For over forty years, Stephen King has been one of the biggest names in literature and popular culture. In 2013, author and Constant Reader Chad A. Clark embarked on a journey, not of miles but of pages and words, reading all of Stephen King's works. Every book and short story, in the order they were released. What lies between these covers are his reflections along the way, the search for inspiration in a style of writing that has evolved over all this time. A trip from Castle Rock to the depths of Derry. From the Blasted Lands to the farthest reaches of Mid-World. For all of us who have been lost in many a King book and pined for the chance to look him in the eyes and say, "We thank you." With an introduction by Richard Chizmar and tons of guest reviews, this book is over 400 pages of pure King fandom. Get your copy now!
Chad A. Clark is an author of dark-leaning fiction, born and raised in the middle of the United States. His road began in Illinois, along the banks of the Mississippi and from there he moved to Iowa, where he has lived ever since. From an early age, he was brined in the glory that is science fiction and horror, from the fantastical of George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry and Steven Spielberg to the dark and gritty tales of Stephen King and George Romero. The way from there to here has been littered with no shortage of books and movies, all of which have and continue to inform his narrative style to this day. Chad has written horror, science fiction and non-fiction. He has been published by Crystal Lake Publishing, Dark Minds Press, Shadow Work Publishing, EyeCue Productions, Darker Worlds Publishing and Sirens Call Publications. His books have received critical praise from the Ginger Nuts of Horror, Ink Heist, Confessions of a Reviewer, Horror DNA and This is Horror. For more, check out www.cclarkfiction.net
TRACING THE TRAILS is a non-fiction book that reads like one Stephen King fan talking to another. (In this scenario, I am a King fan!)
This book is broken up by novels and decade, then short stories and then the novellas. After all that, there are essays on several of King's works written by other authors such as Duncan Bradshaw and Kit Power to name a few. (To be honest, I was a bit King'ed out by then and didn't read all of those essays carefully, just scanning them instead.) There were a few movie reviews as well, namely the IT miniseries and the new IT movies.
When I say it's broken up by novels and then by decade what I mean is these are essays and/or reviews written by Chad A. Clark in that order. The ones I enjoyed most were written about the novels IT, MISERY, THE STAND, SALEM'S LOT and PET SEMATARY.
My library hold for the audio of PET SEMATARY came in while I was still reading this book and seeing what Chad said here resonated with me, because this is the first time I've read PS as a parent:
" Regardless of what you want to call it, one of King's strengths is to take a character's story and present it in a way that you find yourself admitting that you might do the same thing. It's about taking the crazy and making it seem kind of sane. And ultimately, in the end, I find it almost as scary to realize how much I am being brought around to that mindset. "
Me too, Chad. Me too.
I enjoyed the short pieces written about King's short stories. Most especially ALTERCATION, (because I loved that story too and because my mom is in that situation right now), and UR, which was among MY first purchases for Kindle, (just like you, Chad.)
Regarding the novellas, I most especially liked the write up about THE MIST. I, too, am one of the few who liked the ending of the book AND the ending of the film. To be honest, I might have even liked the film's end a wee bit better. Let the discussions begin in the comment section below!
Lastly, there was a piece among the essays at the end about that scene in IT. Yeah, you know the scene I'm talking about. After reading Chad's take, maybe I understand a little better why King did it, but I still don't like it.
I don't think this book would work very well for people that do not enjoy King's work at all. That said, if you're a fan like me, (and Chad!), and you grew up reading King's early work; and if you continued reading his works for what seems like (and may BE) your entire life, then this is the book for you. You don't have to have liked all of the books King has written, in fact, it might be even more interesting for you if you haven't liked them all. Chad's reviews provide insight to what we King fans are thinking and even if you don't agree with everything Chad has written here, you might find this walk down Stephen King lane informative and fun.
Highly recommended to King fans, of course, but also to anyone looking for a more in-depth look at King's works throughout the years. Chad won't let you down!
I may be biased because I edited this book but it's one of the finest works on Stephen King I've ever read. If you're a Constant Reader like me, do yourself a favor and pick up this book!
