The Court of the Crimson King

Stephen King has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. No matter where I have lived, or how my life (or myself) has changed, his books have always been a part of me. My first King memory was picking up a copy of 'Skeleton Crew' at the local library, and finding myself completely terrified (and fascinated) by the stories within. A terrible beast lurking beneath a wooden raft, a supermarket beseiged by a deadly mist...addictive for a 10 year old kid with a large imagination

Though he is known for his horror writing, I find many of his books are more difficult to define. They can include elements of fantasy, drama, thriller, action, science fiction, crime and lately (as he moves into his later years) there are even works of non-fiction, and those almost autobiographical in nature.

King, along with the my other favourite 'ideas' writer, Philip K Dick, share the ability to create books based upon 'what if?' scenarios. What if a writers pseudonym came to life? What if a town was completely cut off from the rest of the world? However, while Dick focuses more on the wider implications of the idea itself (by using characters as a mechanism to illustrate his point) for Stephen King his characters are the story.

King (I find) is unique in how realistic, and relatable, his characters are, and in how unpredictably they may react when presented with unimaginable situations. His heroes (and villians) are not stylized supermen but middle aged mothers, awkward teenagers, overweight storekeepers, elderly retirees and (as his personal favourite, telling of his own dark past perhaps) alcoholic writers. I remember a drug addict wandering a plague decimated world, a struggling actor confronting a demon risen from his childhood, a traumatised stockbroker losing his mind in an empty airplane, and a megalomaniac car salesman trapped within a small town descending into chaos...

Of all these everyman heroes, there is one exception, perhaps the closest King has come to writing about himself - the mysterious gunslinger, eyes fixed upon his distant Dark Tower.

King has the ability to put the reader in the characters place - what would you do, if everything fundamental you thought you understood, the foundations that held your life together was ripped away? If the universe a lot larger, stranger, and more dangerous than you ever imagined? How would you react? Do you have hidden depths of strength, or would you fall apart when presented with your deepest fears? The world we inhabit is an orderly, predictable place, and most of us will never know what heights or depths we are capable of - for better or worse.