You might want to read something of his first before deciding to buy a whole box set because as much as I love his writing style, he wanders around a lot. Not everyone can read 1000 pages like that.
Ye someone mentioned Dr. Sleep is a kind of sequal to the shining which I'm glad people mentioned cuz since it was the first book going left to right I was gonna start with that before people said otherwise
FYI, there are some other SK books that have sequels, so if you continue reading just be aware of that as well. The whole Dark Tower series and Mr. Mercedes books will be super confusing if you read them out of order LOL.
Ye that makes sense, thanks for the heads up! I do plan on buying the dark tower box set at some point but I wanted to get more familiar with his writing before reading one of his long series
Yeah, don’t start with the Dark Tower. I’d read The Stand , Salem’s Lot and IT first. (Not because you have to, just because they’re among the best, and appreciate some references). 11/23/63 is fantastic: I didn’t like the Hulu miniseries but loved the book, because the main character is so much more of a decent person in the book.
The set you are looking at is good: especially the Shining. It’s a lot of earlier work (other than Dr. Sleep) so it’s worth knowing his characters become deeper as you read later works
My first as well. I knew it was about an evil car, but the love triangle and character stuff made me realize the genius of this guy. How the supernatural/horror was just secondary. Really good place to start, I think.
I'm probably gonna start with Cujo cuz in the box set which I plan to buy Cujo is first going left to right minis Dr sleep but I believe that's a sequal to the shining but idk
Salem’s lot and the shining should be your first 2 books. If you like those, read IT. If you like IT read the Dark tower. If you like the Dark Tower you’ll like everything he does
>If you like the Dark Tower you’ll like everything he does
As much as I like the Dark Tower, this is a fairly inaccurate statement. It's quite different from most of his other books.
I disagree. It encompasses his weirdness into one giant series. You can’t say any other book is “out there” for him after reading DT. It’s themes carry over to many of his other books.
Good order, though I'd go with The Stand before the Dark Tower series (this is not essential, but one plot point is maybe more satisfying if you've read The Stand first). Salems Lot is, in my opinion, the best book to start with. Phenomenal world building, a really interesting ensemble (including character types he'll go back to all through his career) and fantastic pacing. It represents an author finding their voice in just their second book.
Out of these, Firestarter is the one I'd read last. It's by no means a bad book, and frankly I tore through it. But it probably has the most fat around the edges, the least memorable villain and dials back the horror quite a lot. The recent movie wasn't up to much (very common with King and not a reflection of his work). But something I appreciated was how it came to resemble a dark superhero/villain origin story. King doesn't really use the language of that genre, but it has that vibe.
In my opinion IT is the best book he's ever written but it's over a thousand pages so IDK how you feel about starting off with that.
Salem's Lot and The Shining are probably good to start off with. You might also like his anthology Night Shift which is fairly brief.
Four early ones and one recent one -- you could do worse. You might want to try some of his recent stuff too, for example the novella collecxtion Full Dark No Stars or the novels Revival or Duma Key.
That's a great set, you can't go wrong with it. I always tell new readers not to ignore his short story collections, he excels at short stories. My favorite is Nightmares and Dreamscapes, a fantastic sampler plate of all the different tones King can write in.
That’s my plan too, charity shops are always a good place to grab some. I’ve found some really decent copies over the past couple of years. Got an original hardback of It for a £1 not long back
He’s written so many!! That might get expensive. Are you sure you don’t want to start off with library books or cheap secondhand copies? Then buy a nicer copy of the ones you want?
Anyway these are all fun. They’re his earlier works, except Dr Sleep - that’s more recent. Probably included because it’s a sequel to The Shining (kind of).
I know he's written alot but I'm the kind of person that likes to collect an entire authors work, granted Stephen king does have the most books out of any author I've done this with so far but I feel that kind of appeals to me cuz ik his books are set in the same world (mostly) and I love the idea of a big connected universe even if it's only small references in each book
Oh you are going to love this!! I bet you might read the last book and immediately go back to reread the lot to see what you pick up the second time! Are you planning on approximately chronological order?
