The Essential Stephen King: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels, Short Stories, Movies, and Other Creations of the World's Most Popular Writer

by Stephen J. Spignesi

Ranks the horror writer's written works and films, discussing reasons for the ranking, quotes, information on revisions and film adaptations, and a summary of the work's plot and main characters.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Reference

359 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2001

Reviews

[লোচন · Rating 4 out of 5]

টপ টুয়েন্টিতে তালিসমান, ব্যাগ অফ বোনস আর ডোলোরেস ক্ল্যাইবর্ন বড্ড বেমানান। অন্ততঃ ব্যাগ অফ বোনসের জায়গায় নিডফুল থিংস বা অন রাইটিং থাকলে মেনে নেওয়া যাইত তাও। যা হোক। আমি লিস্টের প্রায় পঁয়ত্রিশটার মতন বই/গল্প পড়ি নাই। সুতরাং এইগুলা সম্পর্কে যা বলা হইছে, তার সত্যতা যাচাই করা সম্ভব হয় নাই।

তবে এইটা পরিষ্কার, শেষের পঞ্চাশটা ছোট গল্প এবং নন ফিকশনের তালিকা-সারমর্ম-পাঠপ্রতিক্রিয়া সরবরাহ করা-ই এই বইয়ের মূল কৃতিত্ব। কিংয়ের অনেকগুলো ভালো ভালো গল্প পড়লাম এর সুবাদে, আর নন ফিকশনের ভক্ত তো ছিলাম সেই অন রাইটিং পড়ার পর থেকেই। ভালো লাগা বেড়েছে আরো।

রেফারেন্স হিসাবে এই পুস্তক মূল্যবান। পড়ার জন্য নূতন বই খুঁজতে গেলে এই পুস্তক অত্যধিক মূল্যবান। কিন্তু কিং-রে চিনতে চাইলে এই পুস্তক অমূল্য।

আমার মাথায় ঘুরতেছে - হূমায়ুন আহমেদের বিবলিওগ্রাফী নিয়াও কী এরকম কোনো কাজ করা যাইত? ফাহুকে গুঁতা মারতে হবে একটা। সে উপযুক্ত লোক।

[Lise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for lists. Reading them, writing them. I love it when I jump in the car and Triple M is counting down the top 100 rock songs of ALL time or something like that. Except I never seem to be listening when they finally get to number 1. Anyway. It's funny when you say Stephen King, people kind of roll their eyes or they click their tongue or snort dismissively and then I say oh what King books have you read and the answer is usually none. I've only read Lisey's Story and I hated it and Pet Semetary and I couldn't sleep for a week and seriously I considered giving my dog away but I read On Writing by Stephen King and it's a great book. Part memoir, part writing guide, it's funny, honest and well written. And that's got nothing to do with this. I saw this book on the display shelf at the library as I was walking out and I took it. The list thing. I hate those books blah blah blah before YOU DIE ... why does it have to be BEFORE YOU DIE?? This book didn't do anything to enlighten me about Stephen King or all the books he's written. Written by a very obsessed fan, he even ranks a foreward King wrote and a tribute to John Lennon King wrote that was published in a teeny paper in Maine and no one has read it!!

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was fun to read about these stories that I love so much there wasn't much to really sink your teeth into and often made me think I should just be reading the stories themselves again. However, it was a quick, enjoyable enough read and the enthusiasm and love for the subject is indeed infectious.

[Rogerio Lopes]

Histórico de leitura
24/07/2014
3% (13 de 373)
"Não sou muito chegado nesse tipo de livro, mas a escrita do autor me convenceu..e alguém que compreenda que IT é o melhor do mestre merece meu respeito, ainda que ele mesmo admita que Dança da Morte disputa o primeiro lugar"

[April Niemeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read! Outdated though. Wish they made one like it now.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Essential Stephen King is written by an obsessive fan, and is a ranking of all Stephen King's works from 1 to 100. Has Stephen King really written 100 works? Well, that was my first thought, but if you include, as Spignesi has, short stories, essays, poems and even introductions, then yes he has. Each work is outlined in a synopsis, with a few paragraphs on why it Spignesi and others consider it worthwhile, a quotation from King about the work, a background on what was going on with King while writing it, and a little factoid or two about its characters or links to other works.

I love lists, and am one of those people who happily sits down to watch four hours of "The 100 greatest movies" or similar list shows on TV, so this book was right up my street. I've read most of Stephen King's books, so was able to agree or disagrree with Spignesi's rankings, and I wasn't affected by spoilers. There are alot of spoilers in the book, so if you haven't read much King then I would advise steering clear of this one.

The one area of King's writing that I haven't read quite as much of is his short stories, and that's something I definitely need to put right soon, as the synopses of some of them sound amazing (though I covered up the endings with a piece of paper so I couldn't be tempted to read the ones I didn't know!). This book will have the effect of making you want to re-read every single one of King's books, and I found myself wistfully thinking how nice it would be to work my way through all of them chronologically. But if I did that, there wouldn't be much time left over to read anyone else's books!

The Essential Stephen King is a few years old now, so doesn't list any of King's more recent works, and only lists the first four volumes of the Dark Tower saga. I think it's about time Spignesi got to work on a new edition

[Dawn Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not King's #1 fan but I do really like some of his books. I got this book from the library. I wanted to see someone elses view of his books, see if he felt the same way as me about books like The Stand and It. I was interested in seeing how the author ranked King's books and why too, but the biggest positive was giving info about the books. I found quite a few books by King that I ignored because I had misconceptions about them. The books I will now seek out are: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Bag of Bones, The Talisman, Rose Madder, The Eyes of the Dragon and Gerald's Game. I'm really looking forward to reading these to see if I can add any to my favorites list.

As to this book... if you're a big King fan (more than me), then you might want to add this to your collection, it might have information you like to refer to now and then. Otherwise, I would recommend just getting this from your wonderfully helpful local library like I did. Read through it, take a few notes to see if there are King books you want to read that you haven't, then return it. No real need to own it in my opinion.

[Shelli Black Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, reviewing 100 works of Stephen King. Not as comprehensive as I'd have liked. I learned about a few works that I'd previously not known about, and will now seek out for my own reading pleasure. I liked his writing style - close to how Stephen King writes - as if he's speaking directly to the reader. And easy read. My suggestion: read and absorb it in small portions, giving you time to reflect on the reviews (I read it while at the laundromat). If you're looking for a rated-PG book, you won't find it here. (Although if you're reading this, it's most likely because you're a fan of Stephen King, so wouldn't expect a PG rating.)

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew the author was a deranged fan when he was listing the Foreward to one of Mr. King's collections of short story as one of his 100 best works. A 500 word essay written for the NewYorker also made the list. I've written reviews longer than that. Frankly, I'm shocked as hell Steve's grocery list wasn't listed in the top 50 for it's insightful grouping of condiments and chilling use of fresh produce.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

902nd - 2011

Meskipun sudah membaca sebagian besar karya Stephen King, buku ini mengingatkanku untuk mengambil dan membaca buku-buku sang maestro yang sudah lama kumiliki tapi masih kutelantarkan sampai saat ini, menumpuk mengumpulkan debu bersama buku-buku terlantar lainnya. Terutama di antaranya masterpiece yang masuk ranking 10 besar versi buku ini: The Stand, The Shining, dan Serial Dark Tower.

[Steven marin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A survey of his work fiction and non-fiction . Worth the read for a fan.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very interesting summary of some of King's most famous works.