Sometimes that unseen order is monstrous, sometimes extraterrestrial, sometimes incomprehensible, and yes, sometimes divine. You could even describe his novels as a catalog of the potential permutations of what lies beyond human perception-and how these mysteries break in on our ordinary lives. Much of the horror of King’s stories derives from the notion that the unseen order is far more fraught and sinister than conventional religion would lead you to believe.
He knows full well that the unseen can be a repository of fear just as much as hope, if not more so. He doesn’t make assertions about metaphysics so much as he explores the relationship between the seen and the unseen-a relationship that William James memorably described as the province of religion. King has little interest in laying out anything like a coherent theology or cosmology. But it’s almost always there in some way.Ĭowan’s title is, by his own admission, a bit of a misnomer. Sometimes a character’s faith wavers, sometimes it evaporates, sometimes it morphs, and sometimes it triumphs. Characters regularly wrestle with the divine, and rarely the same way twice. While it’s true that organized religion seldom comes off well in his books, King handles the Christian faith itself in a myriad of ways-as the motivator for bravery just as often as cruelty, a reservoir of strength as well as a shield for cowardice. “Constant readers,” as King aficionados are known, are already well aware that he doesn’t shy away from the subject. King’s profile has been so high for so long that it’s a bit surprising that Douglas Cowan’s America’s Dark Theologian marks the first full-length treatment of the religious themes in his work. (His daughter, Naomi, is a Unitarian minister.) Even critics have begun acknowledging the man’s dazzling versatility. Meanwhile, King’s own sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, are both novelists in the same vein as their dad, each boasting significant followings of their own.
The Duffer Brothers, creators of Stranger Things, went so far as to pay tribute to their hero with the logo of their hit Netflix show. With each passing year, the horror master’s shadow only grows longer.
King himself shows no sign of slowing down, with an epic new novel on stands this summer, The Outsider, and another on the horizon. And this summer witnesses Sissy Spacek’s long-awaited return to the Maine hinterlands of King’s Castle Rock, her first time collaborating with the author since her career-defining role as Carrie in 1976. Last year’s Dark Tower may have flopped, but the big screen adaptation of It raked in oodles of cash (part two is currently in pre-production). Say what you will about Stephen King, but the man has staying power.
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