Stephen King

We would not be the first to compare Stephen King with Charles Dickens. Both were staggeringly prolific, both frequently used an obnoxiously faux-avuncular tone to address their audience, and both were masters at forcing an emotional reaction from readers. (Hopefully Mr. King is less of a tool in his personal life, though.) Only time will tell if King’s books share Dickens’s enduring popularity, however. Horror novels are very much a product of their times, and it’s unclear whether future readers will view King as the 20th century answer to Mary Shelley or, y’know, another Ann Radcliffe.

Note: Stephen King has penned quite a few tear-jerkers, too, including the stories that inspired such films as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and Stand By Me.

Aftertaste:
A few years ago King was involved in a television mini-series called Kingdom Hospital. As far as I could tell, King’s “adaptation” involved taking the plot of Danish horror film called The Kingdom, making only those changes absolutely necessary to adapt it for an American audience, and adding a character modeled after himself to it. This wasn’t an adaptation; this was a self-insertion fanfic. And yet he was paid millions for it.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
Anything by Philip K. Dick

Anything by China Mieville

Website:
http://www.stephenking.com/ -