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Chad A. Clark
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Samantha J. Bryant
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Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader's Reflections on the Work of Stephen King Kindle Edition

by Chad A. Clark (Author), Duncan Ralston (Editor), Richard Chizmar (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

For over forty years, Stephen King has been one of the biggest names in literature and popular culture.



In 2013, author and Constant Reader Chad A. Clark embarked on a journey, not of miles but of pages and words, reading all of Stephen King's works. Every book and short story, in the order they were released.

What lies between these covers are his reflections along the way, the search for inspiration in a style of writing that has evolved over all this time. A trip from Castle Rock to the depths of Derry. From the Blasted Lands to the farthest reaches of Mid-World.

For all of us who have been lost in many a King book and pined for the chance to look him in the eyes and say, "We thank you."

With an introduction by Richard Chizmar and tons of guest reviews, this book is over 400 pages of pure King fandom. Get your copy now!
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  1. Print length
    424 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 18, 2018
  4. File size
    2.9 MB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

This is the best book I have ever read about Stephen King and essential reading for serious fans.-Horrortalk.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07L52MGM6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Darker Worlds Publishing & Shadow Work Publishing (December 18, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 18, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 424 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

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  1. Chad A. Clark

    Chad A. Clark

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    Chad A. Clark is an author of dark-leaning fiction, born and raised in the middle of the United States. His road began in Illinois, along the banks of the Mississippi and from there he moved to Iowa, where he has lived ever since. From an early age, he was brined in the glory that is science fiction and horror, from the fantastical of George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry and Steven Spielberg to the dark and gritty tales of Stephen King and George Romero. The way from there to here has been littered with no shortage of books and movies, all of which have and continue to inform his narrative style to this day. Chad has written horror, science fiction and non-fiction. He has been published by Crystal Lake Publishing, Dark Minds Press, Shadow Work Publishing, EyeCue Productions, Darker Worlds Publishing and Sirens Call Publications. His books have received critical praise from the Ginger Nuts of Horror, Ink Heist, Confessions of a Reviewer, Horror DNA and This is Horror.

    For more, check out www.cclarkfiction.net

    See more on the author's page
  2. Samantha J. Bryant

    Samantha J. Bryant

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Samantha Bryant believes in love, magic, and unexplainable connections between people. Her favorite things are lonely beaches, untamed cliff tops, sunlight through the leaves of trees, summer rains, and children's laughter. She lives in North Carolina, grew up in Kentucky, and left her heart in Alaska. She is fierce at heart, though she doesn't look it.

    She reads poetry and comic books, sometimes on the same day because she contains multitudes.

    She writes blogs, poems, essays, and novels. Mostly she writes about things that scare or worry her because writing is a great work to work things out. Someday, she hopes to make her living solely as a writer. In the meantime, she also teaches middle school Spanish, which, admittedly, is an odd choice for money-earning, especially in North Carolina.

    When she's not writing or teaching, Samantha enjoys time with her family, watching old movies, baking, reading, and going places. Her favorite gift is tickets (to just about anything).

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Thomas S Flowers
    5.0 out of 5 stars Non more dedicated
    Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    You will not find a reader as dedicated as Chad Clark. And his words here prove just that. Starting with Stephen King's humble beginnings and through his later works, and everything in between, Chad takes you through decades of some of the best fiction ever written...and some of the not so great fiction. Every review is honest. This isn't just fanboy hero worship. Clark truly dissects every work by the King of Horror--a writer who so many of us both adored and doubted in the valley and on the mountain top. And as a bonus, Chad offers up some extra chapters discussing some of the more risque moments in King's fiction, such as "that scene" in IT. Without a doubt, you're not going to want to miss this.
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  • Char
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Look at King's Work!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2019
    TRACING THE TRAILS is a non-fiction book that reads like one Stephen King fan talking to another.
    (In this scenario, I am a King fan!)

