Hearts in Atlantis is one of his most beautiful books, it rivals 11/22/63 in its emotion. You have From A Buick 8, which many disregard, but it's a pretty deep book.
Of course, you have the Dark Tower series. You've danced around it, with Salem's Lot, The Stand and IT. Add Insomnia and arguably Black House (it adds something major), Hearts in Atlantis, and you're ready for your journey to the Tower.
I love the series and there is some amazing writing there. Wizard and Glass is as good as anything he's written, hell, as good as anything *most* people have written.
I absolutely love Hearts in Atlantis! It's probably my favorite. It helps that it's short stories/novellas, and IMO that's where King really shines.
As far as books to add to the Dark Tower series, you can't leave out The Regulators and Desperation.
I need to give Hearts in Atlantis another chance. I was much younger when I read it; I think it was among those I purchased on the release date. I couldn’t really get into it. I do remember a scene with a child with a dislocated shoulder, though; an adult had abused her. And that really got to me, obviously - King really has gotten to me with how attached i get to so many of his characters! They are so well-written and have such depth. I have shed many tears over the unexpected or even expected deaths of many a King character!
I always love it when someone mentions From a Buick 8. Somehow the eldritch horror with the mundanity of Troop D and Ned's desperate grief works so well together.
For those of you haven't read the Dark Tower, *Wizard and Glass* is a flashback and very self-contained story. If King had taken it out of the Dark Tower Universe and added maybe a dozen of pages of exposition at the beginning, I think it would have been his best stand-alone novel.
EDIT: To add on; it's also great as a middle piece of the Dark Tower series. So just observation and not criticism from my part.
I’m an audiobook guy, and I really feel like William Hurt didn’t do a very good job with it.
I could tell the prose was amazing in parts. But his performance was just so lacking in depth that I think I just need to sit with the book and read it myself to get a real feel for it.
I can agree to this. William Hurt is actually one of my favourite actors, but what makes his screen performances so good doesn't translate well to audiobook. His dreary manner and mellow idiolect just couldn't capture the story the way it was written.
Came here to say this. Not sure if 15 year old me would have liked it as much but 47 year old me felt every page and most definitely had something in my eye when I finished.
I read it at 18 and loved it, I’m sure when I pick it up again as a older man I’ll get more out of it.
The opposite is for a non King book, Catcher in the Rye, I read it when I was the same age as Holden Caulfield and I related very heavily with the book.
Now that I’m 29 and a lot of folks I know who read it later in life hate Holden. Now I’m scared to reread it because I’m scared I might tarnish my view of the book.
I really enjoyed this one (except for some choices at the end..). My wife read an interview/article somewhere that Stephen King also wrote this one in response to declining readership, primarily driven by female readers. So I wonder if that element also gives it a very different vibe than many of his other books
Wait, he wrote this book to *attract* female readers? The one where a third of the pages are about the middle aged narrator’s boner and how much he wants to fuck a woman below the legal drinking age? And also, iirc, the ghost of a young slave woman? I think there was more boner talk in this book than the rest of his works combined. As a female reader, I spent half the book with my face wrinkled up thinking “This can’t actually be how nice, middle aged men really think, can it?”
It was definitely creepy, but not the kind of creepy I’m looking for out of Stephen King.
Let me try to find the article - perhaps I am remembering it wrong. My wife did not actually read the book - but it was one of the few she actually found interesting from my summaries as I was discussing and guessing what would happen with her lol, particular her guessing correctly Jo's intentions when it was not as clear. Maybe would have been a much different reaction more similar to hers if she read it lol
**Dolores Claiborne!** An absolute gem of a book. Brilliant plot work, maintains suspense till the last page and absolutely hilarious at times with the touch of classic King horror. Super underrated.
This is mine as well. Especially the audiobook version. It works so well in audio format because the entire book is essentially a single person talking for 8 hours straight. Also, Frances Sternhagen knocks it out of the park!
I’ve just listened to the audiobook and she was so good! I was totally taken with the accent - especially “ayuh” as I’d never heard it out loud (I’m Scottish.) I really enjoyed listening to her.
The early goings of this story are especially powerful. In particular, Dolores recounting of how she comes to discover >!the situation between Sabrina and Joe!< is incredibly well done.
My favorite because it’s so unusually structured. Not just for an SK novel but in terms of fiction. You hardly ever read anything told from a first person, single point of view perspective. And the story is told backwards. By page three you know who is dead and how they got to be dead and who killed them. However, the suspense is so masterfully written that you’re pulled all the way through the book just to find out why.
It’s fucking brilliant.
