8 Stephen King Books That Are Just Too Long

8 Stephen King Books That Are Just Too Long Dreamcatcher - 2003 - poster

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

By Jeremy Urquhart Published 6 minutes ago Jeremy has more than 2100 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows. His favorite directors include Martin Scorsese, Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, John Woo, Bob Fosse, Fritz Lang, Guillermo del Toro, and Yoji Yamada. He's also very proud of the fact that he's seen every single Nicolas Cage movie released before 2022, even though doing so often felt like a tremendous waste of time. He's plagued by the question of whether or not The Room is genuinely terrible or some kind of accidental masterpiece, and has been for more than 12 years (and a similar number of viewings). When he's not writing lists - and the occasional feature article - for Collider, he also likes to upload film reviews to his Letterboxd profile (username: Jeremy Urquhart) and Instagram account. He is also currently in the process of trying to become a Stephen King expert by reading all 2397 novels written by the author. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Though there are some shorter Stephen King novels that clock in at a couple of hundred pages, or maybe about half a dozen hours as audiobooks, like Carrie and The Gunslinger, the author does have a reputation for writing novels that could also function as bricks. Maybe the more fitting word is “doorstopper,” which is what TV Tropes uses to describe mammoth works of literature, with two of King’s most essential books, The Stand and It, both qualifying.

It does depend on the formatting, but those ones exceed 1000 pages (and are his two longest), and then a fair few other novels of King’s aren’t too far off. With The Stand and It, they do remain compelling even with the overwhelming number of pages, but there are a few books of King’s that feel a bit overlong. The following are examples, and being too long isn't the same thing as being bad. Some of these are worth reading, especially if you're a fan of Stephen King’s, but all could’ve probably benefited from being trimmed down a little in the editing process.

8 'Fairy Tale' (2022)

Image via Charles Scribner's Sons

For a while, Fairy Tale is quite charming, and does have some of the appeal that earlier Stephen King fantasy stories had, despite being one of his more recent books. It takes time building to the part of the story that eventually takes place in a fantasy world, but the build-up ends up being more rewarding than the part of the story you think would be more interesting.

It’s one of a fair few Stephen King stories that starts better than it ends, but the drop-off might not have been as noticeable if Fairy Tale had been a little shorter. Though it’s not as tedious or overlong as some soon-to-be-mentioned novels, Fairy Tale does overstay its welcome to some extent, so it does feel like it should be included here, unfortunately. But if you're a fan of King’s, there is a good chance you'll like at least some of this one, if you want to give it a shot.

7 'Duma Key' (2008)

Image via Charles Scribner's Sons

It’s not quite obscure, but Duma Key is still probably a bit of a Stephen King deep cut, at least comparatively speaking (most authors would likely be delighted if their most famous book was as widely read as Duma Key). The story focuses on a building contractor whose life falls apart following a horrific accident, which motivates him to make a change in his life, namely by moving and pursuing his hobby of sketching, to the point where it starts to become more than just a hobby.

The sketching also starts to have ties to supernatural occurrences, and then there’s yet another big and mysterious conflict that the main character and at least one annoying sidekick get roped into. It’s a direction many King stories on the longer end of things eventually lurch into, and it’s not done in a particularly satisfying way here, since it retreads some familiar ground, and more of it the further along it goes. Duma Key inevitably lacks passion, especially in its final act, and it makes stretches in that back half feel pretty tedious.

6 'Desperation' (1996)

Image via Viking Press

It’s not as frustrating as the Richard Bachman novel it reflects/mirrors, The Regulators, but Desperation is longer than that one, and it drops off harder. The Regulators is a bit of a mess right from the start, while Desperation has a good first half that builds quite a bit of dread, and brings together a few separate parties in a way that feels satisfying and even a little bit The Stand-esque (just on a smaller scale), but King seems to run out of things to do with the characters, at a point.

But that doesn’t result in a climax coming around quickly, because Desperation instead goes on and on for far too long. Sorry to keep repeating this criticism surrounding the first half being better than the second half, but many of the Stephen King novels that feel a little too long rather than way too long do prove engaging up until a point, but not past it. Desperation, sadly, fits into that camp.

5 'The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass' (1997)

The Dark Tower IV_ Wizard and Glass - book cover - 1997

Image via Donald M. Grant, Publisher

Some people might consider this sacrilege, but The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass really feels its length, and then some, more than any other book in The Dark Tower series. That’s not even to say it’s the worst in the series, because it is better than book #6, Song of Susannah, and the inessential interquel that was The Wind Through the Keyhole, but both of those were considerably shorter. Also, for what it’s worth, all the books in the series are better than The Dark Tower movie, which most fans will probably prefer to pretend doesn’t exist.

