Samuel

Wow, you're pretty devoted. Stephen King's my favorite author and there are still 4 books from his bibliography that I've yet to read.

xmiyux

Gerald's Game was so horrible i stopped reading King entirely. And while í'd like to check out the Dark Tower series, every time i go to pick it up the cover of Gerald's Game floats into my head and i have to put it down. Horrible.

Shap

I can't believe how many votes Tommyknockers is getting for his worst book. I loved that story! I also liked Gerald's Game.

I voted 'From a Buick 8' as I never really got into it. The Dark Tower series is the best, especially books 2-4. I think it's starting to lose some steam now, he seems to be stretching things out too much.

auto

I've also read his entire catalog.

Worst book: From A Buick 8

It's the only thing I've read by King that makes me think he might actually be ready to retire.

DeltaSigChi4

You better get on that then, Sammy.

cultshock

I've read everything too (I've been reading King for over 20 years now), and actually I rather liked From a Buick 8. I dunno, for me, it has a bit of the old spark that has been missing from a lot of his more recent stuff (except the Dark Tower books, which are always great IMO).

RicP

Well aren't you just the merry imbecile.

Tommyknockers got my vote. It was written during his binge days, when he was not really writing his best stuff.

I liked GG because it was such a departure for him stylistically, though I wouldn't rate it near his best.

The Dark Tower series is the pinnacle of his career though, as is proved out with each successive novel. Volume VII should be a hell of a ride to the finish.

I think I'll have to stop and actually let it sink in that I'll finally have all 7 DT volumes ( in Grant 1st Edition hardcovers). I bought the first 2 at a book dealer back in '85 or so and have been getting the rest directly from Grant ever since. It'll be hard to finally admit that it's all over.

Geofferson

I know. It'll be a sad, sad day when I finish DT VII.

Bandoman

"Cujo" was the only SK book I hated.

WillieTheShakes

Good thing you didn't go out on a limb -- King was far from the first writer to use multiple viewpoints.

wmansir

I've read a lot of King, but I couldn't vote in the poll because the only books I have read on the list are the Dark Tower series and Tommyknockers and I enjoyed them both. I've read all the classic King stuff, but with the exception of the DT series I haven't been keeping up. Based on the selection of books for this poll I don't think I have missed much.

Filmmaker

ROSE MADDER by a country mile...frankly, I'm astonished GERALD'S GAME ranks so much worse on this list (word to the wise, I've not yet tackled DREAMCATCHER, but the movie was definitely grade-Z tripe--I had hoped the book would offer a vast improvement, but this poll seems to imply otherwise...a shame...). It's kind of ironic--I've always considered GERALD'S GAME, DOLORES CLAIBORNE and ROSE MADDER to make up an unofficial "battered women trilogy", and have always found DOLORES CLAIBORNE to be one of King's finest hours, GERALD'S GAME to be enjoyable, but rather average, and ROSE MADDER to be the single most excrutiatingly difficult King read to be suffered through (though even at his lowest point of story-creating talent, his command of the language makes for its own compelling, hard-to-put-the-book down element). Even though I might be hard-pressed to find anyone who will agree with me, I rank the pseudonymously penned THINNER a close 2nd...BAG OF BONES would likely be 3rd...that one read like the mind of V.C. Andrews filtered through the voice of King...not so fortuitous of a mix...

twikoff

Ive read ALOT Of SK books.. and of the ones Ive read so far.. Gerald's game is the only one I didnt bother finishing

although.. there are a couple on that list I havent read yet.. so I guess they could be worse
bag of bones (although I have this one now, so Ill give it a shot).. and from a buick 8

Rainet

Another vote for Gerald's Game. It was so bad, it scared me. I was in high school at the time and i read all his books up that point. I loved just about all his books even (Tommyknockers). So when i got to Gerald's Game i was in sudden shock. Just amazed of the drop compared to his earlier work. Remember most of the past 15 years (up and down in quality) etc hasn't happened yet.

Fok

I find his old stuff to be great, not quite sure what's happened to him now though

brainee

I went with "Dreamcatcher" though "Gerald's Game" is a very worthy worst choice too. I guess I give GG some bonus points for at least trying something different. I think King's output has suffered since he became a mega-star in that no editors probably have the stones to tell him to change anything. You'd think an editor, if confronted with something like DC from a lesser-known writer, would have the initial response: "Shit weasels?!? Haha, that's a good one. Now where's the real book?"

The Bus

I was really into reading his stuff when I was 12... a few years later none of the stuff was very interesting to me.

I could never finish The Dark Tower and Desperation was pretty bad too.

My favorite? I'd say The Dark Half.

darkessenz

Geralds game/rose madder-Only started both, but didn't like either one enough to continue.

Also, bag of bones I could not get into. I need to read insomnia.

Man did I love IT, Eyes of the Dragon, 1-4 DT (haven't gotten to the last 3), The Stand, Bachman Books, ALL of the short stories (practically).

King rocks...its too bad I didn't have the steam to plow through some of the more recent stuff. I am in a different stage of reading, kinda trying to read some more classical and acclaimed stuff.

I will finish DT though...probably the coolest synergy ever. I wish he wrote more fantasy, and it really makes sense that DT is quite compelling when you consider the strongest points of his other novels. DT is like diving into the entire mystique that submerges the everyday occurences in other novels...

Pwman

You could add Insomnia to your battered womans list. The victim actually turns lesbian from the abuse. I asked some lesbians I know if that was something that happened in real life and they just laughed. I've read almost all of Kings books. Met him twice, once in the hotel Boulderado where Misery takes place and the other in Estes Park while he was filming The Shining TV miniseries. I did get to converse with him for a while but I never got around to telling him how much I hated Geralds Game or that domestic violence is not a leading cause of homosexuality.

Filmmaker

I don't think it caused her to become homosexual...some people have bisexual tendencies--that's all I read into INSOMNIA's instance. I also don't include INSOMNIA in the "battered women" trilogy since the character referenced, while key to the plot, is not a main character.

Buttmunker

I'm convinced that, since his wife Tabitha is also a writer, that the bad Stephen King books are really written by her!

MovieExchange

After what filmmaker dubbed "the battered women trilogy," that was a major rumor. I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

modfather

Does anyone know if SK has a particular "least favorite"? I doubt he would hold a press conference to announce such a thing, but just wondering if he'd ever mentioned it...

Michael Corvin

I remember that. It's always that or that he had college writers writing for him around that time as well. About that time he was churning them out like Patterson does.

Dogg

I've read all of his books, one of my favorite authors. Tommyknockers was my least favorite...it just seemed to drag on and on and on.