Author Chad A. Clark, born in the Midwest, has spent most of his life in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan. He studied at the University of Iowa where he cultivated his passion for the written word, his focus being that of genre fiction, specifically horror and science fiction. Clark has numerous short stories, novella’s, and novels to his credit, beginning with his short stories: ‘Utopia,’ ‘Falling To Dark,’ ‘Tomorrow’s Memory,’ ‘Mist On The Highway,’ ‘Through The Slip,’ the novellas: Down The Beaten Path, Yesterday: When We Died, The Child At The End Of Time, Winter Holiday, Winward, From Across Their Walls, the short story collections: A Shade For Every Season, Two Bells At Dawn and his novels: Behind Our Walls (trilogy), Borrowed Time, and Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader’s Reflections On The Work Of Stephen King featured in this review. This novel opens with an Introduction written by Richard Chizmar, an author I truly admire and respect as much as Stephen King, wherein he talks about his personal and business life and his friendship with King. Chizmar also quotes a bit of dialogue from one of his favorite movies, and mine, Tombstone, though I won’t spoil it for you by revealing it here, I will say it touched me deeply, like Chizmar’s life story, bringing me to tears.
Chizmar first met the King in 1981 when he was in high school, by way of one of his short stories. Fast forward five years later when Chizmar, in the middle of his junior year in college, sees King’s novel It in a book store. His thoughts after reading only a few pages may resonate with King fans who, perhaps, have also taken a break, like Clark and Chizmar, from reading his books or reading in general, later reigniting their passion with the discovery of a new Stephen King novel. For Chizmar, that book was It: ‘Pennywise was terrifying and grotesque, and he wanted me to float with him down there in the dark sewers of Derry. But I didn’t care. I was home again.’ After reading this, my fifteen-year-old self, the age I was when I first read It, screamed Yes! This!
After their re-immersion into King’s books later in life, Chizmar and Clark would rediscover their passion for reading and enthusiasm for writing. At the age of fifteen, Chizmar knew he wanted to spend his life doing to others what this author had done to him: ‘He’d [King] managed to make the real world around me disappear and replaced it with a fairy tale. A dark and frightening fairy, to be sure, that’s exactly what the whole experience felt like to me: it felt like magic’, which is precisely how my introduction to King’s writing felt to me. It was a time in my life that I wanted and needed the world around me to disappear, and King’s books were my escape. I was ten when I stumbled upon Carrie during one of my weekend visits to the Bookmobile, and I’ve been an avid fan of King’s writing ever since, the reason why Chad A. Clark’s novel, Tracing The Trails, appeals to me as both a reader and reviewer. Who better to reflect on the works of the King Of Horror than a fellow fan? I can’t think of anyone better.
In the year 2014, Clark embarked on what he calls ‘a long rewarding journey’ that stems from his passion for reading, ‘a desire to return to the kind of reading that hooked [him] in the first place.’ It was after listening to some of King’s audiobooks and reading a few of his new novels, when the idea came to Clark to ‘start at the beginning of [King’s] bibliography and take them down in order, reflecting on [his] thoughts along the way.’ Clark’s journey began with reading one of King’s books each month, and then posting his reviews on his blog, later compiling them into the novel featured in this review, Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader’s Reflections On The Work Of Stephen King. Clark’s intent in writing this book is not to sway the reader to side with his way of thinking about a piece of writing; he’s merely expressing his opinions, which is the job of any reviewer. Do I agree with everything the author said within these pages? Of course not. Do I like every short story, novella, and novel written by the King of Horror? No, but the same can be said about all the authors whose writing lured me in over the years.
I have read or listened to the audiobooks of every short story, novella, and novel written by King mentioned in Clark’s book, save for The Dark Tower series and a couple of his new novels. I don’t feel the spoilers within Tracing The Trails, that Clark warns the reader about early on, ruins King’s writing for any potential reader. Personally, this novel served to reignite my passion for rereading the books I read so long ago, and the gentle push I need to complete my collection of The Dark Tower series, referenced in several of King’s stories. Stephen King is one of the two people in my life whose writing inspired me to follow my dream, and words cannot express how thankful I am to have met him by way of a book. ‘The most important things are the hardest to say… because words diminish them.’ – Stephen King, The Body
In closing, whether you’re a fellow fan of the King of Horror or a potential reader, I recommend taking the journey with Clark in Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader’s Reflections On The Work Of Stephen King.