Wizard and Glass is mostly a big flashback for series protagonist, Roland Deschain, and though some of his past is interesting and eventually moving to learn about, the lack of momentum is really felt when the book is nearly 800 pages. It’s astounding how many of those pages are dedicated to exploring something that couldn’t have been an email, sure; it’s not that bad. It needed some time to breathe and to be impactful, but it does ramble. If it had been a shorter detour, or if it had contained a bit more forward momentum alongside the exploration of the past, Wizard and Glass might've been an easier read, but as it stands, it does feel a little like a hurdle to overcome when you're doing a read-through of the whole series.

4 'Dreamcatcher' (2001)

Image via Scribner

There are some good Stephen King books published post-2000, but Dreamcatcher isn't usually counted among them. This book was written while Stephen King was recovering from an accident that involved him getting hit by a car, with a long recovery process that included OxyContin for the pain, and King’s discussed how the pain medication may have contributed to Dreamcatcher being a bit messy and surreal in potentially unintentional ways.

It's not as drawn-out as another sci-fi-related book King published 14 years earlier, but Dreamcatcher is a bit too chaotic and long for its own good. There are some good stretches to it for sure, and some of the weird and unpredictable nature of it helps with the momentum early on, but it eventually goes past “ooh, anything can happen, this is exciting,” to “I don’t really know what could conceivably happen now, and I’m not sure I care all that much,” but at least some of it’s exciting. Or, at least, interesting/unique.

3 'Insomnia' (1994)

Image via Viking

Of all the Stephen King novels, Insomnia might well be the hardest to adapt, thanks partly to its length. The other thing about it is the fact that it links strongly to the books in The Dark Tower series, but also a few other stories of his, and since different people own the rights to different works by King, it would be something of a nightmare to adapt Insomnia faithfully without stepping on anyone’s toes, in a legal sense.

Sometimes, when Insomnia branches off, it’s thrilling, especially if you're itching for more Dark Tower stuff, but then other parts of the novel really drag things out. It’s significant as part of King’s universe, but the main story about an elderly widower whose insomnia makes him see an increasing number of supernatural sights (plus a big old battle between good and evil) doesn’t need quite as many pages as Insomnia ultimately goes on for. Its first edition was nearly 800 pages, and a still epic – but more manageable – 600-ish pages might've resulted in a better read.

2 'Lisey's Story' (2006)

Image via Charles Scribner's Sons

It feels difficult to talk about Lisey’s Story, as a Stephen King fan, because the book is honestly a tough and sometimes baffling read, though the author himself has cited it as his favorite book of all the ones he’s written. Lisey’s Story is likely the most personal, sometimes uncomfortably so, which could explain King’s fondness for it, which contrasts fairly noticeably with the reader consensus (though defenders of the book do exist).

Lisey's Story is agonizingly long and frustrating to read, truth be told, especially because lots of the language used is a tedious combination of sappy and deeply irritating.

Lisey’s Story is one of many Stephen King novels about a novelist, though here, the titular Lisey is the wife of a recently deceased writer, and she discovers things about him through some of the work he leaves behind, all the while also grappling with various memories from her past. It is agonizingly long and frustrating to read, truth be told, especially because lots of the language used is a tedious combination of sappy and deeply irritating. It’s technically not as lengthy as some of the other books being mentioned here, but it feels like one of the longest, and that’s worth considering when the topic at hand concerns which Stephen King books could’ve benefited from being cut down a little.

1 'The Tommyknockers' (1987)

Image via Putnam

The Tommyknockers is the easiest Stephen King book to single out as his most overlong, since the man himself has said as much, about as literally as possible. It’s best to just quote him, as he is a good writer/orator and all, saying: “The book is about 700 pages long, and I'm thinking, ‘There's probably a good 350-page novel in there.’” As for what The Tommyknockers is about? Uh, aliens? And weird stuff happening in and around a small town because of the aliens, like a stranger and even more rambly Dreamcatcher.

This was probably the first Stephen King book that had tangents and rambling sections that were detrimental to the overall story; not like all the interludes in It, nor the weird side stories that build the world immensely well in The Stand. The Tommyknockers is just out of control in a way that’s hard to endure and sit with for the entire length of the book, but if King did ever edit it down to “a good 350-page novel,” that could be something.

Like Follow Followed The Tommyknockers R Horror Science Fiction Thriller Release Date 1993 - 1993-00-00 Network ABC Directors John Power

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