Danse Macabre Audiobook By Stephen King cover art

Danse Macabre

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Danse Macabre

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Holter Graham
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Before he gave us the “one of a kind classic” (The Wall Street Journal) memoir On Writing, Stephen King wrote a nonfiction masterpiece in Danse Macabre, “one of the best books on American popular culture” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

From the author of dozens of #1 New York Times bestsellers and the creator of many unforgettable movies comes a vivid, intelligent, and nostalgic journey through three decades of horror as experienced through the eyes of the most popular writer in the genre. In 1981, years before he sat down to tackle On Writing, Stephen King decided to address the topic of what makes horror horrifying and what makes terror terrifying. Here, in ten brilliantly written chapters, King delivers one colorful observation after another about the great stories, books, and films that comprise the horror genre—from Frankenstein and Dracula to The Exorcist, The Twilight Zone, and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers.

With the insight and good humor his fans appreciated in On Writing, Danse Macabre is an enjoyably entertaining tour through Stephen King’s beloved world of horror.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2011 Stephen King (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio Entertainment & Performing Arts Essays Film & TV History & Criticism Popular Culture Social Sciences Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Scary Witty
Insightful Journey • Excellent Instruction • Fascinating Dive • Outstanding History • Horror Recommendations
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This is great for the horror fantasy fan. If you have ever wondered why you enjoy stories of terror and the fantastic, then you may feel as I did that the audio version especially feels like sitting with a good friend and hearing all about some of your favorite movies books and tv shows - while also hearing about dozens I have never heard of that are amazing. The 2010 addition he made is very helpful since the original text came out so long ago. Mr King does an outstanding job of describing many legendary horror stories, their plots, why some work and others don't, and my favorite section includes props for B movies, and so-bad-they're-good movies. Every bit of Danse Macbre made me even more excited about horror and he gives a lifetime's worth of recommendations that are very fun to find and watch or read . I have a printed copy which is great for reference, and currently on my 2nd time listening to the audio.

A celebration and explanation of the horror genre

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A horror review for those who like horror!… and sci-fi. The reader definitely should have at the very least seen and read some of the classics in the genre, or you will likely be listening with the references. But for a true fan, you may realize that you have seen & read many of the works referenced. I find myself as someone who has respect for the genre, and coincidentally, had seen & read enough of the references to understand most of the material… and now I have a list to reference to read and see more!

Interesting perspective on a genre that has a tendency to get dismissed in literature circles.

The narrator was great, he really sounded like what I thought Stephen King should sound like.

A horror review for those who like horror!

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Stephen King turns a list of movies and novels into an insightful journey into history and horrific entertainment

well worded bit not to the point of droning

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loved it but I wish and hope he could do a volume 2 covering 1980 to 2024

loved it

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Too much material to digest at such a short time . I suffered from information
Overload

I learned a lot

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Great narration, super interesting and informative. There are many books that are now on my future reading list.

Outstanding history of horror writers and their work.

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Superb book. The narrator is pretty good other than when he creates voices for different people, which can be quite silly sounding and occasionally hard to understand. Still MUCH better than the previous audiobook edition. Recommended.

MUCH better than previous audiobook edition

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Overall, I thought this book was pretty interesting. It was written in the late 70s so parts are dated, and often in a fun way. His vision of the future is sometimes hilariously wrong. I found a few new authors through this book and felt compelled to revisit some others. And a lot of King’s insights are quite interesting. I especially enjoyed when he spoke about the writing process.

Stephen King as Critic

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This is a fascinating dive (crawl) into the mind of not just a writer, but a fan of horror fiction. King is an excellent instructor, and the narration sounds just like him, even without the Downeast accent. Still holds up over forty years after publication. I guess the themes are enduring. They must be. He references Aristophanes as well as Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison.

It’s non-fiction, but still hard to stop listening. And lots more to listen to now.

Still stands up

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Just verbal self important nonsense. I thought these were short stories. Just author's leftist woke feminist agenda. Please please give me my money back.

Horrible. Don't waste a credit like I did.

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