How has Stephen King managed to be so popular for so long?
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When I first started reading Stephen King in the seventies, it was his readability that I noticed. He wasn't overly pretentious, or overly condescending in his writing style. He wrote about every day life, every day situations and how easily it all could go horrifically wrong. After reading the Shining, I had to sleep with the lights on for two weeks. He is one of my favorite authors, along with Dean Koontz, and will always be an automatic read.
Stephen King feels like a friend to me after 25 years of reading him. I feel cosy even if the story is about something horrid 😂
I think the fact that his name has been on movie screen for so many decades definitely helps. With that, so many non readers probably started to wonder, ''this guy's books must be something''.
i like his writting style & every little details he write about all his character backstory always fascinated me
I think Uncle Stevie stays relevant because he is willing to try new things. He is not just a horror writer, he is a great writer. He has been my favourite writer my entire life. Some of my most cherished books by him are the Green Mile style of just a great story. I am amazed when people tell me they don't read him because they don't like horror. They are missing so much.
That is very true! His books cover a lot more ground than a lot of horror
I started reading King’s novels in the ‘90s when I was in high school. I’ve always liked how straightforward his writing style is - not overly complicated or flowery. You already know this, but this year I’ve started reading all of his fiction in chronological order and I’ve just finished The Stand. Next is The Dead Zone and I’ll probably start that one soon.
Hi Olly. Terrific, thoughtful video. I have a lot of thoughts about Stephen King (with whom I share a birthday! 😊). I first read him in 1974 with the publication of CARRIE. I did a video for Horror Mayhem on my experience of revisiting it 50 years later. I haven’t followed him all through these 50 years, but I’ve revisited him a bunch of times. He will always have a special place in my heart because he makes reading accessible and enjoyable for a lot of young people, many of whom did not consider themselves readers before discovering him. I have probably told you in other threads that we used to teach The Green Mile in one of our classes on Contemporary Fiction. Kids who never liked reading, kids who read very reluctantly, devoured that book. And then they were hooked. Non-readers became readers. That’s why I’ll always have a special place in my heart for him. 😊
King has a pretty solid record hooking reluctant readers. Unfortunately (maybe), I think a fair number of those hooked never progress beyond King. But at least they're reading something.
@@troytradup Well, that's true too.
For years a friend managed a bookstore adjacent to a large university. She said they always had to stock up on the new Stephen King book because he brought in "non-readers". People who never normally set foot in a bookstore. King was the only novelist they read because of the movies or they had read him since their teens. He was also frequently a gift buy.
Interesting, that does make sense. Hopefully his constant championing of other writers helped some of those people branch out a bit
King is just a masterful storyteller with the ability to write timeless themes, but also to adapt and change according to what is happening to the world around him. In the 70s people had a craving for supernatural and demonic terror, bring on Carrie and Salem's Lot. In the 2000's he has Mr Mercedes (terrorism), Holly (Covid) and my point is that he just adapts to our changing world. His success in different genres is because the man knows how to tell a story, build characters and create worlds that readers find immersive and wonderful. Yes, he speaks to people, he has his finger on the pulse, he has the unique ability to tap into our deepest, darkest fears. He has the film adaptations because his books are full of unique and wonderful ideas, he is a masterful storyteller!
How interesting! I swear I'm not stalking you, I've commented on like 2 other videos this morning lol. I'm just having a very cozy day, sitting in my recliner with my cat, alternating watching UA-cam and audiobooks. My son is on a trip so I'm taking advantage of the quiet lol.
Ha ha that’s fine
Kings books were most of my childhood and all of my teenage years! I will never forget the adventures (and the scares 😂). I’ll be forever grateful to him for those earlier reading experiences ❤️
I have always loved King for a multitude of reasons. He writes the big books which I love. His character development is amazing, which makes them very relatable. He makes you really fall in love (or really hate) the characters. His style of writing is just unmatched. It is hard to find someone who has the same style. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.
