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I'm often skeptical about coffee table-style niche encyclopedias like this, because they're often only accessible to the super-fans of whatever they're about, and even though I love Stephen King and he was, at one point, my favorite author, I would no longer call myself a super-fan of his work. I think the last thing of his that I actually read was REVIVAL and I didn't like it.
But you can color me wrong for this book because I actually loved it so much. I actually think this would be a great companion to read with Stephen King's memoir-slash-writing guide, ON WRITING, because it has pictures of a lot of the things he talked about. This book is part biography, part extended bibliography/CV, and part fan trivia. For example, I didn't know that early editions of MISERY had a fake romance stepback inside picturing Paul Sheldon's Misery cover! And better yet, THIS BOOK INCLUDES A PICTURE. AND STEPHEN KING WAS THE MALE COVER MODEL.
The whole book was full of fun little facts like that, including his inspirations, insights into his relationship with his wife and sons (I honestly LOVE how Tabitha is Mr. King's "Ideal Reader." Every time he talks about her, you can tell how much he worships her), and what his life was like after the accident that caused him serious injury. I've read most of his early works and a lot of the ones into the '90s, but everything from the aughts onward was a little new to me and there were several things he did that I hadn't even heard of. After seeing the summary of LISEY'S STORY, I'm kind of interested in picking it up now.
Horror fans, King fans, and movie fans will probably get a lot out of this book. I'm happy to report that you don't need to be a super-fan to get something out of this book. There's literally something in here for everyone and I kind of like that. Bev Vincent knocked the ball out of the park.
In 'Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences,' Bev Vincent is at once curious, thorough, scholarly and lively.
It’s been almost 50 years since Stephen King published “Carrie” and upended mainstream publishing. Never before had a “horror writer” achieved the kind of mammoth sales King has enjoyed, nor attained the wide-spread popularity enjoyed by the prolific author.
Just after King’s 75 birthday, long-time King scholar, friend and collaborator Bev Vincent has taken the opportunity to update his “Stephen King Companion” with “Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences.” The subtitle promises a lot, and King’s loyal “Constant Readers” will be delighted with the results.
Similar books have been published before, but this one strikes a happy balance between the unwieldiness of an encyclopedia and the skimpiness of some semi-professional endeavors.
Vincent is the author of “The Dark Tower Companion,” “The Road to the Dark Tower,” the Bram Stoker Award-nominated companion to Stephen King’s Dark Tower series and “The Stephen King Illustrated Companion,” which was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award and a 2009 Bram Stoker Award. In 2018, Vincent and King co-edited the anthology “Flight or Fright.”
When it comes to expounding on King’s work, Vincent knows his stuff, through and through. Whether writing about King’s radio station or time with the Rock-Bottom Remainders, Vincent is curious in his approach and thorough in his results.
Many King fans will have read accounts of how his spouse Tabitha King rescued “Carrie” from the waste basket when her husband gave up on the idea of writing convincingly about adolescent young women. Some readers have the impression that she saved his career that night, but the reality is more nuanced.
As Vincent recounts, King started writing – and submitting for publication – stories from an early age. His first professional sale, “The Glass Floor,” was published by Startling Mystery Stories for $30.
By the time he graduated from the University of Maine at Orono, King was working on the novel “Getting It On,” which would eventually become “Rage,” and on “The Long Walk,” which intrigued Doubleday editor Bill Thompson, just shy of the point of actually purchasing the book.
There’s a chapter on “The Poetry of Stephen King,” including “The Dark Man,” one of the first references to the mutable villain of “The Stand” and the “Dark Tower” sequence. King isn’t likely to be celebrated for his verse, but it’s interesting to note his early influences.
“Stephen King” features a generous helping of illustrations, from family snapshots to correspondence with Doubleday’s Thompson, who essentially “discovered” King, to a photo of him accepting a medal from President Obama.
Fans of the “Dark Tower” sequence will be glad to find information that links hundreds of characters, settings and concepts. Vincent writes, “A prevailing theme of King’s fiction is that reality is thin and there are countless, perhaps infinite, parallel universes adjacent to one another with only thin curtains separating parallel realities.”
Vincent’s clear, lively writing style suits the Companion. He’s scholarly without being pedantic and unearths some intriguing trivia.
