The Complete Stephen King Universe: A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King

Stanley Wiater, Christopher Golden, and Hank Wagner successfully collaborate in The Stephen King Universe to present the first examination of the totality of Stephen King's fiction to the reading public in general, and students of King's literary style in particular. Here examined are all the ways in which King's plots and characters, conflicts and themes intertwine in his short stories and novels. A definitive, comprehensive and accessible reference, The Stephen King Universe also includes the movies, teleplays, and television miniseries that King has authored. This impressive and seminal work is a "must" for the legions of Stephen King fans, as well as 20th Century American literary scholarship.

Stanley Wiater, Christopher Golden, Hank Wagner are quite overwhelmed with their entreprise : to describe the Universe of Stephen King's fiction. But they do a marvelous job at it, even if some purists may find some mistakes, contradictions, etc. Each entry gives you a general presentation of the work, then a presentation of the characters and finally eventual adaptations to the screen.They also include in their work (which is not an encyclopedia) the works that were only produced for the screen, like The Golden Years and Cat's EyeThey try, everytime it is possible to connect the characters, places , situations and artifacts from one book to the others. That is where the purists find some mistakes or misleading elements. But, as far as I know it is the first time such a book is published in such a format, in such length, hence in such usefulness, not only for Stephen King fans or addicts, but also for those who consider Stephen King's multimedia fiction as a social, cultural, and even political phenomenon that has to be studied in depth, in its plots, in its style, in its cross references. And it is not a simple compilation if not piling up of raw data, as so many other attempts amount to. No reference given here by me.Let me regret one thing though : the sources are not given, and that is a shortcoming. Stephen King always or nearly always works from a « model », a starting block that is a prompter : a film, a book, a situation (from the news for instance), and it would be interesting to show how on some themes he does not distanciate himself from the general principles of the model (Vampires are beasts that have to be destroyed, except in the long short-story « Popsy » where the vampire is actually a justice-maker and with a family structure behind : grandfather and grandson), to show too how on some themes, like Extraterrestrials, he takes a stand between two models and chooses the urban paranoid one : destroy them to the last. Where are the Encounters of the Third Type ? I will regret, for example too, that they do not study the rock and roll quotations in Christine. They are the reference used by King and they are meaningful and significant.A last remark : works are not in chronological order, neither of their actual writing nor of their publishing. This is also a handicap for those who want to understand the evolution of King's art and influence.An essential book nevertheless.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Pennywise does live, after all.I've had an occasional argument with people over my theory that King is working on a meganovel that will ultimately tie his previous works together.As support, I called attention to a brief mention in "Dreamcatcher" of Pennywise the Clown, the central villain of that King classic, "It." It is waved off, as just one of the mentions King makes of characters from previous works. Now don't get me wrong; ordinarily I'm all for turning the other cheek.Except... I'm right."The Stephen King Universe" is not so much a companion piece to King's writings as it is an examination of the links between his fiction. "Universe" operates on the theory that King is working on a meganovel that will ultimately tie his previous works together, using the penultimate King tale, "The Dark Tower" series.Wiater and company uncover connections between books that you'd never suspect existed (Cujo may pop up in "Needful Things," while a character in "Misery" may have known someone from "It" as a child, to name just two).Everything (novel, short story, screen adaptation, e-book) before "Dreamcatcher" is examined in depth, while the histories of popular King towns like Derry, `salem's Lot and Castle Rock are written out in a grand fashion. A character mention here, a throwaway line there - they take on more meaning in "Universe."The authors of the book also compile nifty thumbnail sketches of key characters in the novels. From "It":IT (aka MR. BOB GRAY, PENNYWISE THE CLOWN): "...In 1958, It is confronted and defeated by a group of small children calling themselves the Losers Club... In 1985, It is apparently killed by the Losers Club, now adults. It may still be alive, however."The whole book is a must-have for King fans, and those interested in looking more closely at his works. The authors' obvious enthusiasm for the author shines through, and is contagious. It's the kind of in-depth examination typically reserved for that which is consider a literary classic. The only difference is that this is something everyone can enjoy.And if you're still not convinced that the Ultimate Stephen King Novel is on the way, consider this quote from the Man himself about "Dark Tower" heroic gunslinger Roland, which appears on the back cover of "Universe":"I am coming to understand that Roland's world actually contains all the others of my making."

Being a casual King fan, I picked up this volume to help me understand his work. It revealed to me many things I did not know. I have read "Insomnia," and I had become aware that it was intimately associated with the DARK TOWER series (which I haven't read) and "IT" (which I have).And I was aware that quite a few of King's books all came to a head in "Needful Things," which references "The Library Policemen."But I wasn't aware that all the books cross-pollinated like this, nor that the DARK TOWER series was the linchpin of King's entire library of work. Until now.Wiater, Golden and Wagner do an excellent job showing you all the unseen connections. (Although I found one they missed--one of the doctors in "FIRESTARTER" shares a name with Patrick Hockstetter, a boy from "IT.")Now I will definitely pick up more of King's books, and eagerly await the promised final battle novel. Will we be seeing many of our old favorite heroes in a final struggle against an army of darkness led by Randall Flagg, It, Leland Gaunt, and Tak?Only time will tell...

I'm one of the co-authors, so I have nothing but good things to say about the book. Don't take my word for it, however. Publishers Weekly liked the SKU, and so did the Library Journal, among others. But my favorite comments so far come from noted King scholar Stephen J. Spignesi, author of THE COMPLETE STEPHEN KING ENCYCLOPEDIA, THE LOST WORK OF STEPHEN KING, and THE ESSENTIAL STEPHEN KING. I'd like to share them with you.Stephen Spignesi on the SKU:A thought occurred to me while reading THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE. It occurred to me that this book might be one of the single most important books about Stephen King ever written.Why? Because it not only proceeds from the assumption that King's work is worthy of intensive, comprehensive study, but it also puts his entire body of work within a specific context. It treats his lifetime of writing as a Master's Catalog of Art that can be looked at as a single entity, regardless of the varying degrees of excellence present in individual works. Beginning with the premise that all of King's work is intertwined in an intricate weave of overlapping narrative threads, with the world of the DARK TOWER as the linchpin around which everything else orbits, Wiater, Golden, and Wagner carefully prove their point, in an entertaining, intriguing, and, thoroughly indisputable way.Is there another 20th/21st century writer whose work is worthy of such deconstruction? Of course...but the names on THAT list are going to be John Irving, Tom Wolfe, Don DeLillo, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Thomas Pynchon, etc., NOT the best-selling "popular" writers that are often mentioned in the same breath as Stephen King and with whom he often shares spots on the best-seller lists.THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE is as important a book as Douglas Winter's seminal STEPHEN KING: THE ART OF DARKNESS, which paved the way for the rest of us, we Chroniclers of the King. THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE is a major contribution to the field of scholarship about King, and King's fans should be grateful that Stan Wiater, Chris Golden, and Hank Wagner - a truly talented and insightful drawing of the three -- have done the kind of work it took to research and write THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE.Hank Wagner back again: Be careful Steve, you'll turn our heads!