Don’t fret over the title of A Brief Guide to Stephen King, or the idea of the writer’s
gargantuan body of work being boiled down to a mere 265 pages. Paul Simpson’s
career overview may be brief, but it is satisfying. He covers every one of
King’s novels, novellas, short story collections, digital and other uncollected
stories, screenplays, and comic book scripts to date, as well as a nuts-and-bolts
biography and overview of select non-fiction work. Each entry includes a short
synopsis before getting to the goods with a pretty lengthy look at the tales’
genesis, the reactions it provoked, and adaptations it inspired (yes, that does
include the Shining porno spoof Naughty Little Nymphos 5). The structure
and content reminded me quite a bit of Marc Scott Zicree’s essential Twilight Zone Companion right down to
his refusal to hold back spoilers. Simpson is less critical though. Since he
clearly knows his King, it would have been nice if he’d provided a bit more
personal assessment for each title so that his book could also provide
recommendations better. For the most part, he remains neutral, allowing quotes
from the critics of the past—many of whom are most certainly not Stephen King
fans— to give each work the “yay” or “nay.” So you may just have to make up
your own mind about whether or not you should read about preteen sewer orgies
and shit weasels.