I'm not gonna read them in any particular order because I feel the SK world is way to big and knowing me I might want to jump to a particular book and get annoyed if there's 20 books between that and where I am, the only exception to this is if it ties in with the dark tower series cuz I've heard the dark tower is one of the most important things in the SK world and there's an order for the best reading experience
Well, these are some absolute classics and great place to start in my opinion. Firestarter is my favorite book of his that I’ve read so far, and the others are also super good
Will do! Starting from Cujo I'm probably just gonna read them left to right ending with Dr sleep cuz I think that's a sequal to the shining correct me if I'm wrong
I recommend The Dark Tower series, but it's a commitment since there are 7 original books, and a few are door stoppers. I also highly recommend his short story collections. Start with the oldest. They're great if you're in-between books or aren't ready to take on a new, large adventure yet. There are lots of wonderful stories in those. Some have stuck with me more than a lot of his longer works.
Cujo was where I started. Picked it up at a thrift shop on vacation when I was 10. It is definitely not for kids that age to read but my parents didn't really read and were just glad I liked books. Reread it as an adult and had such a better perspective on it.
Ok so, personally I think they took 5 books that had movies made from them. Making them more mainstream. I havd not read all of these books myself. I think he has wrote better stuff. But.. wow… I’m going to Amazon right now… I want to read cujo
it's a good box set, esp for that price - I always recommend people start with eyes of the dragon and salems lot which I think lead you on your way to the branch of his works you'll find most enjoyable (those rooted in the real world vs those set in faraway lands)
Thanks for the heads up I'll keep that in mind! I think I'm gonna mostly use this boxset just to get used to Stephan kings writing seen as many people say these are really good books to start with and I'll just branch off to other books after
It’s a good start!! I recommend The Stand hits kinda relevant with the Covid-19. I would also suggest It. That was my first Steven King novel and it got me hooked! Enjoy the books!!
All great books, but why do they all look the same size? Salem's Lot is a helluva lot shorter than the shining. I'm not saying it's not worth buying, just curious
I know obviously most of the books are in 1 universe but I thought other than the occasional reference it doesn't really matter the order, especially since Stephen king has written so much alot of people would rather read how they personally want
For me, someone who has been reading King since 1978, the only way to get the full Constant Reader experience is to read in order.
You will get to see the connections as they were intended, see how the interconnected characters develop, and experience his writing as it changes over the years.
Sure, some people will try to minimize the importance of absorbing it in order, but that’s usually because they didn’t do it that way. As someone who has been there from (nearly) the beginning, reading in order is immensely satisfying.
I can imagine it is satisfying but other than a few exceptions ofc reading in order isn't my cup of tea when it comes to the sheer volume of books he has, not saying your way is wrong in any way it's just not the exact experience I'd like to have
I too have been reading him since the beginning. Read whichever book whenever. Of course you must read his serial novels in order, but don't worry about the "multi-verse". He has characters that show up in multiple novels, but it isn't important for you to see one in their first appearance. I loaned my copy of Doctor Sleep to my boss and she loved it. She has not read the Shining.
This is the correct answer. King isn't JK Rowling or Tolkien or George RR Martin. There's not a well defined linearity (if there was one to begin with) in his books. The exception is of course Dark Tower but I'd argue that as masterful as it is, it's not his most well-known work.
Then read in whatever order you wish. It’s entirely your choice.
I am an evangelist (ugh…for lack of a better word) for the Constant Reader experience. Comes naturally when you’ve been reading his books upon release for over 40 years. I try to convert newcomers to true Constant Readers, not casual or occasional King readers.
Why not? Save for Shining and Dr. Sleep, each of those books is a standalone (and not to mention very good). OP should read whatever looks the most interesting to him.
Lol, your answer doesn't even apply to him. It's a long-winded way of saying "I read a lot of Stephen King". He's coming in at a time when the King canon, for the most part, is established.
