Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

Stephen J. Spignesi (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560750189 | ISBN-13: 978-1560750185 | Publication Date: June 1991 | Edition: 1ST

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This monstrous volume, admits author/compiler Spignesi, "is for the King reader who literally wants to know everything they possibly can about the World of King." That aptly sums up Spignesi's book, grandiose aims, careless grammar, and all. Besides indexing King's published and unpublished works (a job that takes up about half the book's length), Spignesi provides brief primary and secondary bibliographies, a publishing history and table of contents for the King newsletter Castle Rock , and detailed discussions of recordings and film adaptations. There are interviews with King's secretary, brother, critics, admirers, collectors, and others, stories and (very bad) poems by many of these same individuals, and even bibliographies of the works of these peripheral players. Finally, there are more than a dozen pieces that Spignesi himself finds unclassifiable, including an embarrassing dissection of "The Three Levels of Stephen King Fandom." In short, this is a volume whose coverage and organization makes it of marginal reference value, but it is also of enormous potential interest to King's readers. Libraries that already own such basic volumes as The Stephen King Companion (LJ 11/15/84) will need to decide whether this new work's cur rency and level of detail justify its stiff price. The publisher notes that this is a collector's edition, with only 3000 copies being printed, thus the cost.--Ed.
-Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

This book, coming in at over 800 pages (and six pounds!) contains Everything KING! Interviews, 18,000 entries of People, Places and Things (this took the author five years to produce!). I am very proud to have had the oppurtunity to publish this book, and as a limited it features so many more extras than the trade editions. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 800 pages
• Publisher: Popular Culture Ink; 1ST edition (June 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560750189
• ISBN-13: 978-1560750185
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,090,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT STEPHEN KING, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

My mind boggles at the amount of work that went into this book. If a character drinks a can of @TAB or uses a @KLEENEX on page 374 of IT or THE STAND, this book painstakingly catalogues that fact. If you're a dictionary or encyclopedia browser AND a Stephen King fan as well, this book is BIG FUN.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most exhaustive King Encyclopedia to date, February 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

If you are a Stephen King fan, this book is a must. Filled with information about every known Stephen King story, novel and screenplay up to the date of publication, including several not published. Every person, place and thing in every King story is explained and cross referenced. Everything you ever wanted to know about everything Stephen King has ever written. The only thing better than reading this book is the original Stephen King works

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any King fan who likes to sweat the details!, May 28, 1998

By 

Timothy G. Beeman (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

I bought this book in 1991, when it first came out and at the time I had only read a couple of King books. After I got the book and looked over it and it described every character in detail from every book that King had written up to Four Past Midnight, it got me started again. I haven't stopped reading King since. It even has details about his short, uncollected works, many unknown works and complete references of movie adaptations of King's works. This book is more detailed than most of King's books themselves. Never get lost again with large novels that have tons of characters (e.g. The Stand-Uncut, or It). Waiting for the update as we speak. Please Mr. Spignesi, we anxiously await its arrival!!!!!!!!