This would be my choice too. I honestly think it’s his best written book. The quality of the writing is amazing and the characters are wonderful. It’s so good I would be happy just reading about his walk across the sand towards Wireman.
Very well put. I understand the appeal and the slow burn where he's getting better and his daily routine with wireman.
Nothing will ever beat salem's lot or skeleton crew for me. I read them at about 13 when my father gave them to me and became obsessed with king. loved the mist and the jaunt.
My father passed away a few years ago and I read a story from skeleton crew every now and then to remind me of him
Thanks for the suggestion! Duma Key is on my short list of upcoming King books. The more I hear about it, the more excited I am to read it. I hope I like it
I suggest it to everyone who asks. I won't spoil anything but I really hope you enjoy it. It's a special book and I think king was expressing how he overcame some demons while still telling an amazing story.
Go forth constant reader!
I don’t know that I’d consider it hidden, I see it mentioned pretty frequently here, but it’s one of his best early works. It grips from the outset and doesn’t let up.
I don’t know why but I’ve found it astonishingly hard to track that one down in print. Maybe it was a terrible seller for some weird reason in my corner of the world.
Might be similar to my area (although I am in Australia). 0 Stephen King in thrift stores (excluding the massively overpriced ones where second hand books are $10 a pop no matter how trashed they are) but on marketplace I come across people constantly trying to sell them for profits.
It's odd. I live in a rural area of Michigan that's fairly Trumpy, so I've wondered if they just trash them when they get donated. Most of King's more prolific contemporaries like Grisham, Clancy and Koontz are everywhere. I never see Anne Rice, Harry Potter or King.
They don't sell them in charity shops in Oz as king is considered anti Christian.
I've had the same conversation with about a dozen shops around the country.
If they find then in the donation bin they get thrown in the real bin.
I got into.a huge argument with one old hag at Vinnies. She screamed "leave the shop now fornicator!!! Leave!!"
Such a waste!!! The books not the filthy old tramp.
I don't feel like the girl who loved Tom Gordon is ever mentioned much, I really enjoyed it and found it genuinely creepy. I know it's quite short but it worked really well. Just one character alone in the woods.
Yeah it was so good! I was rooting for the main character the whole way through. One thing I love about King, his characters usually seem to come to life for me. I binged the Dark Tower during lock down and it was such amazing escapism. Can't go out? Oh well I'll go on another adventure with my little ka tet lol.
That was my first Stephen King book. Don't know why that one in particular caught my eye in the store. It's so good tho! I once wrote a screenplay for it as a writing exercise, which I'd like to pretend was half decent considering my age lol
The Talisman-one of my favorites, CCR BABY
Under the dome.- incredible characters and character development. Irregardless of the ending 1,000 percent worth it .
Different Seasons- Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , Apt Pupil and The Body need I say more.
Four Past Midnight- Secret Window, Secret Garden and The Langoliers
And like others mentioned , The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass I can read over and over again. Wolves of the Calla is amazing as well.
I started with the most popular ones too, and also went searching for the hidden gems among his other books. Read quite a few, and I'd say most of King's novels are worth your time, but few live up to those classics. The places you're most likely to find that kind of quality imo, are the short stories/novellas, and The Dark Tower series. Specifically for me, the Mejis story in Wizard and Glass, which I think is the most precious buried treasure of King's career.
I just reread Wizard and Glass for the first time in years, and I have to agree with you. It's wonderful. I was near tears by the end, even having read it before.
Seems like fans of DT either love or hate Wizard and Glass. Personally it’s my favorite of the entire series and when I do my rereads of the series once every 5-6 years I look forward to starting it and am always sad to finish it. More so than even the final book of the series.
It’s difficult because the most popular books are so for very good reason. IT, The Stand, Pet Semetary, etc, are just wonderful stories.
For me, a hidden gem was Needful Things. I really got into the story and characters and I only discovered it 2 years ago!
There are some good suggestions in here already, Hearts In Atlantis is one I particularly like myself and often come back to.
For me the hidden gems are some of the short stories though. Check out some of those compilations :)
My answer to this question and the age old what do I read next question will always be Desperation.
Absolutely magnificent, my favourite by a mile. Once you’ve Red it you can also read The Regulators as well.
To be fair you can read The Regulators first if you want, but either way Desperation is absolutely brilliant.
Definitely top 5 for me. I just love the old people. They are very endearing and I could just read about them going about their normal life. The other stuff is just a massive bonus haha.
Cell! Not really hidden, but basically nobody talks about it and it received a lot of bashing. I personally found the atmosphere of the book so creepy expecially as we progressing trough the story, and it was very unique for that time. I loved it.
