Patrick McAleer

Stephen King is no stranger to the realm of literary criticism, but his most fantastic, far-reaching work has aroused little academic scrutiny. This study of King’s epic Dark Tower series encompasses the career of one of the world’s best-selling authors and frames him as more than a “horror writer.” Four categories of analysis—genre, art, evil, and intertextuality—provide a focused look at the center of King’s fictional universe. This book reaches beyond popular culture treatments of the series and examines it against King’s horror work, audience expectations, and the larger literary landscape.

Art, Evil and Intertextuality in the Stephen King Novels

Inside the Dark Tower Series

Philip L. Simpson

Many readers know Stephen King for his early works of horror, from his fiction debut Carrie to his blockbuster novels The Shining, The Stand, and Misery, among others. While he continues to be a best-selling author, King’s more recent fiction has not received the kind of critical attention that his books from the 1970s and 1980s enjoyed. Recent novels like Duma Key and 1/22/63 have been marginalized and, arguably, cast aside as anomalies within the author’s extensive canon. In Stephen King’s Contemporary Classics: Reflections on the Modern Master of Horror, Philip L. Simpson and Patrick McAleer present a collection of essays that analyze, assess, and critique King’s post-1995 compositions. Purposefully side-stepping studies of earlier work, these essays are arranged into three main parts: the first section examines five King novels published between 2009 and 2013, offering genuinely fresh scholarship on King; the second part looks at the development of King’s distinct brand of horror; the third section departs from probing the content of King’s writing and instead focuses on King’s process. By concentrating on King’s most recent writings, this collection offers provocative insights into the author’s work, featuring essays on Dr. Sleep, Duma Key, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Joyland, Under the Dome, and others. As such, Stephen King’s Contemporary Classics will appeal to general fans of the author’s work as well as scholars of Stephen King and modern literature.

Reflections on the Modern Master of Horror

Stephen King's Contemporary Classics

In this collection recognized writers and scholars discuss and analyze Stephen King's contemporary works. The contributors comment on and critique numerous aspects of King's literature, including his take on violent criminals, his craft, and his use of the Gothic.

Beyond Horror

The Modern Stephen King Canon

This work examines Stephen King’s position in popular literary circles and then considers the contributions of his family to the landscape of contemporary fiction. Though they have to a degree been eclipsed by Stephen King’s popularity, his wife, Tabitha King, and sons, Owen King and Joe Hill, have found varying levels of success in their own right. The three have traveled their own writing paths, from supernatural fiction to contemporary literary fiction. This is the first extended exploration of the works of three authors who have too long been overshadowed by their proximity to “the King of Horror.”

A Critical Study of the Fiction of Tabitha King, Joe Hill and Owen King

The Writing Family of Stephen King

This book looks at the more recent works of fiction by Stephen King as well as an examination of his nonfiction book, On Writing, published in 2000. Works discussed in this volume include Duma Key, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Under the Dome, Joyland, and Dr. Sleep.

Michael A. Perry

As Stephen King has continued to publish numerous works beyond one of the many high points of his career, in the 1980s, scholarship has not always kept up with his output. This volume presents 13 essays (12 brand new) on many of King’s recent writings that have not received the critical attention of his earlier works. This collection is grouped into three categories—“King in the World Around Us,” “Spotlight on The Dark Tower” and “Writing into the Millennium”; each examines an aspect of King’s contemporary canon that has yet to be analyzed.

Essays on the Later Works

Stephen Kingäó»s Modern Macabre

As Stephen King has continued to publish numerous works beyond one of the many high points of his career, in the 1980s, scholarship has not always kept up with his output. This volume presents 13 essays (12 brand new) on many of King's recent writings that have not received the critical attention of his earlier works. This collection is grouped into three categories--"King in the World Around Us," "Spotlight on The Dark Tower" and "Writing into the Millennium"; each examines an aspect of King's contemporary canon that has yet to be analyzed.

Stephen KingÕs Modern Macabre

In this collection recognized writers and scholars discuss and analyze Stephen King’s contemporary works. The contributors comment on and critique numerous aspects of King’s literature, including his take on violent criminals, his craft, and his use of the Gothic.

Patrick McAleer

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