bicks is a scholar who specializes in shakespeare, and the holds the position of the stephen e. king chair in literature at the university of maine; like me, she's also a lifelong fan of king. i tend to credit my interest in horror with king, like most people, but generally speaking, he's also the reason i like reading so much. my mom let me have access to his books when i was far too young and i'm very grateful for it because his works are, at times, incredible, and quite a few of his books mean a lot to me. his writing has shaped my love of literature and has really cemented my fascination with horror and the myriad ways that the genre can be utilized to explore such a wide range of topics. horror can, of course, terrify; it can also help you grieve, teach you to love, and be a light in the dark, even when the contents are grim.

bicks has an interesting approach to the works she explores here, which are pet sematary, the shining, night shift, 'salem's lot, and carrie; with the exception of night shift (which i hadn't read prior to reading this book; i did take a break to read the collection and familiarize myself with it before reading chapter 3), these are the Big Names in king's catalogue, and i think they're some of the most interesting, so getting a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes work here really is special. i like bicks' insight and how she breaks down the stories and especially how she relates them to shakespeare works, but the real meat of the book is her access to the archives, of course, and how the differences between first and final drafts and the explorations of the evolving themes is displayed is so intriguing.

i like that bicks provides some short-form biography that also helps the reader get an idea of who king was at the point in his life when these stories were written; i think it really helps to contextualize the stories, to showcase how his environment and the political atmospheres of the time influenced his writing. you can especially see how it aided in guiding king to the final drafts, and bicks presents it in a way that isn't just copying word-for-word how it started vs. how it ended, but also laying out her own interpretation of the changes and what it meant for the story overall; this was especially interesting in the chapters for 'salem's lot and carrie.

i do wish bicks had been slightly more critical of king's writing at times. i get that she "represents" him in a way in her job and this isn't entirely literary criticism but i feel like she goes just a little too easy on him and doesn't fully challenge the "problematic" issues in his writing. i especially found it disappointing that there wasn't more of a conversation about how ableist pet sematary is in particular, and in general, i wish bicks had been more open to discussing the misogyny and racism that can be prevalent in king's works.

overall, this is a pretty fascinating look into a brief period of history in king's career, and if you've ever had any interest in his writing, especially the novels mentioned, this will be a fun read. i also think critics of king might find something to engage with even with bicks' lack of criticism; the context provided for these novels provides some really engaging material for conversations about king's works.

thank you to netgalley for an ARC!