The Stephen King Companion: Four Decades of Fear from the Master of Horror

by George Beahm, Michael Whelan (Illustrator), Glenn Chadbourne (Illustrator)

The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams . King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, bestselling novels, and film adaptations. The book is also profusely illustrated with nearly 200 photos, color illustrations by celebrated "Dark Tower" artist Michael Whelan, and black-and-white drawings by Maine artist Glenn Chadbourne. Supplemented with interviews with friends, colleagues, and mentors who knew King well, this book looks at his formative years in Durham, when he began writing fiction as a young teen, his college years in the turbulent sixties, his struggles with early poverty, working full-time as an English teacher while writing part-time, the long road to the publication of his first novel, Carrie , and the dozens of bestselling books and major screen adaptations that followed. For fans old and new, The Stephen King Companion is a comprehensive look at America's best-loved bogeyman.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Biography, Books About Books, Reference, Biography Memoir, Collections

624 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

George Beahm writes books about censorship, sports figures, and numerous literary figures, including Patricia Cornwell, J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Philip Pullman, and others.

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone with the slightest interest in Stephen King. Of course, you will find writeups of all of his works, up to that point, which include synopses, commentary, and back stories. But, that takes up only 150 or so pages of the 365. The rest of the book is filled with what you might expect, or hope to find, in a book of this sort: a brief history of his road to success; articles by others about him, including one by Clive Barker; a tour of the Victorian mansion that is his winter home; writeups about the conventions and newsletters dedicated to King; and much more.

Included is the transcript of the talk he gave for the benefit of the Virginia Beach Friends of the Library, in which he spoke about banned books and censorship, to which several of his own fell victim. My favorite parts are the interviews reprinted here, including the full Playboy Magazine interview from 1983, where the interviewer, Eric Norden, spent 2 weeks with King. Taking up 27 pages, this interview delves deep into Stephen King the man, and Stephen King the writer.

Another excellent interview included here is one with writer Harlan Ellison, conducted in 1989, by George Beahm and Howard Wornom (specifically for inclusion in this book, I’m guessing). Anyone familiar with Ellison knows he is one tough critic. He’s not afraid to speak his mind, and though he praises King heavily, he readily identifies what he feels are King’s weak points, including the one complaint I hear most, from other readers, that he pads his books with a lot of unnecessary verbiage. Ellison says, “. . . I can’t think of any King novels, with the possible exception of “It,” or the two “Dark Tower” books, that could not have been told just as well as a novella.”

I am in no manner a Stephen King fanatic. While I eagerly devoured every new release up until “The Tommyknockers,” after that klunker, I picked up his books only sporadically. Still, even if I find some of his books a chore to complete, I continue to appreciate his talent and what he has accomplished over the past 40-odd years.

This edition the first one from 1989. I would like to get a current edition, and read all the later material that has been added.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent critical examination of King's works up to the time of its publication, and an even better collection of biographical minutiae and observation of his role in popular culture of the time from many perspectives. It's (obviously) out of date (time surely does keep right on passing!), but it's still a great historical retrospective of how his amazing career started, took off, and never stopped. It has many interesting photographs and is easy to read, or to just browse through for particular titles. Nonfiction biographical volumes are no longer as important or as ubiquitous as they used to be in pre-internet days (fun fact: do you know what Neil Gaiman's first published book was?), but King's Constant Readers will find this one fascinating.

[erigibbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sicuramente interessante se siete fan di King.
Se lo amate/amate le sue opere questo secondo me è un libro da avere.
Si parla molto di lui, delle sue opere, ma anche di tutti gli adattamenti cinematografici fatti.
Ci sono tantissime interviste (intere o pezzi) fatte a King o a chi ha lavorato con lui ecc.
Si percepisce il lavorone che è stato fatto da George Beahm per scrivere questo libro.
Costa parecchio (29.90€), ma considerato il lavoro,
l’edizione e tutte le immagini (in b/w) ci può stare.
Peccato ci siano un po’ di refusi (sono fisiologici, però alcuni sembrano proprio delle sviste che potevano essere evitate).

