Modern Day Poe
Yes, he doesn’t write poetry. Yes, he doesn’t always write horror. And yes, his style is not gothic. However, who comes to mind first whenever horror or thriller books are mentioned? King! He’s our modern day literary boogieman and he is incredibly good at it. King, in real life, is quite sweet-natured. In a seminar he once commented on how everyone asks him about his childhood, trying to find out what traumatized him. He would always respond with the truth; that he had a very happy childhood. He is just so brilliant at scaring the hell out of people!
Storyteller
King is a storyteller first and foremost. Many of his books are more drama focused. When he decides to change things up, he almost always ends up with a masterpiece. It’s not all Carrie, IT, and The Shining. When he’s not doing that, he comes up with The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile or Dolores Claiborne.
Great Books Become Great Movies
Whenever a Stephen King book is adapted into a movie it’s almost always a recipe for success. The Shining, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption and Misery are only but examples of great films based on his work.
Women Empowerment
King has written quite a number of books where the main character is a woman. Not only that, but most of the time she is a woman in distress, who saves herself by herself. Stories like Gerald’s Game, Dolores Claiborne, Big Driver, A Good Marriage and even Carrie are extremely empowering and show the world through a woman’s eyes beautifully, even if it’s a very spooky world.
“And as a writer, one of the things that I’ve always been interested in doing is actually invading your comfort space. Because that’s what we’re supposed to do. Get under your skin, and make you react.” Stephen King
