Misery book review: In attempting to escape writing horror stories Stephen King created one of the most powerful novels the genre has ever seen

He may be the most successful horror author of the last century, but in 1987 Stephen King was desperately trying to escape the genre which had made him famous. His latest novel The Eyes of the Dragon had been shunned by fans due to its lack of the macabre nature that had practically oozed from his earlier books, and his attempts to delve into fantasy in The Dark Tower series had also been heavily criticised. In his frustration, King wrote a short novel called Misery, in which he created an analogy for this situation and also took the opportunity to address the nature of his most hard-core fans, and to examine his mounting addictions to drink and drugs. Remarkably, this dark and angry tale became one of his greatest books to date, and even more surprisingly a classic of the horror genre.

In Misery, Paul Sheldon is the author of the immensely popular Misery romantic novels, but he has grown tired and bored with the series and has killed of the main character, Misery Chastain, in the latest novel. Having just completed a quite different story called Fast Cars, Paul gets drunk and crashes his car, breaking both his legs. Instead of waking up in a hospital, Paul finds himself in the isolated Colorado home of Annie Wilkles, his "number-one fan." But when Annie learns that Paul has murdered Misery she becomes furious, and forces Paul to bring Misery back to life by any means necessary. While it's a classic, dark premise for a King book, it also works perfectly as an analogy for the author's feelings on writing, as Sheldon is unable to escape from the Misery books and King was unable to escape from horror. The story also looks at the idea of fans, with Annie Wilkes providing the ideal model for the near-psychotic obsession that some have with their deepest interests.

For a man trying to avoid writing a horror stories, King crafts a brilliantly chilling one in Misery, with Annie Wilkles being a truly terrifying villain. While a book primarily set in a single setting might have evoked more yawns than cries of shock from readers, King expertly creates a painting of Sheldon's feelings through flashbacks and extended segments of his stream of consciousness. When this psychological melodrama is coupled with several truly terrifying set pieces, including the now notorious hobbling scene, an excruciating tale of hope and horror is born.

King also does a brilliant job of making us feel for Paul Sheldon and genuinely want him to escape his tiny prison by giving us plenty of time to learn about his character and become sympathetic. Added to our fear of the manic Wilkes, the book can truly be described as compelling. While initially one of King's less popular books, a 1990 Oscar winning film adaptation brought Misery the recognition it deserved. He might have been trying to criticise his fans and force them to allow him to move on to other things, but in Misery Stephen King gave them one of his greatest and darkest gifts.

9/10