    This book is broken up by novels and decade, then short stories and then the novellas. After all that, there are essays on several of King's works written by other authors such as Duncan Bradshaw and Kit Power to name a few. (To be honest, I was a bit King'ed out by then and didn't read all of those essays carefully, just scanning them instead.) There were a few movie reviews as well, namely the IT miniseries and the new IT movies.

    When I say it's broken up by novels and then by decade what I mean is these are essays and/or reviews written by Chad A. Clark in that order. The ones I enjoyed most were written about the novels IT, MISERY, THE STAND, SALEM'S LOT and PET SEMATARY.

    My library hold for the audio of PET SEMATARY came in while I was still reading this book and seeing what Chad said here resonated with me, because this is the first time I've read PS as a parent:

    " Regardless of what you want to call it, one of King's strengths is to take a character's story and present it in a way that you find yourself admitting that you might do the same thing. It's about taking the crazy and making it seem kind of sane. And ultimately, in the end, I find it almost as scary to realize how much I am being brought around to that mindset. "

    Me too, Chad. Me too.

    I enjoyed the short pieces written about King's short stories. Most especially ALTERCATION, (because I loved that story too and because my mom is in that situation right now), and UR, which was among MY first purchases for Kindle, (just like you, Chad.)

    Regarding the novellas, I most especially liked the write up about THE MIST. I, too, am one of the few who liked the ending of the book AND the ending of the film. To be honest, I might have even liked the film's end a wee bit better. Let the discussions begin in the comment section below!

    Lastly, there was a piece among the essays at the end about that scene in IT. Yeah, you know the scene I'm talking about. After reading Chad's take, maybe I understand a little better why King did it, but I still don't like it.

    I don't think this book would work very well for people that do not enjoy King's work at all. That said, if you're a fan like me, (and Chad!), and you grew up reading King's early work. And if you continued reading his works for what seems like (and may BE) your entire life, then this is the book for you. You don't have to have liked all of the books King has written, in fact, it might be even more interesting for you if you haven't liked them all. Chad's reviews provide insight to what we King fans are thinking and even if you don't agree with everything Chad has written here, you might find this walk down Stephen King lane informative and fun.

    Highly recommended to King fans, of course, but also to anyone looking for a more in-depth look at King's works throughout the years. Chad won't let you down!

    *I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
    One person found this helpful
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  • D.K. Hundt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Posted on Kendall Reviews - February 11, 2019
    Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2020
    Posted on Kendall Reviews - February 11, 2019

    Author Chad A. Clark, born in the Midwest, has spent most of his life in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan. He studied at the University of Iowa where he cultivated his passion for the written word, his focus being that of genre fiction, specifically horror and science fiction. Clark has numerous short stories, novella’s, and novels to his credit, beginning with his short stories: ‘Utopia,’ ‘Falling To Dark,’ ‘Tomorrow’s Memory,’ ‘Mist On The Highway,’ ‘Through The Slip,’ the novellas: Down The Beaten Path, Yesterday: When We Died, The Child At The End Of Time, Winter Holiday, Winward, From Across Their Walls, the short story collections: A Shade For Every Season, Two Bells At Dawn and his novels: Behind Our Walls (trilogy), Borrowed Time, and Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader’s Reflections On The Work Of Stephen King featured in this review. This novel opens with an Introduction written by Richard Chizmar, an author I truly admire and respect as much as Stephen King, wherein he talks about his personal and business life and his friendship with King. Chizmar also quotes a bit of dialogue from one of his favorite movies, and mine, Tombstone, though I won’t spoil it for you by revealing it here, I will say it touched me deeply, like Chizmar’s life story, bringing me to tears.

    Chizmar first met the King in 1981 when he was in high school, by way of one of his short stories. Fast forward five years later when Chizmar, in the middle of his junior year in college, sees King’s novel It in a book store. His thoughts after reading only a few pages may resonate with King fans who, perhaps, have also taken a break, like Clark and Chizmar, from reading his books or reading in general, later reigniting their passion with the discovery of a new Stephen King novel. For Chizmar, that book was It: ‘Pennywise was terrifying and grotesque, and he wanted me to float with him down there in the dark sewers of Derry. But I didn’t care. I was home again.’ After reading this, my fifteen-year-old self, the age I was when I first read It, screamed Yes! This!

