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Kings60-plus novels and ten long collections of short fictionreflect and refract, connect to, and illuminate each other.
For theConstant Readerprogrammed to find and embrace all strands of the S.K.
Multiverse, its a fascinating ball of yarn to unravel.
As such, heres our guide to some of the best actors to narrate Stephen King audiobooks.
Tim Curry
King resume:Achieved horror-legend status as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in 1990sItminiseries on ABC.
Narrated:Crouch End and The Doctors Case fromNightmares & Dreamscapes(93).
Hows his reading?It doesnt get much more impressive than confidently verbalizing H.P.
Lovecraft names like Yogsoggoth, RYeleh, and Nrtesn Nyarlahotep.
Kathy Bates
King resume:Won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1990sMiseryand led 95sDolores Claiborne.
Narrated:An abridgedDesperation(96) andChattery TeethfromNightmares & Dreamscapes.
Its a novelty to hear Bates doing S.K.
material in her own Tennessee-inflected voice, not the idiosyncratic intonations of Annie Wilkes or Mrs. Claiborne.
Narrated:Carriein 2005, with an intro read by King.
Hows her reading?Very up to the challenge of an epistolary novel that shifts narrative gears throughout.
Narrated:The Fifth Quarter fromNightmares & Dreamscapes.
Hows his reading?Hebarrels through in a dry, neutral-enough fashion that the Sinise-ness fades into the dullness.
He has the right idea for a bleak story, though the delivery isnt all the way there.
Steven Weber
King resume:Jack Torrance in 1997s King-written/producedShiningminiseries.
Narrated:It, a 2010 recording of the 1,138-pager from 86.
Hows his reading?Theres debate aboutIts place atop the King canon, but Webers audiobook might be peerless.
He does so much for the material, you want to give hisShiningbonus points by association.
Whoopi Goldberg
King resume:Starringin CBS All Accesss 2020The Standminiseries as Mother Abagail.
Narrated:Suffer the Little Children inNightmares & Dreamscapes.
She does Miss Sidleys brief hysterical moments with a grounded restraint that keeps the story feeling queasily real.
Narrated:1984sThe Eyes of the Dragon.
Narrated:Dreamcatcher(2001) andThe Colorado Kid(05).
Hows his reading?Breezy going on chipper, even lovable.
How could she learn anything when she could only understand one word in every seven?
a Vacationland transplant wonders early inColorado Kid.
DeMunn never creates that problem.
Hows his reading?Great embodiment of rough, part-broken men with remarkably authentic, muted-by-modernity Maine accents.
Its also fun hearing the pilot fromTheLangoliersread the airplane horror story that birthedthat classicTwilight Zoneepisode.
Rob Lowe
King resume:Two-time TV miniseries guy, withThe Standin 94 andSalems Lota decade later.
Narrated:Dolans Cadillac fromNightmares & Dreamscapes.
Narrated:Rainy Season fromNightmares & Dreamscapes.
Also a couple episodes ofUnder the Dome.
Narrated:Thinnerand Popsy fromNightmares & Dreamscapes.
Unfortunately, he has to compete with way too much grating music inThinner.
Narrated:Herman Wouk Is Still Alive fromThe Bazaar of Bad Dreamsalongside Brooke Bloom (Homecoming).
The enthusiasm of the narrators is complete.
Becky Ann Baker
King resume:1999sStorm of the Centuryminiseries.
Narrated:The Little Green God of Agony fromThe Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
Hows her reading?Right down the middle.
Even the vintage supernatural-clusterfuck ending doesnt take Davis too far out of her zone of moderation and straightforwardness.
Narrated:2022sGwendys Final Task,co-written by Richard Chizmar.
Hows her reading?Sometimes spirited, sometimes flat; goofy bad-guy acting.
Frances Sternhagen
King resume:Misery, the King-written miniseriesGolden Years,andThe Mist.
Narrated:Dolores Claiborneand Gramma fromSkeleton Crew.
Her Gramma read is a perfect match.
Narrated:Secret Window, Secret Garden fromFour Past Midnight(90).
Notably more robust coming from the pipes of a 43-year-old Woods rather than theaged alt-right fusspotweve beensaddledwith for alongtime.
Holter Graham
King resume:Made his debut as a 13-year-old who gets steamrolled inMaximum Overdrive.
Narrated:ChristineandUr,the Kindle-exclusive novella later collected inThe Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
Joe Hill
King resume:Snagged aroleinCreepshows wraparound segmentsas a 9-year-old in 1982.
Offscreen, he stars as Kings middle child.
He introduces his dad to a lucky crowd and reads fromTheInstitute a damn good book for a few minutes.
Stephen King
King resume:No.
1 author of Stephen King books and No.
1cameo actorin King-based movies, as recently asIt Chapter Twothis year andMr.
Hows his reading?In one sense, his recordings are the purest listenable interpretations youll find.
