Modern Stephen King Canon

The Modern Stephen King Canon: Beyond Horror is a collection of essays focused on the more recent writings of Stephen King, including Revival, 11/22/63, and a selection of short stories by the “Master of the Macabre.” The authors write about King works that have received little critical attention and aim to open up doorways of analysis and insight that will help readers gain a stronger appreciation for the depth and detail within King’s fiction. Indeed, while King is often relegated to the role of a genre writer (horror), the essays in this collection consider the merits of King’s writing beyond the basics of horror for which he is primarily known. Recommended for scholars of literature, horror, and popular culture.

This welcome collection of essays by top Stephen King scholars reaches beyond familiar texts and clichéd horrors to demonstrate the ongoing significance of King’s output in the twenty-first century. Readers will discover the importance of understanding King’s work within the complexity of real-world horrors, including school shootings, domestic violence, and serial killers. They will also learn more about King’s wide-ranging influences, his changing reputation in American letters, and the ways his work cannot be reduced to any one genre. It is essential reading, especially for those hoping to understand why Stephen King still matters., Simpson and McAleer here cement their reputation as the world leaders in the study of contemporary Stephen King. This superb edited collection offers a series of perceptive and fascinating essays on King’s more recent, less horror-centric output, focusing on more marginal works such as Revival, From a Buick 8, and Bazaar of Bad Dreams, alongside crowd pleasers like Mr. Mercedes and 11/22/63. Together they provide a wide-ranging, often critical, but always significant study of modern King and make a vital contribution to our understanding of this American literary icon. Accessible, engaging and insightful, this is a book that anyone who reads King in the twenty-first century should have on their shelves., Philip L. Simpson and Patrick McAleer’s new, edited scholarly collection, The Modern Stephen King Canon: Beyond Horror, is the single finest book about Stephen King’s recent work to have appeared in years. A number of expert King scholars have all contributed brilliant essays to this volume, and its coverage of King’s more recent literary efforts is exceptional. The book is well-conceived, well-organized, eminently readable, and it covers a range of topics and stories that will interest both the novice reader and the King aficionado. The Modern Stephen King Canon: Beyond Horror is a stand-out treasure on any Stephen King bookshelf.

Patrick McAleer is faculty at Inver Hills Community College. Philip L. Simpson is provost of the Titusville campus and eLearning at Eastern Florida State College.