What is Stephen King's BEST decade of writing? A definitive ranking - with must-read books!

追加: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]So, Stephen King has published books in six different decades, but which decade of his work is the best? That's what I'm going to tell you.

[00:00:12]Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel.

[00:00:13]I'm Dave Masaryk, and this is the place where I talk to you about all things Stephen King. I also recommend horror books not written by Stephen King for you in my book club. There's a train going past. Train!

[00:00:27]Brilliant timing. And I talk about horror movies in my silver screen section. But this is a Stephen King themed video, and this was suggested to me by Morgan Schmidt on Instagram. And it is my ranking of the different decades of Stephen King. So, I'm going to go through all of the decades in which Stephen King has published books and rank them and let you know which ones are my favorite.

[00:00:53]And also my least favorite. I'm going to start with my least favorite and go to the top like a normal ranking would.

[00:00:57]Don't know why I fumbled that so badly.

[00:00:59]But anyway, let me know your favorite decade in which Stephen King published books.

[00:01:07]Um specifically his books in that decade, not just not just the decade in general. For each one, I'm also going to give you three must-reads from that decade. So, we're going to be looking at the King books from the '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s, and '20s, of course.

[00:01:22]That's how it works. You probably worked that out, didn't you? I'm rambling.

[00:01:25]Let's just get into it. So, this is my ranking. It's not a definitive list. Let me know your ranking. And like I say, I'm going to give you my ranking of the decades and three books from each decade that you have to read. Let's go.

[00:01:39]>> [music] >> Okay, in sixth place, my least favorite decade of Stephen King's works are the 2010s.

[00:01:47]Uh this is where King enters his true crime era and where he gives us Holly Gibney. So, of course it was going to be bottom of the list. And you know, there's not to say it's a terrible decade. There are some decent things in this decade. There's one incredible, absolutely amazing book in this decade, but its overall mark is just dragged down by duds like End of Watch and Sleeping Beauties and The Institute.

[00:02:12]It's also a point where perhaps we first start to notice that King has become an older man, mainly because of his pop culture references and his attempts to write younger characters.

[00:02:26]This decade yeah, they're not so good. Now, in terms of your three must-read books by Stephen King from the 2010s, I've got these for you. Full Dark, No Stars, a fantastic collection of novellas that are all nasty human stories that you'll love, Revival, one of his most bombastic novels with potentially his most terrifying ending, and 11/22/63, one of his top five things he has ever done in his entire career, a book that any person who likes reading can enjoy.

[00:03:03]You don't need to be a Stephen King fan to love it. It is fantastic. So, my fifth favorite decade with Stephen King's work is the 2020s.

[00:03:12]And yeah, we're only halfway through it so far, and it's been a bit of a mixed bag. Let's face it. We've got books like Fairy Tale and Never Flinch, which are serious contenders for the worst things he's ever done.

[00:03:24]And Holly Gibney is still knocking around, which is far from my ideal, but there's still been some good stuff, and some of his shorter works in particular in this decade have been really excellent and really showed that King is still a master at the short story and the novella.

[00:03:42]How much of the rest of the decade we get books for? Well, that remains to be seen. We're obviously getting The Talisman 3 later this year, and King has said he's doing the final Holly novel next year as well.

[00:03:51]I mean, I'd be amazed if we don't round out the decade.

[00:03:55]So, hey.

[00:03:58]This one may even end up climbing the list if you come back to me in another, what, 4 years when we re-evaluate this list. So, my three must-reads from the 2020s are If It Bleeds, another great collection of novellas that has The Life of Chuck as one of its stories, which of course has become a movie, and Mr. Harrigan's Phone, that's also become a movie.

