The #1 national bestseller about a famous novelist held hostage by his “number one fan” and suffering a frightening case of writer’s block—that could prove fatal. One of “Stephen King’s best…genuinely scary” (USA TODAY). Paul Sheldon is a bestselling novelist who has finally met his number one fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes, and she is more than a rabid reader—she is Paul’s nurse, tending his … nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also furious that the author has killed off her favorite character in his latest book. Annie becomes his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.
Annie wants Paul to write a book that brings Misery back to life—just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an axe. And if they don’t work, she can get really nasty.
“Terrifying” (San Francisco Chronicle), “dazzlingly well-written” (The Indianapolis Star), and “truly gripping” (Publishers Weekly), Misery is “classic Stephen King…full of twists and turns and mounting suspense” (The Boston Globe).
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Had me trying to prize my eyes away from the page in horror.
One of the Most TERRIFYING Book I have ever read.
I am 59 years old & have read hundreds of books.
My favorite book.
Best and worst book! couldn’t put it down and also couldn’t bear to read it.
My ankles still ache….the hobbling scene stills haunts me today.
Definitely was good enough to make into a movie, as they did !!
I highly recommend Misery! A twisted ‘love story’ of sorts…
The first Stephen King book I ever read, and my favorite to date. Gruesome, haunting, and exciting from start to finish. The movie is great, but the book is better. 5/5 would recommend to all horror fans, as well as those just starting out. An easier book of King’s to get into if you’re not familiar with his writing.
A very good suspense novel from before Stephen King got infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome and let his bile start overflowing into his writing, thus tainting them.
An amazing, haunting story that will stay with you forever.
Terrifying
A tier, A- rating. Amazing psychological thriller. Great survival story. Annie is such an intriguing and twisted villain. A tad bit slow at times especially with the parts about the misery returns novel story within this novel.
Really suspenseful. Annie Wilkes is crazy. Fun read. Rather disturbing.
Well, what do you know? Another Stephen King book with hundreds of reviews, many of them positive. I didn’t read them all, but the majority of the ones I did read were positive and some of them were even glowing opinions of the book from fans who loved it. Should we expect anything less than this with a Stephen King book, folks? The man is obviously an incredible storyteller, so should we really expect to come across one on any website like this, or at any online bookstore, that doesn’t have hundreds of reviews, with the majority of them being reviews where hungry, eager readers rave about what a great book they think it is. I don’t think so! And since I am a huge fan of Stephen King, I will gladly add to those reviews that praise this book! I read it years ago, found it suspenseful and terrifying, and absolutely loved it! Still do! I am amazed that I have not read it more than once! This is a book I could read a hundred more times, maybe a hundred thousand more times, so it baffles me that I have not! But there’s a good reason for this. Not very many years ago, I found myself with no choice but to donate lots of his books that I owned, literally a huge boxful, to a thrift store to make room on my bookcase for more books. After all, I like reading books not only by Stephen King, but lots of other authors. As for horror fans who love reading this particular chiller, which is all the more frightening for the fact that every page of the story COULD happen—nothing supernatural here; this could happen to ANYONE—there is also a suspenseful, riveting movie adaptation that you will probably love. If you haven’t seen it, watch it! You might not like it, but it’s a movie I highly recommend, one that features James Caan and Kathy Bates in stellar performances as the main characters, Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes. Another thing that is not important to this review is something I have no problem with talking about briefly. I like to collect and read paperback books. And there is nothing wrong with the cover art pictured here which, as many, many of you are probably aware, represents what more recent paperback editions look like. Have you read Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell? I haven’t, but I would like to. According to tons of online reviews I’ve read of the book, it expresses exactly why I like tracking down older editions of any older horror novels I might be interested in reading. I simply like the original cover art for these books better. I think they’re creepier and more fun. This is why I hope to find an old Signet edition of Misery when I buy it again. I would love to own an edition of the book that features Annie Wilkes standing over Paul Sheldon with an ax raised above her head as he’s sitting at a table typing a manuscript on a typewriter. The title is presented in a bloody font, meaning that it appears near the top of the front cover in bloody letters or a bloody typeface. Give me a break, folks, I’m no expert on how books are published! Well, anyhoo, Misery is a fantastic tale of psychological terror from the King of Horror that no one should miss! It provides a strong warning for aspiring writers everywhere: If you not only get published, but also become lucky enough to be one of those who are talented enough to become popular and famous, you’ll find yourself with a massive fanbase, but you should be careful because some of those fans are crazy. As Stephen King probably quite accurately represents in this book, they are insane, scary, and dangerous! Top-notch reading!
Classic King!
One of the better King novels.
I learned dont piss off a crazy lady in the woods of colorado, particularly if you are a famous writer.
Read this, you Cockadoodie Dirty Birdies!
What can I say? Stephen King never fails to deliver!
This book was a quick read – good thing too because I didn’t want to put it down! SK developed the characters very well as the story went along. Annie was magnificent! You never knew what she had up her sleeve. And Paul was a survivor, determined not to let her win… but does she?! My husband never reads but I convinced him to give this one a try and he said okay, mostly because it was short. Every night he would crawl into bed, pick up his book and say “Let’s see what Annie’s up to tonight!” He was very glad he read it!
Misery might be my favorite of King’s work. It’s terrifying, psychologically damaging, and yet somehow still oddly empowering.