Book review: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King

In 2010 came out very good collection of short stories by Stephen King called Full Dark No Stars. Since then, the writer published several novels and prepared a new volume of stories - The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

In The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (see description on Amazon) there are twenty short stories, each one has an introduction, where King tells us how he came up with the idea, and why he decided to write it down.

The author devotes a lot of space reflection on death, suffering, aging. And it's not surprisingly, you have to remember that King has almost 70 years old. The writer himself, however, points out that he looking mainly for a good story, so looking into these categories - unfortunately, some stories are weak or have a bad ending.

This does not change the fact that Stephen King once again proves that it is an extraordinary observer of daily life and has an incredible talent for concise, short dialogues that reflect the great character of the people and the relationships between them.

I love the work of King (see my rating of his books). Would I recommend The Bazaar of Bad Dreams? Only those who already know other collections of the author and want to learn what's new Stephen King wrote. To everyone else I can recommend the previous volume of short stories - Full Dark No Stars, which are very, very, good.

I think that The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is not a book for people who previously did not read other works by King, because I am convinced that this only discouraged you to read another books by Stephen King.

Writer admits he is primarily a novelist and loves long stories that allow readers to sink in the world. They are like a marriage, while the sort story is only like fleeting romance :-)

Which stories I liked the most and deserve attention in my opinion? I will mention seven: Premium Harmony, Ur, The Dune, Bad Little Kid, Blockade Billy, Obits and That Bus Is Another World.

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Stephen King - top 10 best books

I waited a long time to write about one of my favorite writers, because I love most of Stephen King's works and it's very difficult to pick his best works from over fifty books which he wrote. 

Almost all of them I read with great pleasure and I think that most deserves attention. But to encourage people, who don't know his books at all or are wondering what to read next - this is my top ten Stephen King's best novels.

I think that each book written by Stephen King have memorable characters, excellent atmosphere and dialogues and great plot. Without hesitation I can even say that some of his works (such as The Stand) are the most important novels of the twentieth century.

Why I love King? For his passion, hard work and that he always surprised me, because each book brings something new. That's why I encourage everyone to read his books!

After a long struggle with myself and looking over and over his bibliography, here is the list of top ten best novels by Stephen King:

1. The Stand (see description)

2. Misery (see description)

3. The Shining (see description)

4. It (see description)

5. The Green Mile (see description)

6. The Dead Zone (see description)

7. Duma Key (see description)

8. Under the Dome (see description)

9. Carrie (see description)

10. Salem's Lot (see description)

And special mention: The Dark Tower series.

Of course, it would be easier to write which King's novels you shouldn't read (for example: The Regulators, Dreamcatcher or Roadwork), than which ones you should, because where are so many good books written by Stephen King – e.g. I didn't mention the Firestarter, Pet Sematary, Lisey's Story, Bag of Bones, The Long Walk, Cujo or 11/22/63, which I recently finished reading. All whose titles you should also read, because they are great!

My list also don't include collections of short stories (I recommend them all, but especially Night Shift, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Skeleton Crew, Full Dark, No Stars, Hearts in Atlantis and Different Seasons). In my list of best books I chose only between the novels. 

About non-fiction - Danse Macabre and On Writing - I will write in in the future, because these titles require "special treatment" :).

If you are looking for full Stephen King's bibliography – visit his official website :). 

Which is your favourite book by Stephen King? And those of you who haven't read any book written by this author I encourage to do so. Check the Amazon website which Stephen King's books are available today!