Interested in visiting King’s version of his home state? There’s a generous section on the geographic and historic attractions of Derry, designated in “IT” as an alternate version of Bangor, listing dozens of mysterious deaths. Other examples of prime Down East real estate in the Stephen King universe include Castle Rock, home of Cujo and the boys from “The Body,” and Haven, a coastal community with its share of weird events.
According to Vincent, tour operators offer a King-themed excursion in Bangor, taking care not to disturb the inhabitants who these days infrequently reside in the mansion behind wrought-iron, giant-spider-infested fence. The home is slated to be converted into an invitation-only scholarly library and writers’ retreat.
The book includes an especially interesting section about King’s many collaborators. It makes sense that the author would want to work with his pseudonymous son Joe Hill on a tribute to the legendary fantasist Richard Matheson. But whose idea was it to pair John Mellencamp with King for a musical project such as “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County”?
Vincent offers details on King’s sole non-fiction partner, Stewart O’Nan. The two of them followed the Boston Red Sox during the team’s unlikely 2004 championship season, resulting in “Faithful.” That relationship inspired another baseball-related project with O’Nan, the short story “A Face in the Crowd.”
“Stephen King” is as up to date as possible, with short entries about “Billy Summers” from last year, “Gwendy’s Final Task” from this spring and the recently released (and particularly well received) “Fairy Tale.” Fans of the Bill Hodges Trilogy will be glad to know that King is at work on another book featuring the idiosyncratic detective Holly Gibney.
Readers will find copious details about the auto accident that nearly killed King in 1999. Run over while on his daily walk, King was told he might never walk again and endured months of excruciating therapy and painkiller addiction. After all of that agony, King insisted on attending the presentation of the National Medal of Arts, resulting in a two-month bout of pneumonia that nearly killed him.
Vincent includes a helpful set of appendices, which include lists of short stories, novels and adaptations.
It’s been a long time since anyone compared King’s literary output to a Big Mac. Vincent’s “Stephen King” convincingly shows just how experimental King has been, willing to tackle a serialized novel like “The Green Mile” or write from the perspective of a middle-aged woman. He wrote an e-book, “Ur,” exclusively for Amazon’s Kindle and still allows amateurs to secure the rights to some of his stories and film them as “Dollar Babies.”
King is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, but what might be his literary legacy? Vincent quotes him as saying, “I’ve never fooled myself that I’m going to have much popularity beyond my lifetime. . . . There may be one or two books that people read later on.” “The Stand” and “The Shining” are likely contenders.
King has threatened to retire many times, and despite hiatuses, near-tragedies and fallow periods, he maintains an impressive output for someone who has been around for three quarters of a century.
As Vincent demonstrates, King still occupies the Throne of Horror. Long may he reign!
Berkeley writer Michael Berry is a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, native who has contributed to Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, New Hampshire Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books and many other publications.
SAMMI C
In September, Bev Vincent delivered this incredible book detailing his life with pictures, behind the scenes looks at all his books, and a well told story about the King of Horror.
It's a perfect read for the season. I loved getting little tidbits about where he got his ideas for iconic stories, and which books he prefers more than others. Personally, everything about the Dark Tower series was so exciting to learn. The Dark Tower is my favorite series of all time (another recommendation for you, given that it spans seven books and has literally every genre you can think of) and time was spent on each volume. When I tell you this book looks into everything King has written, I mean it. It’s all in here. For even a passing Stephen King fan, this is essential. For someone looking for an interesting biography…you know what I’ll say it’s essential for you too. Go read it!
Stephen by King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences by Bev Vincent (Epic Ink)
Author Bev Vincent’s Complete Exploration of the life and work of Stephen King was released in September, just as the master of terror celebrated his 75th birthday. It is a fitting tribute—comprehensive, full of surprising details, and packed with reminders that nobody does it better than King. Also included is unique ephemera, including the original title layout page for The Stand, a glimpse at the handwritten manuscript page for Cujo, and the call sheet from the filming of King’s role in Creepshow. It’s a blast to open the book at random and dive in, and Vincent ensures every King text receives its just due.
