The Stephen King Universe: A Guide to the Worlds of the King of Horror

by Stanley Wiater, Christopher Golden, Hank Wagner

"I am coming to understand that Roland's world actually contains all the others of my making" —Stephen King

With those words, from The Dark Tower: IV Wizard and Glass, the world's most popular writer confirmed a suspicion long held by readers—that the myriad worlds and universes King has created are, in reality, one world, one universe.

Here, for the first time ever is the guide to that universe, a thrilling road map and informative tour for new readers and diehard fans alike.

The Stephen King Universe is the very first examination of all of King's fiction and the way in which its plots and characters, conflicts, and themes, intertwine.

This definitive reference work examines his novels and short stories, as well as the motion pictures, miniseries, and teleplays that King has written. The authors spent three years discovering and tying together the threads that exist in King's fiction. Their insightful results will entertain and surprise readers new and old. Once you have read The Stephen King Universe, you will never read Stephen King the same way again

Contents:
The Worlds of The Dark Tower and The Stand --
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger --
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three --
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands --
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass --
The Eyes of the Dragon --
The Talisman --
Hearts in Atlantis --
The Stand --
Related Tales --
"Night Surf" (from Night Shift) --
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" --
The Prime Reality, Part I: Derry --
IT --
Insomnia --
Bag of Bones --
Related Tales --
"Autopsy Room Four" (from Six Stories) --
"The Road Virus Heads North" --
The Prime Reality, Part II: Castle Rock --
The Dead Zone --
Cujo --
The Dark Half --
Needful Things --
Related Tales --
"The Body" (from Different Seasons) --
"Nona" (from Skeleton Crew) --
"Uncle Otto's Truck" (from Skeleton Crew) --
"Gramma" (from Skeleton Crew) --
"The Sun Dog" (from Four Past Midnight) --
"It Grows on You" (from Nightmares and Dreamscapes) --
"The Man in the Black Suit" (from Six Stories) --
The Prime Reality, Part III: Jerusalem's Lot and Stephen King's Maine --
Carrie --
'Salem's Lot --
Pet Sematary --
Cycle of the Werewolf --
Gerald's Game --
Dolores Claiborne --
Storm of the Century --
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon --
Related Tales --
"Jerusalem's Lot" (from Night Shift) --
"Graveyard Shift" (from Night Shift) --
"One for the Road" (from Night Shift) --
"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" (from Different Seasons) --
"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" (from Skeleton Crew) --
"The Reach" (from Skeleton Crew) --
"Secret Window, Secret Garden" (from Four Past Midnight).

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Reference, Horror Thriller, Books About Books, Contemporary, Mystery

478 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[TheNeverendingTBR]

This is basically a road map which examines all of Stephen King's work including novels, short stories, movies and includes in-depth story analyses, little-known facts, and how the plots, characters and themes all intertwine.

I've read a few similar books and I consider this one the best of it's kind, I'll be referring back to it for quite some time; which makes buying this book well worth the money an in highly recommend you do if you're a Stephen King fan - reading this was a lot of fun.

It was very informative read, I mean obviously I already knew a lot of what was included in this having read 57 of his books already but there was a lot I learned also and it's all arranged in a easily digestible manner making it a pleasure to read.

A must for Constant Readers.

[Becky]

I have learned a ton of information from this book, discovered connections between books that I would have missed otherwise, and random bits of trivia that should win me lots of money on Jeopardy should ever a Stephen King category come up. =)

[Michael Sorbello]

An informative book that describes how all of Stephen King's books are connected to each other to form a single overarching narrative. The more books of his you read, the more you begin to see the bigger picture and the more you'll be able to appreciate the brilliant literary genius he's capable of. The best part about King is all his books can be enjoyed as great standalone stories, but they all compliment each other and reward you for reading more and more of them.

This guide does a good job creating digestible synopsis's for most of his books that give you a good idea of how certain characters, worlds, villains, monsters and supernatural elements overlap with each other. It also serves as a nice refresher for long-term fans that already have a lot of knowledge and experience regarding the universe he's created.

The guide is a good way to keep track of your progress, but it doesn't delve into specific details, trivia and world building facts in quite as much detail as I would've liked. It does a serviceable job piecing things together, but certain elements could've been a bit more elaborate.

The way Stephen King's universe comes together to form a single story reminds me of how my favorite fantasy author Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion universe connects and forms a single overarching story. I wouldn't be surprised if King took inspiration from Moorcock, especially regarding his Dark Tower series being extremely similar in many ways.

[Jammin Jenny]

I really rated this book 3.5 stars, but rounded up because I love the works of Stephen King. The author of this book discusses how all of Stephen King's works are all related to the world of The Dark Tower. While I agree there are some overlaps, like Randall Flagg appearing in that series, The Stand, and other works, I'm not sure I believe all his works can go back there. Does Carrie go there? Or Cell? I just don't know. But I do know that I love reading books by Stephen King so I recommend this book to anyone else who is a Constant Reader.