[00:04:18]>> [gasps] >> Next one would be You Like It Darker, collection of short stories that is fantastic, one of the best things he's done in a long time. And third, Billy Summers, a bit of a sleeper novel, bit of an underrated gem, but really compelling story of a hitman who only takes out bad guys doing one last job. It's a lot of fun, so check it out. So, my fourth favorite decade is the 2000s. This was a powerful and productive decade for King where he was coming to terms with the aftermath of almost being killed while out walking when he got hit by a minivan, and a lot of the works here really take us through King's musings on his own recovery, on pain, his pondering of his own mortality.

[00:05:03]So, we get so much in this decade. King powers through the end of The Dark Tower series. We get those books that are very painful.

[00:05:11]We also get books that really just chew over the fact that quite often life doesn't give us answers. But, this decade is full of underrated gems. We also get a long-lost Bachman book turn up in this decade, as well as two, yeah, two excellent short story collections that you definitely need to check out.

[00:05:33]So, in terms of three must-read books from this decade, first one is one of those short story collections, Everything's Eventual.

[00:05:41]Might well be a contender for my personal favorite collection of Stephen King's.

[00:05:46]Definitely, definitely worth reading. 14 stories, probably 13 of them bangers.

[00:05:51]From a Buick 8.

[00:05:53]Bit of a dark horse pick.

[00:05:55]And one that sometimes takes a second read to really get it. This is one of those stories that doesn't have answers necessarily, but is a really powerful piece of writing. And lastly, Duma Key. One of the best novels he's written in a long time.

[00:06:10]A really powerful look at pain and recovery, and just a terrific story set in Florida, no less. So, my third favorite decade is the 1980s. This is a decadent decade of King's work that is positively dripping with cocaine, stardom, and just schlocky manic horror energy. It's also dripping with classics. Let me take you through some of the titles that didn't make my must-read list. Now, bear with me. Firestarter, Cujo, Christine, Skeleton Crew, The Dark Half. Yeah, some bangers there. It's not all roses, though.

[00:06:50]The Eyes of the Dragon, not good. The Talisman, not good. And a couple of pretty problematic Bachman books in The Running Man and Thinner that are just really difficult to read in 2026 because of the racism, sexism, fat phobia, or just combinations of all three. Still, if you want meat and potatoes King that you've probably already seen the movie for, this is your decade. Now, in terms of three must-reads from King's output in the 1980s, well, they're all classics, these three.

[00:07:21]Different Seasons, the collection of novellas that gives us the stories Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body which became Stand by Me, and The Breathing Method which is superb. Yeah, bangers. Four wonderful stories, check them out. Also, Misery, one of his most popular novels, a horror thriller, a look at the nature of toxic fandom and Annie Wilkes is just an allegory for cocaine and that addiction as well. Fascinating, gripping, thrilling. And lastly, It.

[00:07:54]There it is. It's just over my shoulder there. Uh yeah, Pennywise, Losers Club, Derry, 1,500 pages, boom, go at it. So, my second favorite decade is the 1970s. Now, I know this will be the winner for many, many people and hey, that's fine. In fact, it's objectively pretty difficult to argue with it. Between 1974 and 1979, King published a bunch of horror classics.

[00:08:18]Again, let's take a look at the titles that I didn't include in my three must reads. Carrie, The Stand, Night Shift, The Long Walk. Yeah, that's wild, right?

[00:08:30]To be honest, there isn't a bad one here. Even though I don't like The Stand, objectively, pretty damn impressive piece of work. And objectively, the '70s is probably his strongest decade.

[00:08:40]But it ain't my favorite.

[00:08:42]So, it doesn't get to be top of the list. Now, three must reads from the '70s, 'Salem's Lot', his first attempt at building a town and he nails it. I didn't even know what word I was going to say there, but yeah, vampires in a small Maine town, wonderful autumnal vibes. Like, if you've never read a King book, it's a great novel to start with. Maybe do some short stories, but make this your first novel.

[00:09:05]Next up, 'The Shining'.

[00:09:07]One of the scariest things he's ever read written. Yeah, I would say so.

[00:09:11]Uh and just an iconic piece of horror pop culture. And lastly, 'The Dead Zone', my personal favorite, but also genuinely a book I think really shows that early on in his career, he was about so much more than just horror.

