Pet Sematary question

Both Pet Semetary and It was so very good. I would try Pet Semetary first though. And try a book of his shirt stories! They're great!

I am an avid Stephen King fan, as is my mom. You can't go wrong by reading anything by King. I will say, my mom has read everything he has written to date (besides a book about writing) and has said Salem's Lot is the only book that scared her. I haven't read Salem's Lot (yet!), but the only book to scare me was It. Even though I had watched the miniseries from the 90's, It gave me disturbing nightmares the entire time I read it.

I would start with "It" (that was my first book too) as it has great characters, scary parts but also some fun (and funny) notes. Pet Sematary is amazing but it's like looking into a black hole of sorrow.

I am also a new reader for Stephen King's books and my first book was Pet Sematary. It made me fall in love with this author! In my opinion, Pet Sematary would be an excellent choice.

I am an avid Stephen King reader, a fanatic if you may. When starting with King, I started simple: Rose Madder (The story of a woman being abused by her husband who is also a police officer and her escape, if you could call it that) and Thinner (an obese man runs into a gypsy who curses him to become thinner, thinner until there is nothing else left of him). I think both of these stories are very King-like, it's how he brings horror into your own backyard. But If I'm choosing between Pet Sematary and IT, I vote Pet Sematary. King is famous for, how long some of his books are (IT, The Stand, 112263), he's description heavy. I say, work your way up to that, you need to be mentally prepared for the things his writing can do to your mind. He's so great at suspense it's painful. Pet Sematary is actually based off similar events in his own life, which makes it fascinating. The audiobook is also unreal, read by Michael C. Hall. I'm sure this comment rivals a long novel of its own, so my vote is surely Pet Sematary.

I would second "IT", as per Shira's recommendation. It's got all the familiar Steve King tropes (small town, weird locals, believable characters). You can't go wrong.

Yes - it's a considerable investment of your time, but I honestly believe it will fly by and you will look upon it as time well spent.

Wish I could go back and read it again for the very first time. I completely lost myself in that book. And, in 50 years on this planet, I can only ever think of three other books that have done that for me.

Samantha wrote: "I am somewhat new to reading Stephen King, although I've grown up watching his movies. I started off by reading The Stand, then went on to Carrie, and The Shining. I know that IT is pretty lengthy ..."

Definitely Pet Semetary over IT.

Love King! My favorites are Through the Eyes of the Dragon and The Stand. The movies are cheesy and do NOT do justice to the books!

Pet Sematary was my first foray into Stephan King and I thought it was great. He does a great job with character development and really gets you invested in their stories. Same thing, but even more so with IT. Very long, but very satisfying. He takes all that time to really shape his characters. Highly recommend them both

I always say the same thing. Get a copy of Skeleton Crew. It is a compilation of short stories, and it includes THE MIST. Another one of my favorites from this collection is The Raft. Once you get a taste for his style and how absorbing he can be you will want more. Then move onto The Shining. Outstanding haunted house story with excellent character development and subplots. Then Salems Lot. Best vampire story since Dracula. Then you are ready for the heavy hitters like The Stand and IT. After that you will read everything he ever wrote.