Subtitled "A Constant Reader's Reflections on the Work of Stephen King," TRACING THE TRAILS is a literary memoir by one thoughtful author/reader as he embarked on a quest to read every piece of writing by the master, Stephen King. Beginning in 2013, author Chad Clark began to read (or reread) everything Mr. King had published, in order of publication. In some cases, that became a little odd for Mr. Clark as for other readers; for example, the original published version of THE STAND, long as it was, still was not as significantly lengthy as the version Mr. King initially penned, which was published later. Mr. Clark takes care to elicit King's background situations at the time of each story, which is appealing to long-time King fans, but he also shows us his own viewpoint at the time of his reading. Through this method, the book becomes so much more than a list of Mr. Clark's reading. I am reminded of the stories about Fae who lead travelers and unwitting visitors off the path and into the forest; except here, it is author Chad Clark raising high a lantern, guiding us safely, stopping to point out a novel here, there a story, over yonder a collection. Pausing to explain why each is important, what it means to his life, and what was going on in the life of Mr. King as each story was created. The value for me in this book is threefold; I learned more about Stephen King as author and individual, and about his literary output. I saw through a different viewpoint, that of a reader/writer who loves Mr. King's works. Finally, Mr. Clark's guidance along this literary path inspired in me new considerations and food for thought, as well as an impetus to return to some of my favourites and to rethink (and reread) some I didn't care for on first read. I recommend taking this book a section at a time: let it speak to you, think about what Mr. Clark is telling, pick up the King story in question and reread (or possibly, read for the first time). This book is not meant to be a one-sitting read, but a guidebook written by a Constant Reader whose devotion and intelligence shines through.
I normally read non-fiction quite slowly and I fully intended to take a very leisurely stroll through Chad Clark’s Reflections on the Works of Stephen King but once I started I could not put the thing down. In the end I read it straight through over a few days and I cannot give this brilliant work higher praise than that. At first glance a whole bunch of reviews specifically on the works of Stephen King might not sound like the most riveting topic for any casual reader, but Clark genuinely brings the subject matter to life. In essence, this is much more than a collection of reviews and is a very personal journey through the fiction of an author who has dominated the horror landscape since the 1970s.
To call Clark’s Tracing the Trails a collection of reviews fails to tap into the sheer breadth and depth of his project, which is ultimately a labour of love. A more accurate description would probably be short essays which bring his novels into the context of King’s wider career. Some reflect upon where King was in his personal life, drinking, drugging or sober, and bring them into the wider context of what was happening in the book world at the time. Equally significant, which particular literary trajectory King was on when any one book was released? Crucial also, what relationship did Chad Clark have with Stephen King when he read each of these novels? Because, let’s face it, we all know he’s written some duds and readers can quickly fall in and out of love with authors if they read a couple which fail to deliver. Us readers are a fickle bunch.
Chad Clark is of the age to have read many of the 1980s era King novels when they were brand new, and the older ones easily obtainable from his local libraries. Like many of us Constant Readers (the name Stephen King gives to his biggest fans) he drifted away from his hero for a number of years, only to rediscover him, as I did, in later life. In 2013, when Chad was beginning to write his own fiction, he decided to start a blog in which he reviewed every King book in chronological order and by the end of 2017 had reviewed all his published novels. Tracing the Trails also features the novels King has published since, right up to and including the most recent 2018 novella Elevation.
The project has a beautiful flow to it and I felt the conversational, light, and unassuming tone worked absolutely perfectly. Clark does not preach and only gives him own opinion, neither does he sell himself as any kind of Stephen King expert (although he most definitely is). First and foremost, he is an exceptionally knowledgeable Constant Reader and this shines through vividly, with his love for the material overwhelming. Clark tries to find the good in even the weakest of King books and had much more patience for some of early noughies fiction than I did!
Thankfully, this is not an academic text and does not have any pretentions to be. The last heavy study I read on Stephen King bored me to tears, I’m sure these academics knows their subjects, but this book left me cold and should you want a deeper sense of King as a writer and as a man then read Chad Clark instead, the academic books will tell you nothing. Why? He nails the strengths and significance of this author in the way an academic text can never do. Ultimately in horror sometimes “a wavy curtain is just a wavy curtain” and there is no need to go down rabbit holes looking for deeper meanings in genre fiction which is genuinely not there. Thankfully Chad Clark does not do that, instead he throws us a massive amount of food for thought to chew over, in a very personal and humble odyssey into his favourite author. It’s by a fan and it’s written for fans.
