What are the Best Stephen King Books?
Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty.
—Stephen King, The Gunslinger
Who is Stephen King?
We have told you about the best books from the Queen of Crime, now let us tell you about the best books from King, the King of Horror!
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine, US on 21st September 1947. He is well known for his horror books, with heavy influence from the supernatural. He also wrote in the Sci/Fi, Crime and Fantasy genres.
Stephen King has published 65 novels and over 200 short stories in a short space of 49 years. His 66th book Holly, is due for release later this year. Altogether, all his works have sold over 400 million copies worldwide, ranking him as the 21st most sold author of all time.
His work has inspired countless adaptations into film and TV, and even inspiring other authors and creators into making their own stuff. He has even made cameos in some of these, such as IT: Chapter Two (2019) and The Stand (2021).
The Order
Below you will find the 12 books that we consider the best of Stephen King’s books. Below we have only included his novel length work. At the end of this page, I will list to you the King of Horror’s favourite books of his own. Some of these make an appearance in the first list below, and these will be highlighted by the authors initials, like so (SK).
The order for the Best Books of Stephen King will be in publication order.
- Carrie (1974)
- Salem’s Lot (1975)
- The Shining (1977)
- The Stand (1978)
- Cujo (1981)
- The Dark Tower: Gunslinger (1982)
- Pet Semetary (1983)
- It (1986)
- Misery (1987)
- Gerald’s Game (1992)
- The Green Mile (1996)
- 11/22/63 (2011)
Carrie (1974)
60,580 Words, 3 Chapters, 272 Pages, 4hrs 5mins to read
20,193 Average Words per Chapters, 64 Average Pages per Chapters
Published by Doubleday
3.98 out of 5 on Goodreads
How could we start this list with any other book than his debut novel. From the get go, Stephen King shows that he has the talent and the knowhow to stick around for a while yet. The fact that this book has been adapted into film multiple times, most recently in 2013, starring Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie.
Read the synopsis below!
Carrie White is no ordinary girl.
Carrie White has the gift of telekinesis.
To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie – the first
step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues.
But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she
is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her . . .
‘Salem’s Lot (1975)
157,605 Words, 16 Chapters, 439 Pages, 10hrs 30mins to read
9,850 Average Words per Chapter, 27.4 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Doubleday
4.05 out of 5 on Goodreads
This one garnered a lot of success riding off of his debut novel, Carrie, the year before. And this book just shows us all that King is not messing around. He knows exactly what he is doing and that he has the talent to pull it off. Whilst this has been adapted a few times, most recently in 2004 as a TV mini-series starring Rob Lowe, they had never really gained any of the success of some of his other adaptations.
Read the synopsis below!
‘Salem’s Lot is a small New England town with the usual quota of gossips, drinkers, weirdos and respectable folk. Of course there are tales of strange happenings – but not more than in any other town its size.
Ben Mears, a moderately successful writer, returns to the Lot to write a novel based on his early years, and to exorcise the terrors that have haunted him since childhood. The event he witnessed in the house now rented by a new resident. A newcomer with a strange allure. A man who causes Ben some unease as things start to happen: a child disappears, a dog is brutally killed – nothing unusual, except the list starts to grow.
Soon surprise will turn to bewilderment, bewilderment to confusion and finally to terror . . .
The Shining (1977)
The Shining #1
137,750 Words, 58 Chapters, 659 Pages, 9hrs 10mins to read
2,375 Average Words per Chapter, 11.3 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Doubleday
4.26 out of 5 on Goodreads
This is probably the most popular of Stephen King’s books, and is the most popular book of his on Goodreads with 1.3 million ratings. In 1980 this book was adapted to film by none other than Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nichloson and Shelley Duvall. Stephen King found this to be a horrible adaptation of his book, but still saw the talent of Stanley Kubrick’s work. But in 1997 King was an executive producer for a TV mini-series of a more faithful adaptation of his book. And in 2013 King made a sequel of this book, Doctor Sleep, which also was adapted into film in 2019 starring Ewan McGregor.
Read the synopsis below!
Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.
The Stand (1978) (SK)
307,820 Words, 79 Chapters, 823 Pages, 20hrs 30mins to read
9,850 Average Words per Chapter, 27.4 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Doubleday
(Unedited version of this book, released in 1990)
467,815 Words, 79 Chapters, 1,152 Pages, 31hrs 15mins to read
9,850 Average Words per Chapter, 27.4 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Doubleday
4.34 out of 5 on Goodreads
This is his big epic, the one he considers his magnum opus. A Massive ensemble of cast that all comes together. King helped define the genre of the post-apocalyptic world and turned a lot of Sci/Fi skeptics into fans. The Stand, being the size and length of this epic, it has been adapted a few times into a TV show, most recently in 2020, starring James Marden, Whoopi Goldberg and Alexanda Skarsgård.
Read the synopsis below!
First came the days of the plague. Then came the dreams. Dark dreams that warned of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of Evil. His time is at hand. His empire grows in the west and the Apocalypse looms.