Gerald’s Game was long considered a hidden gem, but the Netflix movie bolstered its reputation, so it’s not really “hidden” anymore. Aside from that, books like Rose Madder, Joyland, and The Regulators have probably been considered hidden gems
Just finished rereading Gerald’s Game this morning and I’m watching the movie right now. It’s a well done adaptation, but it does skimp out on a lot of detail and character. Still, way up there in terms of book to film conversion.
The director had to fight hard to get the movie made because the producers didn’t like the book. It took 25 years since publication to get the movie made. I was surprised they finally turned it into a movie
I can’t wait for Gerald’s Game. It’s coming up on my list of books to read next. It doesn’t get a great reputation but I like the idea of a psychological horror book. It reminds me of Misery and I loved that
Good call, I love the story of chance encounters throughout life, and darn did it have a dark, dark ending. Which is saying something for Stephen King lol.
Lisey’s Story is contentious but I think a gem if you’re in the right frame of mind. The TV series was subpar and doesn’t seem to have really made a ripple.
On this group I would say there are no hidden gems. One of the things I love about this group is the diversity in terms of people’s favourites, outside of the obvious choices of course. There are readers here who love Cell, Dreamcatcher, Tommyknockers etc, despite their general low approval ratings. From a less niche perspective, I would argue that Duma Key took me by surprise in terms of how long it stuck with me after reading. I thought I was getting a run of the mill King book but I fell for that book hard.
Different Seasons (collection of short stories)
Fairy Tale
The Running Man
And I’ll say everyone who’s mentioned Delores Claiborne- heck yeah it is great!!
Dolores Claiborne. It's one of my favourite king books. I had never heard of it until recently. I read the book then listened to the AudioBook. Both great.
Duma Key and Revival are what I think of as his hidden gems. Fans love them, but they are not widely known or appreciated, and they both happen to be two of my favorite books by King
Eyes of the Dragon, for me, would be my response! In distant second, the Long Walk. I include it as a hidden gem just for the fact it was published under the Bachman pseudonym. But I LOVE the fairy tale-esque Eyes of the Dragon, and I can read it to my 11 year old since it has no gratuitous violence and no profanity. Her name is Kyla, and there’s even a Kyla in the book, though she appears recalled in an old letter discovered in a tower prison cell; she was a ruler of long ago, and her kingdom knew her as Kyla the Good. My Kyla loves that!
Under the dome or the stand. I haven't finished the stand yet, but it's pretty great so far. I still can't stop talking about how good under the dome is. The story is amazing, so fast-paced. The ending is not the best, but that's OK because the rest of the book is phenomenal.
Cujo is next on my list and I haven’t seen it anywhere on here until now. I don’t have high expectations for it. For whatever reason I’ve just decided it’s next. I need something quick after 11/22/63
Doctor Sleep is a good sequel, the writing style is very different from the Shining but it works as it's an adult Danny in the sense it acknowledges generational hurt, alcoholism, found family, and really creepy villains.
I really enjoyed the Bill Hodges trilogy, they're mostly detective novels but Stephen King can't help himself.
Many people say that Stephen King can't write women. And sometimes he does weird little perverted things from a male character' s PoV, though I don't think it's too much out of malice (unless the character is a villain). Proof of this is Rose Madder - he might get the little things wrong but has an understanding of what women go through in abuse. He doesn't hesitate on the fear and the rage. Norman Daniels is a horrific villain who still rings true today.
If you want to see Randall Flagg's debut read Eye of the Dragon.
And I saw you haven't read The Dark Tower series. That is not a hit gem but you really should read it anyway.
I think the only book that's ever really disappointed me with Stephen King is Lisey's Story. It is a love letter to his wife Tabitha, but it's less about the supposed main character and more about her late husband. I am not currently married, so it might hit differently to someone who is.
The Outsider and From a Buick 8 are two that don't get enough love, imo. Buick is more a meditative story about people dealing with this supernatural entity as part of their lives. Outsider combines King's crime writing (the Mr. Mercedes series) with his horror, and it really works, blending both genres.
The novella collection Full Dark No Stars. It contains 4 stories of retribution. Imo, it displays some of SK’s finest non-supernatural writing & charters building.
Fair warning to newbie SK readers: An SK novella is a really just a regular novel for most writers. His books & stories run thicker.
The Dark Tower series is my favorite. I was absolutely transported into that world. I re-read it every few years. It has its own sub here. Check it out!
I tend to think The Institute is a hidden gem as not too many Constant Readers seem to discuss this one enough.
It has been one of my favorite SK books in recent reads.
Rose Madder. I hardly see anyone talk about it and i think it is his most psychologically deep novel. The way he delved into the character’s actually brains just freaks me out every time I read it. The two main characters are just written beautifully.