It’s clear Clark knows Stephen King’s fiction inside out and back to front. He has read most of his books more than once, some several times. I’m read just about everything with the exception of some of the Dark Tower novels, so in a pissing contest Clark would beat most other Constant Readers hands down, but he is really not the type to blow his own trumpet. I also adored the many observations and anecdotes which are littered across the essays, they add genuine colour to proceedings. I’m going to outline a few below, remember you don’t have to agree, but it gives a flavour of the sort of stuff featured in Tracing the Trails, and I’m sure other Constant Readers will have their own opinions on these:
1. Was The Talisman a Dark Tower novel? 2. Why are there so many references to the Dark Tower novels in his horror fiction? You will not pick up on many of these unless you’ve read the Dark Tower. 3. Why does Father O’Calaghan (from Salem’s Lot) appear in the Dark Tower? 4. Co-authorship is a funny thing… How would King’s working relationship with his son Owen, that he did with Peter Stroub? 5. Could Finders Keepers existed as a standalone novel if Bill Hodges didn’t turn up in the final third? Did we really need him? 6. Why is there a character called ‘Stephen King’ character in the Dark Tower series? 7. King only wrote one short story with a pseudonym, Thad Beaumont, all of you should know who he is…. 8. Did you realise that there is pretty good evidence that the kids in the short story Children of the Corn worship Randall Flagg (of The Stand and the Dark Tower series)? 9. Was Doctor Sleep originally written about any old guy with supernatural powers, who wasn’t Danny Torrance, think about it…. 10. Full Dark, No Stars as a novella collection is weakened due to the fact that the theme of revenge hangs the stories together. Neither earlier collection has such a constraint. 11. There are a couple of hints that connect the Apt Pupil novella to Jack Torrance in The Shining. 12. Would you agree that The Shawshank Redemption is the only example of when a film version outshines the novella source material? 13. How would King’s career be remembered, or panned out, if a novel like Dolores Claiborne was at the beginning instead of the middle? 14. The Regulators and Desperation came out at the same time. One was Bachman and the other King. Why did King bring Bachman back? Is this book came out in 2018 the internet would be all over it, but in those days nobody much noticed…. 15. The Blackhouse was not especially sold as a sequel to The Talisman but in actual fact was very tough going for those who had not read The Talisman. Was this book mis-sold?
Over the course of his essays Chad Clark chews over all these points and many others besides, for major Stephen King fans this will be very enlightening and nice triggers for stuff they haven’t thought about since they read the book up for discussion. He spends a lot of time joining up the dots connected to the Dark Tower books and I particularly enjoyed these, perhaps this was because I’m no expert on these books. I’m not saying I’m going to read them, but Chad sure had me thinking about them more than I did previously.
There is also a lot of excellent bonus material. If you followed the original blog the extensive short story collection sections have been completely rewritten and there are new mini reviews of every story. So, if you haven’t read everything Chad provides an excellent resource should you just fancy dipping into King’s vast collections. He does something similar with the novellas.
Further inclusions include a brief look at some of the films, a discussion on the very controversial underage sex scene in IT and reviews of all the Bachman books. There is also an enlightening introduction from Richard Chizmar (who co-wrote Gwendy’s Button Box) with King and a selection of other inclusions from other horror authors including Kit Power. In fact, the other contributions are the least essential features of the collection as they’re a diversion from Chad Clark’s voice. Once he pulls you in with his easy-going style, I didn’t fancy listening to another talking horror head.
For King fans this is essential reading and I thoroughly enjoyed a trip inside the head of another Constant Reader who has also written a few very good novels and novellas himself. This is unquestionably the best book I have read about Stephen King.
You will not find a reader as dedicated as Chad Clark. And his words here prove just that. Starting with Stephen King's humble beginnings and through his later works, and everything in between, Chad takes you through decades of some of the best fiction ever written...and some of the not so great fiction. Every review is honest. This isn't just fanboy hero worship. Clark truly dissects every work by the King of Horror--a writer who so many of us both adored and doubted in the valley and on the mountain top. And as a bonus, Chad offers up some extra chapters discussing some of the more risque moments in King's fiction, such as "that scene" in IT. Without a doubt, you're not going to want to miss this.
