The Age of Stephen King

There are not many authors that have sold over 100 million books. Stephen King is among those very few. His novels have had a profound impact on American culture, leading to a whole new age in horror and suspense. Beyond that, we’ve seen his works adapted into some of the greatest films of all time. Movies such as Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Shining, and Stand by Me are cinematic classics. It is fair to say King is among the best storytellers of all time.

I just finished ‘Salem’s Lot, which is my first Stephen King novel. I’ve seen several movies and TV shows based on his work, so I have a pretty good idea of his style. I only mention this just to let you know my opinions are based on only one novel. It might change the more King novels I read.

In ‘Salem’s Lot, the town of ‘Salem becomes a character in itself. King goes through its whole history, and gives bios on over a dozen residents. It makes it longer and slows down the narration but King manages to keep it interesting. The people are regular people, recognizable to anyone. We all know someone from that town in our own lives. The addition of vampires and a love story make the novel more interesting and easier to move through without getting bored.

The vampire itself is really just a carbon copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s pretty cheesy by 2013 standards, but for 1975, was probably scary. The ending is good but not great. What makes this novel scary, is that it feels like it is happening in our world. Horror movies are notoriously unrealistic, with stupid characters, unsympathetic heroes, bad dialogue, and insulting plot twists. Most of the genre is built with blood, guts, and cheap scares. It’s become dominated by special effects. From a story standpoint, they are awful.

King’s greatest achievement is probably making an entire generation terrified of clowns. The old circus staple is now the source of fear in millions of children and adults. Every person that I’ve met who’ve read it have a look of dread when they talk about it.

King’s style has been called many things: dark, sinister, blunt, crass, vulgar, etc. It is common and very readable even to those who don’t reach much. He doesn’t avoid uncomfortable topics during his narration, such as sex, alcoholism, and abuse. These things exist in the real world and he doesn’t avoid them. You get a full view of each character, not just the admirable or interesting parts.

King, in a way, has contributed to the shift in American cinema and television. Sex, violence, and profanity have all found their way into prime time television and many movies. Very few of the best movies out there have a rating below “R.” Compared to the 1950s, we have really changed. Whether it is less censorship or more reality, however you wish to describe it, we’ve changed.

I am not a fan of horror, especially horror movies. Most use all sorts of special effects to scare people, without telling any kind of story. It is a great idea for a date; and for scaring kids at camp outs, but very rarely stays with you for longer than a couple days. Even then, only the chill stays. There are plenty of exceptions of course: The Exorcist, Carrie, Silence of the Lambs, Alien, Jaws. But they are few and far between.

Stephen King rightly deserves his important place in American literature. The Shining, The Stand, any many other King novels are on my to-read pile.

J

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