Books
Stephen King’s reading order: how to read the bibliography of the “King of Horror”
The prolific American author has written 65 novels and 11 short story collections, and here we reveal his reading order.
Since the beginning of his literary career with ‘Carrie’ (1975), Stephen King has not stopped writing and reaping success and awards. Although he is known as the “King of Horror”, his career shows that the Portland-born author has “touched” practically all genres.
King’s fans number in the millions worldwide, not only because of his storytelling but also because of his publishing discipline. Stephen King, along with Brandon Sanderson, may be one of those authors whose fans are virtually guaranteed a new novel every year. In King’s case, the achievement is of (almost) biblical proportions: one novel a year (sometimes two) since 1975, except for 1988, when he stopped writing to concentrate on his recovery from various serious addictions, and 2000, when, instead of fiction, he published the essay ‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.’
Chronological order of publication of Stephen King’s novels and stories
Within this extensive bibliography, it is common (and normal) to ask whether there is a particular order in which his stories should be understood.
Well, the vast majority of his works can be read independently without following a specific order, and most expert voices on the forums argue that the best way to get to know the work of Stephen King, no more and no less, is to follow the order of publication of his novels.
- 1974 ‘Carrie’
- 1975 ‘Salem’s Lot’
- 1977 ‘The Shining’ and ‘Rage’
- 1978 ‘The Stand’ y ‘Night Shift’ (Collections)
- 1979 ‘The Long Walk’ y ‘The Dead Zone’
- 1980 ‘Firestarter’
- 1981 ‘Roadwork’ and ‘Cujo’
- 1982 ‘The Running Man’, ‘The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger’and ‘Different Seasons’ (Collections)
- 1983 ‘Christine’, ‘Pet Sematary’ and ‘Cycle of the Werewolf’
- 1984 ‘The Talisman’ (Written with Peter Straub), ‘The Eyes of the Dragon’ y ‘Thinner’
- 1985 ‘The Mist’ y ‘The Jaunt’
- 1986 ‘It’
- 1987 ‘The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three’, ‘Tommyknockers’ and ‘Misery’
- 1989 ‘The Dark Half’
- 1990 ‘Four Past Midnight’ (Collections).
- 1991 ‘The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands’ y ‘Needful Things’
- 1992 ‘Gerald’s Game’
- 1993 ‘Dolores Claiborne’, ‘Nightmares & Dreamscapes’ (Collections)
- 1994 ‘Insomnia’
- 1995 ‘Rose Madder’
- 1996 ‘The Green Mile’, ‘Desperation’ and ‘The Regulators’
- 1997 ‘The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass’
- 1998 ‘Bag of Bones’
- 1999 ‘Hearts in Atlantis’ (Collections), ‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’
- 2001 ′Dreamcatcher’
- 2002 ‘From a Buick 8′
- 2003 ‘The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla’ y ‘Everything´s eventual: 14 Dark Tales’ (Collections)
- 2004 ‘The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah’ y The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
- 2005 ‘The Colorado Kid’
- 2006 ‘Cell’ y ‘Lisey’s Story’
- 2007 ‘Blaze’
- 2008 ‘Duma Key’ y ‘Just After Sunset’ (Collections)
- 2009 ‘Under the Dome’
- 2010 ‘Full Dark, No Stars’ (Collections)
- 2011 ‘11/22/63′
- 2012 ‘The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole’
- 2013 ‘Joyland’ y ‘Doctor Sleep’
- 2014 ‘Mr. Mercedes’ y ‘Revival’
- 2015 ‘Finders Keepers’ y ‘The Bazaar of Bad Dreams’ (Collections)
- 2016 ‘End of Watch’
- 2017 ‘Sleeping Beauties’ (Written with Owen King).
- 2018 ‘The Outsider’ y ‘Elevation’
- 2019 ‘The Institute’
- 2020 ‘If It Bleeds’ (Collections)
- 2021 ‘Later’ y ‘Billy Summers’
- 2022 ‘Fairy Tale’
- 2023 ‘Holly’
Having said all that, for those who wish to follow a strict “narrative” order, there are a few titles by the author in which this can be done.
‘The Dark Tower’ Saga
- ‘The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger’
- ‘The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three’
- ‘The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands’
- ‘The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass’
- ‘The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla’
- ‘The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah’
- ‘The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower’
- ‘The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole
On the other hand, we have Bill Hodges, the famous detective of the “Finders Keepers” agency. In this saga, we also find Holly Gebney, protagonist of the recently published novel ‘Holly’ (2024).
Bill Hodges Saga
- ‘Mr Mercedes’
- ‘Finders Keepers’
- ‘End of Watch’
In all this amalgam of novels, stories, and essays, there is one particular case that can lead to misunderstandings. We are talking about the Gwendy’s Button Box trilogy. We did not include it in the chronology above because the second novel was written entirely by Richard Chizmar, an author who also contributed to the other two novels, and we felt it necessary to separate it from the rest because it is not an exclusive story by the Maine author.
‘Gwendy’s Button Box’ Trilogy
- ‘Gwendy’s Button Box’
- ‘Gwendy’s Magic Feather’
- ‘Gwendy’s Final Task’
In short, Stephen King can be read in almost any order. His novels work independently and no ending is left open.