Very good and easy read. It was enjoyable to read extended reviews from a fan's perspective on each book in order, with comments on the decades and his views of King's life. Different reviews would have tidbits and trivia about King personally or his views on his work that I wasn't previously aware of. Novellas and short stories are covered separately, as is Richard Bachman. He's a big fan of IT, and it shows as a reocurring theme throughout. There are interesting essays at the end from a variety, such as that taboo scene in IT (a defense of it), the different IT movie versions, an essay on how incredible On Writing was (Need to re-read that this year), the toxicity of fans about the Dark Tower movie with feeling entitled and being so publically rude and hostile that it creates a bad social climate in general in more ways than just a movie. Movies aren't discussed much but they're brought up if there's a relevant point - such as him finding Dolores Claiborne the movie superior to the book (it was), King's dislike of The Shining, Misery being such a well-done adaptation. Personal situations of King, especially addiction, are brought up, and the Dark Tower books are delved into with detailed reviews.
I enjoyed how the author put emphasis on the towns being a character in themselves, Castle Rock and Derry. Derry is brought up a bit more.
"Castle Rock and Derry in the eighties were sort of the Metropolis and Gotham City of the Stephen King universe so it was kind of appropriate that, like Gotham, Derry represented the darker aspects of the two towns. Castle Rock certainly saw its share of tragedy and violence over the years but Derry seemed to be the place of bleak nightmares."
The author is clearly an "early King fan" and it shows throughout the book. That said, he mentions strengths of the author throughout all bodies of work and is always polite about it. I disagree with his view of Cujo, but I'm in the minority when it comes to my strong appreciation of that book. Yes, it was a bit all over the place at first, but the soul of the story is strong.
I really need to re-read The Dark Half. It was highly praised in this book - I read it as a teenager and remember liking it, but forgot nearly everything.
Audible:This was a wonderful book for any fan of the man that is Stephen King. The author starts the book by telling his story of where he came in and how it felt to discover a certain book.He then goes back to book 1 and re reads them all to give us his opinions on where King may have been coming from when he wrote it.This book brought back so many memories and makes me want to start over myself! I read the Stand in 10th grade,and several times since.It is my favorite.He tells of reading Pet Sematary while having a chilld Gages age.I did that when it first came out.I thought that book would kill me.He tells of the peppering of words and towns throughout the Stephen King Universe and how we feel at home there.I live in Derry Township.I claim that.lo lMy sons favorite place is Milford Cemetary,because there is one near hie house.He also describes waiting for each book to come out in the Dark Tower series.This was a special rememberance.No matter where my son was,we read it at the same time.I recommend this book to anyone who is or was a Constant reader. Erich Bailey narrated this and did a fine job.He could have put a bit more feeling into it.I felt like I was at a lecture.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
This truly is an epic piece of work, a series of essays on Stephen King’s entire (thus far) back catalogue, including every novel, novella and short story written by the master. The essays herein provide both a nostalgia rush (I’m currently re-reading the novels myself and this has provided fresh impetus for that endeavour) and new insights into King’s writing. I found myself agreeing with much of what Chad was expressing here and it was almost comforting to find that some of the reservations and thoughts I had on many of the novels were reflected here. I didn’t agree with every analysis of course, which is exactly as it should be. This is an excellent book which will appeal to everyone other Constant Reader out there. A true labour of love (and we all know how difficult love can be sometimes) which neatly steers a direct course between the extremes of hagiography and demolition job to provide intelligent, thought-provoking and genuine analysis. (He’s wrong about Cujo though).
This was essentially a series of thoughts and writings on each one of Stephen King’s stories up to The Outsider. I enjoyed the thought and opinion behind each review. I liked how there were comparisons and there was thought given to perhaps the reasoning for King to write some tales the way he did, how the books were interrelated, and what it means to have a writing style change over the years despite the ravings of the fans. I didn’t agree with all of the assessments, but I certainly appreciated the time and effort it took to do this piece of writing.
Very good review of Stephen Kings books throughout the time, i read the breakdown of all the books i have read and even some of books i havent. Would recommend if you would like a non-fiction book talking a delve into SK’s books.
I am also legally obliged to say that i recieved this book as a review copy and got it for free.
This was a pleasant surprise, a collection of reviews/thoughts on pretty much anything King ever wrote. I did skip a few parts cause I haven't read all of Kings work yet and I don't want to spoil it too much so I will for sure come back to it later on and compare notes.
Enjoyable look back at King's work up to 2018. I liked when he would compare and discover themes through the eras and mix in biographical history. I am not sure I would have enjoyed this if I had not read all but 2 of these books. It was mostly a fond reminder of my own tracing of the trails.