[Todd Bristow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted a book of minutiae and, boy did I get it! What is different about this book vs others on King is that it barely touches upon his works themselves and spends more time with history: his non-book endeavors, how his works have been perceived over time, artists influenced by, and attached academia. I was absolutely riveted. Even those who think they knew all about King (like myself) will come away a more well rounded fan.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Review to come.

[Sakura87 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo sconsiglio caldamente per due macro-ragioni:

1. È zeppo di interviste, foto e approfondimenti del tutto irrilevanti persino per il Fedele Lettore.
Stephen King è il mio autore preferito, Pet Sematary è stato il primo libro che sia riuscita a leggere per intero, a 11 anni, e da allora ho letto quasi tutto quello che King ha scritto, e guardato praticamente qualsiasi prodotto tratto dai suoi libri. Il che non vuol dire che sia interessata a leggere interviste ai compagni di merende dell'asilo, a chi gestisce il principale sito a lui dedicato, a chi gli ha costruito il cancello coi pipistrelli, alle foto di cartelli stradali vicino al suo ufficio a Bangor o del parchetto davanti alla sua scuola elementare. I capitoli dedicati ai libri sono scarni, disomogenei tra loro (in uno c'è il riassunto della trama, nell'altro curiosità, nell'altro un'intervista).

2. L'edizione italiana ha una copertina che si sbriciola tra le mani. Il taglio delle pagine è colorato così male che in alcuni punti sembra avere la vitiligine. E ci sono moltissimi refusi. Trattandosi di un libro che a malapena vale tenere per collezione, è fatto proprio male, soprattutto in rapporto al prezzo (29,90 €). Impossibile non fare un paragone con la prima edizione di Tutto su Stephen King di Bev Vincent, uscito per Sperling nel 2010: conteneva scritti autografi, lettere, fotografie, disegni inediti e memorabilia, tutto però sempre in funzione del racconto e dell'analisi delle sue opere. Formato enorme, pagine lucide, da rivista, e per di più conteneva le riproduzioni di alcune pagine manoscritte.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-read for all King fans.

Despite having read all of King's books and knowing quite a bit about King and his life, I was still able to learn quite a bit from this book.

Divided into sections, this book looks at his early life and goes through all of his books in chronical order until 2015 when the book was published.

There are chapters on special and significant events in King's life and publishing history. There is a section on King's adaptations and various interviews. There is a chronical history of King's life to round the book out.

The only issue with a book like this is that it's out of date as soon as it's published. I would love to read an updated version.

Overall, it is a fantastic must-have edition to any constant readers collection.

[Simona Fregni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho trovato un’opera interessante e una lettura estremamente stimolante.
Consigliato a tutti gli amanti del Re ma anche a neofiti delle sue letture e della sua vita.

Leggere questo saggio mi fa apprezzare ancora di più le sue opere e il suo modo di pensare, anche se non sono sempre d’accordo con lui.
Una chicca edita da @librimondadori che non può mancare in libreria anche per le splendide illustrazioni di Michael Whelan e @glennchadbourne .

Per mia personale “degustazione” ho scelto di leggere le descrizioni di ogni opera appena ne ho letto il libro in modo da godermi fino in fondo questa eccezionale raccolta

[Jacq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro bellissimo ed imperdibile per qualsiasi fan di Stephen King: coinvolgente come un romanzo, è stata una lettura davvero divertente.
Peccato per alcuni refusi qua e là dell'edizione Mondadori e per il capitolo "Il fiume scorre in profondità" (aggiunto dall'editore italiano, immagino) con l'aggiornamento delle pubblicazioni dal 2016 ad oggi: ripetitivo rispetto ai contenuti dei capitoli precedenti, con refusi assortiti, si tratta sicuramente di un "riempitivo" scritto in fretta e furia per giustificare la nuova edizione del libro. Probabilmente non è stato neppure letto da Beahm, la cui cura del libro è di livello infinitamente superiore. Peccato, un passaggio a vuoto che si poteva evitare in un libro per il resto molto bello.

[Jasmin Mohd-zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow..what a wonderful homage to SK! Beahm covered such diverse topics on SK, his family, all his books, movies and all the little known story about him up till 2015.

