Does anyone have any suggestions of an author similar to Stephen King?

Question

I have already read Grisham

Answer 1

Stephen King bores me. He seems to write just for the sake of publishing. His early stuff was pretty good, but he's lost his edge. Dean Koontz is pretty good. Books that are medical thrillers that have the same main character are written by Kathy Reichs. (The tv show "Bones" is based on the author's life. Be careful when you look for her books because now they have people writing books based on the show and they're entirely different than Reich's books. She's a much better writer than Patricia Cornwell). I think the best books are written by partners--Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs. Their first book "Relic" was great. It was made into a movie, but like most adaptations was a flop. You really need to savor the written word to get the full effect. They also wrote Cabinet of Curiosities, A Still Life of Crows and several more that I don't remember off-hand.

By the way, did you know that Stephen King's son is writing novels under the name Joe Hill? I haven't read any and the reviews I've read played up the fact that his father was King than it did about his work. I don't know what genre Hill writes under.

Answer 2

Try Clive Cussler for action/adventure books like Matthew Reilly. Although they don't have quite the pace or energy of the Reilly books, they are still quite fun to read, and there are plenty of them to try. Start with the Dirk Pitt novels. You might also like the Pendergast novels written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, as well as a few of their individual books. These are mystery/thrillers that have a little of the supernatural to them, so will be a little similar to Koontz. I really started liking the series after the third book - there are some great characters, particularly Pendergast, and there is a great hero/villain rivalry that develops about half way through the series. For something a little more straight-forward, try James Patterson, such as the Maximum Ride series (start with When the Wind Blows and the Lake House then the Max Ride books) or the Alex Cross series for mystery thrillers. There are a lot of good stand-alone books as well.

Answer 3

All sorts of people mentioned Koontz. "Koontz" is foreign language for "Yawn," or "Toned-down King." That's my own personal opinion. I heard 'Lightning' is his best one, but haven't read it yet (though I do have it; I was given this information from an avid King fan, who actually said, "'Lightning' is the only Koontz book worth reading." She went on to say it is very good). He just isn't as interesting to me.

John Saul is exciting. Go with "Black Creek Crossing" or "Nightshade." Very dark and freaky, like 80s style King.

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is a must read for horror fans.

Clive Barker is rock-your-socks-off awesome. "Imajica" is to Barker as "The Dark Tower" series is to King. But I am not very excited by King's series, while Barker's novel was the best written book I've seen in a long time. Beat anything I've read by King. Plus, Barker is the guy that came up with "Hellraiser" and "Candyman," so he's got a name for himself.

Brian Keene is a fairly new author with a good style and original ideas. I bought "The Conqueror Worms," thinking it would be something funny to laugh at. Instead, it was actually very good and I suggest it to everyone who reads King.

Neil Gaiman is another one that lots of people enjoy. I don't find him that fun, but I'm in the minority there, so give him a shot.

A great option is to buy "The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror," which is an anthology of dozens of authors. You're bound to find something there.

Finally, check out the Bram Stoker Awards:
http://www.horror.org/stokers.htm

Some big names on the list include Peter Straub, Michael Laimo, Jack Ketchum, and Joyce Carol Oates, aside from those mentioned above and numerous others. Best wishes!

Answer 4

I've never read Stephen King, but Dean Koontz is pretty freaky and Scary. Also if you like a good thriller, maybe James Patterson. He has done a couple lovey dovey ones, but most are not.

Answer 5

Dean Koontz

Answer 6

Another vote for Koontz. His style is a bit different but if you like King you'll probably like Koontz and Koontz's stuff is more consistantly good, whereas Stephen King is hit or miss.

Answer 7

Personally, I would say that Neil Gaiman is pretty close for a friendly Americana narrator. "American Gods" is very good, and makes me think of a big, sprawling Stephen King novel like "The Talisman" (with Peter Straub) or "The Stand." I personally like all of Neil Gaiman's novels, but "American Gods" is probably the most like Stephen King.

Dean Koontz is similar to Stephen King's novels like "Pet Sematary" and "It" and "The Tommyknockers." I'm not sure how to classify these sorts of books, but they have a mystical semi-horror feel to them. For Dean Koontz, I really enjoy "Dragon Tears," so that's probably where I'd start. I also liked "Mr. Murder."

These are the best suggestions I can come up with off the top of my head, but

Answer 8

Richard Laymon
John Saul
Patricia Briggs

Answer 9

If you liked The Stand, I'd recommend Swan Song by Robert McCammon.

Answer 10

Try Richard Bachman. I think you'd find him quite, quite "similar" to Stephen King ^_^