Needful Things
Written by Stephen King
Narrated by Stephen King
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic #1 New York Times bestseller about a mysterious store than can sell you whatever you desire—but not without exacting a terrible price in return.
The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of oddities over the years, but nothing is as peculiar as the little curio shop that’s just opened for business here. Its mysterious proprietor, Leland Gaunt, seems to have something for everyone out on display at Needful Things…interesting items that run the gamut from worthless to priceless. Nothing has a price tag in this place, but everything is certainly for sale. The heart’s desire for any resident of Castle Rock can easily be found among the curiosities…in exchange for a little money and—at the specific request of Leland Gaunt—a whole lot of menace against their fellow neighbors. Everyone in town seems willing to make a deal at Needful Things, but the devil is in the details. And no one takes heed of the little sign hanging on the wall: Caveat emptor. In other words, let the buyer beware…
Stephen King
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
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Reviews for Needful Things
857 ratings45 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a captivating and beautifully written piece of work by Stephen King. The narration by King himself adds a special touch to the storytelling. While some reviewers mention a lull in the middle and outdated recording, the intense last third makes up for it. The audiobook version receives mixed reviews due to the discordant music, which some find obtrusive and jarring. However, the majority of readers appreciate the story, the characters, and the suspenseful moments. Overall, this book is highly recommended for fans of Stephen King and those who enjoy supernatural elements and excitement.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sometimes we make our own horrors. I love when Steven reads his own work.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoy it! Specially that was read by Stephen King
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. It was hard to put this book down, wanting to know what was going to happen next
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great book 4.5 stars is what it deserves in my book but definitely a Steven king original and any king fans such as my self would enjoy this book
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this book! I experienced it as an audio book. The only thing about the audiobook is that it had some sound effects hear and there that could get a bit annoying but not so much so I couldn’t enjoy the story.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read this book as a kid when it first came out, and I loved it even more this time than I did back then, and having King narrating made it that much better. He is after all a storyteller first, and his reading gives you the sense you could sit around a wood stove or campfire listening to him tell tales all day and night.
Like Salems Lot, you need to be patient and absorb the setup before things really get going, but it’s quite worth it. Go listen now..1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book overall was pretty enthralling. It has a bit of a lull in the middle, but makes up for it with a very intense last third. Stephen King is a wonderful narrator, but the recording is noticably outdated.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Story is good but the stupid circus music makes this audiobook hooooorible
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Transition music unnecessarily loud, but otherwise good, I liked it
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Some parts had bad audio quality overall good book if you liked the stranger this might be a good book for you
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love this story. Sk did great
Will listen again
Surely1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful characters! Lots of suspense in the story. Never a dull moment!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I now want to find the old movie to watch.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good book but long . Ok ok ok ok
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don’t agree on anything politically with the author but I really enjoy his books. Please if you’re going to write about guns use the correct terminology. They’re semiautomatic guns not automatic and it’s a magazine not a clip.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5King, as always, brings it home! Even better, he narrates, giving you the flavor he wrote it with.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing read. Kept me invested until the end. Love it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it!! Like I do everything King!! ? LOVE ❤️ his work
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A wonderful story read by the author himself. He is a great storyteller .
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book is good, but I didn’t like the music bits. They were distracting.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent!!! I Really enjoyed this book. Especially wiyh the writer reading iy
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good story with a bit of a weak ending for the final showdown. There are definitely some problematic parts for this 2020 listener, but overall it was good. The audiobook would be better without the sound effects.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not exactly scary but a lot of supernatural elements and excitement. A good story too.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Mr. Kings ? #1Fan Of Stephen King Novel's and ??? Can't Wait Till The Next Book and ??? Come Out I Read There Is 6 Movies? In The Works For 2021& Beyond, ℂ???... Thanks Audiobook Happy New Year❗2021.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The book is among my favorites from King, and hearing him read it was excellent in and of itself. Almost loses a star for the ridiculous subchapter midis, though!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Just too many characters to keep up with...when the shit hit the fan it did though
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A nice read. Lengthy and confusing at times, but overall a decent story.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A great book, not the best I've read by King.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stephen King at his finest. He draws you in with a tale that grows more horrifying as it's told, with an ending I never saw coming. With the writer as the narrator, the characters seem so real with King's own Maine accent. Absolutely loved this book. Top 5 of my favorite King books!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5interesting, funny, entertaining. The best thing about it is the way Stephen King read it.