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With dozens of ledger to his name , the legendary horror authorStephen Kinghas had great deal of short work for those looking for a abbreviated novella to bring to their reading lean . While King is known for writingsprawling story such asItandThe Stand , his fecund nature means that he also has several sub-200 - Thomas Nelson Page work for those who want to savor his piece of writing without need to commit to a more than 1,000 - page epic . In fact , some ofKing ’s most compelling workswere on the shorter side , as he never needlessly stretch out stories just for the sake of it .
While some of King ’s best shorter novellas , likeThe BodyorRita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , are incredibly well - loved , these were publish underthe collectionDifferent season , and this run - through is focalise on works that were originally release individually . Although a choice few can tout that they ’ve read every single King al-Qur’an , for others , this is just too difficult , and it ’s important to cognise whether his little work are deserving discipline out . From his extraordinary debut novel to later on e - Word acquittance , there ’s a whole world of fervor to explore when it come to King ’s shortest books .
10Carrie (1974)
199 pages
While Stephen King would later earn a repute for drop a line gigantic books whose pageboy numeration sometimes outperform 1000 page , this was not the case for his launching novel , Carrie . Although it takes some writer a few books to find their feet , the truth was that King ’s exceptional gift was on show right from the beginning , and this chronicle of a psychic adolescent was also one of his greatest whole kit . Telling the story of a friendless 17 - yr - erstwhile girl carry on with a spiritual fanatic female parent and intimidation classmates , Carriecaptured the bad facial expression of the gamy school experience .
As a blend of supernatural and gothic fabrication , King explored the moody side of ostracism in this luxuriously imagined coming - of - age storey that see Carrie ’s powers unleashed after being subjected to a roughshod promenade - daylight prank . With an iconic film adaptation from Brian De Palma star Sissy Spacek , Carriehas take in its place among King ’s must - understand works . At a brief 199 page , King fans have no apology not to have readCarrie .
9The Colorado Kid (2005)
184 pages
The Colorado Kidwas Stephen King ’s first al-Qur’an for the specialist publisher Hard Case Crime . With a classical Maine setting , this secret novel set out on a midget island with a dead body lacking any identifications or clues toward what happen . While every attempt to solve the grammatical case leads to a dead last , the two - person staff of the island ’s newspaper grow a captivation with the pillowcase , and 25 year by and by , a cub newsperson finds himself on the trail of give away what in reality happened .
WhileThe Colorado Kidwas a brief novella from King , it was no less intriguing than his long act upon and even dish out as the basis for the TV seriesHaven . As a quick read that spotlight that King was just as adept at crime enigma story as he was in repulsion or fantasy , this was a gripping eccentric study into the nature of simply not knowing something . While the end was divisive among some readers , The Colorado Kidis definitely deserving reading .
8Gwendy’s Button Box (2017)
175 pages
Stephen King join forces with theCemetery Dancemagazine editor Richard Chizmar on the horror novellaGwendy ’s Button Box , a story that take place in King ’s fictional Castle Rock , the town that first appeared inThe Dead Zone . Focusing on 12 - year - old Gwendy Peterson ’s brush with a mysterious stranger in obscure clothes and a black hat , this hair-raising story was just the first in a trilogy .
At a fleet 175 pages , Gwendy ’s Button Boxpacked a circle of interesting and creepy thought into its qualified page numeration . As the fascinating truth behind the titular black box is slow give away , King and Chizmar hooking readers with a story of whodunit , suspense , and quiver . While Chizmar authored the second book in the series alone , King returned as atomic number 27 - source for the last installment , Gwendy ’s Final Task , in 2022 , but this entry was much longer at 422 pages .
7Elevation (2018)
114 pages
The suspenseful novellaElevationreturns to Stephen King ’s fabricated Ithiel Town of Castle Rock , Maine , for a mysterious story about an illness ’s flaky effects on Scott Carey . With an affliction that causes Scott to misplace weight without actually getting slight , despite eff he ’s suffer from some type of disease , Carey appears otherwise healthy . As Scott ’s weight continues to decrease , he ’s impel to ponder the terrific consequences of what will materialize when he reaches zero .
Elevationhad some ingenious estimate at its gist , but the verity was its level was a small bit feeble when equate to King ’s greatest works . While King ’s shorter Holy Writ unremarkably have the same depth and intrigue as his foresightful fiction , everything about the wayElevationprogressed felt too heavily - handed , and the political messaging came across as forced . With unreasonable stereotypes and to a fault sentimental characterization , Elevationwas a venial employment in the distinguished scheme of King ’s bibliography .
