Stephen King Books in Order

Stephen King is the best-selling horror writer in history and, at 400 million copies, one of the best-selling anything in history: sixty-nine novels and novellas since Carrie (1974), a dozen story collections, seven early books smuggled out under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, and a fictional universe - Castle Rock, Derry, the Dark Tower's Beams - that quietly links most of it. The order question is the most-asked in all of reading-order land, and it has a real answer: there is no wrong door, but there are three designed doors (The Stand, The Shining, The Dark Tower), one line running hot right now (the Holly Gibney books), and a brand-new Talisman sequel landing October 6, 2026. This page sequences the whole shelf (1974–present).

Where to start

The Stand (1978, in the 1990 Complete and Uncut edition) for the epic door, or The Shining (1977) for the horror door, or Carrie (1974) if you want to watch the career start. Newer readers can walk straight into 11/22/63 (2011) or Billy Summers (2021) - both are standalone and both are late-career peak King.

Does the reading order matter?

Publication order, with three exceptions marked. The Richard Bachman books (Rage, 1977, through Blaze, 2007 - seven novels) sit inside the timeline under their own label; Rage is out of print at King's own request. The Dark Tower series (1982-2012, eight books) has its own dedicated page here; Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) slots between volumes four and five. The Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, 2014, through End of Watch, 2016) runs in order and hands off to the Holly Gibney line: The Outsider (2018), the If It Bleeds novella (2020), Holly (2023), Never Flinch (2025) - the active series. Desperation and The Regulators (both 1996) are twin novels published one day apart. Doctor Sleep (2013) is The Shining's sequel; Sleeping Beauties (2017) is with his son Owen; the Talisman books are with Peter Straub.

Which one is the best?

The Stand (1978/1990), the epic nearly every fan names first; 11/22/63 (2011), the late-career masterpiece; and It (1986) - 1,138 pages that read at half that speed.

Covered in depth here

An 8-question quiz, reading time, club questions and verified quotes for The Shining.

Related guides

Readers finishing this shelf usually want the map next door: The Dark Tower books in order, Dean Koontz books in order, Neil Gaiman books in order. Every guide follows the same format — the shelf, the entry point, the honest answer about order.

Make it a project

Pick a session size and let the days accumulate — at the pace our reading speed test measures, most shelves above clear in a few weeks of half-hours. Every guide on the books in order shelf follows this same format, and when a book lands, its 8-question quiz is waiting on the original book quiz.