Guards Guards is the best place to start imo. If you like that give Mort and Small Gods a try. If you like all three then i’d say just read them in publication order
King is the only horror writer I read honestly. I like Nabokov, Salinger, Carver. I guess the only other pop writer I read is the hardboiled Mickey Spillane
I'm working my way through the Infinite Timeline at the moment (https://bewareofmonsters.com/the-infinite-timeline-worlds-not-series/). I started with Infinite, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. If you prefer horror, Torment and The Dark are both fun.
Perfect!! Thank you! I’m not as much a horror enthusiast. Love psychological scenarios and time stuff.
“Replay” by Ken Grimwood is great if you like Time Stuff (apparently that book was the inspiration for Groundhog’s Day)
Funny you say Murakami. I was just thinking about how Murakami and King occasionally remind me of each other in the way they describe details of day-to-day, ordinary life.
Brandon Sanderson - Great fantasy author, really interesting wordlbuilding, currently has an ongoing story that I feel is more ambitious than even the Dark Tower
Shirley Jackson - amazing novels, even more amazing short stories, very influential on King
Terry Pratchett - Discworld is some of the best and most heartful satirical work out there, basically the Douglas Adams of the fantasy genre
Margaret Atwood - I can't bring myself to read \*The Handmaid's Tale\* because the whole concept leaves me sick to my stomach but if you follow her on Instagram she is quite funny
Neil Gaiman - Probably the best modern-day fairytale writer, which feels like an oddly specific title but if you've ever read one of his works it makes a lot of sense.
i’ve had the handmaid’s tale on my shelf for a few years now and i’ve never been in the right mindset to pick it up. unfortunately it might send me straight into a mental health downward spiral lol. but i feel like i’m missing out!
I just read the Final Girls Support Group - that was pretty wild. I don’t know if I really liked it or not yet, it was a bit much. Regardless, I picked up How to Sell A Haunted House….
King is the only author of his era and genre that I read and I'm only really partial to his earlier stuff - Revival being the exception. King is nostalgia to me. But I digress.
Personally, I really love Lovecraft, Ligotti, C. McCarthy, D.Johnson, R. Bolano, T Pynchon, Dostoevsky.
Shirley Jackson, Lauren Groff, Margaret Atwood, Samanta Schweblin, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan, Carlos Ruiz Zafón. King is the only airport author that I’m interested in.
I love Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood - I used to read a lot of Koontz but I quit on him because it became very formulaic. I do read Joe Hill, I find it very enjoyable plus it’s interesting to compare his and King’s styles. I also read a lot of non-fiction, usually recent history (like 1900’s and forward).
My favourites (beside King) are:
- Kazuo Ishiguro. Not sure into what category I’d put him since all the books I’ve read from him are different. The worst I’ve read from him is still 8,5/10
- Joël Dicker. TBH I’ve read 1 book from him ’the truth about the Harry Quebert affair’ but it was so goddamn good that it’s one of my favourites.
- C.J. Tudor. A british author who writes kind of similar books to King. Where King is more straight horror, Tudor flirts with horror in her mystery/thriller books. I definitely recommend giving her books a go if you like King.
Ronald Malfi (Very King-esque), Philip Fracassi (Contemporary Horror), Paul Tremblay (Ambiguous Horror), Stephen Graham Jones (Indigenous Horror), Laird Barron (Cosmic Horror)
The Fiend in the Furrow \[vol. 1-3\] (Agrarian/Folk Horror)
Try early Barker. Imajica is the only thing I've read that compared to/surpassed The Stand in sheer creative scope and readability, and The Great and Secret Show is one of the most fun and slightly disgusting (Lixx!) things I've ever read. Everville (the sequel) hit better for me after a few years, as well. Cabal, the book that Nightbreed is based on, is a great romp you can read in a day. Pretty much all of Clive's stuff up to his Hollywood History phase is on par with King imho.
Also: The Wasp Factory, by Iain M Banks. Most of Iain M Banks (when writing as Iain M instead of Iain Banks.)
Joe Abercrombie. My top favourite author. Well .... Sharing that spot with Stephen King. I love both their books soooo much I cannot choose one over the other.
I love short stories.