For hundreds of thousands of fans who read The Stand in its original version and wanted more, this new edition is Stephen King’s gift. And those who are listening to The Stand for the first time will discover a triumphant and eerily plausible work of the imagination that takes on the issues that will determine our survival.
Cujo (1981)
122,960 Words, no chapters, 319 Pages, 8hrs 15mins to read
Published by Viking Press
3.77 out of 5 on Goodreads
Cujo is on the lower end of the spectrum for the supernatural vibes, it is heavily into the realism with real world problems. With the more realistic storyline, this one is truly one of the more fear inducing tales he has given us to enjoy. This book was adapted into film just two years later, in 1983.
Read the synopsis below!
His Bite Is Worse Than His Bark..
It happens innocently enough, but doesn’t it happen always. A big, friendly dog chases a rabbit into a hidden underground cave – and stirs a sleeping evil crueler than death itself.
A terrified four-year-old boy sees his bedroom closet door swing open untouched by human hands, and screams at the unholy red eyes gleaming in the darkness.
The little Maine town of Castle Rock is about to be invaded by the most hideous menace ever to savage the flesh and devour the mind..
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
The Dark Tower #1
62,450 Words, 65 Chapters, 224 Pages, 4hrs 10mins to read
960 Average Words per Chapter, 3.4 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Grant
3.93 out of 5 on Goodreads
We couldn’t make a list of the best books of Stephen King without mentioning his The Dark Tower series. The first book, which was made up of five short stories he had previously written, was an instant hit. His writing skill is in full stride with this series. It was adapted into a film in 2017, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey.
Read the synopsis below!
In the first book of this series, Stephen King introduces readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, The Last Gunslinger.
He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which frighteningly mirrors our own, Roland pursues The Man in Black, encounters an alluring woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the Kid from Earth called Jake. Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
Pet Semetary (1983)
143,095 Words, 62 Chapters, 374 Pages, 9hrs 30mins to read
2,307 Average Words per Chapter, 6 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Doubleday
4.05 out of 5 on Goodreads
This is up there as one of his eeriest books, where King is able to stare death in the face with this book, and look at undoing death. This has been adapted into film a few times, most recently in 2019.
Read the synopsis below!
“Sometimes dead is better….”
When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son—and now an idyllic home. As a family, they’ve got it all…right down to the friendly cat.
But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth—more terrifying than death itself…and hideously more powerful.
IT (1986)
441,155 Words, 29 Chapters, 1,138 Pages, 29hrs 25mins to read
15,212 Average Words per Chapter, 39.2 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Viking
4.25 out of 5 on Goodreads
Whether you’re a fan of Tim Curry’s Pennywise, or the more recent adaptation of the book, there’s no denying that both of these are great watches. But what makes them so great is the source material. While this book is one of Stephen King’s longest books, it never fails to keep you hooked. Definitely one of his creepiest books to date.
Read the synopsis below!
Welcome to Derry, Maine …
It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real …
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them back to Derry to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name.
Misery (1987) (SK)
112,410 Words, 4 Chapters, 310 Pages, 7hrs 30mins to read
28,102 Average Words per Chapter, 77.5 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Viking
4.21 out of 5 on Goodreads
King has stated this as being one of his favourite books of his own, claiming it to be a fun one to write. And when you read it, you just know why – a crazed fan of a writer. You just wonder if he ever thought anything like this would happen to him. It was adapted into film in 1990, starring Kathy Bates and James Caan.
Read the synopsis below!
Paul Sheldon. He’s a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader – she is Paul’s nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.
Gerald’s Game (1992)
124,350 Words, 40 Chapters, 352 Pages, 8hrs 20mins to read
3,108 Average Words per Chapter, 8.8 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Viking
3.56 out of 5 on Goodreads
This is another one of King’s stories that begins with such a real down to earth element that we all could understand, with a husband and wife trying to get their spark back into their marriage. It’s a situation that we could all find ourselves in (if we are into that sort of thing…), but the idea of being trapped is something that we all fear. Lurking in the back of all our minds. In 2017, Netflix picked up this book and turned it into a film, starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood.
Read the synopsis below!
A game. A husband-and-wife game. Gerald’s Game.
But this time Jessie didn’t want to play. Lying there, spreadeagled and handcuffed to the bedstead while he’d loomed and drooled over her, she’d felt angry and humiliated.
So she’d kicked out hard. Aimed to hit him where it hurt.
And now he was dead – a coronary – on the floor.
Leaving Jessie alone and helpless in a lakeside holiday cabin. Miles from nowhere. No-one to hear her screams.
Alone. Except for the voices in her head that begun to chatter and argue and sneer…
The Green Mile (1996)
130,365 Words, 16 Chapters, 400 Pages, 8hrs 45mins to read
8,147 Average Words per Chapter, 25 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Signet Books
4.47 out of 5 on Goodreads
This was initially released in six installments in six months, each one hitting the bestseller list, now sold in one collection. This is full of rich story, and human spirit, and in classic King theme, with a supernatural element. In 1999, this was made into film starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan.
Read the synopsis below!