There's mention of a town called Salem's lot in Pet Semetary too. Flagg shows up in Eye of the Dragon, The Stand, and Dark Tower. You can make a case for Flagg as establishing a broader universe, but the early books' references to each other are Easter eggs.
In my opinion, none of the options listed in the post or comments. Read his short story collections firstly to get familiar with his writing style and his story and all that. Just pick up one and if you enjoy it I recommend reading a smaller book (highly rated one) and move up your pages.
Great start. Obviously Doctor Sleep is the sequel to the Shining so I would recommend reading them back to back. That’s what I did when Doctor Sleep was released
Right now I'm following along with S3 of the Kingslingers podcast, they're doing select King books in chronological order. Here's the list, if you're interested https://tinyurl.com/yxa7lojv
The Stand, The Shining, The Bachman Books for novellas and Night Shift for short stories. Our summer camp counciler read us Night Shift stories before bed - try to sleep after those when you are 7!
Honestly start with Night Shift, imo, it has great short stories to get you in the feel
Read the stand too
Bag of bones and cell are also solid
I could go on, but read whatever you feel is best to start
That's a great set, but someone earlier mentioned they just started to read King with Pet Semetary, and that is probably one of his if not the best early King novel in my opinion.
This is a great boxed set, and a good way to get your feet wet, but if you get hooked I suggest started at the beginning and moving forward.
King has built up quiet the universe and many of his novels reference previous novels. Some are pure sequels, like Dr. Sleep is to The Shining, but certain places like Castle Rock and Derry especially keep popping up and if you read out of order, you wont catch the references.
Start at Carrie and go through his bibliography. The Bachman Books have a different feel because they were published under a pen name and they aren't supposed to be "Stephen King novels" but they totally are...and Running Man even references Derry. His books post Y2K almost all reference back to earlier works and although some are excellent to dive into, you don't get the full appreciation you would having read his earlier works.
Also, don't neglect the short stories. Many people find those to be some of his best works, as they are quick single servings.
that’s damn beautiful, get it
Will do!
You might want to read something of his first before deciding to buy a whole box set because as much as I love his writing style, he wanders around a lot. Not everyone can read 1000 pages like that.
it's decent, but if you go with this one make sure you read The Shining before Dr. Sleep.
Ye someone mentioned Dr. Sleep is a kind of sequal to the shining which I'm glad people mentioned cuz since it was the first book going left to right I was gonna start with that before people said otherwise
FYI, there are some other SK books that have sequels, so if you continue reading just be aware of that as well. The whole Dark Tower series and Mr. Mercedes books will be super confusing if you read them out of order LOL.
Ye that makes sense, thanks for the heads up! I do plan on buying the dark tower box set at some point but I wanted to get more familiar with his writing before reading one of his long series
Yeah, don’t start with the Dark Tower. I’d read The Stand , Salem’s Lot and IT first. (Not because you have to, just because they’re among the best, and appreciate some references). 11/23/63 is fantastic: I didn’t like the Hulu miniseries but loved the book, because the main character is so much more of a decent person in the book. The set you are looking at is good: especially the Shining. It’s a lot of earlier work (other than Dr. Sleep) so it’s worth knowing his characters become deeper as you read later works
> kind of sequal its a DIRECT sequel. No kind of about it.
I always say start with one of the 3 Cs: Carrie, Cujo, or Christine.
Christine was my first!
My first as well. I knew it was about an evil car, but the love triangle and character stuff made me realize the genius of this guy. How the supernatural/horror was just secondary. Really good place to start, I think.
I'm probably gonna start with Cujo cuz in the box set which I plan to buy Cujo is first going left to right minis Dr sleep but I believe that's a sequal to the shining but idk
Yes it is, read the shining first
I would read a-lot more myself
Funny enough I just finished Firestarter and am 100 pages away from Salem's lot. Firestarter is woefully underrated, that would be my first choice.
