On the
first episode of Mike vs. the World, we discussed the amazing world of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. I thought about where I would place the books in comparison to the rest of King's works, and my top 10 would have been half tower books. So instead, I made two top 5 lists (one for novels and one for movies) and lumped all of the Dark Tower books together in the former.
TOP 5 STEPHEN KING NOVELS
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Hearts in Atlantis, IT
Hearts in Atlantis wasn’t actually a novel, but a series of interconnected novellas and short stories … but it is easily one of my favorites (especially the 2nd part). It is one of those timeless King stories he will forever be associated with. It’s great, albeit very long and at times extremely bizarre.
5. THE TALISMAN
The Dark Tower series has enhanced my love of a few of King’s other works, and the Talisman was the biggest example of that. The cross-country (and dimension) travels of Jack and Wolf had a awesome old-school fantasy-adventure feel to it along with King’s normal style. It’s the closest thing to an unofficial Dark Tower spin-off there is, as it takes place in the world next door.
4. SALEM'S LOT
I read Salem’s Lot about 30 years after it was first published, and it still holds up as my favorite vampire story of all time. The Father Callahan tie-in to the Dark Tower is what got me in the door, but the overall story of a small town’s battle with an ancient vampire kept me hooked.
3. NEEDFUL THINGS
Needful Things blew me away, mostly because I had didn’t have very high expectations for it. This story of a mysterious shop-owner who sets up in Castle Rock and seems to have the exact thing that every patron wants was so well written and put together that I wished it wouldn’t end. And at 691 pages long, that’s a pretty crazy statement.
2. THE STAND
What can you say about the Stand that hasn’t been said before? It’s the one book that you hand anyone that shows any interest in Stephen King, because it’s the gauge. If you don’t like The Stand, there’s no hope for you. It still serves as one of my favorite tales of good vs. evil, and will probably be so until the day I die.
1. THE DARK TOWER SERIES
The Dark Tower is epic. It’s interwoven into most of King’s other works. It’s Stephen King on the grandest stage, it’s his Lord of the Rings … only way better. The story of Roland’s journey to the Dark Tower takes every turn imaginable, and the people along his path are some of the most interesting characters I’ve ever read. The choice between this story and The Stand was a tough one, but won out for me on it’s sheer scope.
TOP 5 STEPHEN KING MOVIES
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Pet Sematary and The Shining, Storm of the Century
Pet Sematary is easily the most disturbing of King’s stories and one of the only movies that ever scared me as a kid. It does have a few problems, which is what left it off my top 5. The Shining was one of the best and probably the most mainstream of his “horror” movies, but Kubrick's take on the movie changed it enough to keep it off my list. Storm of the Century has to be mentioned as well as one of King’s best as well, but at times suffers from being a little slow.
5. THE GREEN MILE
The Green Mile was an amazing movie, and most agree seeing as though it was an Academy Award nominated movie for best picture. Tom Hanks and Michael Clark Duncan’s performances in this movie alone make it worthy of the top 5 list, and the story of a special inmate on death row and his warden is both heartwarming and extremely sad. (Heartwarming isn’t exactly what King is normally known for)
4. THE MIST
The Mist is a story of a small town that is right next door to a dimensional tear in the fabric of reality that allows some seriously nasty stuff through into our world. Also, The Mist is one of the 1% of movies that doesn’t have a happy ending, and I love it for that. It was a ballsy choice, and not one that everyone likes, but it stands as one of my favorite endings to a horror movie I’ve ever seen.
3. STAND BY ME
Stand By My is easily the King movie I’ve watched the most, seeing as it was a staple in my childhood. I wore my old VHS copy of it out. Based off of King’s novella ‘The Body,’ this story of four kids trying to find the body of a kid who was killed by a train is one of the best written and acted movies starring young actors I’ve ever seen. While not scary in the least, it’s picture proof that King’s greatest strength is writing characters.
2. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
I can recognize that The Shawshank Redemption is the best King movie of all time, even if it isn’t my favorite. Wrongfully accused and imprisoned Andy’s journey to escape Shawshank prison is one of the best movies of the past 30 years. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman’s performances are absolutely incredible, and the scene where Andy takes the prison intercom system hostage is one of favorite of all time.
1. THE STAND
The Stand (while actually a mini-series rather than a movie) is my favorite example of King’s book to screen works. Gary Sinise and Rob Lowe both put in amazing performances and everything about the movie has personality. About 6-hours long, the movie never gets too slow and I loved the struggle between Randall Flagg (one of the best villains of all time) and Mother Abigail. Even though the Stand isn’t too frightening, the scene where Larry Underwood and Nadine Cross have to walk through the Lincoln tunnel when filled with cars of dead people is one of the most intense scenes I’ve ever watched.
Make sure you go back and listen to Episode 1 of Mike Vs. The World