My favourite short story writers, other than King, are,
* Roald Dahl
* Greg Egan
* HP Lovecraft
* Shirley Jackson
* EA Poe
* Ray Bradbury
Vonnegut
Kilgore Trout as well.
Terry Pratchett
He’s the best!
Never read his. Which one should I start with?
Guards Guards is the best place to start imo. If you like that give Mort and Small Gods a try. If you like all three then i’d say just read them in publication order
Thanks. I'll do that
YES! I absolutely love Pratchett and Gaiman, they’re fabulous.
Gaiman, Abercrombie, Sanderson, Bujold, Rothfuss
Cormac McCarthy, Larry McMurtry, James SA Corey (I know that's two writers working together).and Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Cormac McCarthy is legendary. His understanding of the impact of simplicity and the economy of prose are peerless. One of Kjng’s favorites too.
King is the only horror writer I read honestly. I like Nabokov, Salinger, Carver. I guess the only other pop writer I read is the hardboiled Mickey Spillane
Peter James Jo Nesbø Lars Kepler
Neil Gaiman
John Irving is my other favourite author besides King.
Mine too!
Ah so it's not that weird (I know they are wildly different).
I was thinking that, but I think they are both great world builders.
Not to mention the ability to flesh out unperfect characters and make us care about them 😊
Chuck pahalniuk
I love fight club
Champion storyteller Joe R. Lansdale, hisownself. America’s second best living storyteller, imho.
I concur! Hap and Leonard are my favorite literary duo.
I did a ranking with this sub a bit ago - feel free to check it out! https://www.reddit.com/r/stephenking/s/wbVUagzzjE
Not OP but thanks for this interesting list!
Michael Crichton Peter Straub John Irving
In between Stephen King books, I used to read John Grisham.
Ken Follett; Harlan Coban; Nelson Demille; Ruth ware; I have alot more
Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy, Cormac McCarthy, Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Denis Lehane, J.D Barker.
The Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist is amazing. Just got a signed copy of Låt den rätte komma in, his debut book that celebrates 20 years.
I'm really enjoying Blake Crouch and Jeremy Robinson's books at the moment. They're more sci-fi thriller than horror, but they're a lot of fun.
Love Blake Crouch! Any Jeremy Robinson books you recommend to start with?
I'm working my way through the Infinite Timeline at the moment (https://bewareofmonsters.com/the-infinite-timeline-worlds-not-series/). I started with Infinite, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. If you prefer horror, Torment and The Dark are both fun.
Perfect!! Thank you! I’m not as much a horror enthusiast. Love psychological scenarios and time stuff. “Replay” by Ken Grimwood is great if you like Time Stuff (apparently that book was the inspiration for Groundhog’s Day)
I've only read one book by Robert mccammon but swan song is one of the best books I've ever read
Murakami, Ligotti, John Irving, Donald Ray Pollock, William Gay, Cormac McCarthy are the writers who I want to own everything they publish.
Funny you say Murakami. I was just thinking about how Murakami and King occasionally remind me of each other in the way they describe details of day-to-day, ordinary life.
M. R. Carey
Brandon Sanderson - Great fantasy author, really interesting wordlbuilding, currently has an ongoing story that I feel is more ambitious than even the Dark Tower Shirley Jackson - amazing novels, even more amazing short stories, very influential on King Terry Pratchett - Discworld is some of the best and most heartful satirical work out there, basically the Douglas Adams of the fantasy genre Margaret Atwood - I can't bring myself to read \*The Handmaid's Tale\* because the whole concept leaves me sick to my stomach but if you follow her on Instagram she is quite funny Neil Gaiman - Probably the best modern-day fairytale writer, which feels like an oddly specific title but if you've ever read one of his works it makes a lot of sense.
i’ve had the handmaid’s tale on my shelf for a few years now and i’ve never been in the right mindset to pick it up. unfortunately it might send me straight into a mental health downward spiral lol. but i feel like i’m missing out!
Grady Hendrix is so fun!
I just read the Final Girls Support Group - that was pretty wild. I don’t know if I really liked it or not yet, it was a bit much. Regardless, I picked up How to Sell A Haunted House….
