Introduction: The King from Beginning to End

Some of you may know me. Most of you do not. My name is Stephen Ori, and I am a man of few words but many thoughts. Those thoughts, I write down. Often enough to call myself a writer at least. So here I would like to write about one of my greatest influences. The master of macabre, Stephen King.






When I was a child, I would sneak into my older sisters' room and rummage through their book collection to find something to read that was more interesting than the 'kids stuff'' available to me at my local school library.

Among the torrid V.C. Andrews and Anne Rice paperbacks that my young mind devoured with a healthy sense of the taboo, I also found a battered copy of a little book called 'Needful Things'. It transported me into a world of grim reality and sinister magic. The world of Stephen King.

Much like with illicit drugs, I needed to get more of his words inside me. After a well-intentioned but inappropriate Christmas gift (Wizard and Glass) I was off to the races and never looked back.


The books of Stephen King reveal the dark secrets of the world that everyone knows but don't talk about. It pointed out the supernatural lining surrounding the real world, and vice-versa. He sits there and tells you about all the warts on the face of humanity in grisly detail, and then pats you on the back and says that it's ok to enjoy being bad from time to time. After all, everyone else is too.

Those books shaped my mind for years to come, but at some point real life gave way and I stopped reading his books after the release of 'Everything's Eventual'. Flash-forward to this year when I got a job at a retail book chain and was given a hefty discount to abuse. I scoured the shelves and knew what I had to do.

This blog is going to journal my dive into the depths of King's canon. I have read a lot of the early ones, but much of the content will be brand new to me. Every book and short story collection published, in release date order. From 'Carrie' to 'End of Watch' and beyond.

I will be posting summaries and reviews as I finish each book, as well as digging into the connections of King's world and even comparing the books to filmed adaptations. It's a lengthy task, so don't expect regular updates, but I will be posting weekly until the blog catches up to where I'm currently reading (about halfway through 'Night Shift').

I hope you enjoy this stroll through the dark with me. We are starting with the 1974 classic: Carrie.