Stephen King: The Art of Darkness

by Douglas E. Winter

A critical look at the work of Stephen King, writer of horror stories.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Biography, Writing, Reference, Criticism, Literary Criticism

327 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Douglas E. Winter is an American writer, critic and lawyer. A life-long interest in horror has led him to develop a parallel career as horror writer and horror critic. Winter edited horror anthologies Prime Evil (1988), and Revelations (1997) as well as the interviews collection Faces of Fear (1985, revised 1990). He has also written biographies of Stephen King and Clive Barker. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

Reviews

[Kandice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a "Constant Reader", and anyone who loves King knows exactly what I mean. I've read quite a bit about him. He is one of the few authors I love enough to care about the person behind the craft.

This contained nothing I hadn't read before, except for a few lines Winter's (looooooong)analysis of King's work. I have been reading this off and on for months because I hate to put a book in the DNF pile, but just couldn't stomach his posturing for long stretches. I'll admit there were a few kernels and nuggets of fresh ideas, but they were so embedded in his obvious desire to sound super-intelligent that I just didn't care when I found them.

This gave the impression of being written by a fan who then took his first draft and a Thesaurus and went to work replacing every $.25 word with it's $5.00 counterpart. Instead of making him seem deep and intelligent it made him seem shallow and vain. If he really is a King fan he should read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and if he has read it, he should read it again, because it did not stick!

I don't read to be preached at which is why I never read self-help books. This, although not written as one, could fall into that category. NOT my type of book.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting critical appraisal and semi-biography of King from early in his career. I didn't always agree with Winter's assessments, but he made interesting points and was obviously very well informed. It's a fairly comprehensive guide including summaries of short fiction, films based on King's work, the Bachman novels, a timeline, etc., not just summaries of the best selling novels. King's Constant Readers will enjoy it, though it's obviously very dated now.

[Jared Conti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy to've found this book, especially digging deeper into to King recently. There're a lot of his earlier books I just ate up, so here are three that I've only dug into more than once. It's nice to get a view of what King's writing was like early on because it feels as if it's just churned out these days (not to say that it isn't good, but it's...different, but then again, maybe it's me.

While there might be one or two that I could go back to (I tend to re-read the stuff I REALLY dug) I will say I need to get back to The Stand.

The only problem I had (which was more nitpicky than anything) was that all we got was a short synopsis of his shorter works. I guess it would have been a lot to ask for an overview of the entire book, considering that's a lot of stories.

Wish there were more like this these days.

[Larry Zieminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part Biography and part review of King's literary and film works (up to the mid 80s at least), this book was very interesting. The author is an avowed King fan, so it is not a surprise that he praises everything King wrote up to that point (of course, all that stuff was awesome, so I can't fault the author for that).

I learned a few things from the book, including the fact that the Dark Tower series was expected to be released as a large collection of short stories (The Gunslinger is a collection of 5 related short stories, though now we just consider them all one book). There are several references to The Cannibals, including its original title "Under the Dome," which it eventually retook when it was published recently. I found the most interesting aspect of the book was finding out when King wrote everything (books weren't necessarily written in published order and some of the story collections were written over many many years).

I'd like to read an updated version of this book, bringing in all the work he's done over the 25 years since this book came out.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Background and analysis of the great man and his works up to and into the mid 80's. It's well written and interesting. Recommended for fans.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't get celebrity-stalker types, except for maybe in the case of Stephen King--the dude's just so friggin' awesome. This book is good for people who want to learn everything they can about King, without going quite so far as to root around in his garbage. It also might be worth a look for people who have dismissed King as simply an auteur of "cheap thrills"--as my former writing teacher put it. The book feels a bit like a master's degree thesis, but a VERY good one. At first, it was disappointing because King's early works like Carrie and Salem's Lot don't have as much subtext as later books like The Dead Zone and The Shining, so Winter initially doesn't have as much to work with and resorts to merely giving a lot of plot summary (Don't pick up this book if you don't like spoilers!). But then the ball gets rolling and he finds a lot more interesting things to discuss. I especially enjoyed his analysis of Firestarter and Christine, but sometimes (rarely, though) he can get a bit carried away and make connections that are not particularly convincing. He also makes a few political rants that are not entirely relevant to the point he is making. If you are looking for biographical info on King, you should get On Writing instead. For King fanatics only.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1984 (the foreword mentions a revised edition in 1985, my version is © 1989 but doesn’t have details of “Stand By Me” which came out in 1986), this exhaustive book looks at King’s output (to date) and also includes elements of biography (with a lot of quotes from “Danse Macabre”). The sheer wealth of information is incredible (I wish I could have found this back in the 80s!) and, due to their friendship, Winter has better access to King than most people writing about him (indeed, at the time, King’s only intervew about “Pet Sematary” was given to Winter and is included here). Whilst the analysis sometimes gets a little heavy going, it’s always thorough and my only slight niggle is that Winter doesn’t find any fault with King’s output though, as he says in the foreword, this is “an intermingling of biography, literary analysis and unabashed enthusiasm”. With lots of background details on every novel, a complete bibliography (with synopsis’) of his short story output and details of the film adaptions, there’s definitely something for every King fan here and it’d be great to see an updated version (though it’d be three or four times the size!). If you like King, you’ll enjoy this - very much recommended.