    After their re-immersion into King’s books later in life, Chizmar and Clark would rediscover their passion for reading and enthusiasm for writing. At the age of fifteen, Chizmar knew he wanted to spend his life doing to others what this author had done to him: ‘He’d [King] managed to make the real world around me disappear and replaced it with a fairy tale. A dark and frightening fairy, to be sure, that’s exactly what the whole experience felt like to me: it felt like magic’, which is precisely how my introduction to King’s writing felt to me. It was a time in my life that I wanted and needed the world around me to disappear, and King’s books were my escape. I was ten when I stumbled upon Carrie during one of my weekend visits to the Bookmobile, and I’ve been an avid fan of King’s writing ever since, the reason why Chad A. Clark’s novel, Tracing The Trails, appeals to me as both a reader and reviewer. Who better to reflect on the works of the King Of Horror than a fellow fan? I can’t think of anyone better.

    In the year 2014, Clark embarked on what he calls ‘a long rewarding journey’ that stems from his passion for reading, ‘a desire to return to the kind of reading that hooked [him] in the first place.’ It was after listening to some of King’s audiobooks and reading a few of his new novels, when the idea came to Clark to ‘start at the beginning of [King’s] bibliography and take them down in order, reflecting on [his] thoughts along the way.’ Clark’s journey began with reading one of King’s books each month, and then posting his reviews on his blog, later compiling them into the novel featured in this review, Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader’s Reflections On The Work Of Stephen King. Clark’s intent in writing this book is not to sway the reader to side with his way of thinking about a piece of writing; he’s merely expressing his opinions, which is the job of any reviewer. Do I agree with everything the author said within these pages? Of course not. Do I like every short story, novella, and novel written by the King of Horror? No, but the same can be said about all the authors whose writing lured me in over the years.

    I have read or listened to the audiobooks of every short story, novella, and novel written by King mentioned in Clark’s book, save for The Dark Tower series and a couple of his new novels. I don’t feel the spoilers within Tracing The Trails, that Clark warns the reader about early on, ruins King’s writing for any potential reader. Personally, this novel served to reignite my passion for rereading the books I read so long ago, and the gentle push I need to complete my collection of The Dark Tower series, referenced in several of King’s stories. Stephen King is one of the two people in my life whose writing inspired me to follow my dream, and words cannot express how thankful I am to have met him by way of a book.
    ‘The most important things are the hardest to say… because words diminish them.’
    – Stephen King, The Body

    In closing, whether you’re a fellow fan of the King of Horror or a potential reader, I recommend taking the journey with Clark in Tracing The Trails: A Constant Reader’s Reflections On The Work Of Stephen King.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Karswell
    5.0 out of 5 stars A constant joy to read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This truly is an epic piece of work, a series of essays on Stephen King’s entire (thus far) back catalogue, including every novel, novella and short story written by the master. The essays herein provide both a nostalgia rush (I’m currently re-reading the novels myself and this has provided fresh impetus for that endeavour) and new insights into King’s writing. I found myself agreeing with much of what Chad was expressing here and it was almost comforting to find that some of the reservations and thoughts I had on many of the novels were reflected here. I didn’t agree with every analysis of course, which is exactly as it should be.
    This is an excellent book which will appeal to everyone other Constant Reader out there. A true labour of love (and we all know how difficult love can be sometimes) which neatly steers a direct course between the extremes of hagiography and demolition job to provide intelligent, thought-provoking and genuine analysis.
    (He’s wrong about Cujo though).
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  • R
    5.0 out of 5 stars Epic in every way.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A fantastic journey through King’s body of work. I didn’t always agree but I always appreciated the way the author put across his opinions of each piece. Highly recommended for fellow constant readers.
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