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Stephen King: A Literary Companion
[Best-selling author Stephen King has created some of the most famous tales of the 20th century; some of the best-known characters in both fiction and the screen; and his works have been transformed into popular films. This book is the first guide to reading and accessing Stephen King for fans and scholars alike. It examines the enormous popularity of King, the worlds he has created, the films made from his work, and provides a primer to reading his fiction. A detailed encyclopedic entry is provided for each of his written works, in addition to lead characters and locations. An indispensable guide to one of the most popular novelists of all time.]
220 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 30, 2011
I don’t read non-fiction in full length book form very often, and when I do, it’s typically biographies or how-to manuals. Ironically, the last time I read anything of this nature was a book on the best of horror writing written by Stephen King. Am I a good judge then of this type of book? - On an experience and technical level, the answer is probably no, but on a personal level, I’ll offer my opinion and you can take it or leave it.
One reason I usually avoid non-fiction is that several of the books I have encountered use a dry textbook approach. Unless I’m reading something for work or school, I want to be entertained.
I thought it was a good sign when I read through the entire introduction without being tempted to skip on to the body of the work. It probably helps that I’m a big King fan to begin with, but I love the fact that this companion addresses not only King’s horror but his fantasy and mainstream stories as well, which I also appreciate. I have enjoyed the full spectrum of his work, and some of the books mentioned I had never heard of. I now look forward to checking them out. Mr. Wood has a pleasantly natural and fluid style. It feels as though he is enthusiastically sharing one of his passions with the reader rather than lecturing to us. He explores characters, settings and themes, all in great detail.
While it made for a fun read, that zeal for the material also led to a fair amount of personal opinion-based commentary – my one issue with the companion. He presented items that were the result of his own preferences, whereas I would have rather seen things like his top 10 lists based on reader polls and not one person’s point of view alone. Those portions were more like “Stephen King: A Personal Perspective” instead of “Stephen King: a Literary Companion”.
In all, I really appreciated the diversity, depth and scope of this book, and it gave me great new leads for future reading. As a genre writer myself, it certainly doesn’t hurt to take in more from the master. This is a great addition to the library of any Stephen King fan, and a good read for fans of genre in general – a 4 star read for me.
One reason I usually avoid non-fiction is that several of the books I have encountered use a dry textbook approach. Unless I’m reading something for work or school, I want to be entertained.
I thought it was a good sign when I read through the entire introduction without being tempted to skip on to the body of the work. It probably helps that I’m a big King fan to begin with, but I love the fact that this companion addresses not only King’s horror but his fantasy and mainstream stories as well, which I also appreciate. I have enjoyed the full spectrum of his work, and some of the books mentioned I had never heard of. I now look forward to checking them out. Mr. Wood has a pleasantly natural and fluid style. It feels as though he is enthusiastically sharing one of his passions with the reader rather than lecturing to us. He explores characters, settings and themes, all in great detail.
While it made for a fun read, that zeal for the material also led to a fair amount of personal opinion-based commentary – my one issue with the companion. He presented items that were the result of his own preferences, whereas I would have rather seen things like his top 10 lists based on reader polls and not one person’s point of view alone. Those portions were more like “Stephen King: A Personal Perspective” instead of “Stephen King: a Literary Companion”.
In all, I really appreciated the diversity, depth and scope of this book, and it gave me great new leads for future reading. As a genre writer myself, it certainly doesn’t hurt to take in more from the master. This is a great addition to the library of any Stephen King fan, and a good read for fans of genre in general – a 4 star read for me.
October 27, 2011
An overview of Stephen King's work with descriptive entries on all of his writings and major characters, as well as a complete bibliography. What I really appreciated about the book was the thorough information on the connections between different King stories, and the notes on the genesis of many of the works.
The author did make a decision to try and avoid spoilers in the entries which does make some of the descriptions, especially of characters, a little thin and cryptic since the entry can't really say much about what happens to the character or why they are important. The author is also a big fan of King's work, and tends to be quite uncritical. Lots of entries mention how important and amazing a work is, but there is not much to identify the poor works, of which King has had a number, although the author is willing to be very critical of many of the movie adaptations.
This is an interesting and well-researched reference that I think will mostly appeal to long-time King readers who want to know where they may have encountered a particular character before, and to the dedicated fan who is looking for more obscure works they have not read.
The author did make a decision to try and avoid spoilers in the entries which does make some of the descriptions, especially of characters, a little thin and cryptic since the entry can't really say much about what happens to the character or why they are important. The author is also a big fan of King's work, and tends to be quite uncritical. Lots of entries mention how important and amazing a work is, but there is not much to identify the poor works, of which King has had a number, although the author is willing to be very critical of many of the movie adaptations.
This is an interesting and well-researched reference that I think will mostly appeal to long-time King readers who want to know where they may have encountered a particular character before, and to the dedicated fan who is looking for more obscure works they have not read.
June 14, 2023
An adequate resource, though not for the hardcore fans
The book oscillates between enlisting most known King works, and media adaptations, and a concordance of many characters.
Alas, the truly odd and obscure tidbits and trivia are few and far between
The book oscillates between enlisting most known King works, and media adaptations, and a concordance of many characters.
Alas, the truly odd and obscure tidbits and trivia are few and far between
October 25, 2023
Great summing up of all the major works, stories and movies of one of the most famous and well read authors of all time. You get a great introduction to his works, see who the Top 10 Characters in his books are, hear about science fiction, literary tradition and get a companion from A to Z to all the keywords, titles and characters. Well, the book has to be updated as it is from 2011 but it was a very good depiction of the master of horror's output. Highly recommended!
April 27, 2011
I received this book by accident from Cemetery Dance and thought I'd read it before sending it back. Mostly an overview of King's longer works with a few interesting tidbits and connections between books mentioned. Recommended for those just getting into King's work.
March 22, 2015
Surprisingly addictive reading for the discerning King fan. Fascinating information and synopses of his work, both published and unpublished. Recommended for all Constant Readers.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews