This book explains how, in a post-literate era, a man specialising in the most reviled of fictional genres became the world's best selling author of all time. It charts the extraordinary rise of Stephen King, his books, the many films and TV programmes - good, bad and downright bloody awful. King's fictional universe is explored, linking together books that span his 30 year career: all the books, including collaborations, comics and the pseudonymous Bachman Books.