I went down memory lane with some of his works and details given by Beahm. It was such a joy to have my love for SK work re-kindled ..no...strenghtened since i had left SK's work for a while in search of new authors to fill my reading itch.

Very well done Mr Beahm.

If you update this book I'm gonna get the next one for sure because i will remain the Constant Reader ❤

[Jen from Quebec :0) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite companion piece! Wow! I am going to hang onto this like a cherished textbook! If you're a King fan, like me, you simply need this book. If you are one of his Constant Readers, you'd be incomplete without it, man. Amazing. As an English teacher, I often read Carrie with a group of students, and this is what caused me to wonder about *this* book. I not only have new resources to go into the classroom with, I have a greater appreciation of King's entire universe.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed insights into King's self and the trajectory of his career.

[Toolshed · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a long-time King reader, I did not find that much new or useful in this book apart from some newspaper or interview tidbits (and then some things which I find insubstantial altogether) but that's not the biographer's fault. All in all, it's a good summary, albeit it felt to me sometimes that Beahm was forcefully trying to praise some of the weaker King's works or justify their merit, at the same time taking every opportunity to bash or riddicule the so-called "literary" circles which do not give poor Stephen the credit he deserves (funnily enough, Beahm emphasizes those exact values in King's books that are typical for "literary" fiction in order to prove... what? That King belongs right up there with the people Beahm seems to despise?). The other thing I found tiring is that it's WAY too detailed - unless you're such a King buff that you need to know what size shoes he's wearing.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a life long King fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this look into the inspirational and internal workings of one of the greatest authors in history. They covered each book chronologically detailing where the ideas came from and how King brought it to life. It also covered major events in his own life, from teaching to nearly dying on the side of a road from an accident while walking. If you’re a King fan, this is a must read.

[Alberto Vernacchio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed book about the great Stephen king and his massive body of work.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an OK read. I was expecting a bit more insight in to the man and it was a bit dated.

[Kyle Burley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, and eminently readable, resource for King fans. I burned through it much faster than I anticipated.

[Judd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I pulled this book off of a bargain rack and as it is a first edition, I must be clear that that is the edition of book I am reviewing. It looks as though it's been re-released with a few hundred pages more and a couple more decades worth of work. Maybe that book is better, worse, on par, but for the sake of this review, I am talking exclusively about the 1989 release.

When the book shines it really shines. There are a few interviews of King that were featured back in the early 80s when he was just coming into the earliest part of his career. These were fantastic, filled with little gems and quotes back when his mind was really humming. I did not know, for example, that he published four books in a single year. He's a little more rough around the edges and seems to speak candidly in a way that we wouldn't see in his later years (mid 90s on). Reading about his house and getting some insight into where his ideas come from are a must for any King fan.

The rest of the book is unnecessary padding in 2019. A section about finding reputable book dealers doesn't apply as the Internet has made correspondence across the country a cinch. Long pieces about King's audiotapes are also dated. Finally, interviews with the illustrators of his book covers are head scratchers as publishers now churn out a new edition every two years with new, original artwork. What excited me the most and had its share of letdowns was the section in which his books are broken down into three or four page blurbs. Some of them yielded really interesting material, others not so much. After four pages of explaining how a pet funeral works, gravestone marking costs, and lack of animal embalmment, I was ready to throw the book out the window. Yes, pet cemeteries do exist. But when I want to learn about Pet Sematary, I'd prefer it be remotely about the book.

Maybe the newer version is better, maybe I'm just a stick in the mud. As a huge King fan, I will say that sections of this book are very enjoyable. If you find yourself in the superfan demographic and want to know exactly what's going on with King in 1989, read. this. book. Otherwise hit up his wikipedia page and scroll through his life and a few of his books that you may have on your shelf.