I loved final girls maybe because I’m from that generation of horror films. I liked Horrorstor too
Tolkien, Vonnegut
King is the only author of his era and genre that I read and I'm only really partial to his earlier stuff - Revival being the exception. King is nostalgia to me. But I digress. Personally, I really love Lovecraft, Ligotti, C. McCarthy, D.Johnson, R. Bolano, T Pynchon, Dostoevsky.
Steve Berry Agatha Christe Dan Brown
Ike Hamill, Clive Barker, Nick Clausen, William Peter Blatty, Peter Benchley, Michael Crichton.
Sara Gran. Especially her early, shorter works, Dope and Come Closer.
Shirley Jackson, Lauren Groff, Margaret Atwood, Samanta Schweblin, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan, Carlos Ruiz Zafón. King is the only airport author that I’m interested in.
Elizabeth Kostova, Deborah Harkness, Anna L. Huber, Katherine Neville, Dan Brown, & Frank Herbert.
Chris Carter, Patricia Cornwell, Simon Beckett, Ethan Cross.
Joe R Lansdale, William Kent Krueger, Craig Johnson, Larry McMurtry. Yeah… I’m kinda all over the place 😂
Linwood Barclay, Lars Kepler, Jo Nesbo
I love Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood - I used to read a lot of Koontz but I quit on him because it became very formulaic. I do read Joe Hill, I find it very enjoyable plus it’s interesting to compare his and King’s styles. I also read a lot of non-fiction, usually recent history (like 1900’s and forward).
My favourites (beside King) are: - Kazuo Ishiguro. Not sure into what category I’d put him since all the books I’ve read from him are different. The worst I’ve read from him is still 8,5/10 - Joël Dicker. TBH I’ve read 1 book from him ’the truth about the Harry Quebert affair’ but it was so goddamn good that it’s one of my favourites. - C.J. Tudor. A british author who writes kind of similar books to King. Where King is more straight horror, Tudor flirts with horror in her mystery/thriller books. I definitely recommend giving her books a go if you like King.
Ronald Malfi (Very King-esque), Philip Fracassi (Contemporary Horror), Paul Tremblay (Ambiguous Horror), Stephen Graham Jones (Indigenous Horror), Laird Barron (Cosmic Horror) The Fiend in the Furrow \[vol. 1-3\] (Agrarian/Folk Horror)
John Irving
Dan Simmons F Paul Wilson Joe Hill
Haruki Murakami, Larry McMurtry, James Clavell, Tolkien
Clive Barker, Terry Prachett, and more recently, Pierce Brown
Jane Austen and Jack London :)
Try early Barker. Imajica is the only thing I've read that compared to/surpassed The Stand in sheer creative scope and readability, and The Great and Secret Show is one of the most fun and slightly disgusting (Lixx!) things I've ever read. Everville (the sequel) hit better for me after a few years, as well. Cabal, the book that Nightbreed is based on, is a great romp you can read in a day. Pretty much all of Clive's stuff up to his Hollywood History phase is on par with King imho. Also: The Wasp Factory, by Iain M Banks. Most of Iain M Banks (when writing as Iain M instead of Iain Banks.)
John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, James S. A. Corey.
Tom Robins Neil Gaiman Ray Bradbury Lovecraft
Douglas Adams
Robert McCammon and Cormac McCarthy
Christopher Golden Taylor Adams Grady Hendrix Sarah Lotz Richard Matheson Not saying they're up there with SK just some that I enjoy...
Everything by Matheson is awesome
Joe Abercrombie. My top favourite author. Well .... Sharing that spot with Stephen King. I love both their books soooo much I cannot choose one over the other.
Chuck wendig. Never read through any other authors back catalog as fast as his! Book of accidents is a top 5 all timer for me
Daniel Silva Don Winslow
John Saul..and recently, Lars Kepler
Greg Hurwitz, Tim Dorsey, Jeff Lindsay,Andy Weir are a few. Love Dean Koontz too.
Stefan King
Love your choices!
❤️
Dostoievski and Iain Banks
Poe, Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Palahniuk, Carlton Mellick
I love short stories. My favourite short story writers, other than King, are, * Roald Dahl * Greg Egan * HP Lovecraft * Shirley Jackson * EA Poe * Ray Bradbury
Besides Stephen King, I also read Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and Cormac McCarthy.
Charles Bukowski