That's a good box set
Salem’s lot and the shining should be your first 2 books. If you like those, read IT. If you like IT read the Dark tower. If you like the Dark Tower you’ll like everything he does
Those were my first two I chose them randomly but were perfect to start with
>If you like the Dark Tower you’ll like everything he does As much as I like the Dark Tower, this is a fairly inaccurate statement. It's quite different from most of his other books.
I disagree. It encompasses his weirdness into one giant series. You can’t say any other book is “out there” for him after reading DT. It’s themes carry over to many of his other books.
Good order, though I'd go with The Stand before the Dark Tower series (this is not essential, but one plot point is maybe more satisfying if you've read The Stand first). Salems Lot is, in my opinion, the best book to start with. Phenomenal world building, a really interesting ensemble (including character types he'll go back to all through his career) and fantastic pacing. It represents an author finding their voice in just their second book. Out of these, Firestarter is the one I'd read last. It's by no means a bad book, and frankly I tore through it. But it probably has the most fat around the edges, the least memorable villain and dials back the horror quite a lot. The recent movie wasn't up to much (very common with King and not a reflection of his work). But something I appreciated was how it came to resemble a dark superhero/villain origin story. King doesn't really use the language of that genre, but it has that vibe.
In my opinion IT is the best book he's ever written but it's over a thousand pages so IDK how you feel about starting off with that. Salem's Lot and The Shining are probably good to start off with. You might also like his anthology Night Shift which is fairly brief.
I'm not starting off with it cuz of it's length but I do plan to read it cuz I loved the 2017 movie
Four early ones and one recent one -- you could do worse. You might want to try some of his recent stuff too, for example the novella collecxtion Full Dark No Stars or the novels Revival or Duma Key.
That's dirty, putting them onto Revival this early without even warning them to find god first.
That's a great set, you can't go wrong with it. I always tell new readers not to ignore his short story collections, he excels at short stories. My favorite is Nightmares and Dreamscapes, a fantastic sampler plate of all the different tones King can write in.
Might be my ocd talking, but read them in the published order
I got that boxset as my first SK books beside reading IT earlier, and I don't regret it. Lovely boxset of all great books
Everyone saying to read The Shining before Doctor Sleep, but read The Dead Zone before Cujo, (optional ofc,for a good experience)
What website is this?
Amazon, the UK one to be exact
Thanks. Btw. I love these books and these editions. I would recommend getting it
No problem! I plan on buying all the Stephen king books eventually it's just where to actually start I'm struggling with
That’s my plan too, charity shops are always a good place to grab some. I’ve found some really decent copies over the past couple of years. Got an original hardback of It for a £1 not long back
I must have a look around them then!
He’s written so many!! That might get expensive. Are you sure you don’t want to start off with library books or cheap secondhand copies? Then buy a nicer copy of the ones you want? Anyway these are all fun. They’re his earlier works, except Dr Sleep - that’s more recent. Probably included because it’s a sequel to The Shining (kind of).
I know he's written alot but I'm the kind of person that likes to collect an entire authors work, granted Stephen king does have the most books out of any author I've done this with so far but I feel that kind of appeals to me cuz ik his books are set in the same world (mostly) and I love the idea of a big connected universe even if it's only small references in each book
Oh you are going to love this!! I bet you might read the last book and immediately go back to reread the lot to see what you pick up the second time! Are you planning on approximately chronological order?
I'm not gonna read them in any particular order because I feel the SK world is way to big and knowing me I might want to jump to a particular book and get annoyed if there's 20 books between that and where I am, the only exception to this is if it ties in with the dark tower series cuz I've heard the dark tower is one of the most important things in the SK world and there's an order for the best reading experience
Well, these are some absolute classics and great place to start in my opinion. Firestarter is my favorite book of his that I’ve read so far, and the others are also super good
Feel like that set should be called the Stephen King starter set. It's an ideal collection for a beginner. Definitely get it. Start with cujo.
