The Murder of Stephen King

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The Murder of Stephen King
The Murder of Stephen King cover.jpg
Book cover
Author James Patterson
Derek Nikitas
LanguageEnglish
Genre Thriller
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Pages140
ISBN 9780316317160

The Murder of Stephen King is a thriller novella by James Patterson and Derek Nikitas. The book features the character of real-life horror novelist Stephen King, who is pursued by a deranged stalker reenacting the violent events of King's novels.

Contents

Patterson canceled the book shortly after its announcement in September 2016, saying he did not want to create discomfort for King and his family due to King's history of being harassed by fans.

Plot

A violent stalker reenacts horrific events from Stephen King's stories, with his ultimate target being King himself. [1] The stalker intends to usurp King's status as a best-selling horror writer, with plans to "write a tell-all book from his prison cell and be crowned the new King of Horror." [2]

King is the hero of the story and is not actually murdered. [1] [3] A detective named Jamie Peterson helps save King from the stalker. [2]

Background

Before the book's announcement, King and Patterson did not know each other in real life, although they had previously exchanged remarks on each other's work. [4] In 2007, King said of Patterson: "I don't like him. I don't respect his books, because every one is the same." Patterson later replied that King's critique "doesn’t make too much sense. I’m a good dad, a nice husband. My only crime is I’ve sold millions of books." [5] [6]

In 2009, King again criticized Patterson, calling him "a terrible writer" but "very successful." In response, Patterson told the Associated Press that King's remarks were "hyperbole." [4]

Patterson said in a 2012 interview with The Wall Street Journal that he was a regular reader of King's books, and that King had "taken shots at me for years. It's fine, but my approach is to do the opposite with him—to heap praise." [7] [8]

Publication history

Writing process

Nikitas was contacted by Bill Robinson, co-president of James Patterson Entertainment, in September 2015. Robinson told Nikitas that Patterson was looking for coauthors for a new "BookShots" series of short reads under 150 pages. [9] After sending Nikitas the outline of The Murder of Stephen King, Robinson asked him to draft a few chapters using Patterson's "cinematic" writing style, with short chapters that end in a cliffhanger. Patterson was pleased with the results, and Nikitas submitted a complete draft three months later. [9] [10] According to Nikitas, the editing process involved writing roughly a quarter of the book at a time, after which Patterson would provide editorial comments over a phone call. [9]

Announcement and cancellation

Patterson announced The Murder of Stephen King in September 2016, with an expected publication date of November. [11] The book promised to feature "all of Stephen King’s greatest villains, rolled into one". [1] The announcement included a disclaimer from Patterson: "I'm a Stephen King fan, but Stephen King did not participate in the making of this novel, nor is he affiliated with it in any way. I hope he likes it." [12] [8]

In an interview with the Associated Press, Patterson reflected on King's previous comments toward him, saying: "I know I'm not a terrible writer. That's a little over the top." [2] Patterson said that the book was meant as an homage to King, with praise for King's previous work. King declined to comment on the book, but confirmed receiving an advance copy. [2]

Less than two weeks after the book was revealed, Patterson announced its cancellation. Patterson said that after the book's announcement, he had been made aware that "fans of Stephen King have disrupted the King household in the past". [1] He clarified that The Murder of Stephen King was "a positive portrayal of a fictional character, and, spoiler alert, the main character is not actually murdered. Nevertheless, I do not want to cause Stephen King or his family any discomfort." [1] [4] [8] Nikitas said that he was "disappointed" by the book's cancellation but "wanted to honor King" and was "understanding of his concerns." [10]

The Murder of Stephen King was replaced by Taking the Titanic, a thriller novel about thieves aboard the Titanic , in Patterson's release schedule. [1] [4] Nikitas and Patterson collaborated on two more BookShots novels, Diary of a Succubus and You've Been Warned—Again. [9] [10]

Later comments

In a 2021 interview with The Guardian , Patterson again reflected on his relationship with King, saying: "I like his books, most of them… I think he's unnecessarily harsh at times and no, I'm not a terrible writer, but my basic approach to life is: it's OK, it’s all right." [13]

In his 2022 autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life, Patterson said that the book had been intended as "a little good-natured ribbing" of King, calling it "a cool story with Stephen King as the damn hero." According to Patterson, when publisher Little, Brown and Company informed King of the manuscript, his representatives told them that King's wife Tabitha King had previously been threatened by an intruder during a home invasion. Patterson wrote: "I didn’t know that, and I got the point. But shouldn't that mean that maybe Stephen King should stop writing his own scary stories—if they were genuinely putting his family members in danger. I'm just saying…" [3]

Reception

After Patterson announced The Murder of Stephen King, the book drew comparisons to Nicholson Baker's 2004 novel Checkpoint, in which a character plans to assassinate President George W. Bush, as well as King's own novel Misery, in which a novelist is kidnapped by a deranged fan. [2] [14]

Following news of the book's cancellation, Jeet Heer said in The New Republic that "writing a novel imagining the attempted killing of an actual living person is inherently a dicey affair" and that the idea "strikes a little too close to home" for King, given his history of stalkers. [14] Paste said that the book "seemed in odd taste considering the two aren’t exactly friends." [15] The A.V. Club also responded negatively to the idea, writing that "this is an actual living human who might not welcome the real-world horrors that could easily accompany such a 'brilliant' concept." [16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Flood, Alison (September 23, 2016). "James Patterson calls off his fictional Murder of Stephen King". The Guardian . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Italie, Hillel (September 14, 2016). "James Patterson's new book has a killer title". The Seattle Times . Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Patterson, James (2022). James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life. New York: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 175–176. ISBN   9780316397537.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Italie, Hillel (September 22, 2016). "AP NewsBreak: Patterson pulls 'The Murder of Stephen King'". Associated Press . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  5. ↑ Peretz, Evgenia (June 11, 2014). "It's Tartt—But Is It Art?". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  6. ↑ Lloyd, Sophie (May 31, 2024). "Every Celebrity Stephen King Has Feuded With". Newsweek . Archived from the original on February 28, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  7. ↑ Schuker, Lauren A.E. (March 30, 2021). "James Patterson Explains Why His Books Sell Like Crazy". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Shepherd, Jack (September 25, 2016). "The Murder of Stephen King: James Patterson scraps book 'out of respect' for the esteemed author". The Independent . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Andy (July 6, 2017). "Plotting a partnership". The Providence Journal . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 "URI English professor co-authors books with world's best-selling writer". University of Rhode Island . April 6, 2017. Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  11. ↑ Sweeney, Emily (September 15, 2016). "James Patterson plots 'The Murder of Stephen King'". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on March 27, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  12. ↑ "James Patterson scraps The Murder of Stephen King novel". BBC . September 23, 2016. Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  13. ↑ Luscombe, Richard (April 26, 2021). "'Bill and I got pretty friendly': James Patterson on writing with Clinton and clashing with Trump". The Guardian . Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Heer, Jeet (September 23, 2016). "James Patterson won't be murdering Stephen King after all". The New Republic . Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  15. ↑ Wade, Cameron (September 23, 2016). "James Patterson Cancels Release of The Murder of Stephen King". Paste . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  16. ↑ DiClaudio, Dennis (September 23, 2016). "Mega-novelist James Patterson says he'll opt out of The Murder Of Stephen King". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on March 31, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
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