>>> SourceWhat do you get for the Stephen King fan who already has every book he's ever written? This impressively illustrated volume is the answer. Penned by Bev Vincent, who has been chronicling the author for ages, this collection goes book by book, film by film, and far beyond to gather history, stories, and engaging bits of ephemera (childhood photos, old letters, manuscript fragments) in one place. Vincent's book is an affectionate one, but he confronts the lows as well as the highs of King's life and career, incorporating criticism along with the hosannas. What Vincent accomplishes particularly well, and what King's Constant Readers will find most satisfying, is the way he goes into detail about how the author's stories were inspired by events from his life. If anyone ever annoys King with the oft-asked question "Where do you get your ideas?" he can throw this book at them. It's a heavy one, so he'll have to throw it hard.—Anthony Breznican, senior Hollywood correspondent
Bev Vincent 'Stephen King: The universe of today's most widely read writer' – a monograph worthy of a king
Vincent's book collection is more than a colorful picture book dedicated to the master whose eerie visions have enchanted an army of fans for almost half a century.
The most famous writer of horror and supernatural fiction, Stephen King , celebrated his 75th birthday this year. On this occasion, the monograph "Stephen King: The universe of the most widely read writers today" was published, which was published by the Lumen publishing house in parallel with the world premiere in our country in a translation by Marko Maras . A hardcover of approximately 240 color pages, this book is the work of Bev Vincent, one of the greatest experts on Stephen King (Kingologist?), who has previously published a series of books about the king of horror, including "The Stephen King Illustrated Companion" and "The Road to the Dark Tower" about King's fantasy opus of seven novels (plus subsequent intermediate book "The Wind Through the Keyhole") whose motifs can be found in numerous other works of this, as the subtitle of our translation says, "the most widely read writer today".
Vincent's book collection is more than a colorful picture book dedicated to the master whose eerie visions have enchanted an army of fans for almost half a century, ever since he achieved fame with his first hit novel "Carrie" back in 1974. His works are so popular that their screen adaptation has become a guarantee of earning in Hollywood (and on television), so there are also cases, such as the one with his latest newly published novel "Fairy Tale", so the rights to make a film according to the template are already sold at the moment when the first copies of the book are just being placed on the shelves of American bookstores.
This monograph, although visually attractive as the so-called coffee table book , also serves as a meticulous insight into everything the master from Maine ever wrote. It follows King from his childhood and his first literary attempts, through his aspiration to break through, until today, when his name has become almost synonymous with unquestionable success. Although in principle it is probably intended for fans, i.e. those who in King's universe are called constant readers , it also serves as a guide for occasional readers who can choose from it a further direction of acquaintance with the work of a writer whose bibliography at first glance seems too rich to be included in easy for her.
Fans will likely already be familiar with many of the things they will encounter in this monograph. Stories about the pseudonym Richard Bachman , which arose because King produced more books than the market (according to his publisher) could bear at one time, records of the writer's struggle with alcohol and cocaine addiction, watershed events such as a car accident that left him almost cost his life; these are all things that King himself has spoken and written about extensively and openly over the years. However, everyone will find enough reasons to read. A list of all King's books alone would take up a lot of space, and when each is accompanied by a summary and corresponding biographies on several pages, it is clear that there is a lot to read in this book, and not just flip through.
Texts about King's literary works (and their film, television, comics and other adaptations) are accompanied by numerous interesting side notes that bring various trivia from King's universe, from the history of fictional cities like Derry and Castle Rock, where the action of his books often takes place, to a list of their famous inhabitants and a list of all the writers from his novels, along with numerous reproductions of first edition covers, manuscripts and similar paraphernalia, Vincent's book makes an excellent Christmas present for horror fans. It is rich enough to satisfy even die-hard fans, and it is written with special attention not to reveal too much of the plot of the books, so as not to spoil the enjoyment of all those who have not read them yet.
Nel nuovo episodio di TuttoLibri, Liliana Russo, racconta Stephen King. La guida definitiva al Re, di Bev Vincent
I hope they like it -- I can't tell!
Irrepressibly enthusiastic Festschrifts rather than formal biographies, but no less impressive for their celebratory and retrospective characters, Phil & Sarah Stokes’ Clive Barker’s Dark Worlds and Bev Vincent’s The Stephen King Ultimate Companion: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences are things of dark beauty. Don’t be deceived by the profuse artwork and numerous photographs. These tomes...shine with acumen on their subject’s creative processes and offer substantive observations on the fruits of these prolific creator’s labors. If the lives of the imaginatively fecund Barker and King were films, these books would be the literary equivalents of commentary tracks comprising an essential, rather than a special, feature.
-- Rob Acosta