Misery - by Stephen King (Paperback)

About the Book

After an almost fatal car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon finds himself being nursed by a deranged fan who holds him captive.

Book Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestseller about a famous novelist held hostage in a remote location by his "number one fan." 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 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).

Review Quotes

"Misery had me on edge for days after I'd finished it... the novel is something else -- an airless, claustrophobic portrait of an egotistic writer pushed to the edge of madness by pain, pills, incarceration, the expectations of his reading public and a deadline like he's never known before. In the book, our hero is as threatened by the demons within as he is by the madwoman beside his bed. Like him, you the reader can't wait to escape; yet you can no more walk away from Mr. King's tightly spun yarn than Paul can walk away from his captor."-- "The New York Times"

"As is his genius, King never relaxes the oh-my-god tension until the final paragraph."-- "San Diego Tribune"

"Compelling...totally involving."-- "Library Journal"

"Dazzlingly well-written."-- "The Indianapolis Star"

"Deft psychological horror...easily one of King's best novels."-- "The Boston Herald"

"King at his best...a winner."-- "The New York Times"

"Nerve-jangling...razor keen."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Page-turningly effective, stringing out every scene to the screaming point."-- "Chicago Sun-Times"

"Solid character delineation and terrifying insight. In addition to being able to scare the reader breathless, King says a tremendous amount about writing itself. We delight in his virtuosity."-- "The Washington Post"

"Stephen King at his best...frighteningly good."-- "Philadelphia Inquirer"

"Terrifying...King is a terrific storyteller."-- "San Francisco Chronicle"

"Unadulteratedly terrifying."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Undiluted horror...wonderful...A primal storyteller writing about a primal scream."-- "Houston Chronicle"

"Vintage King...a masterpiece of horror...creates a level of tension that makes it difficult to keep your eyes from jumping to the next page to escape sooner."-- "Cincinnati Post"

Classic King...full of twists and turns and mounting suspense.-- "Boston Globe"

Suspenseful, entertaining, genuinely scary."-- "USA Today"

About The Author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and an AT&T Audience Network original television series). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, and Doctor Sleep are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.