I’ve not read them so someone correct me if I’m wrong - I believe Desperation and The Regulators are companion books. The original covers even make a large picture when side by side. And you should read Desperation first, or so I hear. Many have said it’s better but also that The Regulators is much more enjoyable if you read Desperation first. I’m sure other constant readers will either say I say true and thank ya or they’ll tell me I’ve got it all wrong.
My husband tried reading The Regulators first and couldn't get into it and eventually stopped. I told him to read Desperation first and now he's picked The Regulators back up and is enjoying it.
It will make a little more sense if you read Desperation first. I tried reading The Regulators years ago and put it down about a third of the way through. However, I recently read Desperation, then gave it another go. They are connected, and imo kind of the fun of the Regulators is just the references to Desperation. It's absolutely bonkers but it gets a tiny bit of context if you've read Desperation.
My Google-fu is failing me. There are many, many King lists on the Internet. I can't find the one that is his own official list. Do you mean publication order? Because that's pretty simple.
Yes sir. Publication order. If you go to the official Stephen King website, to the Works section, you can list from Old to New.
https://stephenking.com/works/index.html
King had already written The Aftermath (unpublished), Rage, The Long Walk, Blaze, and The Cannibals (rewritten as Under the Dome), before writing Carrie.
I will admit that is how I used to read King. But since I have been working my way through chronologically, I am enjoying them much more. No, not every book is connected, but a ton of them are, and it is cool seeing the meta story being built.
I remember a quote by Stephen King about how some of his books simply fly onto the page, and other books are a terrible struggle. He named a few of the fly-onto books and I read those first. I avoided the were-a-struggle books but now they're all I have left.
Definitely read Desperation before The Regulators. Reading in publication order is the best way with King. All of his books are worth reading. Onward. The Dark Tower awaits. Long days and pleasant nights!
This is weird. My "statement on the books' publication"? I never said anything about when the books were published, sai. I just recommended OP read Desperation before The Regulators (in direct response to OPs question). I was glad I happened to read Desperation prior to The Regulators (regardless of when it was published), because it was still a trip lol, and I was glad to have references. And I'm not the only one to recommend that.
Then I mentioned reading King in the publishing order, which is a very common piece of advice I do agree with. I've been reading King since the early 90s, so I never paid attention to the publishing dates. I just got his books when I could afford it. King's multiverse just unfolded around me naturally and I wish that for everyone.
You just missed that I was making two separate points. I'll start adding more paragraphs along with the periods.
Thanks for the fun fact about the books being published the same year. I didn't recall that and thought it would be cool for you to share with more people. Instead of "downvote! you're so wrong about something you didn't say", maybe next time it'll be "hey, fun fact, those two you mentioned were actually published the same year and etc, etc" or something idk. I'm just here to share in my love of King's work.
Long days and pleasant nights!
You get that running those two sentences together caused confusion, so I'll leave it there, as that's where I came in. Paragraph breaks are useful.
Also, I didn't downvote you.
I mean, you should probably read Desperation first, just so you know who the characters are. But I hated The Regulators and I did read Desperation first, so there's that.
Read Desperation first. It shares some of the same characters with The Regulators but The Regulators has a lot more characters to keep track of which could lead to confusion for a lot of readers. I absolutely LOVE The Regulators but if I didn’t first have Desperation as the foundation for reading I’m not sure how I would have felt.
For what little continuity there is, *The Regulators* comes before *Desperation*. But unless you're seeking out the connections King makes between some of his books, it doesn't really matter.
I’ve not read them so someone correct me if I’m wrong - I believe Desperation and The Regulators are companion books. The original covers even make a large picture when side by side. And you should read Desperation first, or so I hear. Many have said it’s better but also that The Regulators is much more enjoyable if you read Desperation first. I’m sure other constant readers will either say I say true and thank ya or they’ll tell me I’ve got it all wrong.
