II.

Fiction

In 1973 King’s first novel, Carrie, was published. The book tells the story of a teenager who exacts deadly revenge on her high school classmates by using her powers of telekinesis, the ability to move objects without touching them. After Carrie, King became a bestselling horror writer, publishing a string of popular books. King’s The Shining (1977), about a man who slowly goes crazy, is set in a haunted, snowbound hotel. The Stand (1978) depicts an apocalyptic showdown between forces of good and evil. Christine (1983) features a sinister car that seems to come to life, and It (1986) concerns a group of childhood friends who reunite to confront an evil presence in their hometown. King’s many other novels include Misery (1987), Needful Things (1991), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Dreamcatcher (2001), From a Buick 8 (2002), and The Colorado Kid (2005). In Cell (2006) a mysterious mobile phone pulse turns people into homicidal zombies. Lisey’s Story (2006) is a more serious novel that explores marriage and a woman’s grief after her husband’s death. In Duma Key (2008) King gives his characters psychic powers following near-death experiences.

King moved into fantasy with The Dark Tower, a series of books centered on the character Roland of Gilead, or the Gunslinger, who is hunting the mysterious Man in Black. The seven-part series comprises The Gunslinger (1982), The Drawing of the Three (1987), The Waste Lands (1991), Wizard and Glass (1997), Wolves of the Calla (2003), Song of Susannah (2004), and The Dark Tower (2004). His collections of short fiction include Night Shift (1978), Different Seasons (1982), Skeleton Crew (1985), Four Past Midnight (1990), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), and Everything’s Eventual (2002). He has also written several books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

King has also explored unusual publishing options. In 1996 he issued the novel The Green Mile in six monthly paperback installments as a means of heightening its tension. The work was later published in a complete version and made into the movie The Green Mile (1999), starring Tom Hanks. In 2000 King became one of the first well-known authors to publish a work exclusively as an e-book, or electronic book, available online for download onto computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other devices. A larger work, The Plant, was released in electronic installments in 2000, but the project was halted after six chapters.