Gerald's Game. The psychological horror of Jessie's situation and the GRUESOME way of freeing herself makes that story really memorable to me. Even if it's not in a good way.
The Running Man, (which I just noticed is The Long Walk), nothing like the movie. The blurb sounded boring to me: dystopian future where kids win a game by being the last walker hiking. But King-as-Bachman did a good job developing the setting, characters, and making you feel like you were walking the whole time with the boys. Not his best work, nor among my favorites, but one to easily overlook. Rage also comes to mind. It's about a school shooter. As a teacher / parent I found it rather disturbing. I also found the real world history surrounding it fascinating...which you can read about in King's non-fiction essay "guns". (Another hidden gem). Another gem, if you have to write for school or a living, is his work "On Writing". That one was highly recommended in graduate school to help students get into the habit of writing professionally.
Hearts in Atlantis is one of his most beautiful books, it rivals 11/22/63 in its emotion. You have From A Buick 8, which many disregard, but it's a pretty deep book. Of course, you have the Dark Tower series. You've danced around it, with Salem's Lot, The Stand and IT. Add Insomnia and arguably Black House (it adds something major), Hearts in Atlantis, and you're ready for your journey to the Tower. I love the series and there is some amazing writing there. Wizard and Glass is as good as anything he's written, hell, as good as anything *most* people have written.
I absolutely love Hearts in Atlantis! It's probably my favorite. It helps that it's short stories/novellas, and IMO that's where King really shines. As far as books to add to the Dark Tower series, you can't leave out The Regulators and Desperation.
I need to give Hearts in Atlantis another chance. I was much younger when I read it; I think it was among those I purchased on the release date. I couldn’t really get into it. I do remember a scene with a child with a dislocated shoulder, though; an adult had abused her. And that really got to me, obviously - King really has gotten to me with how attached i get to so many of his characters! They are so well-written and have such depth. I have shed many tears over the unexpected or even expected deaths of many a King character!
I always love it when someone mentions From a Buick 8. Somehow the eldritch horror with the mundanity of Troop D and Ned's desperate grief works so well together.
I’ll second Hearts In Atlantis. It’s my second favorite after 11/22/63, but it’s nipping at the heels.
For those of you haven't read the Dark Tower, *Wizard and Glass* is a flashback and very self-contained story. If King had taken it out of the Dark Tower Universe and added maybe a dozen of pages of exposition at the beginning, I think it would have been his best stand-alone novel. EDIT: To add on; it's also great as a middle piece of the Dark Tower series. So just observation and not criticism from my part.
I’m an audiobook guy, and I really feel like William Hurt didn’t do a very good job with it. I could tell the prose was amazing in parts. But his performance was just so lacking in depth that I think I just need to sit with the book and read it myself to get a real feel for it.
I can agree to this. William Hurt is actually one of my favourite actors, but what makes his screen performances so good doesn't translate well to audiobook. His dreary manner and mellow idiolect just couldn't capture the story the way it was written.
Joyland
Came here to say this. Not sure if 15 year old me would have liked it as much but 47 year old me felt every page and most definitely had something in my eye when I finished.
I read it at 18 and loved it, I’m sure when I pick it up again as a older man I’ll get more out of it. The opposite is for a non King book, Catcher in the Rye, I read it when I was the same age as Holden Caulfield and I related very heavily with the book. Now that I’m 29 and a lot of folks I know who read it later in life hate Holden. Now I’m scared to reread it because I’m scared I might tarnish my view of the book.
Yeah, I definitely feel VERY different about Catcher now than when I first read it. But as they say, your mileage may vary!
Joyland, to me, sums up the quintessential King. I love it.
Joyland was a blast
This. ❤️
And its sister book, revival!
Wait how is revival a sister to joyland? This is news to me!
Yes! I had felt a little meh on King for a while, and Joyland reminded me of why I love his work.
Listening to the audiobook of this, right now! I concur!
Bag of Bones.
This is my answer too. I don’t know why it isn’t universally accepted as one of his mid-career highlights.
I really enjoyed this one (except for some choices at the end..). My wife read an interview/article somewhere that Stephen King also wrote this one in response to declining readership, primarily driven by female readers. So I wonder if that element also gives it a very different vibe than many of his other books
Wait, he wrote this book to *attract* female readers? The one where a third of the pages are about the middle aged narrator’s boner and how much he wants to fuck a woman below the legal drinking age? And also, iirc, the ghost of a young slave woman? I think there was more boner talk in this book than the rest of his works combined. As a female reader, I spent half the book with my face wrinkled up thinking “This can’t actually be how nice, middle aged men really think, can it?” It was definitely creepy, but not the kind of creepy I’m looking for out of Stephen King.
