do u know of any writers that write in the same"suspension" as Stephen King??

Question

horror, suspense, fantasy, etc......

Answer 1

Stephen King
by Joyce Saricks
Genre: Horror
Fantasy
Psychological Suspense

In the way that popular nineteenth century novelists Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope captured the imagination of their audience, so has Stephen King in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Does he write Horror? Indeed, although most readers of his books would not consider themselves fans of the genre. His books transcend genre writing and offer us compelling, page-turning stories. Any description or attempt to classify his writing diminishes him and his power over our imagination. Those who dismiss King as a "genre" writer are missing one of the greatest storytellers of our time, a writer who skillfully combines appealing heroes and terrible villains with fast-paced stories drawn from our innermost nightmares and set in evocative landscapes.

Although he writes in three genres, King's books share a focus: he pits his heroes (and heroines) against the nightmare evils of our world. Plot is important, but the characters drive King's novels. His heroes and heroines are often society's losers or ignored: the young, the old, women, and loners. These are sympathetic although certainly haunted protagonists. King pulls us into their stories and allows us to identify with these ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations, to empathize with them and their plight. King exposes his protagonists' fears and capitalizes on them, creating from them the dangerous obstacles to be overcome.

King sets his Horror and Psychological Suspense novels in a normal world and transforms our expectations by evoking horror from the ordinary, which metamorphizes into our worst nightmares. While obscenity and explicit violence certainly exist in the worlds he creates, these do not overwhelm his story, and we never lose our feeling of empathy for the hero and his plight. Worlds intertwine in his imaginative landscape, and we are often transported, along with the characters, between real and fantasy worlds. In his Dark Fantasy series, The Dark Tower, he creates an atmospheric Fantasy world. The titles in this series especially are moody books, comprised of short sentences, terse dialogue, a desert landscape, and a haunted hero on an obscure mission, surely an antiquest, rather than the traditional quest. He uses his powerful imagination to play with ours, to draw us into his worlds. Although his books are filled with literary allusions (to classics as well as to his own titles and other popular works), he is not a literary stylist but a storyteller. As such he tells a fast-paced and engrossing story in a conversational style that attracts a diverse audience.

Nightmares created from our worst fears fill King's stories. King is a compelling storyteller, and his plots focus on the real world horror of abuse as well as on supernatural terrors. In King's stories dreams often turn to nightmares as the horrific invades his characters' lives. And that horror may be explicitly drawn, with violence filling his descriptions. In his provocative and chilling short stories, as well as in the interior, evocative psychological suspense tales, mindless violence and intellectual terror permeate his writings. But the plots in all focus on the ultimate battle between good and evil, whether the evil is imagined, supernatural, or real. King's stories revolve around this battle -- the strength of the horrific versus the growing power of the protagonist as he -- or she -- meets the challenge.

Stephen King is credited with single-handedly creating the modern Horror genre. His discovery of the horrific in the ordinary has shown that Horror can be interesting and intellectually stimulating. He continues to make his mark on the Horror genre and on publishing in general by championing e-books. Under his real name as well as his pseudonym, Richard Bachman (a more gruesome voice), King has written almost 40 Horror novels and short stories, as well as a handful of dark Fantasy and Psychological Suspense novels, not to mention a well-respected book on the horror genre and his own memoir-***-guide to writing.

In the face of this publishing phenomenon, where does one start reading Stephen King? Fans seem to fall into two camps: those who love The Shining and those who prefer The Stand. The first is a splendid example of his brand of Horror, with suspense building through the first 300 pages and then, when the evil finally appears, spiraling rapidly to a conclusion, as young Danny must save his family from the evil that dwells in a mountaintop hotel. The Stand, in contrast, is a voluminous Fantasy novel, with the war against a virus and the supernatural evil powers that possess some survivors. For fans of chilling Psychological Suspense, Dolores Claiborne is considered his best. The events actually take place in one day, although through flashbacks, Dolores recounts two deaths: one an accident and the other a murder which she committed.

Read-alikes:

No one writes "just like" Stephen King. Having tried for years to make suggestions to my son, one of King's greatest fans, I speak from intimate knowledge of failure on this front. Luckily, there are authors who offer some similar satisfactions.

One pair of popular Suspense authors, Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child, offer genre-blending titles that contain many of the elements King's readers appreciate: fast-paced adventures, building suspense, sympathetic characters, frequently a battle against evil, and a horror which can be beaten down but not destroyed. Their first title, Relic, with its supernatural monster unleashed in a New York museum, comes closest to actual Horror, and readers who enjoy that may explore further.

King's name is most frequently linked with Dean R. Koontz, another writer in multiple, often blended genres. Like King, Koontz's stories feature a cast of personable characters involved in fast-paced, deadly battles between good and evil. Koontz, too, writes in a variety of genres, including Horror, Fantasy, and Psychological Suspense. Fans of King's Black House should try Koontz's From the Corner of His Eye.

Peter Straub, co-author of two books with King and a Horror author in his own right, should also be mentioned. Like King, he focuses on characters, finds Horror in the everyday, and fills his works with ghost stories and nightmares, as well as psychological undertones. Mr. X is a recent example.

Another author who crosses genres readily is Dan Simmons, and his evocative horror novels offer many satisfactions for King's fans, including fast-paced and involved story lines, personable protagonists, ominous undertones which grow into horrific situations, evocative settings, and satisfying resolutions. Try Summer of Night, which some think is even better than King's It.

Sometimes a single title by an author makes a good suggestion. Ray Bradbury's classic story of the diabolical carnival, Something Wicked This Way Comes, might satisfy readers who enjoyed King's Bag of Bones. Orson Scott Card's Homebody, a Horror novel with underlying themes of redemption, healing, and hope, should also be mentioned to readers. Although several titles by Robert R. McCammon might work for King readers, Boy's Life is an especially evocative tale of small town life and Horror that grows from the ordinary.

Answer 2

The heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill this is Stephen King's son...great book.....

Bentley Little is another great horror writer,some of his books are:
The Burning
Mailman
The Store
The Vanishing
Dispatch
The Resort

Answer 3

Just in case you didn't get the subtle clue Richard Bachman is a pen name that Stephen has used. I love his horror books and have found that the James Herberts books are the closest alternative. But they don't feature Maine quite so much!

Answer 4

Peter Straub and Clive Barker. Check out The Talisman and Weaveworld (2 different books). SK is co-author on The Talisman.

Answer 5

Shaun Hutson and James Herbert

Answer 6

John Saul

Answer 7

Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, etc.

Answer 8

Try "I Am Legend" or other short stories by Richard Matheson. King often lists him as an inspiration.

Answer 9

Richard Bachman :-)

Answer 10

dean koontz