When I was about 25, I decided to buy some books via a book-club.  Three for a ridiculous price, and after that one is obliged to buy one book every three months - or get their choice.  One of those first three was "4xStephen King" which combines a few of the earlier "Bachman Books", stories written by Stephen King as Richard Bachman.  Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man.  I was hooked ever since.

In my humble opinion - I'm a fan, keep that in mind ;-) - Stephen King is among the most underestimated authors of this time.  He is a bestseller author, hence he cannot be good.  He writes horror, so he can only make you scared.  Well, that's a load of bull according to me.  Ever seen the wonderfully enchanting "Stand by me"?  Would you call "The Green Mile" cheap horror?  Oh, wait a second, is that Stephen King?  You betcha.  At his best.

And "at his best" means that he can turn his characters into living beings.  Beings you learn to like or dislike - depending on what they are - but they are real, no matter how unreal their environment or experiences are.  How unreal they are themselves even.  And that's where "horror" comes in.  The true horror of King's stories is not so much the monsters and things that are not from this world, but having to watch things happen to people you like, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.  You're helplessly hoping that your worst fears will not come true.  However...