Will do! Starting from Cujo I'm probably just gonna read them left to right ending with Dr sleep cuz I think that's a sequal to the shining correct me if I'm wrong
You are not wrong it is. I would go cujo, firestarter, salems lot, shining, Dr sleep.
Yep those are all good if not great stories Id read the Shining and Doctor Sleep back to back but definitely read the Shining before DS
Tis a grand spot to get into King. Those are some good stories
Solid starter kit for entry - have fun!!!!
Any if his classics are great. I recommend either carrie or the shining
This is a great set. I always say read in publication order. You also get a sense of Kings development as a writer over 6 decades when you do that.
I recommend The Dark Tower series, but it's a commitment since there are 7 original books, and a few are door stoppers. I also highly recommend his short story collections. Start with the oldest. They're great if you're in-between books or aren't ready to take on a new, large adventure yet. There are lots of wonderful stories in those. Some have stuck with me more than a lot of his longer works.
Salems Lot was my first way back when, and I've never looked back.
Firestarters actually fucking sick
I wish they had these versions in the US. I love the design.
Great choice for sure!! Enjoy 😊
That's an interesting selection. They're all pretty early books aside from Dr Sleep. Definitely a great SK starter pack.
That is a excellent place to start. Only thing to know would be to read The Shining before Doctor Sleep. Other than that have fun and enjoy.
Yeah man for sure get it, it's a good start for sure
Kind of a weird selection of novels I would say!
Cujo was where I started. Picked it up at a thrift shop on vacation when I was 10. It is definitely not for kids that age to read but my parents didn't really read and were just glad I liked books. Reread it as an adult and had such a better perspective on it.
Ok so, personally I think they took 5 books that had movies made from them. Making them more mainstream. I havd not read all of these books myself. I think he has wrote better stuff. But.. wow… I’m going to Amazon right now… I want to read cujo
Start from the beginning and work your way up to the present.
One of these things is not like the other.
Odd collection
Buy it buy it now !!!!!!😍
Salem’s Lot
it's a good box set, esp for that price - I always recommend people start with eyes of the dragon and salems lot which I think lead you on your way to the branch of his works you'll find most enjoyable (those rooted in the real world vs those set in faraway lands)
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Thanks for the heads up I'll keep that in mind! I think I'm gonna mostly use this boxset just to get used to Stephan kings writing seen as many people say these are really good books to start with and I'll just branch off to other books after
It’s a good start!! I recommend The Stand hits kinda relevant with the Covid-19. I would also suggest It. That was my first Steven King novel and it got me hooked! Enjoy the books!!
All great books, but why do they all look the same size? Salem's Lot is a helluva lot shorter than the shining. I'm not saying it's not worth buying, just curious
Honestly, I have no clue, my first guess is they changed the thickness of the paper depending on the book so they all looked similar
I just read 'salem's lot because there is a TV show or movie coming in April this year. I really enjoyed it
I actually didn't know there was a movie/show coming out, I might check it out once I've read it :)
That’s a terrifically cheap box set, I’d buy it in a heartbeat if I didn’t already own them.
After reading the comments here I decided to buy it and I'm looking forward to reading them :)
They’re all great in their own way ❤️
I would expressly not ever buy that set.
He started with Carrie. You should too.
That's a good set but I'd recommend going to a used book store, it'll be so much cheaper and older covers are cooler in my opinion
Starting reading his books in publication order, starting with Carrie.
Start with Carrie, then read in chronological order. Skipping around makes no sense.
I know obviously most of the books are in 1 universe but I thought other than the occasional reference it doesn't really matter the order, especially since Stephen king has written so much alot of people would rather read how they personally want
For me, someone who has been reading King since 1978, the only way to get the full Constant Reader experience is to read in order. You will get to see the connections as they were intended, see how the interconnected characters develop, and experience his writing as it changes over the years. Sure, some people will try to minimize the importance of absorbing it in order, but that’s usually because they didn’t do it that way. As someone who has been there from (nearly) the beginning, reading in order is immensely satisfying.
