The plan is to reread all of Stephen King’s works in the order that they were published. Richard Chizmar of Cemetery Dance had the vision. I’m doing it because I am a writer and I want to improve my fiction. And I love Stephen King’s stories. I think there is something to be learned through this process.

You can also go back to the beginning and read Before Carrie or any of my other posts up through this one and beyond by checking out this link to the Master List of all my #StephenKingRevisited posts.

Way back when I first started rereading all these books, I finished Firestarter and thought it might be one of King’s most underrated books. Other works have stood out in that category along the way, but Firestarter still holds an interesting place for me in that running list.

I read a teaser excerpt of The Institute before the book came out and I bought it in hardback. It wasn’t a perfect scene, but I was still interested in where the story might go.

King’s clandestine organization The Shop has run hot and cold for me in the works since Firestarter. It’s the big secret everyone seems to know. Generally, they don’t really hold the ominous power for me they are meant to in order to make them work in the stories where they appear. I don’t know for a fact it is The Shop this time, but it is an organization like it for sure.

I’m still hopeful for The Institute though. I think there is a lot of untapped potential in this pocket of the Stephen King universe, and I trust him to tell me a good story.

My next post in this series will be After The Institute which will be linked on the Master List of all my Stephen King Revisited posts.

Jay Wilburn

Jay Wilburn has a Masters Degree in Education that goes mostly unused since he quit teaching to write about zombies. Jay writes horror because he tends to find the light by facing down the darkness. His is doing well following a life saving kidney transplant. Jay is the author of Maidens of Zombie Kingdom a young adult fantasy trilogy, Lake Scatter Wood Tales adventure books for elementary and middle school readers, Vampire Christ a trilogy of political and religious satire, and The Dead Song Legend. He cowrote The Enemy Held Near, Yard Full of Bones, and The Hidden Truth with Armand Rosamilia. You can also find Jay's work in Best Horror of the Year volume 5. He is a staff writer with Dark Moon Digest, LitReactor, and the Still Water Bay series with Crystal Lake Publishing.

Jay's Patreon Page | Purchase Signed Books