King was the exact right writer at the exact right time. Accessible, personable, and he managed to capture a very interesting view of ground-level America. I do think his age is showing now in terms of how he writes kids and minorities (omg), but he's still a major writer of my lifetime. Funny that you mention Michener: I've been grabbing his catalog as title pop up in Kindle daily deals. I read Chesapeake in high school and it made a real impact on me although I can't remember quite why. Retirement reading. 😉
Yeah to me King has lost touch with the times a little. I just WISH he would talk to some young folks and people from different backgrounds to gain some insight into the 2020s or just set his books in the 70s again 😅🙈
Audible has the major James Michener novels!
@@minirth.maggie Those would be some long listens! 😁
@@LittleKikuyu I'd be down for that! 😉
@@LittleKikuyu His themes are still quite good, but he frequently trips up with slang and trends, even those from the past. Perhaps he should write about the horrors of getting old.
How have I not managed to read him for 51 years. 😂😂🤗🤗
Reminds me of Harry Dean Stanton's line on how he's managed to avoid Bette Midler's character for so many years in The Rose: "Careful planning."
@@troytradup 😂😂
@@alpha1solace I’ve read 4 so far this year, but only started this year! Carrie was good, Pet Sematary was phenomenal!
At least you came around in the end
34 years! What an incredible feat! I especially love your comment about King's combination of a very defined setting and a broad timeless and universal perpective. Fascinating.
Yeah it does feel like quite an achievement
Ive seen a few of the movies: The Shining, Pet Sematary, IT, but just bought my first Stephen King book - Carrie, 50th Anniversary Edition. Enjoyed reading the introduction about his life and early writing career as I didn’t know much about him. Just start reading the actual story and loving it so far
I really enjoyed Duma Key. I hadn't heard much about it, so it was a nice surprise
I did start that one the other day and then got distracted by something else
Duma Key is my absolute favorite. I've read it multiple times, these days I prefer the audiobook cause the narrator is just spot on.
I started reading King in the 70s. I was not reading much over the years but still read the occasional King book. 2020 I collected all of his books and have now read over 1/2 of his catalogue. Favorites: Misery, You Like It Darker, Pet Semetery, Christine, The Shinning. The Hodges Trilogy, Thinner, Carrie, Gerald’s Game, The Dead Zone, The Outsider, Full Dark No Stars, Cujo, The Girl that Loved Tom Gordon and more I need to read…..not so crazy about the really fat novels as they get bogged down in the middle. They all started out great.
His writing is easy to follow and he really gets you involved in the characters. You want to know what will happen to them. You care about the nice ones and hate the evil ones! He makes you believe everything then tosses in the wild crazy events and you believe those as well.
I'm a decade younger than you, so I've been reading King for only thirty years. Thinner, The Dark Half, and Eyes of the Dragon were where I started (not sure which, exactly, came first). His authorial voice is immensely comfortable, and he has created some all-time characters. His collections are auto-buys for me, his novels slightly less so. Favorites are Dolores Claiborne, Different Seasons, and The Dark Half. Most loathed are Cell, Dreamcatcher, and The Tommyknockers. Have yet to read 11/22/63, Under the Dome, and a couple others.
King is my favourite author by far. I do feel that Koontz has a couple of books that I would love to have seen been made into films Lightning being the main one. I feel that Hollywood defo picked the wrong books from Koontz to be made in to films and they didn’t translate on screen. I think I love King because he just seems to capture feelings and a sense of time and space so well. When he writes about the 50s and 60s you feel you are there, when he write about kids, you remember what it was like to be one. I have never found his books scary as such but the one that really gave me the willies was 1408 after reading I found myself adding the numbers on hotel doors before staying in the room 😂. The other one for me was Misery, so many horrors and you didn’t know what was coming next for poor Paul Sheldon as Annie was so unpredictable! Also I loved the original softback cover which had a pic of Annie looking scary. Book covers these days are so mundane. It’s interesting tho that even though I have mentioned these two stories they are not my favourites from King. If I had to have one top spot it would probably go to Christine which made me cry at the end. I was sitting on a bus at the time 😂❤
It has to eventually come down to his writing. He is a masterful storyteller. You start his books and he whisks you away straight away and keeps you there. He is very versatile too, writing all sorts of different content in his books. That also keeps him alive. He is known by non-readers from the tons of film and TV adaptations too, which keeps him at the front of popular culture in general too. He's a remarkable man.