At Cold Mountain Penitentiary, along the lonely stretch of cells known as the Green Mile, condemned killers such as ‘Billy the Kid’ Wharton and the possessed Eduard Delacroix await death strapped in ‘Old Sparky’. But good or evil, innocent or guilty, prisoner or guard, none has ever seen the brutal likes of the new prisoner, John Coffey, sentenced to death for raping and murdering two young girls. Is Coffey a devil in human form? Or is he a far, far different kind of being?
There are more wonders in heaven and hell than anyone at Cold Mountain can imagine and one of those wonders might just have stepped in amongst them.
11/22/63 (2011)
269,545 Words, 34 Chapters, 849 Pages, 18hrs to read
7,927 Average Words per Chapter, 24.9 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Scribner
4.33 out of 5 on Goodreads
Stephen King’s foray into time travel, and it sure does not disappoint. He spent about four decades toying with the idea, that ultimately became this book. This was adapted into a TV series (with a slightly different format of 11.22.63) in 2016.
Read the synopsis below!
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. Unless…
In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane — and insanely possible — mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.
In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald…
Honorable Mention
Below you will find one of his non-fiction works. For any aspiring author this book can act almost like a bible and one that can not be recommended highly enough. Without any more delay, let’s have a look at the Honorable Mention.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000)
69,600 Words, 5 Chapters, 320 Pages, 4hrs 35mins to read
13,920 Average Words per Chapter, 64 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Scribner
4.33 out of 5 on Goodreads
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 — and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it — fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
Bonus
Now it would not be right to complete this list without including some of Stephen King’s best work under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Below you will find the two best of his books written as Bachman that we think you should check out. If you have not already.
The Long Walk (1979)
93,525 Words, 18 Chapters, 370 Pages, 6hrs 15mins to read
5,195 Average Words per Chapter, 20 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Signet Books
4.09 out of 5 on Goodreads
Widely regarded as his best book under his pseudonym name, Richard Bachman.
Read the synopsis below!
Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping… with the winner being awarded “The Prize” – anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line – the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game – permanently…
The Running Man (1982)
66,990 Words, 100 Chapters, 317 Pages, 4hrs 30mins to read
669 Average Words per Chapter, 3.2 Average Pages per Chapter
Published by Signet Books
3.89 out of 5 on Goodreads
This book is probably one his more well known ones under Bachman as this was adapted into film in 1987, starring none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. While it is based on the book, it is very loosely based.
Read the synopsis below!
In the year 2025, the best men don’t run for president, they run for their lives…
Ben Richards is out of work and out of luck. His eighteen-month-old daughter is sick, and neither Ben nor his wife can afford to take her to a doctor. For a man from the poor side of town with no cash and no hope, there’s only one thing to do: become a contestant on one of the Network’s Games, shows where you can win more money than you’ve ever dreamed of – or die trying. Now Ben’s going prime-time on the Network’s highest-rated viewer participation show. And he’s about to become a prey for the masses…
Stephen King’s favourite Books of his own
Back in 2021, Stephen King appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his latest book, Billy Summers.
Short Stories
- Survivor Type (1982) – his favourite of the short stories.
- The Body (A.K.A. Stand By Me) (1982)
Novels
- The Stand (1978) – His big epic and he considers this his magnum opus.
- Misery (1987) – He found this to be a fun book to write.
- Lisey’s Story (2006) – a personal story for King. This is about his relationship with his wife.
- Billy Summers (2021) – The book he was promoting..
The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there…and still on your feet.
—Stephen King, The Stand
Overall
Stephen King is quite rightly, one of the most well-known authors alive today. The amount of work that he has under his belt is staggering. I have no idea how he makes time for it all! There is a reason he is one of the best selling authors in the world, of al time. His skill at creating all these amazing characters that we are almost always so instantly immersed in, is no small feat. His work has been the inspiration to many of the greatest films of all time, some of them I did not even realise he inspired. Such as Shawshank Redemption, arguably one of the best films ever made.
He very much deserves his title of “King of Horror”.
If you have enjoyed any of Stephen King’s work and want to learn more about his or any other of his work, then feel free to check out his website.
Did any of your favourite books make the list? If not which one of his is your favourite, or maybe even the one that you are most looking forward to picking up next?
Let us know!
Happy reading!
Tally Count
Stephen King:-
- Total Word Count: 1,969,350 words
- Total Chapters: 407 (+1 for Cujo, as this has no chapters)
- Total Pages: 6,488 pages
- Total Reading Time: 131hrs 20mins
Bonus:-
- Total Word Count: 230,115 words
- Total Chapters: 123 chapters
- Total Pages: 1,007 pages
- Total Reading Time: 15hrs 20mins
Altogether:-
- Total Word Count: 2,199,465 words
- Total Chapters: 529 chapters
- Total Pages: 7,495 pages
- Total Reading Time: 146hrs 40mins
Other Best of Lists:
More of the same, but different:
Things to Note:
- Word count is an approximation.
- Amount of pages may differ due to different publications, font style and/or size etc.
- Time spent reading is generally an approximation based on the word count and the average reading time. The average reader will read 250 WPM (Words Per Minute).
- This is the original publisher of the books.
- The current Goodreads score at the time of writing.
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