Fear Itself: The Horror Fiction of Stephen King 1976-82

by Chuck Miller (Editor), Tim Underwood (Editor), Charles L. Grant (Contributor)

A collection of essays focused on King's early novels (Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, Firestarter, Cujo and The Dark Tower) and short stories. Contributors include Peter Straub, Burton Hatlan (King's former English professor), Fritz Leiber, Alan Ryan, Deborah Notkin, Don Herron, and others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Reference, Anthologies

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays on Stephen King and his works up to The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. I believe this was the first book of its kind dedicated to King.

Rating these type of books is difficult. Some of the essays are scholarly and other give excellent insight to King and his writings. But others read like some sort of fan worship. Overall, I would say this is an good read if you wish to learn more about King's earlier works and gain some insight on the writer.

The particular edition I have is a limited edition and is signed by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Fritz Leiber, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Alan Ryan, Charles L. Grant, Don Herron, Bill Warren, Douglas E. Winter, Deborah Notkin,and Ben P. Indick. Kind of cool, If I dare say so myself.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

King immediately got me hooked when I read his first books in the 80s. This collection of essays, mind its from 1982, has an intro by Peter Straub and a preface by the master himself. All his early classics are described and analyzed and set into context like e.g. Carrie, Dead Zone, Firestarter, Cujo, The Stand, Shining, Salem's Lot, Nightshift. The well known authors who wrote the essays shine a light on the phenomenon Stephen King who even back then already sold millions of copies. His works are compared to other horror writers. The movies of his works are also talked about. This is especially interesting with regard to all the remakes of since then. Gosh, I loved the 80s and this non-fiction anthology brings everything back. Still adore his early books. It ends with a bibliography of published, unpublished and forthcoming works. IT wasn't even published then, Christine either... had to smile about that over 40 years later. To understand why King is the undisputed Master of Horror you have to go back in time. This is an excellent opportunity in doing so. "Death, tradition and destiny", with this volume you'll understand Stephen King's writing. This is fear itself. Highly recommended stuff!

[Katherine Loyacano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fear Itself: The Early Works of Stephen King is an interesting collection of literary criticism that analyzes Stephen King’s earlier works (short stories and novels) prior to the publication of Christine. There are 9 essays, an introduction by Peter Straub, a forward by Stephen King, and an afterword by George Romero. Anyone who is a fan of King’s writing and has enjoyed reading Salem’s Lot (my favorite), The Shining, Carrie, The Stand, Firestarter, The Dead Zone, and Cujo will enjoy going back in time and discovering why Stephen King became a popular horror writer and a household name for horror fans.

I especially enjoyed the introduction by Peter Straub and the afterword by George Romero. I think Stephen King’s forward is wonderful because I gained insight into his struggles of becoming a writer and how he achieved brand name status. Stephen King is my absolute favorite author, so I enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane to learn more about his early works from the perspectives of other writers and the impact his work has had on both literature and film.

[Valeria P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speravo di più, ma in realtà non è proprio da due stellette ma da due e mezza...
Sono molte interviste, fatte con giornalisti diversi, in momenti successivi, per lo più riguardanti i film e le realizzazioni televisive tratte dai libri di King, più qualche "spaccato di vita quotidiana". Abbastanza specifico per fan, può però dare qualche interessante spunto su cinema, registi, libri da leggere se apprezzate il lavoro del maestro dell'horror e quindi vi interessano i suoi gusti. Scopro con perplessità che S. K. non ha amato Shining nella realizzazione di Kubrick, e successivamente capisco le sue ragioni, il film per me è bellissimo ma in essenza non "è" quel libro!

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essays on Stephen King

[steffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty outdated group of essays about Stephen King's earlier works, meaning, nothing later than Cujo is discussed. Some of the essays border on dry and boring, some of them I simply don't agree with at all, and 2 of them really stand out as intriguing winners.

I think this would be a great reference source for anyone using Stephen King's works for a writing project, or anyone who likes King's early work. I would love to read something more comprehensive and up-to-date, but knowing how large King's bibliography is, I am sure the book would be gigantic.

[A. E. S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen King criticism of some of his early works. Entertaining compare-and-contrast between his books and his movies.

[Shane CGoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable. My wife picked it up at a thrift store in Las Animas Colorado. I unfortunately lost this in our last move. I do want to replace it.

[Chy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some essays are better than others and since it’s a bit dated only his earliest works are written about.

I would love to see an updated version of this featuring more of his work.