The thing that keeps me coming back to Stephen King again and again is not the stories he writes (though they are a bonus!), but the characters he brings to life. King is a character-driven writer, not a plot-driven writer. Empathetic, memorable characters are a King hallmark, so it was only a matter of time before this Constant Reader created a top ten list of his favorite people (or inanimate objects, as the case may be) from my favorite author’s vast body of work.
Narrowing this list down was hard. Y’all don’t even know, okay? There are characters in every King novel, novella, and short story whom I think about often; characters I resonate with on a deep, almost spiritual, level. The ones I’ve chosen for this list are the cream of the crop, in my view — but every Constant Reader’s list of top characters is different.
So let’s get down to business, shall we? Minor spoilers abound.
10. George Stark
As far as King villains go, I feel ole George Stark has maybe been lost to the passage of time. ‘Tis a shame, for this razor-wielding, countrified SOB is one of King’s most ruthless and imaginative creations. “When you’re fucking with me, you’re fucking with the best.” Chills.
9. Christine
Christine is a novel I love to poke fun at; it’s a goofy, greasy mess. Structurally it’s very much a failure, and I care not one iota for most of the main characters . . . its leading lady being the exception, of course. Like George Stark, Christine is a plain fun baddie. One of King’s biggest strengths is making the uncanny and wacky believable, and that is on full display when he describes Christine: her jealousy, vengeance, and merciless, calculating nature come together to make for one of this author’s most iconic antagonists.
8. Roland Deschain
Of course I had to include the hero (or anti-hero, depending on who you ask) of King’s magnum opus, the Dark Tower series. Who doesn’t love Roland? Someone I don’t care to ever associate with, that’s for sure.
7. Jim Gardener
Old Gard is a tough character to read about. He has no ‘traditional’ likable characteristics: he’s a drunk and a has-been poet and is basically toxic to everyone around him not named Roberta Anderson. Dude even shot his wife. But man, I just love this guy. Maybe because, whether I like it or not, I could see myself becoming this person. I don’t like that fact, but I can acknowledge it. It’s through this character King speaks openly and eloquently about the nature of addiction and isolation, inadequacy and failed romance. Gard’s a dude who goes on drunken rants about nuclear energy at high-society parties and doesn’t find it too unusual to wake up on strange beaches with a hangover. Characters like Gardener aren’t pleasant, but they’re necessary. And real.
6. Dolores Claiborne
It hurts to not have this character higher on the list, but that should be a testament to how much I love the top five. Readers of King have a unique vantage point on Dolores: the novel in which she stars is one long confession, told in the first person. She is explored thoroughly and without hesitation.
5. Sadie Dunhill
It’s possible King will never top 11/22/63, and that’s okay. 11/22/63 is the sort of novel most authors could never dream of pulling off. In it is a host of lovable characters, Sadie Dunhill Chief among them. She’s tall and awkward and dorky and loves books, what’s not to love? She’s a sweetheart who has overcome tragedy and is all the stronger for it. I regret not putting her at number one, but . . .
4. Annie Wilkes
As far as the well-known King villains go, Annie Wilkes is far and away my favorite. Maybe she speaks to my inner fanboy. Equally sadistic and sympathetic, frightening and understandable, Annie is a fever dream of an antagonist.
3. Donna Trenton
I feel like this might be a controversial pick. Maybe? Donna isn’t well-liked in the King community, and that breaks my heart. To my mind, she’s one of the first fully realized female characters in King’s works: she’s an imperfect, real housewife looking for more in life. As a guy who’s been stuck in a rut for a while now, I really relate to Donna and her struggle to get out . . . wherever ‘out’ is. And not to mention, like Dolores Claiborne, she’s a tough-as-nails mother who would do anything for her child. Gotta respect that.
2. Harold Lauder
If Donna Trenton wasn’t a controversial pick, this one probably is. Harold Lauder was the first King character I really identified with, the first one to make me almost scream “Yes! Is this guy inside my head and writing about what he sees?” Maybe I shouldn’t admit that; Harold isn’t a very likable guy. Is he tragic, though! King occasionally veers into modernistic Shakespeare territory; with Harold Lauder he built a home there.
Before we get to number one, here are a few characters who almost made the list:
Jessie Burlingame
‘Big Jim’ Rennie
Johnny Smith
Lester Pratt
Beverly Marsh
Carol Gerber
And my favorite Stephen King character is…
1. Ben Hanscom
Anyone who knows me at all should have expected this. I love Ben, I am fascinated by Ben, I am Ben. Ben is my all-time favorite fictional character, full stop. Not only is he written and developed so well, I just relate to him on such a deep, emotional level. I was an overweight shy kid who always had his nose in books and didn’t have much in the way of friends. My first-ever crush was on a girl with red hair (one could possibly describe it as ‘winter fire’). Etc. His thoughts, his actions, his hopes . . . it’s me, all me. And I hope to one day be half the man adult Ben Hanscom is. Sincerely.
Okay, now that my Annie Wilkes-ing is over, what about you? Who are your favorite Stephen King characters? Let me know.
Cody's Bookshelf 