[Lenka Sadílková · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tento 629 stránkový skvost o Kingové životě od jeho narození až do roku 2015 by si měl pořídit každý fanda.
Mnozí si jeho jméno spojují hlavně s děsivým klaunem s lodičkou a větou: “Chceš lodičku Georgie?“ Ale díky této knize se člověk dozví jak o samotných dílech, tak hlavně o samotném autorovi, který jak víme, společenské události moc nevyhledává a nerad letá letadlem. Rozšíří si obzory v tom, jak se vůbec dostal ke psaní, jeho myšlenkové pochody a co pro něj znamenají jeho knihy a jaký mají význam v jeho životě.
Mnohé i překvapí to, že jeho cesta ke slávě nebyla jednoduchá a přišlo mu mnoho odmítnutí, ale šel si za svým snem.
•••
Kniha obsahuje jeho díla od roku 1974 – 2015. Četla jsem jen o těch, které jsem přečetla. Protože u některých jsou dost spoilery a já se nechci připravit o požitky z knih, které jsem ještě neměla tu čest číst. Vždy jsem se po dočtení nějaké jeho knihy, kterou jsem přeskočila, vrátila a přečetla si o ní. Brala jsem to jako takovou tečku nebo přídavek knihy. A tak to budu dělat i nadále.
•••
Kromě děl a záznamů z jeho života, kniha obsahuje i mnoho rozhovorů, jak s ním samotným, tak i s fanoušky, jinými autory, režiséry, ilustrátory nebo i herci apod.
Zjistíme jak to vše začalo, jaký má vztah ke knihám, psaní a také jak se v jeho hlavě zrodili nějaké příběhy a města jako je Derry nebo Castle Rock.
V části chronologie jeho života a psaní je vše. Kdy se kam stěhoval, co se mu stalo za úraz, co napsal, jaký film podle jeho knihy vyšel a další zajímavosti.
•••
Obdivuji ho ještě víc po tom, co jsem ho díky této knize poznala více do hloubky. Podle rozhovorů s ním je to prostě člověk, kterého chcete potkat a prohodit s ním pár slov. Na nic si nehraje, bere život takový jaký je a má střízlivý pohled na svět.
Pro fanoušky nutnost.

[oblakaknihahlavavnich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Napsat smysluplný názor na tuto knihu je pro mě těžké. Nejradši bych to shrnula do následujících slov: Bylo to skvělé, užívala jsem si každou stránku a pokud se jen trochu zajímáte o tohoto autora, musíte si knihu přečíst!

Přesto se ale pokusím více rozepsat.

Knih o Kingovi je samozřejmě více, ale já se jen šťastnou náhodou dostala zrovna k této. Přiznávám, že jsem neměla v plánu číst ji takto brzy. Autora sice řadím mezi mé nejoblíbenější autory, ale načtené jeho knihy rozhodně nemám a mám co dohánět! Přesto jsem ale všechny kapitoly chápala a na knihy, které mám na seznamu, se teď těším ještě více!

Zpracování knihy se mi moc líbilo. Unešená jsem byla především z ilustrací od Glenna Chadbourna a barevného portfolia Michaela Whelana. Kniha je ale příjemně doplněna i spoustou fotografií, je přehledně rozdělena na části a kapitoly. Dozvíte se informace z autorova osobního života, příběhy vzniku jeho knih a pozadu nezůstávají ani filmová zpracování. Myslím, že každý fanoušek si v knize najde to své.

Pro sebe jsem si knihu označila za takovou, na kterou se těším, přestože už ji vlastně čtu. Její čtení mi zabralo celé tři týdny. Samozřejmě se nečte tak lehce, jako beletrie, ale v rámci žánru je to příjemné a plynulé čtení, které vtáhne. Knihu jsem ale často odkládala, protože jsem se nemohla přimět ji dočíst, jednoduše jsem nechtěla konec.

Místy se sice opakovaly stejné věty, ale to už je v tak obsáhlé knize drobnost.

Knihu doporučuji všem fanouškům autora. Ať už máte jeho knihy přečtené nebo jenom začínáte, tato kniha vám je skvěle shrne a dozvíte se o nich ještě něco navíc.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was not sure how much I would stay into this one due to it's length, but I'm a King fan and enjoyed In Writing as well, so thought I'd give it a try. I enjoyed it immensely - read in Kindle format as an e-book but also accompanied with the audiobook which was very well narrated. There are repeated tidbits from In Writing and the majority of this is gleamed from other exceprts, interviews, and such over the years, but the coverage of his life, body of work, music interests, interviews, movies, some on addiction and family, is pretty vast. The book does oddly skip around a bit - such as a lot of coverage on The Stand early on, then suddenly later in the book another on the special edition when it was previously mentioned, and yet another...