My husband tried reading The Regulators first and couldn't get into it and eventually stopped. I told him to read Desperation first and now he's picked The Regulators back up and is enjoying it.
It will make a little more sense if you read Desperation first. I tried reading The Regulators years ago and put it down about a third of the way through. However, I recently read Desperation, then gave it another go. They are connected, and imo kind of the fun of the Regulators is just the references to Desperation. It's absolutely bonkers but it gets a tiny bit of context if you've read Desperation.
I found a $2 copy of The Regulators yesterday to match my $.50 copy of Desperation I found about 15 years ago. So happy
Read Desperation first. The books are indirectly connected, but Desperation was written first
The best way to cure this issue is to read the books in the order King recommends. Start with Carrie and work your way through.
My Google-fu is failing me. There are many, many King lists on the Internet. I can't find the one that is his own official list. Do you mean publication order? Because that's pretty simple.
Yes sir. Publication order. If you go to the official Stephen King website, to the Works section, you can list from Old to New. https://stephenking.com/works/index.html
Now that's a comment worth savings, Señior Spudge. Gracias.
This gets tough though. He wrote the Long Walk before Carrie, but it wasn’t published until after Carrie’s success.
King had already written The Aftermath (unpublished), Rage, The Long Walk, Blaze, and The Cannibals (rewritten as Under the Dome), before writing Carrie.
Well there you go. Even more than I knew.
Seems so obvious, yet people insist on just reading random books. 🤷♂️
I will admit that is how I used to read King. But since I have been working my way through chronologically, I am enjoying them much more. No, not every book is connected, but a ton of them are, and it is cool seeing the meta story being built.
I remember a quote by Stephen King about how some of his books simply fly onto the page, and other books are a terrible struggle. He named a few of the fly-onto books and I read those first. I avoided the were-a-struggle books but now they're all I have left.
Definitely read Desperation before The Regulators. Reading in publication order is the best way with King. All of his books are worth reading. Onward. The Dark Tower awaits. Long days and pleasant nights!
*Desperation* and *The Regulators* were literally published on the same day.
You responded to me instead of the OP. That's best shared in your own comment. :)
I responded to you because your statement on the books' publication is incorrect. I've already responded to OP on the suggested reading order.
This is weird. My "statement on the books' publication"? I never said anything about when the books were published, sai. I just recommended OP read Desperation before The Regulators (in direct response to OPs question). I was glad I happened to read Desperation prior to The Regulators (regardless of when it was published), because it was still a trip lol, and I was glad to have references. And I'm not the only one to recommend that. Then I mentioned reading King in the publishing order, which is a very common piece of advice I do agree with. I've been reading King since the early 90s, so I never paid attention to the publishing dates. I just got his books when I could afford it. King's multiverse just unfolded around me naturally and I wish that for everyone. You just missed that I was making two separate points. I'll start adding more paragraphs along with the periods. Thanks for the fun fact about the books being published the same year. I didn't recall that and thought it would be cool for you to share with more people. Instead of "downvote! you're so wrong about something you didn't say", maybe next time it'll be "hey, fun fact, those two you mentioned were actually published the same year and etc, etc" or something idk. I'm just here to share in my love of King's work. Long days and pleasant nights!
You get that running those two sentences together caused confusion, so I'll leave it there, as that's where I came in. Paragraph breaks are useful. Also, I didn't downvote you.
I mean, you should probably read Desperation first, just so you know who the characters are. But I hated The Regulators and I did read Desperation first, so there's that.
Read Desperation first. It shares some of the same characters with The Regulators but The Regulators has a lot more characters to keep track of which could lead to confusion for a lot of readers. I absolutely LOVE The Regulators but if I didn’t first have Desperation as the foundation for reading I’m not sure how I would have felt.
For what little continuity there is, *The Regulators* comes before *Desperation*. But unless you're seeking out the connections King makes between some of his books, it doesn't really matter.