Stephen J. Spignesi

“Stephen King American Master” by Stephen Spignesi is divided into several parts: Interviews/Essays by and with Stephen King experts/fans; a list and discussion of his novels; a list and discussion of his short stories; a list and discussion of his novellas; fourteen notable non-fiction Stephen King works; a discussion of poems that King has written; and finally a list/discussion of thirty-eight notable and unpublished short stories and other works by King.

As a fan of both Stephen King and Stephen Spignesi, I was eager to read “Stephen King American Master” and I really enjoyed it. The interviews/essays were great – as a long time Stephen King fan I recognized most of the contributors and enjoyed reading what they had to say. The lists/discussions of the novels, short stories, and novellas are in chronological order which I really appreciated. Spignesi largely avoids spoilers in this section and there are no book summaries but there are some nice little bullet points about each book/story. I really liked this section (and the Essential Stephen King Ranking Spignesi gives to many of the works although that could use some updating) – I have read all of Stephen King’s short stories but reading this book made me realized that there are many short stories that I’ve forgotten about through the years and now I want to reread them. In fact, reading this book makes me want to reread all of Stephen King’s works – it has made me realize once again how much I love Stephen King!… (mere)