[00:09:26]He was doing some great stuff.

[00:09:28]And yeah, Greg Stillson, Donald Trump, it's still relevant. So, of course, my favorite decade, the one that's left over, is the 1990s. And I've made no mis- And I've made no secret of this being my favorite on this channel before. So, if you're a long-time viewer, you probably won't be surprised.

[00:09:47]This decade for me is just by far the most interesting, fascinating even, because by this point King is so famous, he can do whatever the heck he wants to do. So, he gets experimental and just goes off and writes stuff that he wants to write.

[00:10:05]And we get some amazing stories from it.

[00:10:06]We get some stories that look at domestic abuse and abusive relationships. We get experimental formats like the serialized novel of The Green Mile that was how it was first published. We get like dual headers. We get Desperation and The Regulators, twinner books, remixes of the same characters, one from King, one from the seemingly revived Richard Bachman. We also get two of his most loved Dark Tower books in The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass. We get Hearts in Atlantis, which is literary and fascinating and real insight into his thoughts on his generation as well as his own college life. We get Bag of Bones, which is like the horniest thing he's ever written. We get The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, survival horror that works for a young adult audience.

[00:10:55]There's just loads to pick from. Even something weird like Rose Madder is absolutely worth your time. And hilariously, we get an absolute stinker in Four Past Midnight from 1990, and it's still my favorite decade. There's such rich pickings here.

[00:11:14]And it just can't be argued with, at least not for me. So, my three must-reads from this decade, The Green Mile for sure, one of the best stories ever written, so enjoyable, so readable, heartbreaking, heart-lifting, all of those kind of things. Yeah, get on it.

[00:11:29]And then my remaining two are kind of twinner books. They are linked by an eclipse.

[00:11:35]Yeah, I'm talking about Dolores Claiborne and Gerald's Game.

[00:11:38]These are two of those books where King is exploring abusive relationships.

[00:11:41]Dolores Claiborne, written first person, main vernacular, is just a long confession. Dolores telling this compelling story of her life on this tiny little island and her horrible husband. And then Gerald's Game. Yeah, it's the one where the couple are having some kinky sex. And he dies midway through leaving her properly handcuffed to a bed. And yeah, she has to escape. And is there a weird guy at the end of her bed at night?

[00:12:12]Who knows?

[00:12:13]You have to find out. But, wonderful wonderful books. And that is why the 1990s is my favorite decade of Stephen King.

[00:12:25]So, there we go. The not definitive ranking, but my definitive ranking of the decades of Stephen King. But, let me know which decade of Stephen King's work is your favorite. I'm imagining quite a lot of you are probably going to go for the '70s or '80s. But, hey, I'm interested to know either way. Let me know your favorite decade and your favorite book from that decade. I've just realized I didn't even mention Pet Sematary in 1980s. Like it's probably not quite a must-read because it is so bleak and harrowing.

[00:12:54]But, it's probably also my favorite of the decade, which is weird to not include it in the list. But, uh yeah, that is quite a trip, that book. So, do check that one out as well.

[00:13:07]Before I ramble too much, let's wrap this up with a few quick plugs.

[00:13:12]Everything I want to plug is right down below. But, those things are my own works of fiction.

[00:13:17]You can see my collection of short stories there. Once More Round the Sun.

[00:13:19]I'll put the cover there so you can get a better look at it. That, which is one of few awards, and all of my other works, linked down below, available for free. Get them, read them, and then just review them and rate them afterwards.

[00:13:30]That's all I ask. Okay?

[00:13:32]There's also a range of Stephen King themed band shirts that I designed that you can check out. I've got a Stephen King quiz book, trivia book, depending on I guess which word you prefer.

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[00:13:56]And come back soon. And if you've got ideas for future videos you'd like me to explore, drop them in the comments and I'll pick them up and get round to them eventually. But otherwise, take care, happy reading, and I will see you soon.