6Nightmares in the Sky (1988)
128 pages
While Stephen King is known for his fancied horror narration , he step outside his common style in 1988 to source the text of this architectural java table book about gargoyle and grotesque . With photos by fluorine - bar Fitzgerald ( Richard Minissali ) , King wrote the accompanying text for the 24 full - color photograph and 100 duotones included in the ledger . As a glimpse into art , history , and monstrosity , Nightmares in the Skywas just one of many absorbing offshoots in King ’s careerthat showcase his eclectic interest group and inspirations .
The imagery fromNightmares in the Skywas even used as the texture for monsters in several acclaimed telecasting game , includingDoomandThe Elder Scrolls II : Daggerfall . The haunting and beautiful nature of this book will appeal to those with a love for fine art , history , and mythology , although the solicitation is more about Fitzgerald ’s donation than King ’s venial comment . Those who go into this Bible expecting a spooky narration from King will certainly be leave disappointed .
5Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)
127 pages
Cycle of the Werewolfwas a short horror novella from Stephen King that also featured illustrations by amusing - book creative person Bernie Wrightson . narrate the level of a small townspeople haunted by a werewolf who appear at the monthly full moon , each chapter in the novelette was presented as its own short story . With each chapter set during a different month in the Ithiel Town of Tarker ’s Mills , Maine , Cycle of the Werewolfwas a supernatural tale thatKing later adjust himself into the screenplay for the 1985 movieSilver Bullet .
4Blockade Billy (2010)
112 pages
Presented as the write up of the greatest baseball player that nobody retrieve , Blockade Billyexplored the reason that Blakely was wipe off from the history book . With a blend of baseball and repugnance , this record book will emphatically appeal to those with a dearest of the sport but can be evenly enjoyed by those most unfamiliar with catchers and pitchers . With an interesting narrator and an challenging premise , Blockade Billywas one of King ’s most enjoyable shorter works .
3Mile 81 (2011)
81 pages
The abbreviated novellaMile 81was first publish as an vitamin E - script by Stephen King in 2011 , although it was later featured in the myopic story collectionThe Bazaar of Bad Dreams . With a blend of horror and sci - fi , this 80 - page novelette was set at the boarded - up sleep stop on Mile 81 on the Maine Turnpike and the supernatural occurrent that occurred there after young Pete Simmons found a bottle of vodka and drank enough to pass out .
With a classical coming - of - years setup , things take a tour as a unusual vehicle appears at Mile 81 and a sentient , extraterrestrial entity starts to lure in unsuspicious dupe . Mile 81was a short and sweet horror write up save in a fashion that only King can . Although it may not be as well bonk as other King works , this novella would have been a perfect addition to the author’sCreepshowanthology series , and it is well worth read for fans of the original George A. Romero film .
2A Face in the Crowd (2012)
50 pages
Stephen King reunite with the author Stewart O’Nan , with whom he had antecedently co - authored the non - fiction bookFaithful , chronicle the 2004 Boston Red Sox season , for another baseball - related release . However , this time , it was in the land of fiction and told the news report of an aged widower nominate Dean Evers who has nothing to do but languish his Day away watching baseball game on TV . Then , one day , when watching a game , Dean descry a face from his past , that of his deceased childhood friend , sit in the stalling , and was soon confronted with countless figures from his past .
Asa novella that grew out of King ’s estimation for a story called “ Spectators,”A Face in the Crowdhas a fascinating history as the author speak openly about the story before publication and bring out he did not know how to finish the news report . O’Nan was in the hearing when King discussed this theme , and the two reconnected to finish the book ( viaFear Net . ) As one of King ’s shortest books , A case in the Crowdwas an enjoyable read and the unadulterated pick for someone reckon to understand a King rule book but only has about an hour to spare .
1Charlie the Choo-Choo: From the World of The Dark Tower (2016)
28 pages
Readers wo n’t promptly tie in Stephen King with small fry ’s fable , and even this child - centered narrative has an eery history . put out under the nom de guerre Beryl Evans , the story ofCharlie the Choo - Choowas let in in King’sThe Dark Tower III : The Waste Landsand was intend as a creepy-crawly reading experience to give children nightmares . Exploring a sentient caravan , Charlie the Choo - Chootook the horrific implication ofThomas the Tank Engineto its absolute extremum .
At just 28 pages , Charlie the Choo - Choowas not only the shortest increase toThe Dark Towerseries but was also the shortest everlasting book that King ever wrote . With creepy accompany art from illustrator Ned Dameron , those who have not yet fascinate up withThe Dark Towerseries would be well avoiding this outrageous addition until they have familiarized themselves with it . More so than anything , Charlie the Choo - Chooproved that even whenStephen King’sbooks are implausibly short , they are still totally alone .
beginning : New York Times , Fear Net
Custom image by Ana Nieves.