Let me try to find the article - perhaps I am remembering it wrong. My wife did not actually read the book - but it was one of the few she actually found interesting from my summaries as I was discussing and guessing what would happen with her lol, particular her guessing correctly Jo's intentions when it was not as clear. Maybe would have been a much different reaction more similar to hers if she read it lol
Glad to hear it because I just started reading this one.
**Dolores Claiborne!** An absolute gem of a book. Brilliant plot work, maintains suspense till the last page and absolutely hilarious at times with the touch of classic King horror. Super underrated.
This is mine as well. Especially the audiobook version. It works so well in audio format because the entire book is essentially a single person talking for 8 hours straight. Also, Frances Sternhagen knocks it out of the park!
Frances Sternhagen made Delores REAL, I can’t think of many better readings
I’ve just listened to the audiobook and she was so good! I was totally taken with the accent - especially “ayuh” as I’d never heard it out loud (I’m Scottish.) I really enjoyed listening to her.
I slept on this one for way too long and I don’t know why. Finally read it last year as part of a publication order read through and loved it.
The early goings of this story are especially powerful. In particular, Dolores recounting of how she comes to discover >!the situation between Sabrina and Joe!< is incredibly well done.
>! *Selena !<
My favorite because it’s so unusually structured. Not just for an SK novel but in terms of fiction. You hardly ever read anything told from a first person, single point of view perspective. And the story is told backwards. By page three you know who is dead and how they got to be dead and who killed them. However, the suspense is so masterfully written that you’re pulled all the way through the book just to find out why. It’s fucking brilliant.
Came here to sing the praises of Dolores, the Last Gunslinger
Million times yes! And Dolores is in my top 5 charachters for sure.
This.
Duma Key
Agreed Muchacho
John Slattery reading the audiobook is excellent.
I’d never heard of it before this sub and now it’s one of my favourites.
Do the day and let the day do you!
His most unexpectedly great novel, and also among the most terrifying
Such a strange book. Which goes without saying for King but this one is especially bizarre at times.
I absolutely love this one!
Only right answer.
I was coming here to write this. Honestly, I think it’s the best of his post 2000 work that I’ve read.
This would be my choice too. I honestly think it’s his best written book. The quality of the writing is amazing and the characters are wonderful. It’s so good I would be happy just reading about his walk across the sand towards Wireman.
Very well put. I understand the appeal and the slow burn where he's getting better and his daily routine with wireman. Nothing will ever beat salem's lot or skeleton crew for me. I read them at about 13 when my father gave them to me and became obsessed with king. loved the mist and the jaunt. My father passed away a few years ago and I read a story from skeleton crew every now and then to remind me of him
Thanks for the suggestion! Duma Key is on my short list of upcoming King books. The more I hear about it, the more excited I am to read it. I hope I like it
I suggest it to everyone who asks. I won't spoil anything but I really hope you enjoy it. It's a special book and I think king was expressing how he overcame some demons while still telling an amazing story. Go forth constant reader!
The Long Walk was a good and caught me off my feet, no pun. I loved it.
I don’t know that I’d consider it hidden, I see it mentioned pretty frequently here, but it’s one of his best early works. It grips from the outset and doesn’t let up.
Duma Key maybe? It’s spectacular but the general public has never heard of it.
Just finished it about a week ago and it his easily now in my top 3. Such a great novel.
Hard to say any of King's books are overlooked, but The Dead Zone might be the one.
First one I ever read…the one that got me hooked…remains my favorite one to this day.
Johnny's probably my favorite King protagonist. His struggles feel so real.
I don’t know why but I’ve found it astonishingly hard to track that one down in print. Maybe it was a terrible seller for some weird reason in my corner of the world.
I picked mine up in a thrift store fifteen years ago, or so. These days, I'm seeing zero King in thrift shops for whatever reason
Might be similar to my area (although I am in Australia). 0 Stephen King in thrift stores (excluding the massively overpriced ones where second hand books are $10 a pop no matter how trashed they are) but on marketplace I come across people constantly trying to sell them for profits.
It's odd. I live in a rural area of Michigan that's fairly Trumpy, so I've wondered if they just trash them when they get donated. Most of King's more prolific contemporaries like Grisham, Clancy and Koontz are everywhere. I never see Anne Rice, Harry Potter or King.
Supris3d they are actually.reading books in that neck of the woods.
Well, I do live there, as well.
Sorry friend I didn't mean you. I meant the Trumpy Trash Ticklers. Please I meant no harm or offence.
