Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King is a masterpiece in its own right. Author Caroline Bicks was named as the first Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine, and she is the first person to be granted access to King’s personal archives. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House for the review copy; this book is for sale now.

Bicks bases her book on five of King’s early novels: The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, ‘Salem’s Lot, and Night Shift. Initially she was told that although King authorized this book and was willing for her to go through his archives, she must promise not to attempt to contact him or disturb him in any way. She agreed, then was given a great deal of his personal time and attention anyway. Though the book is of course primarily about King and his writing, she includes bits here and there that describe her own relationship to these stories. The result is a fluid, seamless book that appears effortless to have written, and yet must have been a massive amount of work. Her documentation is first rate, and the book itself is surprisingly brief, with not a single wasted word. Although it seems thorough, I was sorry when it ended.

I have long believed that King’s books are deeper and brainier than most scary novels, and I came away vindicated. Bicks is a Shakespeare scholar, and she had more specific insights than I did; turns out, as King confirms in one interview, that The Shining is actually Hamlet!

I had previously read that King isn’t fond of the movie versions of his most iconic works. In The Shining, poor direction transforms Jack Torrance, a tragic, pathetic figure fighting to stay sober and keep the demons at bay within himself—and losing—to a sinister slasher-type figure as portrayed by Jack Nicholson. That much is fairly obvious. His young son Danny should be portrayed as a hero, fearful though he is. But King also takes issue with the casting of Shelly Duvall, who whines and screeches at her husband in a way that King describes as a misogynistic interpretation. It’s a good point. Other books and movies are discussed as well.

There are too many fascinating margin comments, anecdotes, and explanations to recount here, but the one that has stuck with me over a month after I finished it is the note that King enclosed when he sent The Shining saying not to lose it as this was the only copy. Yikes!

When I saw that Bicks had also included some autobiographical bits, I cringed initially, thinking, oh please don’t make this about you. But the way she handles it is excellent, giving the reader some small insights into the narrator while keeping the focus primarily right where it belongs; it’s done tastefully and professionally. I learned a great deal within a small span of time, and also enjoyed it tremendously.

Highly recommended.