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The most thrilling books by Stephen King

TNN | Last updated on - Sep 21, 2019, 16:49 IST

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The most thrilling books by Stephen King

Stephen King is nothing short of a literary titan. His work includes quite a good number of gripping horror stories. King’s popularity reflects in the 350 million copies of his books sold worldwide, about fifty novels across various genres to his name, and more than 200 short stories written by him. Here is a list of King’s best works till date that have gained far more popularity than one could ever imagine.

(Photo: Stephen King/ Facebook)

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The Institute

Stephen King’s 2019 novel 'The Institute' is about a totalitarian boot camp where children with super powers are housed together to be experimented on. Set in the deep forests of Maine, there is a state Institute where children who are abducted from various parts of the United States are incarcerated. A series of tests are performed on them to combine their exceptional powers of telepathy and telekinesis for concentrated effect. Meanwhile, in a small town in South Carolina, ex-cop Tim Jamieson, who is now working for a local sherriff, is about to get the biggest case of his life. Back in the Institute, the kids soon realise that they are more prisoners than guests at the facility and that they can't escape. But when the kids decide to team-up, their combined super-powers are a surprise even for those who are conducting the experiments. ''The Institute' is a stunning novel of childhood betrayed and hope regained,' reads the book's blurb.

(Photo: Hodder & Stoughton)

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It

It: The story revolves around seven teenagers of Derry, Maine, a quiet town. One fine day, the group has a shaking encounter with an evil creature that devours Derry’s children. Cut to the present: They have all grown up to lead separate lives in distant cities. A promise they made almost twenty years ago reunites them in the town of Derry to fight the monster that is lurking once again in the town’s sewers.
(Photo: Scribner)

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The Stand

The Stand: In King’s apocalyptic story 'The Stand', a subject, carrying a deadly strain of mutated 'Superflu' escapes a biological testing facility. The superflu has a potential to sweep over 99 per cent of the world's population in a short span. Those who survive the disaster, are panic-stricken and in need of guidance. Two powerful leaders emerge as a result of this need: Mother Abagail, a 108-year-old woman who promotes the method of peace, and a sly and evil “Dark Man,” Randall Flagg, who draws pleasure from violence and chaos. As both the leaders are quickly expanding their footprints, the people have to make a wise decision of choosing a right chief for themselves. (Photo: Anchor)

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The Shining

The Shining: The story revolves around Jack Torrance, who has joined the remotely-located Overlook Hotel for his new job as an off-season caretaker and has shifted in with his wife Wendy and son, Danny. Danny is a gifted boy who experiences premonitions and has strange frightening visions of the hotel’s haunting past and seeing ghosts. 'The Shining' is frightening to the core and manages to send a chill down the spine everytime one reads it. (Photo: Penguin Random House)

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The Green Mile

The Green Mile: The book describes Cold Mountain Penitentiary, a remand home where the convicted criminals await execution. The green mile here symbolises the lime-coloured corridor that leads to the electrification room. Paul Edgecombe, the prison guard, has almost worked all his life in the Penitentiary and is well accustomed to the odds that go around in the prison. Enters John Coffey, a giant man with the heart of a child, condemned for a heinous crime. At this centre for retribution, Edgecombe discovers a terrible truth about Coffey that changes his entire perception about life.
(Photo: Turtleback Books)

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The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption: 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption', is one among the four novellas written by King in his book 'Different Seasons'. The story talks about a banker who is falsely accused of murdering his wife and her lover and sent to prison. The banker seeks a clever revenge by the end of the book by digging a tunnel bit by bit through his prison wall and escapes. (Photo: Hodder And Stoughton)

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Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot: This is yet another horror story, this time dealing with Vampires. 'Salem’s Lot' talks about the protagonist Ben Mears, who returns to his childhood town, Jerusalem, in search of a motivation for his next book, to make peace with his inner-self and in a hope to cast out his own devils. Mears life in Jerusalem takes a strange turn when only one of the two boys, who ventured out into the woods returned, and the other died under mysterious circumstances. As the mystery unfolds, Mears discover that people suddenly go missing from the town, and the place has been taken over by the Vampires and darker forces at work. One by one the residents were turning into Vampires, only to be stopped by a group of living people formed by Mears for the task. (Photo: Anchor)

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The Long Walk

The Long Walk: Yet another bestseller by Stephen King, 'The Long Walk' centres around a backbreaking walking competition, that will announce only a single winner from amongst the contestants, based on the criteria of surviving through the petrifying race. The psychotic tale talks about the future times when America became a police state, and some hundred boys were selected for a lunatic and dangerous walking race, that was to reward the winner with whatever he wishes for the rest of his life to come. (Photo: Gallery Books)

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11/22/63

11/22/63: Stephen King’s masterpiece, '11/22/63', is the story of a time traveller, who is on a mission to prevent the assassination of the President of the United States, John F Kennedy, that happened on the 22nd of November, 1963. The story attempts to imagine and rewrite history in a way, where major events that happened in the past, could be stopped from taking place. The story is narrated by Jake living in 2011, who later time travels with the help of his friend Al (the one who created the means to travel back in time), to change the history of America for good. (Photo: Scribner)

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The Drawing of the Three

The Drawing of the Three: The book is a sequel to Stephen King’s 'The Gunslinger', and is based on the story of Roland, who comes across three mystifying doorways on a deserted beach. Each of the strange doorways holds the secret lives of three different people in New York. Roland, along with Eddie Dean and Odetta, sets on a dark journey to find and save the Dark Towers, fighting against the underworld evils and otherworldly enemies, while also keeping themselves alive at the same time. (Photo: Hodder And Stoughton)

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On Writing

On Writing: Brilliantly written, Stephen King’s 'On Writing' is part memoir and part a lesson for aspiring writers. This book collates the skills and crafts of a good writer and lays down techniques to pen down a good story. King’s recommendations are drawn from his personal experience from his struggling years to his almost fatal accident. King talks about how writing helped him recover from the psychological effects following his accident. (Photo: Hodder & Stoughton)

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The most thrilling books by Stephen King