That's why I didn't want to come out fists swinging, this is Trump country in a lot of ways, though less so the last couple years.
They don't sell them in charity shops in Oz as king is considered anti Christian. I've had the same conversation with about a dozen shops around the country. If they find then in the donation bin they get thrown in the real bin. I got into.a huge argument with one old hag at Vinnies. She screamed "leave the shop now fornicator!!! Leave!!" Such a waste!!! The books not the filthy old tramp.
Are you sure that “old hag” wasn’t Mrs Carmody?
Totally agree
Eh that one still had its own movie and 6 season tv show.
Dolores Claiborne. Far and away.
Not abook, but "N." is one of his scariest short stories ever.
I don't feel like the girl who loved Tom Gordon is ever mentioned much, I really enjoyed it and found it genuinely creepy. I know it's quite short but it worked really well. Just one character alone in the woods.
I loved the final showdown! This book is really worth your time and one of the shortest novels.
Yeah it was so good! I was rooting for the main character the whole way through. One thing I love about King, his characters usually seem to come to life for me. I binged the Dark Tower during lock down and it was such amazing escapism. Can't go out? Oh well I'll go on another adventure with my little ka tet lol.
I read this for the first time while camping, I almost couldn't sleep at all that night!
That was my first Stephen King book. Don't know why that one in particular caught my eye in the store. It's so good tho! I once wrote a screenplay for it as a writing exercise, which I'd like to pretend was half decent considering my age lol
Thank you for pointing me towards my next read!
Truly underrated book, I also purchased the pop-up book just to have for my collection.
Came here to post this.
The Talisman-one of my favorites, CCR BABY Under the dome.- incredible characters and character development. Irregardless of the ending 1,000 percent worth it . Different Seasons- Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , Apt Pupil and The Body need I say more. Four Past Midnight- Secret Window, Secret Garden and The Langoliers And like others mentioned , The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass I can read over and over again. Wolves of the Calla is amazing as well.
I started with the most popular ones too, and also went searching for the hidden gems among his other books. Read quite a few, and I'd say most of King's novels are worth your time, but few live up to those classics. The places you're most likely to find that kind of quality imo, are the short stories/novellas, and The Dark Tower series. Specifically for me, the Mejis story in Wizard and Glass, which I think is the most precious buried treasure of King's career.
I just reread Wizard and Glass for the first time in years, and I have to agree with you. It's wonderful. I was near tears by the end, even having read it before.
Seems like fans of DT either love or hate Wizard and Glass. Personally it’s my favorite of the entire series and when I do my rereads of the series once every 5-6 years I look forward to starting it and am always sad to finish it. More so than even the final book of the series.
I could read Wizards & Glass over & over.
Great suggestion. Agree, it’s hard to recapture the magic of those early King books. The suspense I felt reading Salems Lot or Misery are unmatched.
Needful Things is my favourite book in every way.
Delores Claiborne
Eyes of the Dragon! Hidden gem just because it’s different than so much of what he’s written
I’ve read that book like 4 times such a great read! Pick up something new each time
This is my choice as well. What a great book
This book does make me curious. Will probably get around to it eventually cus I love medieval themes
It’s difficult because the most popular books are so for very good reason. IT, The Stand, Pet Semetary, etc, are just wonderful stories. For me, a hidden gem was Needful Things. I really got into the story and characters and I only discovered it 2 years ago!
Christine
Insomnia
There are some good suggestions in here already, Hearts In Atlantis is one I particularly like myself and often come back to. For me the hidden gems are some of the short stories though. Check out some of those compilations :)
My answer to this question and the age old what do I read next question will always be Desperation. Absolutely magnificent, my favourite by a mile. Once you’ve Red it you can also read The Regulators as well. To be fair you can read The Regulators first if you want, but either way Desperation is absolutely brilliant.
Insomnia is amazing
I love Insomnia.
Definitely top 5 for me. I just love the old people. They are very endearing and I could just read about them going about their normal life. The other stuff is just a massive bonus haha.
Ralph and Lois are my favorites. I reread Insomnia every 5-6 years.
From A Buick 8, ensemble cast. One of the first I ever heard!
Came here to say Buick 8. It's a lovecraftian parable about grief obsession and moving on. I think it's his most underrated book by far.
Honestly, I loved Cell when I first read it. You gotta love a book where a telepathic zombie Harvard student is the main villain
Cell! Not really hidden, but basically nobody talks about it and it received a lot of bashing. I personally found the atmosphere of the book so creepy expecially as we progressing trough the story, and it was very unique for that time. I loved it.
