Review by C.J. Bunce
If you find yourself reading a 650-page book about Stephen King, the first question you should ask is who wrote it. Guy Astic and Frank Lafond are French literature professors who have both written and taught on the works of King over his half century of work. It shows in every page of The Art & Craft of Stephen King, out this month from Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, and available here at Amazon in a hefty hardcover edition featuring full color images of King’s books, background, and tie-in movies and TV projects. As soon as you start reading it–which is as much a detailed reference as a coffee table conversation grabber–you’ll be quickly reminded of how much King’s works have reached into our lives. You’ve probably forgotten more King works than you remember. There’s the horror: Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Creepshow, Christine, Pet Sematary, Silver Bullet, It, Misery. There’s the genre-bending works like The Dead Zone, The Running Man, The Green Mile, and the story that became The Shawshank Redemption. Then there are those completely different King stories: The Colorado Kid, Joyland, and Later. From his first novel Carrie in 1974 to the latest film adaptation of the novel in 2026, King has been a part of pop culture entertainment more than any other voice. The Art & Craft of Stephen King looks at the stories behind every novel, novella, and short story, with attention to those tales handed over to the visions of directors of live-action works.
In each of ninety chapters the authors provide an overview of each story followed by an essay on the creation process and where King was in his life when the story was written. How was the work received? This is where the magic of the book happens. The writers stitch together places, people, and concepts that tie back to King’s real life, past works, or future works. The result opens up a giant King-verse you may never realize existed. It’s obvious King’s home state of Maine permeates so many stories, but so do many themes. Alcoholism reflects his personal struggles, and the subject was–no surprise–more prevalent as King faced his own demons. King is also a baseball fan, so don’t be surprised to see Boston Red Sox hats pop up from time to time. Rights of passage? Check. You probably know Sheriff Bannerman from The Dead Zone, but his grandfather pops up in Bag of Bones.
The literary gothic style spans King’s entire career, with references to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre influencing his stories, along with Edgar Allan Poe writings popping up now and then. It makes sense. When you produce as many works in a year as King does, it might be easier finding things that didn’t make it into his creations. The authors of The Art & Craft of Stephen King recount that it was King’s volume of writings early on that prompted him to publish a series of books under a pseudonym–Richard Bachman–but King didn’t use a pseudonym as others’ had, putting his own spin on the idea. The authors discuss how King referred to Bachman as another author, even giving Bachman his own death.
Of course depending on the level of your King fandom, some of the references you’ll encounter won’t be new. But in 650 pages of small font text you’re guaranteed to learn many new things about the man behind the books, and maybe form at least an idea of how he thinks and creates. Sidebar features in every chapter provide additional snippets and trivia.
For movie and TV fans, you’ll be happy to see that the authors include detailed notes (many cited in the book’s appendix) on how King worked with the production of each tie-in project. Did King have good or bad feelings about the project and how did they change over time? In the chapter on The Shining, the authors include a story told by King of director Stanley Kubrick calling King while he was shaving during the production of the original movie–Kubrick asking about a changed ending idea, which King promptly rejected. These kinds of stories are why fans flock to books like this.
But even in 650 pages the book isn’t exactly comprehensive. Take television series, for example. I’d love to know more about King’s relationship with Michael Piller, who led both The Dead Zone and Haven TV series–Haven a loose adaptation of The Colorado Kid. But The Dead Zone and Haven TV series get barely a page of coverage. As a fan of these two shows I was hoping for more. And compared to the more commercial projects, my own favorites Joyland and Later only get two-page synopses by the authors. Then again, the authors made space to reference Christopher Walken’s spoof of his Johnny Smith character from The Dead Zone movie in a Saturday Night Live sketch. Ultimately it’s all about print real estate, and the authors do a great job of packing in the results of years of research and scholarly studies into the impact King has had on culture.
The Art & Craft of Stephen King is both an engaging and intriguing book for fans and the kind of reference university English and film studies departments might add as required reading in coursework. End notes, a bibliography, and a detailed index round out this incredible volume. There’s only one Stephen King and you’ll see why as you read through hours and hours of analysis and interviews, all accompanied by mostly color photographs–more than 300 in all. Consider it a must for your favorite Stephen King fan. Just out this month, get your copy of The Art & Craft of Stephen King here at Amazon or via your favorite local bookshop now.