The author kept it interesting by not just going on personal life and books one by one, but by bouncing around different topics. I even tried the little free radio app.

Most of the movies and books are covered well enough, history with publishers and agent, which I found interesting. The book is long but it flies by. I did skim some sections that I grew tired of toward end like some random interviews that repeat some of the same issues or points, but overall highly recommended for fans of King.

[Tom Garback · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B

Covers a lot of ground. Hit and miss. Very much a time capsule, in good ways and bad.

In a critical review of things, Beahm is a great researcher, but not that smart of a critic himself.

In a personal review of things, a lot of this book is really outdated, even if it does add to the charm element. It’s wide reaching, which can feel a bit kitchen sink but also pleasingly comprehensive. There are a few pieces in here that are very disposable and pretty offensive because of their dated politics. There are also some pieces that are just not that interesting or meaningful. But there are some gems in here as well.

It’s so fun to see the book make predictions from 1990 onward and to know from the standpoint of 2025 how everything turned out.

That Playboy article is the best thing in here, and it was probably the best thing in Bare Bones. Top-tier insights from King.

[Aiden Merchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to see Beahm go back and do this book again to include the last 20-30 years (seeing as this was published in '89). The stats that were scattered throughout the companion didn't do much for me, but chapters that dealt with the King household or the few interviews he's done at length - those were great. Of course, with a legend like King, a thousand page book could easily be written and still have more to say. I want to see the film adaptation section updated for sure (so many movies have come since '89), and a new collection of fan mail. And perhaps a chapter dedicated to his memoir, On Writing? That would be amazing. Nevertheless, for when this book was written/edited, there is a lot of great material here to devour for fans. This is definitely recommended for King's Constant Readers.

[AJ Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an obvious must for King fans. I was most fascinated by the coverage of King's struggles in his personal life and his early days of writing and initial attempts at publication. This book should come with a warning label, because I assure you, if you've ever considered writing or are on the verge of attempting to write a novel, this book will definitely send those writer impulses rushing from your brain to your finger tips.

4/5 ⭐️

[Elettra Petricola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro molto interessante e non solo per appassionati del re dell'orrore. Il libro nell'edizione grande in copertina rigida edito dalla mondadori parla non solo della vita privata dell'autore, ma da anche uno squarcio di curiosità su tutte le sue opere uscite fin ora.
Un tomo che si può tenere in libreria per consultare dopo la lettura delle sue opere, veramente bello e arricchito con disegni e fotografie.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this. It’s the perfect companion for the constant reader *laughs*

Yes, it’s a bit dated but I still found it very interesting, particularly the early interviews and the essays about King's impact. And the chapters about the books were really good.

A joy for any King aficionado :D

[Dan Woessner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The edition I read covered King's career from Carrie to Insomnia (so from the start to mid-90s). While repetitive at times, it was also interesting. It gave good perspective on the changing landscape of publishing from the 70s to the 90s. An updated version would probably be even more enlightening. I also liked the academic look at each book in regards to structure and themes.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took my time reading this as I was afraid there would be spoilers for the books I haven’t read yet (there aren’t). I don’t think there’s anything here to pull in non-King fans, and I don’t feel like I learned anything I really hadn’t heard before. Some of the interviews with King-adjacent folks were interesting.

[Alessandro Ricci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un saggio lungo e ricco di informazioni sulla vita e le opere del, secondo me, più grande romanziere vivente, che ha il merito di tentare di portate la produzione di King a livello di un'opera letteraria che ha influenzato e influenzerà la produzione mondiale e che sopravviverà alla prova del tempo. Una lettura interessante per ogni amante del Re, anche se in alcuni punti un po' ripetitiva.

[Davide Frezzato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro essenziale per chi vuole conoscere a fondo la vita e l’Arte di Stephen King.
A tratti leggermente ripetitivo ma offre al lettore uno sguardo d’insieme molto approfondito e con buoni riferimenti bibliografici.