in GFT any mystery around the box and R. Farris just gets spewed out, destroying the quality of both.
WHAT IS THE POINT OF GOING TO SPACE AT THE SERIES END IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PRESS THE BLACK BUTTON??? Yes, yes, that's the point, the threat feels more real yada yada yada. Still, you should've done it. Cowards.
The Colorado Kid
TCK is aggressively boring. The characters are unlikeable and boring. The plot, when we get around to telling a story, is boring. This is one of the shortest works on the list, so you'd think it would be edited down to only the necessary, but you'd be wrong.
The Colorado Kid reads as if it thinks being boring is a worthwhile goal. Not resolving the story for the sake of it doesn't make TCK interesting or thoughtful. Easy pick for 2nd worst, but at a purely subjective level I truly might prefer reading Rage to TCK just for the spectacle.
The Regulators
('26) Thoroughly boring. The concept tying Desperation to The Regulators is an interesting one on the surface but is wasted (and cheated) here. Unfunny, nondescript characters blather at each other between clumsy and unfunny quips from the narrator. The attempts at crude humour don't land. Tak is lame. The ending is a disaster. The two companion novels are similarly low quality but nothing in The Regulators comes close to the strength of Desperation's opening so it ranks lower.
Lowest
Rage
When you're talking about good or bad books a tremendous degree of subjectivity is implied. I was surprised therefore, especially within the context of a single author's work, to find one novel objectively worse than every other. Rage thinks its mania is interesting and deep, but it is so wrong. Rage’s central concept is in such poor taste that it's hard to understand why this was written. Charlie is unlikeable.
From top to bottom, Rage is stuffed with clumsy writing that seeks to sound like someone who themselves is trying and failing to seem dark and twisted and edgy and gripping. It is like aiming for a D-. You can write the interiority and the perspectives of troubled immature people, even annoying people, without writing in an annoying way. Holden Caulfield is an annoying judgmental prick but The Catcher in the Rye doesn’t annoy me a bit. American Psycho, Notes from Underground, BLAZE, for god’s sake. This novel is not worth spending time thinking about, never mind picking up and reading.
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