Is there a Stephen King book for me?

[Jeffnc]

I'm wondering if there's a good Stephen King book

1) that is not based on magic, fantasy, time travel, vampires, zombies, aliens, etc. i.e. it's "realistic"

2) for which I don't know the story

I know that narrows it way down, but I understand he's quite prolific too, so....

I don't know if I've ever read one of his books, so if I know the story, odds are it was from a movie.

A good example of a "realistic" book would be Misery.

Stories I know: Misery, Shining, Cujo, Carrie, Christine, Delores Claiborne, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption.

I might be convinced to read a book with a little fantasy or something in it if the story were good enough. I might be convinced to read a book for which I saw the movie is the book is truly enough better or different from the movie.

I could deal with Lord of the Rings basically because I liked the story and settings. I consider Jurassic Park essentially a realistic book. I considered Koontz's From the Corner of His Eye to be basically realistic because the quantum physics involved seemed possible.

[Nancy from NJ]

A most poignant book by Stephen King which I recently read and loved was Joyland.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Jeffnc,

King writes mostly horror. And most of what he writes is based in a reality-like setting. I typically find him to be OK - a three star writer, good settings and storylines, a little long winded at times...

BUT... I really enjoyed INSOMNIA. And my all time favorite King novel is EYES OF THE DRAGON, it's got a dragon in it, and kings and stuff, so very much a fantasy novel. He wrote it for his daughter, who didn't like his scary stuff. If you like LOTR, or Games of Thrones, you'll dig on it.

[Matty]

The Long Walk! I loved that book I read it in a day lol I think you would enjoy it as well(:

[Melissa]

Lori said Insomnia and I completely agree. Misery is also one that I definitely recommend.

[Kandice]

I don't think it's really accurate to say he writes mostly horror anymore. Maybe when he started out, but not so much now.

The Colorado Kid, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Blaze, The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: A Story from Different Seasons(found in Different Seasons), Gerald's Game and Mr. Mercedes would all fit your criteria in addition to those already suggested.

[Book Concierge]

And don't forget his memoir: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

[Chris]

MarvelousMatty wrote: "The Long Walk! I loved that book I read it in a day lol I think you would enjoy it as well(:"


I was going to mention The Long Walk as well. Great book.

[Scott]

Another vote for The Long Walk here! I also just started an audio book of The Gingerbread Girl that my niece gave me. It's a short story and really good so far. Doesnt seem to have magic, fantasy, monsters so far but havent finished it yet.

[Meaghan]

How about The Stand? What's not to love about the world being destroyed by plague, leading to an epic showdown between good and evil?

[Kandice]

The Gingerbread Girl is straight fiction. Nothing supernatural about it which is what makes it particularly chilling.

[Jodie]

I have read both the Long Walk (as part of Bachman Books) and The Stand and thought they were both great. Must try The Gingerbread Girl it sounds like another winner.

[Mochaspresso]

I really enjoyed Rose Madder. There is a crazy "fantastical" sequence toward the end that takes place inside a painting, but most of the story up until that point is "realistic".

[drowningmermaid]

I'd second 11/22/63... ok, ok, there's time travel, but the point is reminiscences about the 60s.

The other one is "Apt Pupil"... not a complete book, I know, more of a novella, but very different from the movie, and you didn't list the movie as one of his you saw anyway.

It appears in "Different Seasons" which is a series of novellas King wrote... three of which have been made into movies. "Shawshank Redemption" is in there... and the narrator is Irish, not a Morgan Freeman. I forgot the name of the story that became "Stand by Me" but that one was also pretty good. Absolutely no magic in any of those.

The last novella in the book is weird, so not recommended.

Also, if you like Crichton, you'd probably also like The Stand.

[Feliks]

Don't ask for too much variety from King.

[Kandice]

Feliks wrote: "Don't ask for too much variety from King."

I disagree. He is often referred to as a horror writer, but I think less than half of his work is actually horror. He writes a lot of straight fiction and quite a bit of fantasy.

[drowningmermaid]

Kandice wrote: "Feliks wrote: "Don't ask for too much variety from King."

I disagree. He is often referred to as a horror writer, but I think less than half of his work is actually horror. He writes a lot of stra..."

I second that. I've known people who had no idea, when they saw the movie, that the guy who wrote "Green Mile" and "Shawshank Redemption" was the same guy who wrote "Carrie" and "It."

For a pop-lit author, he's got a pretty good range. A lot of people get pidgeon-holed a lot more narrowly than he ever did.

[[deleted user]]

The Running Man from what I remember there are no fantasy aspects. It's pretty different from the movie as well.

[Richard]

Nancy from NJ wrote: "A most poignant book by Stephen King which I recently read and loved was Joyland."

I agree. Joyland was a great summer read.

[Kandice]

Pigletto wrote: "The Running Man from what I remember there are no fantasy aspects. It's pretty different from the movie as well."

That movie had nothing to do with the book except sharing a title! The book is great, and especially chilling since King wrote it many, many years before reality television was around.

[Carol]

The story that was made into Stand By Me was called The Body.