Simply put Stephen King is just a great storyteller and even though some of his recent books have soured me on him, he is still my most read author. Over the years as I have broadened my reading horizons I have come to realise that although there are many better writers than him (don't get me wrong he is still a VERY good writer) he just seems to have always came up with every possible scenario that would scare the average person 'first' for example what if Dracula was in a present day modern town? What if a dog went mad and went on a killing spree? etc. By King's own admission he is a 'pantser' which means he doesn't outline his books he flies by the seat of his pants when writing, he basically puts a bunch of characters into a scary/weird scenario and works from there and over the years he has managed to think of just about every scary/weird scenario you can think of which is why there are many books by other authors that cover the same ground that are no doubt inspired by him, one random example would be The Stand - would Robert McCammon's Swan Song exist without it?
I've read Stephen King since the early 80's starting with the Dead Zone. I'm pretty sure it was mailed to me with one of those book club memberships. Before that I was busy raising a family and I hadn't heard of him really. Flash forward almost 50 years later' reading his books are like sitting down with an old friend to catch up. He just keeps going like the energizer bunny, what an American treasure!
The adaptations of his books definitely has helped his popularity. Eg. Shawshank redemption is the #1 movie on IMDB and has been for a number of years.
I like his writing in the 70s and 80s the best. I love some novels through the 90s until today, but his early writing is my favorite.
My experience with King goes back to the time The Stand issued on paperback here in the UK. I'd only read Salem's Lot up to that point but I quickly caught up with older books and was a constant reader up until Misery/ Eyes Of The Dragon time. It's only been in the last few years that I've picked up the threads he left for me to follow and I'm comfortable to say he's my favourite author. Probably.
To me there are two secrets to his success and I couldn't choose which is the primary one.
His characters. He's sometimes criticised for it but even the most minor of characters feels fully fleshed out. That's at the cost of a high page count and the sacrifice of pace at times. But these are all living characters so we feel it when they get it in the neck. The sense of threat and menace is there all the time. Often even until the epilogue.
I recently re-read The Stand for about the fifth or sixth time. What really struck me this time was his other huge strength, (and it's a tad obvious) his writing! His prose is so highly effective. For me, every word he puts down successfully fulfils it's purpose. It's incredibly descriptive and atmospheric and (as someone else mentioned) always highly readable. You don't get his track record without being accessible.
Great discussion, thanks :) I am a one of King’s ‘constant readers’ & while I sometimes wish his editors won an argument or two, I think he tells (certain) stories wonderfully. For me, Fairy Tale is a great example, the first half of the book is SK at his best - young male, coming of age, relationships with both human & animal companions, facing adversity … the second half was incredibly entertaining but needed an edit. I guess what I’m trying to say is, when he gets right, it’s brilliant & when he doesn’t, it’s still a (mostly) fun ride 🤓
King's books often contain a theme of good versus evil/right versus wrong that, I think, is popular with lots of people... at least me. My favorite movie of all time is one of his stories: Shawshank Redemption.
In fantasy these days, Brandon Sanderson reminds me of King in the seventies and eighties, again he is a very prolific author and the style is very accessible and he is very dominant in the genre, though not many people outside the genre are aware of him, yet.
I’m the same age as Mr King and started reading with Carrie and haven’t stopped yet.
I think it also helped a lot that he was pretty generous in terms of letting younger Directors to make adaptations of his work, kept his brand repeatedly reminded in the minds of readers. A few great movies in the beginning started the process of people thinking of King when they want to adapt things, but then King started saying "yes" to so many Directors who still needed to prove themselves, and then went on to become big. Not sure if it was King's intention, it risked King's brand being associated with crap cheap movies if all of these adaptations ended up being terrible. But since enough of them were done well, it instead served to reintroduce King to the young Director's generation, over and over again.