[Clark Humble · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book at a yard sale. It was given to me. I can see why now. I usually try to finish any book I start, even if I don't like it a lot. Not this one. I thought it would be interesting. Not so much. It is such a slow read. Some sections were better. But, as a whole it was just BLAH. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

[Robert Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this book though I was forewarned by a snippet from an anthology of essays on pulp fiction I read some years back which I cannot recall the name of at the moment. This book follows a format of synopsis of parts of the discussed work with plot points paired with biographical anecdotes from Stephen King's life along with some uncritical commentary and the direct interpretation of symbols in the said work. Between the biography and analyzed bits of King's work you would think some great insights could be found but no. To me, and I am not the biggest fan of Stephen King's work by the way, this book simply does not provide any unique insights or cast a new light on Stephen King's oeuvre up to its writing (1984) and does little than the previously mentioned to explore King's work. To be frank, it seems the author is manually stimulating Stephen King and providing copious amounts of lube to boot at the turn of every page. I really cannot recommend this book. However, I do recommend Danse Macabre and On Writing and although written by King himself, they do a much better job of digging deeper.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gets points for being an early (perhaps the earliest, I don't know) book on King that tries to analyze his work and take him seriously--though for a general audience, not a scholarly one. It doesn't hurt that Winter and King were friends, so he had access to unpublished MSS of forthcoming books and was able to interview King for the project. There's lots of interesting information here, especially about potential projects at the time that never saw the light of day (e.g. Spielberg's proposed film of The Talisman). However, there's also a lot of summary, especially in the short story Appendix, and no small amount of repetition, perhaps a function of the expanding/updating process not fully reconciling new text to old. There are also odd inconsistencies (e.g. the book consistently refers to the film Overdrive, not Maximum Overdrive; maybe the film wasn't actually out when the boo was revised, and that was the working title). By now, as well, the book is very dated, though that's hardly its fault. An artefact any King enthusiast should at least read, inessential for others.

[John Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1984, this book covers Stephen King's early work, including an index of 20 years of short fiction alphabetically arranged with a brief synopsis of each or reference to the page it is discussed in the book. Also included are the movie adaptations, few of which were written by Stephen King. I enjoyed this book immensely, especially savoring the nostalgia it invoked. However, now I am compelled to reread some of them. Not a bad thing, however it adds to an always somewhat overwhelming to-read pile, including "The Stand", "Christine", "Pet Sematary", "The Talisman", "Firestarter... oh no some movies to rewatch too!! Argh!

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen King is the most influential modern horror author who sold millions and millions of books. Here you'll hear everything about his world, his works, his ideas and his influences. This is far more than a biography. From now on you'll understand when and why his reign of terror began. All novels (also the Bachman Books) described in summaries with reference to their intention, all the stories with detailed plot synopsis, the motion pictures and TV adaptions. With Stephen King my lifelong love and fascination for horror truly began. A huge bibliography/further reading/index closes this groundbreaking book. Must read for every Stephen King and horror fan. Highly recommended!

[Lee Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Winter has taught me things about the novels of Stephen King, just when I was no longer sure that was possible." -Peter Straub on the back cover.
I bought this book soon after it was published in the late 1980s. Even though it is 30 years old, it's an excellent survey of the first part of King's writing career. Winter writes very well, and brings a scholarly analysis to his essays. He discusses the influences on King's books and short stories - literary and popular culture alike - and the political and social undercurrents in his ideas and characters.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both a biography and a critical appraisal of Stephen King's first decade of writing, focusing on the novels: Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone,The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Cujo, Christine, Pet Semetary, & The Talisman; as well as the novellas The Mist and Cycle of the Werewolf, and his short fiction.

[David Cavaco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the author's admiration of Stephen King (this book goes up to the Tommyknockers), the prose is dry. Yes, there are some good tidbits about some of the maestro of horror's iconic novels, but not enough to overcome the lifeless writing. For hardcore King fans only!

[William Fricke · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - If I were a huge King fan and read all the books discussed by Winter, I would have finished. But because I haven't read many of the books on the list, it didn't hold my interest. I may return to it if I read more King.

[Spenser Milo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read something new during the snow storm.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned so much. Good to give you an idea of what other Stephen King books to read and re-read.

[Eric Gilliland · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early study of Stephen King's fiction. Winter focuses mostly on literary analysis, placing King in the tradition of American literature. The analysis is labored at times, but the book is valuable since it played some role in making case for King as an important writer.

[Carl Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen King said he didn’t know about The Simpsons Movie while writing and finishing Under the Dome, and also claimed he originally started the idea/project back in the 70s and 80s . . . But in The Art of Darkness, published in 1984, clearly highlights King’s attempt to write “Under the Dome”—long before The Simpsons first episode or the coincidental the movie. There is no ambiguity

[nobody · Rating 2 out of 5]

i've read lots of books about stephen king. i've also read and have been stunned by the author, Douglas Winter's, debut novel Run. That said, i wasn't all that pleased with this book. it is considered one of the more important books on Stephen King but i found it rather dry and uninteresting. i would suggest checking out the latest editions of The Complete Stephen King Universe, or The Stephen King Companion before this book. do yourself a favor though, and get your hands on Douglas Winter's Run, it's an amazingly tight thriller about a gunrunner.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written in the early 80's when King's popularity was just taking off. It's a good critical analysis of his early, most popular work. Integrating King's comments with Winter's academic-type discourse, I think this makes an excellent background book for a discussion club or writing class.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

ES una buena reseña de todo lo que ha escrito stephen, pero ha quedado un poco desactualizada. Deberían sacar un nuevo libro incorporando todas las novelas y cuentos que se han publicado. Igualmente me gusto.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book about Stephen King, by Douglas Winter.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not hugely perceptive, but some thoughtful and thought provoking elements.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Winter does adequate explication of King's horror and sociological phenomenon. Includes bio.