[Amy]

I picked this up on a whim at Half Price the other night. I really love Stephen King's writing style; the problem is I don't like some of the actual stories themselves. Well, most of the short stories I like but the crazy novels, like IT, well, they're really just not my cup of tea. But this book explores the idea that all (or most) of King's novels and stories are interconnected and all are leading up to a final big clash between good and evil. The Dark Tower series is the focal point of the book and of this final confrontation. I have not read any of this series, but I'm kind of thinking it might be worth a look. This book points out all the connections in the books and stories and essentially what each one means. Like, for example, Pop Merrill runs a store in Castle Rock that is destroyed by fire in the novella "Sun Dog". Pop is the father of Ace Merrill, the bully in the novella "The Body" (Stand by Me). The fire that destroyed Pop's store is mentioned in Needful Things. Ace is also in that book. Just interesting things like that. I am really enjoying this so far.

[The Beloved Bibliophile]

Necessary read for hidden meaning within the mythos!

[Bunny]

I genuinely enjoyed reading this. There's a lot of Stephen King I've never read, including some that have come out since the last edition of this book was published. I would like to see them cover 11/22/63, for one.

This book makes me want to re-read every King book I read when I was 9, 10, 11, and pick up the ones I haven't. Like, say, the entire Dark Tower series. And because I read these so young, the big plot I remember, and maybe a few random bits, but the details have been lost to me. So to see how each story is intertwined, and the references to other stories, was just nifty.

Recommendable to King fans, that's for sure.

[Jessica]

This book is a must for anyone who is deep into the Dark Tower series. Really, anyone with a remote interest in King's books will probably find this interesting. This book will show you each time a character finds his way into a new story, how most of his novels (Yes, I said MOST OF HIS NOVELS) all pertain to each other in some fashion, and it explains how everything is all centered on The Dark Tower. Stephen King is not an author of many books; he is an author of one giant story and this book explains it all. (Or at least all of it up until its publication.)

[Aurora Dimitre]

My biggest thing with this book is that I feel like I've read too many Stephen King books and thought too much about the connections for this to be really of any use to me. I did enjoy some parts - mostly because this book was published in 2001, when the last few Dark Tower books had not yet come out, so there are some cute theories about what was going to happen. What could have been. What did not happen.

As well as that, there were a few of the books that I've read a long time ago that I didn't really remember all of the details, so that was nice to read about.

[Suzanne Johnson]

Basically bought this one for background before beginning a read of The Dark Tower. Did a good job of refreshing me on the characters/plots of the SK books and pointing out interrelationships between the different characters and settings.

[Valery Dinajil]

I'm a Stephen King fan; I like his writing and I like how his stories are linked together. I picked up this book to find out more about those connections, and got turned off by the fawning tone and some problematic language.

[Scott]

A must if you're a Stephen King fan. It brings his works together and shows common areas, characters, and themes throughout his work.

[Randy Ball]

Intriguing and comprehensive work. It covers King's titles through 2006 and shows how the author has and is linking his works together. Fascinating.

[Jerry]

As a collector of Stephen's books , this was a must own for me . A lot of the connections in his novels I had already found but this book cleared up a bunch more for me !

[Adam Wilson]

All right, this was a very fun read. Anything that analyzes Stephen King and his work is always going to interest me but I am only giving the book three stars because I

basically walked away from it with nothing at all. The connections that they describe are, for the most part, obvious. If you read novels and pay attention to what you

are reading, you should be able to pick up on the connections between King's books because, in all fairness, they really aren't that subtle. There were maybe three

things they mentioned that I did not catch and that was only because I have not read all of King's work twice yet. Quite a few of his books I have read more times than

I can remember and then others, like Lisey's Story, The Tommyknockers, Cujo, Pet Sematary, and Salem's Lot have only been read once by me but even so I did not miss

much because King is my favorite author by a Green Mile. (Who hasn't said that one before)? Anyway, the point I am making is that the only people who will most likely

read a book like this are those people who have read all or nearly all of Uncle Stevie's work and if you have done that, you shouldn't be all that surprised by the

contents of this book. I mean, after a while they ran out of interesting ties between King's work and just began summarizing EVERYTHING!! You could read everything this

book says on Wikipedia or some other more reputable site. Like I said, the book should entertain, but don't expect it to blow your mind. I would recommend rereading

some King instead of this book.

[Grace]

As a Stephen King freak I really enjoyed this guide. It also made me remember a bunch of his books I haven’t read for some time and want to re-read as well as highlighting some special books (for example, that were released in audiobook only) that I need to chase up.

[Kim]

A must for Stephen King fan's (like myself)...great companion for linking his books throughout the years!

[Veronica]

I hade fun reading it it put chils in my spin.

[Mike Larkin]

If you've read a lot of King... read this book!

[Lisa]

Great Great Book...........

[Kaycee Mayes]

I Love this book one of my many favorites by King

[A.R.]

This treatise of linked S.K. characters was interesting, but suggesting that I'm a character created by S.K. is really reaching.

[Cristhian]

i likeme the thriller of this book

[Gerry Strickland]

All Stephen King's books are a 5st

[Chy]

What a great book! It was interesting reading about all the various connections that entangle Stephen King's books.

[Big Boss2671]

I'm a Stephen King fan; I like his writing and I like how his stories are linked together. I loved all his books.

[Gustavo]

very good book, I like it

[Dayna Keiser]

Interesting look at the interconnections of Stephe King's books and short stories. Well written and comprehensive.

[Princelust]

Scary.

[Stephanie Walker]

I started reading King in high school. It’s nice to know I can pick up a book and love it. I won’t have to waste my time and money. He’s the King.