It is a fascinating thing. I love King, but when I actually reflect on him, I realize that I only actually like maybe 50% of the books I've read from him. I think much of the appeal is his voice, which is so breezy and familiar. I really hope he writes a big fat memoir at some point, because I think his best bit of writing might be the autobiographical section in On Writing.
King often compares himself to Edgar Wallace. It's an extremely apt comparison and will probably end the same way, with the author largely forgotten by the next generation.
I'm actually planning to read Wallace for the first time soon
I'm 54 and have been reading SK since I was 14. And though there a lot of scares to choose from, to this day, I cannot wake up in the middle of the night without glancing into the corner and making sure the Space Cowboy with his long arms and bag of bones isn't waiting for me like he was for Jesse Burlingame in Gerald's Game.
Rose Madder, Wizard and Glass and Duma Key are my favourite books I have read by Stephen King. I have not read lots of his books but a few so thats crazy to me that they didn't hit the top of the bestseller list. I really must get on with listing out all his books so far and marking off all the ones I have read so I can get back to discovering more of his work.
Between King and Koontz books, King's books come across as more mature. King seems to be a smarter person, a deeper thinker. When you see interviews, that impression comes across even stronger. That's not saying Koontz isn't smart or can't think. My impression is he's just outclassed in that department by King. But that's a very subjective impression. I've enjoyed both their books. King's books last longer in my mind although there are a few of Koontz's that do too (e.g., Odd Thomas, mainly the 1st book). With King though I can give a summary of the entire book even if I read it decades ago, which is something I can't do for most books.
Maybe that's part of his popularity--his books stay in your mind long after other books fade. ???
I read Carrie the year it came out. I was in high school in the 1970s. Somehow, Carrie's story is still relatable (well, not the fire, mamma-don't, murdery stuff) and heart-breaking.
I still have my first edition copy of The Stand. It's in sad shape.
Found your channel the other day and got to say it’s slowly becoming one of my favourites. I have had an interest in king for a couple years but only really started to read after picking a couple of his books up in a charity shop last summer. The way he writes seems to really get my imagination going!
Now I’m only about 10-20 books away from completing my collection.
I've tried Koontz many times and there's absolutely no comparison. That being said, his newest book Bad Weather Friend is a ridiculous romp that I really enjoyed.
I'm glad you thought to examine some of the reasons behind King's success. I read most of Arthur Hailey, Ludlum, james Clavell & James A Michener when first released but have no desire to go back and re-read Airport etc. They were books that have dated, but toss me a copy of The Shining or The Stand and I could happily read it again ! As you said recently, "a King book is like settling down for a chat with an old friend." This probably explains part of his success.
Yeah Ludlum definitely feels very dated nowadays.
another youtuber had a video about how rowling's work went to the stratosphere while so many other YA fantasy authors' books had not. their thesis was that the publisher had made a business decision to make the ip successful (like an investment or project) by investing heavily in it and to prop it up culturally to keep it relevant through multimedia, sequels, advertising, merchandise like star wars or pokemon. anyway, their essential question was what was it about rowling's work that justified its meteoric ascent? their finding was that the truth about the success of HP was a confluence of other factors, including significant business decisions, but that ultimately, it may have been lucky for her in some respects that HP became so successful, since it could have easily been any of the other innumberable YA fantasy ips. wish i could remember the video. would love to hear other's thoughts on this idea that big publishers can basically decide who to make successful, and if king's success was due in part to publisher's protecting their investment by making sure he never fell out of favor by leveraging his talents and turning him into a brand name like rowling and potter or lucas and star wars/indiana jones, or spielberg. i guess once an artist reaches a certain level of recognition and success, their continue success just becomes inevitable.
