Here is a list of Stephen King’s 10 First Published Books Ranked, According to Goodreads.
The Stand
Goodreads rating: 4.35
From the blurb:
First come the days of the virus. Then come the dreams.
Dark dreams that warn of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of Evil.…
The Shining
Goodreads rating: 4.26
From the blurb:
Danny is only five years old, but in the words of old Mr Hallorann he is a ‘shiner’, aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Danny’s visions grow out of control...
The Long Walk
Goodreads rating: 4.09
From the blurb:
Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping…with the winner being awarded “The Prize”–anything he wants for the rest of his life.…
‘Salem’s Lot
Goodreads rating: 4.05
From the blurb:
‘Salem’s Lot is a small New England town with the usual quota of gossips, drinkers, weirdos and respectable folk. Of course there are tales of strange happenings – but not more than in any other town its size.…
Carrie
Goodreads rating: 3.98
From the blurb:
To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie – the first
step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues.
But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she
is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her . . .
The Dead Zone
Goodreads rating: 3.96
From the blurb:
The two things that conjured up that horrible night, were his run of luck at the Wheel of Fortune, and the mask . . .
Meet Johnny Smith. A young man whose streak of luck ends dramatically in a major car crash. Followed by blackness. A long, long time in cold limbo….
Firestarter
Goodreads rating: 3.91
From the blurb:
A year ago, he was an upstanding instructor of English at Harrison State College. Now Andy is on the run with his daughter. A pigtailed girl named Charlie. A girl with an unimaginably terrifying gift.…
Cujo
Goodreads rating: 3.77
From the blurb:
Cujo is a huge Saint Bernard dog, the best friend Brett Camber has ever had. Then one day Cujo chases a rabbit into a bolt-hole. Except it isn’t a rabbit warren any more. It is a cave inhabited by rabid bats.…
Rage
Goodreads rating: 3.74
From the blurb:
A disturbed high-school student with authority problems kills one of his teachers and takes the rest of his class hostage. Over the course of one long, tense and unbearable hot afternoon, Charlie Decker explains what led him to this drastic sequence of events, while at the same time deconstructing the personalities of his classmates, forcing each one to justify his or her existence.
Roadwork
Goodreads rating: 3.60
From the blurb:
Bart Dawes is standing in the way of progress. A new highway extension is being built right over the laundry plant where he works and right over his home. The house he has lived in for twenty years where he has made love with his wife played with his son…