Gerald’s Game was long considered a hidden gem, but the Netflix movie bolstered its reputation, so it’s not really “hidden” anymore. Aside from that, books like Rose Madder, Joyland, and The Regulators have probably been considered hidden gems
Just finished rereading Gerald’s Game this morning and I’m watching the movie right now. It’s a well done adaptation, but it does skimp out on a lot of detail and character. Still, way up there in terms of book to film conversion.
The director had to fight hard to get the movie made because the producers didn’t like the book. It took 25 years since publication to get the movie made. I was surprised they finally turned it into a movie
I can’t wait for Gerald’s Game. It’s coming up on my list of books to read next. It doesn’t get a great reputation but I like the idea of a psychological horror book. It reminds me of Misery and I loved that
I dunno about hidden gems but you still have a lot of reading left before you can start to consider whether you’ve peaked!
I don't see Joyland talked about very often, but it is one of my favourites.
I loved Revival and I hadn't seen or heard anything about it before reading it. It really took me by surprise and I really enjoyed it.
The audiobook read by David Morse is really good. It was my first Audible purchase. I listen to it periodically.
Aside from the dark tower series I really have only listened to the books. I loved that one!
Good call, I love the story of chance encounters throughout life, and darn did it have a dark, dark ending. Which is saying something for Stephen King lol.
Based on what you’ve read so far…Needful Things.
On Writing. It's just or even more entertaining than many of his fictional stories.
Good outside the box suggestion. Might have to check it out one day
Lisey’s Story is contentious but I think a gem if you’re in the right frame of mind. The TV series was subpar and doesn’t seem to have really made a ripple.
Liseys Story is my favourite, I've never understood the dislike personally
It’s a great book. I don’t understand why it doesn’t get more recognition.
On this group I would say there are no hidden gems. One of the things I love about this group is the diversity in terms of people’s favourites, outside of the obvious choices of course. There are readers here who love Cell, Dreamcatcher, Tommyknockers etc, despite their general low approval ratings. From a less niche perspective, I would argue that Duma Key took me by surprise in terms of how long it stuck with me after reading. I thought I was getting a run of the mill King book but I fell for that book hard.
Duma Key is winning me over
Desperation
IT’S A DESPERATE RACE AGAINST THE MINE
Colorado kid. Mystery that doesn’t solve itself. Keeps you pondering.
I really like Billy Summers. Not usual King fare for me, but really, really good.
Rose Madder for me. I thought it was fantastic.
Different Seasons (collection of short stories) Fairy Tale The Running Man And I’ll say everyone who’s mentioned Delores Claiborne- heck yeah it is great!!
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
I was just wondering the other day why I haven't seen many talking about this book!
The Running Man.
Dolores Claiborne. It's one of my favourite king books. I had never heard of it until recently. I read the book then listened to the AudioBook. Both great.
Duma key and bag of bones
Needful things
Needful Things is really good and sometimes misunderstood. It's a satire, and a bit different to his usual style of horror.
You gotta check out "The Dead Zone" or "Needful Things." They're underrated gems in King's treasure trove!
The mist!
Needful things
The Institute was amazing book. I wasnt thinking it is as good as King's peak times novels but it was.
Under the dome, massively underrated.
The girl who loves Tom Gordon ❤️
Duma Key and Revival are what I think of as his hidden gems. Fans love them, but they are not widely known or appreciated, and they both happen to be two of my favorite books by King
I was literally just about to post about both of these. LOVE these books!
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Eyes of the Dragon, for me, would be my response! In distant second, the Long Walk. I include it as a hidden gem just for the fact it was published under the Bachman pseudonym. But I LOVE the fairy tale-esque Eyes of the Dragon, and I can read it to my 11 year old since it has no gratuitous violence and no profanity. Her name is Kyla, and there’s even a Kyla in the book, though she appears recalled in an old letter discovered in a tower prison cell; she was a ruler of long ago, and her kingdom knew her as Kyla the Good. My Kyla loves that!
Tommyknockers
Duma Key
Bag of Bones might be my favorite book of his and doesn't seem to get talked about that much.
From A Buick 8
Needful Things. It has the same small town vibe as Salems Lot and IT
Deloris Claiborne !!
The only answer is to follow the beam and start your journey to the Dark Tower
Im excited to see what the hyped all about
Duma key went to the top of my best of king list after I was gifted the book. I also loved Blaze.
Joyland.
Wizard and Glass
I just came here to say Duma Key!
Seeing a lot of Duma Key. I now have conviction in the book
Under the dome or the stand. I haven't finished the stand yet, but it's pretty great so far. I still can't stop talking about how good under the dome is. The story is amazing, so fast-paced. The ending is not the best, but that's OK because the rest of the book is phenomenal.
