George Beahm - The Stephen King Companion: Four Decades of Fear from the Master of Horror

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Thirty years ago I asked
you to stand by me, and you have.
This ones for you, Mary.

Courtesy of Tim Kirk

This book is the third iteration of The Stephen King Companion. The first edition was published in 1989; the second, in 1995; and this third, in 2015, owing to Kings prolific output during the past twenty years.

In 1989, as reported to Time magazine, Kings publishers celebrated the fact that King had published 20-odd books that sold 60 million copies earning him 20 million. But by the end of 2015, King will have published, according to his Web site, 74 books (56 novels, 7 nonfiction, and 11 story collections) that have sold an estimated 350 million copies (biography.com).

But his real life is not about the fame or the fortune; its all about storytelling.

This book celebrates his storytelling, from the early days when he was self-publishing in a few dozen copies in rural Maine, to Revival, which reached millions of readers worldwide.

My approach to the book is clearly pop culture, not academic; in other words, a college professor, I aint. Ive arranged the contents chronologically and in context, so youll get a sense of his life and times; the text herein is spiced with interviews, anecdotes, factoids, and commentary by important figures in the King community. For a retrospective book like this, a wide range of voices is essential.

Because Kings early years in Durham and in college are critical to understanding him and his work, Ive devoted considerable space to both, to lay the necessary groundwork for the discussions of the books that follow. Consider both skeleton keys to unlocking Kings fiction.

This book is an overview covering four decades, written with Kings new fans in mind, especially younger readers who watched Under the Dome on TV or picked up his latest novel and wondered, Who is this guy, and what else has this guy written?

This book answers that question. But despite its length, it could have been far longer had space not been a consideration: Writing about Stephens career requires king-size books: Stephen Spignesis 1991 The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia is 780 letter-sized pages, and Robin Furths Stephen Kings The Dark Tower:The Complete Concordance (revised and updated in 2012) runs 688 pages.

Given his popularity and visibility, King will assuredly be the subject of many more books in the years to come.

The text to this book is supplemented by artwork by Michael Whelan and Glenn Chadbourne, and by photos from my files taken since 1988. Both the art and photos herein give a dimension to this book that text alone cannot achieve.

By the way, there is some unavoidable duplication of text in this book because this is a companion book with both original and reprinted material.

One final note: Just as I finished up this book, Rocky Wooda well-regarded and highly respected King criticpassed on. Unlike some others, Rocky always gave credit when due, and his sudden departure is an immeasurable loss. As Stephen King wrote, Rocky, you rock.

Rock on.

George Beahm

Writers are exorcists of their own demons.

M ARIO V ARGAS L LOSA

Now the simple fact of horror fiction in whatever medium you choose the bedrock of horror fiction, we might say, is simply this: you gotta scare the audience. Sooner or later you gotta put on the gruesome mask and go booga-booga.

S TEPHEN K ING, Danse Macabre