Stephen King releases a new book almost every year, and fresh editions of his sprawling back catalogue are printed regularly. Box set releases of Stephen King’s work, however, are uncommon events. There are only a handful of Stephen King book box sets in print today in the US. That list is growing this week with the publication of Classic King Box Set 1, a three-novel slipcased collection that’s available for a 20% discount at Amazon, dropping the price to $46.39 (was $58). It’s the first in what appears to be a series of matching box sets with vintage covers.
Classic King Box Set 1 – Pet Sematary, Christine, and Cujo
$46.39 (was $58) | Releases July 29
Classic King Box Set 1 compiles the 2024 trade paperback editions of a trio of Stephen King novels from the early 1980s. Each book has a vintage cover with eye-catching artwork and old-style fonts. Due to current Amazon deals, it’s actually cheaper by about 10 bucks to buy the three books separately, but you’ll miss out on a display case that’s arguably the best of the Stephen King box sets available today.
- Christine (1983) — $12.27 (
$20) - Cujo (1981) — $11.48 (
$19) - Pet Sematary (1983) — $11.48 (
$19)
Cujo is the earliest book of the three. Published in 1981, the unnerving horror novel revolves around a rabid Saint Bernard. It’s a quick, entertaining read that is rather infamously known as a novel that King doesn’t remember writing due to his battle with substance use disorder. The author revealed this fact in his brilliant 2000 memoir On Writing, which is a must-read for all King fans and widely regarded as one of the best writing guides for fiction writers.
Pet Sematary, one of the authors best-known novels, perfectly exemplifies “classic King.” Set in Maine like many King stories, the horror novel revolves around the eponymous cemetery for pets that was built on ancient burial grounds. As legend goes, when you bury a pet there, it will come back from the dead. Protagonist Louis Creed experiences this firsthand when the family cat, named Church, is hit by a vehicle. Although Church returns to life, he isn’t the same friendly cat they knew and loved. Unfortunately, Louis doesn’t learn his lesson, and situation only gets worse.
Pet Sematary was one of two full-length King novels published in 1983. The other was Christine, a supernatural horror novel about a possessed Plymouth Fury. Christine is more of a middle-of-the-pack novel than one of King’s best. The rather silly hook distracts from what is otherwise a story with an interesting cast of characters. It’s certainly a fun read and qualifies as a “classic” from an age perspective, but it’s the weakest of the three in this set.
Upcoming “Classic King” Editions
Misery, The Dead Zone, and Firestarter release August 5.
Given the name of Classic King Box Set 1, it makes sense to presume there will be at least one more collection in the series. Though not officially revealed by Scribner, we’re guessing Classic King Box Set 2 will feature Misery, The Dead Zone, and Firestarter.
Our guess is based on the fact that Classic King editions of these three novels release next Tuesday, August 5. This mirrors the release model of the three books in the first box set, as all three of those were published separately on September 3, 2024.
- Misery (1987) — $15.20 (
$19) | August 5 - The Dead Zone (1979) — $16.80 (
$21) | August 5 - Firestarter (1980) — $16 (
$20) | August 5
Misery is better-known as a 1990 feature film starring James Caan and Kathy Bates, but the original 1987 novel is one of King’s best, too. The story of Annie Wilkes locking her favorite author Paul Sheldon in her home and forcing him to bring a fictional character back from the dead is an utterly thrilling piece of psychological horror. The new cover shows Annie’s silhouette lurking in the doorway with her famous axe in hand.
The 1979 novel The Dead Zone was King’s first sci-fi novel. It follows Johnny Smith, a man who awakens from a coma to discover he’s clairvoyant and can see the future through his visions. The Dead Zone was adapted into a movie starring Chrstopher Walken in 1983 as well as a TV series in the 2000s.
King followed up The Dead Zone with Firestarter in 1980. The hybrid science fiction-horror novel follows a young girl with pyrokinesis. The new edition is 512 pages and has striking cover art.
Adaptations of the Classic King Novels
All six of the Classic King editions (so far) have been adapted into at least one feature film or TV series each. Several of them, such as Pet Sematary and The Dead Zone, have been adapted twice and/or received sequels that stray from the source material to tell original stories in the book’s universe.
Check out the list of Classic King adaptations below. All of the movies except for the Firestarter adaptations have received 4K UHD remasters in recent years, and most of them are on sale for $20 or less.