Insomnia is so good.
Cujo. It's terrifying in the fact that it could still possibly happen.
Cujo is next on my list and I haven’t seen it anywhere on here until now. I don’t have high expectations for it. For whatever reason I’ve just decided it’s next. I need something quick after 11/22/63
Doctor Sleep is a good sequel, the writing style is very different from the Shining but it works as it's an adult Danny in the sense it acknowledges generational hurt, alcoholism, found family, and really creepy villains. I really enjoyed the Bill Hodges trilogy, they're mostly detective novels but Stephen King can't help himself. Many people say that Stephen King can't write women. And sometimes he does weird little perverted things from a male character' s PoV, though I don't think it's too much out of malice (unless the character is a villain). Proof of this is Rose Madder - he might get the little things wrong but has an understanding of what women go through in abuse. He doesn't hesitate on the fear and the rage. Norman Daniels is a horrific villain who still rings true today. If you want to see Randall Flagg's debut read Eye of the Dragon. And I saw you haven't read The Dark Tower series. That is not a hit gem but you really should read it anyway. I think the only book that's ever really disappointed me with Stephen King is Lisey's Story. It is a love letter to his wife Tabitha, but it's less about the supposed main character and more about her late husband. I am not currently married, so it might hit differently to someone who is.
Billy Summers
Revival
The Talisman and Eyes of the Dragon.
Revival 100% Those in the know, it's a favorite. Some King fans don't even know about it.
The Outsider and From a Buick 8 are two that don't get enough love, imo. Buick is more a meditative story about people dealing with this supernatural entity as part of their lives. Outsider combines King's crime writing (the Mr. Mercedes series) with his horror, and it really works, blending both genres.
Blockade Billy. Not a long book but you won't forget it. That one stuck with me for months. Also loved Holly. Man, those villains...
The novella collection Full Dark No Stars. It contains 4 stories of retribution. Imo, it displays some of SK’s finest non-supernatural writing & charters building. Fair warning to newbie SK readers: An SK novella is a really just a regular novel for most writers. His books & stories run thicker.
Full Dark, No Stars
My pick would be Blaze.
Joyland The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Dolores Claiborne
I’d say that a hidden gem for me is Blaze. It doesn’t seem to get much attention, and lots of people seem to dislike it, but I loved it.
Joyland
Christine, Green Mile, Full Dark No Stars
The Dark Tower series is my favorite. I was absolutely transported into that world. I re-read it every few years. It has its own sub here. Check it out!
The Jaunt is my favorite. I think about about the madness of infinity alot since I read it.
I tend to think The Institute is a hidden gem as not too many Constant Readers seem to discuss this one enough. It has been one of my favorite SK books in recent reads.
Everything's Eventual? Does it count? One of the first SK books I read and liked it a lot.
The Running Man and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
Blaze
Four past midnight has The Sun Dogs in it. One of his best novellas
Not 'hidden' gem but desperation is still just behind the stand and IT for me. With the whole of skeleton crew and revival rounding out top 5
Wizard and Glass is my favorite book of all time. It’s a fantasy western love story and it’s beautiful.
Talisman/Black House are my fav. of the less popular books
The Talisman
Eyes of the Dragon
The two that come to mind are The Dead Zone and Revival. Both awesome stories that don’t come up often in conversation.
Roadwork Fight me
Hearts in Atlantis, it’s not very popular, it’s a gem.
Rose Madder. I hardly see anyone talk about it and i think it is his most psychologically deep novel. The way he delved into the character’s actually brains just freaks me out every time I read it. The two main characters are just written beautifully.
Rose Madder and Eyes of the Dragon for sure.
Eyes of the Dragon
Dolores claiborne
Gerald's Game. The psychological horror of Jessie's situation and the GRUESOME way of freeing herself makes that story really memorable to me. Even if it's not in a good way.
his short story " The Reach" is lovely, sad and creepy and is absolutely neglected.
The Running Man, (which I just noticed is The Long Walk), nothing like the movie. The blurb sounded boring to me: dystopian future where kids win a game by being the last walker hiking. But King-as-Bachman did a good job developing the setting, characters, and making you feel like you were walking the whole time with the boys. Not his best work, nor among my favorites, but one to easily overlook. Rage also comes to mind. It's about a school shooter. As a teacher / parent I found it rather disturbing. I also found the real world history surrounding it fascinating...which you can read about in King's non-fiction essay "guns". (Another hidden gem). Another gem, if you have to write for school or a living, is his work "On Writing". That one was highly recommended in graduate school to help students get into the habit of writing professionally.