You know that old meme with the angry looking little kid posed behind the words, “Congrats”; “Happy for you”; “Nice”? That was me reading Caroline Bicks’ Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King. Here’s a snippet of the synopsis: “After Caroline Bicks was named the University of Maineʼs inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, she became the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archives, a treasure trove of manuscripts that document the legendary writerʼs creative process—most of them never before studied or published.”

You hate to see someone else living your dream. (Just kidding). In all seriousness, this book was an absolute delight to read, both as a lifelong Stephen King fan and as a writer who is ever-fascinated by how the greats approach their craft. Bicks picks apart the early works — Pet Sematary, The Shining, Night Shift, ‘Salem’s Lot and Carrie — comparing the changes across multiple drafts for each, and highlighting King’s notes and correspondences with editors that shaped these drafts into the legendary horror stories we know today. 

Monsters in the Archives makes for an insightful companion to King’s own On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and while you don’t need to be a superfan to enjoy it, anyone who is will surely eat it up.