I think HP only got as big as it did because of the movies. I know it was hugely popular before the movies, but I don't think it would have gotten as big or lasted without a 8 movie franchise. I think King's success is also tied into how successful the screen adaptations are. I have only read the Shining (loved) and Salem's Lot (did not love), and I think he is someone who can come up with great ideas, but I don't think his writing is amazing in itself (even though I liked reading the Shining, Kubrick's take was so much better imo). They translate well into movies, and he writes different kinds of genres, so someone who doesn't like horror can still appreciate things like Stand By Me/The Body and Shawshank Redemption
One reason I think his books do well as movies is because he has done a lot of the work for the script writers. I noticed that King has lots of characters from the community in his stories. You get the sheriffs perspective, the local market owners perspective, the neighbors perspective, the street workers perspective. At first, it irritated me to read so many different POVS especially in “The Institute” but after i read “Salem’s Lot”, I changed my mind. I got a true story. Like reading history of an event. You got to understand the impact of the plot through the communities eyes.
That’s a really interesting observation! I definitely see what you mean
I tried reading one of King's short story collections quite recently and bounced off really hard for whatever reason. I've somehow never been drawn to him except for maybe The Stand because I'm always drawn to post apocalyptic scenarios. So until I do get drawn into his oeuvre my favourite horror will remain, the great Sutter Cane!
Enjoyed the video! King is my favorite author. The reason I think he has been successful for so long is that his writing is very high level on a consistent basis, and at times his writing is extraordinary. People have confidence that when they pick up a book by King it will be worth the investment.
Not sure of anyone's mentioned it but Kong has a $1 licensing deal, so you get a lot of student films.
Bear in mind he's responsible for Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile, which are two of the best films made. He does normal people being trash and normal humans being awesome - it's realistic even amongst all the unrealistic stuff. We all need a bit of kindness.
I’ve only read a few of his books, but I greatly enjoyed his writing style. It and The Shining are some of my favourite books, and I did enjoy The Dark Tower series, even though they were a bit up and down. The Stand is in my TBR!
If you liked the others I'm sure you'll like The Stand
I think one thing that changed along the way is the release date. His books used to be released in the fall, ahead of the holiday rush. My mum's birthday was in November and I never struggled with what to buy! Then he changed to June releases. I don’t know if that affected his sales but it might have.
Interesting, I'm sure there is some publisher logic behind that move
"Cocaine" - Eric Clapton
😂😂
I started reading King when his second or third novels came out. Can't remember which. At one time he was my favorite. And still like to reread all his old stuff. Not read anything the last few years. Come on Stephen, i know you got one more killer in you.
Trinity by Leon Iris isn't the type of book you normally talk about, but it's one of my FAVORITE books of all time
Maybe I should give it a try!
I'm reading both Carrie and You Like it darker at the same time. I was astonished at how engaging Carrie is. I'm on the fence about YLID so far.
He's had an amazing career. Hopefully many more to come.
I think there are a few key things that keep King relevant. You mentioned his cultural references and say “despite these”. I disagree. The cultural references help firmly establish the setting and pulls the reader in further. Additionally, his writing style is very approachable and reading his prose is like sitting in a room with him as he’s telling a story. The way he writes makes it easy to envision in your mind what is happening and this is what makes his stories easy to convert to film. Many of his stories involve ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. This “ordinary” quality of the characters makes his writing even more relatable and interesting. I could go on, but I’ll hold off. 😊
That's a great point, he manages to make his characters feel like real people and that definitely helps pull you into the story
The first book I read of his was Night Shit back in 83 when I was 12, after my older sister told me about it. He has been my favourite author ever since. I even like Cell!!! Defiantly being in the public eye through his film/tv adaptions helps his longevity. But, I think it boils down to the fact he is just a damn good story teller.
It is bizarre to recall high school days, now 40 years gone, seeing everyone carrying around a Stephen King book. And now to his current popularity, like that part of the 80's just transported itself to the 2020's and abides here still. I'm in the minority in thinking his best writing is off-horror and he's very predictable when trying to scare us, but of course I've read more of his books by far than any other author. There's a familiarity with his style people appreciate.
Yeah, I really like his non-horror work too
Id say King was 50/50 up until 87 and Misery. Since the. Its more like 20/80 in terms of hit rate.
I’ve actually only read 3 of his books that I can remember. Liked em, but none of em blew me away. I will say he knows how to end a book well, but I like the overall stories of Koontz better though his endings tend to feel rushed. Not that I haven’t read some duds by Koontz, but most of em have been enjoyable. I think it’s the movies that also help out a lot. You see a lot of classic horror movies that are well known adaptations of King’s work and it’s assumed the book will be better so it gets picked up.
