Reading Stephen King


Book Description

"Stephen King has inspired millions of readers with his writing for more than four decades now, and this special volume of essays gathers together some of his high-profile fans to discuss why they love reading Stephen King. Many of these fans are acclaimed authors of fiction in their own right. Some of them have written insightful books about Stephen King's work, exploring how King's natural storytelling gift has allowed him to create stories that reach people in every language around the world. A few of them have even written, produced, and directed movie adaptations of King's most acclaimed works. Inside this book you will join Clive Barker, Stewart O'Nan, Richard Chizmar, Frank Darabont, Stephen Spignesi, Justin Brooks, Tony Magistrale, Michael R. Collings, Rocky Wood, Robin Furth, Kevin Quigley, Hans-Åke Lilja, Billy Chizmar, Jack Ketchum, Bev Vincent, Mick Garris, and Jay Franco as they discuss their love of reading Stephen King."--Page 4 of cover.




Revisiting Stephen King


Book Description

Offers a critical introduction to the works of Stephen King, providing a brief biography and critical treatments of his eight most recent novels.




Gwendy's Magic Feather


Book Description

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER In this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling novella by Stephen King and award-winning author Richard Chizmar, an adult Gwendy is summoned back to Castle Rock after the mysterious reappearance of the button box. Something evil has swept into the small Maine town of Castle Rock on the heels of the latest winter storm. Sheriff Norris Ridgewick and his team are desperately searching for two missing girls, but time is running out. In Washington, DC, thirty-seven-year-old Gwendy Peterson couldn’t be more different from the self-conscious teenaged girl who once spent a summer running up Castle Rock’s Suicide Stairs. That same summer, she had been entrusted—or some might say cursed—with the extraordinary button box by Richard Farris, the mysterious stranger in the black suit. The seductive and powerful box offered Gwendy small gifts in exchange for its care and feeding until Farris eventually returned, promising the young girl she’d never see the box again. One day, though, the button box suddenly reappears but this time, without Richard Farris to explain why, or what she’s supposed to do with it. Between this and the troubling disappearances back in Castle Rock, Gwendy decides to return home. She just might be able to help rescue the missing girls and stop a dangerous madman before he does something ghastly. With breathtaking and lyrical prose, Gwendy’s Magic Feather explores whether our lives are controlled by fate or the choices we make and what price we sometimes have to pay. Prepare to return again to Stephen King’s Castle Rock, the sleepy little town built on a bedrock of deep, dark secrets, just as it’s about to awaken from its quiet slumber once more.




'Salem's Lot


Book Description

SOON TO BE A NEW FILM, STREAMING ON MAX FALL OF 2024 • #1 BESTSELLER • Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. "A master storyteller." —The Los Angeles Times When two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work. In fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town. With this, his second novel, Stephen King established himself as an indisputable master of American horror, able to transform the old conceits of the genre into something fresh and all the more frightening for taking place in a familiar, idyllic locale.




Stephen King


Book Description

The only critical work on Stephen King to examine his most recent novels and to analyze the many threads of his work in a way that is accessible to young adults and general readers.




The Tommyknockers


Book Description

Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic, terrifying #1 New York Times bestseller about a terrifying otherworldly discovery and the effects it has a on a small town. “Late last night and the night before, Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door…” On a beautiful June day, while walking deep in the woods on her property in Haven, Maine, Bobbi Anderson quite literally stumbles over her own destiny and that of the entire town. For the dull gray metal protrusion she discovers in the ground is part of a mysterious and massive metal object, one that may have been buried there for millennia. Bobbi can’t help but become obsessed and try to dig it out…the consequences of which will affect and transmute every citizen of Haven, young and old. It means unleashing extraordinary powers beyond those of mere mortals—and certain death for any and all outsiders. An alien hell has now invaded this small New England town…an aggressive and violent malignancy devoid of any mercy or sanity…




A Long December


Book Description

In 1996, Richard Chizmar's debut short story collection, MIDNIGHT PROMISES, was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Now, nearly two decades later, Chizmar assembles thirty-five stories, including a previously-unpublished novella, and presents us with A LONG DECEMBER.




Skeleton Crew


Book Description

Skeleton Crew is one of the titles in Allan Ahlberg's iconic children's picture book series about skeletons, Funnybones. Despite being set in a dark dark house, this brightly coloured book is perfect for early readers "Zzz " The three skeletons enjoy a holiday on-board their little boat. But one night - "Yo-ho-ho" - the pirates come and put them out to sea on a tiny raft, launching them on an oceanful of new adventures. 'By far our best writer for the young' - Daily Telegraph Allan Ahlberg has published over 100 children's books and with his late wife Janet, created many award-winning children's picture books, including Peepo , Each Peach Pear Plum and the Kate Greenaway Medal winning The Jolly Postman. Other titles in the Funnybones series include Funnybones, The Ghost Train, The Black Cat, The Pet Shop, Bumps in the Night, Dinosaur Dreams, Mystery Tour, Give the Dog a Bone and A Brilliant Bone Rattling Collection, all of which are available from Puffin.




The Road to Wigan Pier


Book Description

George Orwell provides a vivid and unflinching portrayal of working-class life in Northern England during the 1930s. Through his own experiences and meticulous investigative reporting, Orwell exposes the harsh living conditions, poverty, and social injustices faced by coal miners and other industrial workers in the region. He documents their struggles with unemployment, poor housing, and inadequate healthcare, as well as the pervasive sense of hopelessness and despair that permeates their lives. In the second half of the The Road to Wigan Pier Orwell delves into the complexities of political ideology, as he grapples with the shortcomings of both socialism and capitalism in addressing the needs of the working class. GEORGE ORWELL was born in India in 1903 and passed away in London in 1950. As a journalist, critic, and author, he was a sharp commentator on his era and its political conditions and consequences.




Thinner


Book Description

"The 'extraordinary' (Booklist) novel of one man's quest to find the source of his nightmare and to reverse it before he becomes...nothing at all. This #1 national bestseller from Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, "pulsates with evil...it will have you on the edge of your seat" (Publishers Weekly)"--