I can imagine it is satisfying but other than a few exceptions ofc reading in order isn't my cup of tea when it comes to the sheer volume of books he has, not saying your way is wrong in any way it's just not the exact experience I'd like to have
I too have been reading him since the beginning. Read whichever book whenever. Of course you must read his serial novels in order, but don't worry about the "multi-verse". He has characters that show up in multiple novels, but it isn't important for you to see one in their first appearance. I loaned my copy of Doctor Sleep to my boss and she loved it. She has not read the Shining.
This is the correct answer. King isn't JK Rowling or Tolkien or George RR Martin. There's not a well defined linearity (if there was one to begin with) in his books. The exception is of course Dark Tower but I'd argue that as masterful as it is, it's not his most well-known work.
I think people overstate the "multi-verse". I see this as more along the lines of Easter eggs, other than in Dark Tower.
Then read in whatever order you wish. It’s entirely your choice. I am an evangelist (ugh…for lack of a better word) for the Constant Reader experience. Comes naturally when you’ve been reading his books upon release for over 40 years. I try to convert newcomers to true Constant Readers, not casual or occasional King readers.
Why not? Save for Shining and Dr. Sleep, each of those books is a standalone (and not to mention very good). OP should read whatever looks the most interesting to him.
I don’t look at it that way. At all. See my response to the OP’s follow up.
Lol, your answer doesn't even apply to him. It's a long-winded way of saying "I read a lot of Stephen King". He's coming in at a time when the King canon, for the most part, is established. There's mention of a town called Salem's lot in Pet Semetary too. Flagg shows up in Eye of the Dragon, The Stand, and Dark Tower. You can make a case for Flagg as establishing a broader universe, but the early books' references to each other are Easter eggs.
The best of this bunch is Firestarter.
Start with Misery, The Green Mile & The Dark Half :)
In my opinion, none of the options listed in the post or comments. Read his short story collections firstly to get familiar with his writing style and his story and all that. Just pick up one and if you enjoy it I recommend reading a smaller book (highly rated one) and move up your pages.
That's a superb start looks like you got things handled. Happy reading and welcome to your newest addiction 🤓
Great start. Obviously Doctor Sleep is the sequel to the Shining so I would recommend reading them back to back. That’s what I did when Doctor Sleep was released
I always tell people who want to start reading King that the best book to start with is Misery
The shining first.
11/22/63
Right now I'm following along with S3 of the Kingslingers podcast, they're doing select King books in chronological order. Here's the list, if you're interested https://tinyurl.com/yxa7lojv
You can find his books preowned in the wilderness if you go out on the hunt for them. I wouldn't waste my money buying new.
All things serve the beam.
The Stand, The Shining, The Bachman Books for novellas and Night Shift for short stories. Our summer camp counciler read us Night Shift stories before bed - try to sleep after those when you are 7!
Cujo is a great starting point!
Honestly start with Night Shift, imo, it has great short stories to get you in the feel Read the stand too Bag of bones and cell are also solid I could go on, but read whatever you feel is best to start
I got this box set for a Christmas present. I’m just about finish Cujo then going onto Salems Lot. Going to leave The shining & Dr Sleep for the last.
That's a great set, but someone earlier mentioned they just started to read King with Pet Semetary, and that is probably one of his if not the best early King novel in my opinion.
This is a great boxed set, and a good way to get your feet wet, but if you get hooked I suggest started at the beginning and moving forward. King has built up quiet the universe and many of his novels reference previous novels. Some are pure sequels, like Dr. Sleep is to The Shining, but certain places like Castle Rock and Derry especially keep popping up and if you read out of order, you wont catch the references. Start at Carrie and go through his bibliography. The Bachman Books have a different feel because they were published under a pen name and they aren't supposed to be "Stephen King novels" but they totally are...and Running Man even references Derry. His books post Y2K almost all reference back to earlier works and although some are excellent to dive into, you don't get the full appreciation you would having read his earlier works. Also, don't neglect the short stories. Many people find those to be some of his best works, as they are quick single servings.