Last week I discussed my all-time favorite author: Stephen King. I mentioned how odd it was, in some respects, for me to be a fan of his -- primarily because I am absolutely not a horror fan. And yet there's something about Stephen King's writing style and thematic story elements that draw me to his writing regardless of that.
But another reason I can enjoy him so much is that he's not, strictly speaking, a "horror writer." Oh, he definitely writes horror -- make no mistake about that -- but many of his books can be classified as thrillers, or mysteries, or science fiction. And even his straight-up horror offerings have more to them just the scares (not that he doesn't write some pretty great scares).
So if you, like me, are not generally a fan of the horror genre, but find yourself wanting to give King a try, here are some alternate-genre reads of his that might be more up your alley.
Duma Key
Edgar Freemantle, owner of a construction company, hasn't sketched a picture in years -- until a construction site accident leaves him with an amputated right arm, memory and speech problems, and a flush of anger issues. Renting a beach home on the west coast of Florida to recover, Edgar takes up his old art hobby once again, only to discover two things: his paintings are better than they've ever been before, and the things he's painting are starting to come true. While many critics commented on the obvious parallels between Edgar's experiences and Stephen King's own near-death experience from several years previous, what I was more impressed by with this novel was the characters. The main characters are interesting and well-developed, and you come to genuinely care about them by the end of the novel.
"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" // "The Body"
"Different Seasons" collects four short novels by Stephen King, and two of those -- "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" and "The Body" -- are among his finest non-horror works ever.
"Rita Heyworth" -- considered to be one of King's all-time masterpieces -- tells the story of two prison inmates: Red, a "lifer" who has just been denied parole; and Andy, one of the more unusual inmates to serve time at Shawshank. What follows is a story that is equal parts hope and redemption; to give away any more of the plot would be a disservice to the story.
//
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. ... does anyone?"
"The Body" details the summer adventure of four pre-teen boys in 1960s Maine. While the object of their quest -- another boy who went missing and is now presumed dead -- is macabre, the story itself is not. It is, as the saying goes, about the journey, not the destination, and it's more about the stories of these four boys than it is anything else. King captures the voices of four youthful characters with his usual precision -- the kids are buoyant, silly, crude, and above all optimistic, giving a portrayal of childhood that is far from idealistic but still, in its way, fondly remembered.
(Both of these novellas happen to have been made into truly excellent film adaptations: The Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and Stand By Me, starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, and Richard Dreyfuss.)
The Eyes of the Dragon
As I mentioned last week, this was my first Stephen King novel, given to me by my mother when I was in high school. George R.R. Martin meets Grimm fairy tale, it's a high fantasy adventure about two royal brothers -- one of whom is Crown Prince, while the other becomes a witness to a murder of their father and King. Simply and straightforwardly told, it's something most fantasy fans should enjoy -- while also being a pleasant change of pace from the usual Tolkien derivative fare.
The Dead Zone
This one's a science fiction read that doubles as a thriller: if you could see the future, how far would you go to prevent it? Johnny Smith is injured in a car accident and put in a five-year coma; when he awakens, he finds himself with five years of his life gone, his parents stressed to the breaking point, and his former girlfriend now married to someone else. That in itself could have made for an interesting story, but King takes it a step further: the accident has left Johnny with psychic abilities. By touching an object, he has visions about the person that the item belongs to -- including visions of the future. And one vision in particular is cause for alarm, detailing the cataclysmic fate that awaits the world if presidential hopeful Greg Stiltson is elected to office. As sci-fi thrillers go, you can't ask for much better than this. (And yes, this book resulted in both a motion picture adaptation, as well as a six season TV series.)
The Green Mile
King is well-known to his fans for being unafraid to try different formats for his work: Riding the Bullet was originally released exclusively online, Ur is only available to read on the Kindle, and his new short stories are still routinely released in magazines. With "The Green Mile," King tried his hand at the serial novel -- the book being released in six parts that were issued monthly in low-priced paperback format. (The book has since been collected into one large novel.)
Another prison novel, this one differs from "Shawshank Redemption" in its supernatural twist. Told from the perspective of Paul Edgecombe, the block supervisor of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary death row, it details the story of inmate John Coffey, a man on death row for a crime he may or may not have committed. Another story about redemption and innocence, with a decidedly different twist from "Shawshank," this story comes to focus on Coffey and the question of his innocence or guilt -- not to mention his mysterious healing powers. This book, too, has been made into a well-known film, starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland is hiking with her mother and brother when she falls off the trail for a few minutes to get away from her family's bickering. A nightmare follows when a wrong turn finds her lost in the woods with nothing but a backpack of snacks, a Walkman, and her Tom Gordon baseball cap. The plot is simplistic in set-up, but the story it tells -- about courage, determination, family, and the power of faith (in both God and baseball) -- is anything but. I read this book for the first time over a decade ago, and it still remains my favorite King read.
The Dark Tower series
"Go, then -- there are other worlds than these." Stephen King's masterpiece is also his hardest work to describe. Science fiction? High fantasy? Epic? "Epic," at least, is certainly a word to describe this seven-book series that was nearly 20 years in the making, and which also serves to tie together many of the characters, settings, and stories of the rest of King's novels. And yet, it's not a horror series, reading more like a Spaghetti Western tribute crossed with post-apocalyptic fantasy ... and that's just the first book. Whether you like fantasy, science fiction, Westerns, or Epics, there's probably something in this book for you. (There's even a Harry Potter reference for the particularly sharp-eyed!)
-- Post by Ms. B
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