By Stephen King

Finished 6/29/25

Misery is one of Stephen King’s most famous horror novels, and while I can definitely see why it’s so highly regarded, it ended up being just okay for me. The premise is simple but very effective: a novelist named Paul Sheldon ends up trapped in the home of Annie Wilkes, his self-proclaimed “number one fan.” From there the story becomes a tense, claustrophobic battle of wills between a writer who just wants to survive and a fan who is far more dangerous than she appears.

Annie is easily the most memorable part of the book. She’s obsessive, unpredictable, and convinced she’s doing the right thing, which makes her both terrifying and fascinating at the same time. King does a great job writing her dialogue and inner logic—she’s the kind of villain who feels disturbingly real because she truly believes she’s justified in everything she does.

Paul is also an interesting character because so much of the story takes place inside his head. A lot of the tension comes from watching him think through his situation, plan small acts of resistance, and try to maintain some sense of control in an environment where he has almost none. Those moments—especially when Annie isn’t around and Paul has to carefully test his limits—are easily the most gripping parts of the book.

Where the novel lost a few points for me was in how gruesome it becomes. Annie’s treatment of Paul gets extremely graphic at times, and the story leans heavily into that physical brutality. For readers who love intense horror, that’s probably part of the appeal. For me, it occasionally crossed into territory that felt more uncomfortable than suspenseful.

Another element that didn’t quite land was the inclusion of large sections of the fictional Misery novel Paul is forced to write. I understand the purpose of those chapters within the story, but they were harder to get through and occasionally slowed the pacing.

That said, the writing itself is still very strong. King builds tension extremely well and creates a setting that feels incredibly claustrophobic, almost like a pressure cooker slowly tightening around the characters. Even when the story dragged slightly for me, it was easy to appreciate how carefully constructed it is.

Overall, Misery is clearly a very well-written psychological horror novel. It just happens to lean more heavily into the kind of gruesome intensity that doesn’t quite land as strongly for me personally. Fans of darker, more visceral King stories will probably love it.

Rating: 7.5/10