He is very prolific. If people do not like his new book they will like his next book
Leon Uris is a writer you should try! I've read a few thousand books in my lifetime and Trinity is one of the best of those. I've never been brave enough to try King 🙂.
Kind of like Charles Dickens from the 1800s. Only with more horror - but Dickens can be pretty horrible too. Dickens or Agatha Christie, as you said, are probably the only two authors I can think of at that same level of enduring popularity and prolificness - if that's a word.
I admire King, his dedication and discipline over the years.
My first novel of his I’d read had been IT. I tracked and read most of his novels and anthologies since then. Most of them are gripping, where I couldn’t put the book down until I’ve finished. Recently, though, I’ve noticed that his recent works weren’t that horrifying (the last such novel of his was DUMA KEY). Yet, I’m still entertained to this day by his works.
I believe he has a consistent brand as the greatest horror author that makes him a gateway into the genre for generations. His not #1s are clearly non-horror novels
The rights of the less sold book of king could solve all my financial problems. To open a new book of him is open the door to an old and dear friend. Sometimes a weird friend…
I think its because he stays relatively consistent with his writing quality.
True!
I just found out The Long Walk is being filmed in my hometown. I'm just excited it's being made as it's my favourite of his, but since it's being done here I started wondering if I could be an extra until I remembered all the characters are boys 😕
I’m surprised Ira Levin wasn’t on the 70s list. Maybe he wrote more in the 60s
Yeah now you say it that is a surprise - I think his heyday was probably late 60s early 70s, so just before King
King's success is a feedback loop. Bookshop horror section pretty much only contain Stephen King books. So they sell better than anyone else, so book shops only stock his books, so they sell better than anyone else, so thy only sell his books......
What shop are you visiting?
I always see other horror authors' books in stores.
I love Stephen king…his secret is: he writes fun books!
Clive barker too….
True!
I actually can't get into King. That's not to say it's across the board. I liked reading The Shining. But I've tried some of his other books (e.g. The Dark Tower) and I have a hard time sticking with them. I don't hate his work, but it just doesn't seem to click for me for whatever reason, and I hold that alongside acknowledging him being one of the best writers alive.
With me now and than I can't get through a King book for one reason or another.
I've only read Battle Cry by Leon Uris. It's ok, more of a romance novel than a war novel I think. Yeh there's something about his writing alright. 😴🛌😴🛌 I think he's lucky he was born in America and had a first mover advantage in the horror genre (to a degree).
Yeah I think maybe the timing is part of it
💚🖤
Stephen King writes engaging stories, he was a standout novelist in the horror genre but he hasn't just written in the Horror genre. The writing is quite simple and conversational. Many of his early novels were made into movies like Carrie, The Shining and Misery. Like you I tended to drift away from Stephen King in the 1990s. King is not great with endings (eg The Tommyknockers). The popularity of Pennywise drew interest to IT. There has been some resistance to King lately because of his liberal use of the N word in his novels. There are also successful movies like Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption, which many don't realise are based on Stephen King stories.
I personally think Stephen King is overrated. I used to read his books regularly but I think he has lost of his ability to grip me into a good story. I try out a book from him from time to time but it’s usually a disappointment.
To me his good and great books will forever have a special place in my heart. I think he’s written enough really great books to warrant his standing in literary history 😊 No amount of meh books he might come out with will ever change that for me 😅
I think he peaked in the early 90s. But, he has written good books since. Just not consistently from the 00s on.
King is a good storyteller but a terrible writer and they are not the same thing.
Would you care to elaborate? 😅
@@LittleKikuyu Understand I am not King bashing. I actually like some of his stuff despite recurrent problems. I find his descriptions of settings, things like landscape ,characters vague and inappropriate to the things described. His dialogue is simplistic and often cringeworthy. At the same time, his ideas translate well to the movie and TV screen because those problems on the page disappear when they are visualized by a director. Without TV and movies, I don't think King would be nearly as massively popular as he is.