Christine

Written by Stephen King

Narrated by Holter Graham

Stephen King’s ultimate evil vehicle of terror, Christine: the frightening story of a nerdy teenager who falls in love with his vintage Plymouth Fury. It’s love at first sight, but this car is no lady.

Evil is alive in Libertyville. It inhabits a custom-painted red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine and young Arnold Cunningham, who buys it.

Along with Arnold’s girlfriend, Leigh Cabot, Dennis Guilder attempts to find out the real truth behind Christine and finds more than he bargained for: from murder to suicide, there’s a peculiar feeling that surrounds Christine—she gets revenge on anyone standing in her path.

Can Dennis save Arnold from the wrath of Christine? This #1 national bestseller is “Vintage Stephen King…breathtaking…awesome. Carries such momentum the reader must force himself to slow down” (The New York Times Book Review).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781508216902

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, 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. 

Reviews for Christine

[augger · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had forgotten how good this book was and how much better it is than the book. How good you ask? I usually only listen to audiobooks to and from work. If they are really good maybe in the driveway but I actually listen to this audiobook instead of playing on the computer. Yelp a great read!

[Queeny Gantalao · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

love this. Christine is underrated! The narrator is superb as well!

[Nikita · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic Stephen king. It’s a well done horror story on a concept that on its face seems silly, giving the idea of a haunted car some really spooky elements I personally didn’t expect.
Fair warning, it’s got some slurs and misogyny that are markers of the time that it was written in. These are for the most part meant as signals of villainy for the antagonist.
One criticism I would offer is the role that women play in the story as characters either for the use or consumption of the male protagonists, no less the clear enlisting of petunia as christine’s foil in a playful symbol of women who battle to the death.
At any rate, any one looking for a good time and a story at a clipped pace can find it here.

[diane duran · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book much like the movie. Read very clearly. Thanks

[Edwin Valenzuela · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As a car enthusiast myself and a huge christine movie fan. I have a bit of a bias view on this novel. It makes me pity the movie and hope theres a show in production or a franchise of movies to put this novel piece by piece on the big screen. But this novel is perfect for car people or anyone looking for a good chill down their spine. It gave me the chills several times and honestly made me feel a little scared picturing the very vivid King makes you imagine in your head with every minute detail that describes every scene in his many novels. All in all i give this novel a solid 10/10

[Emerson Doerksen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not Kings strongest work, and the narrator goes a little haywire with Arnie’s nerd voice, but overall very good and listenable.

The book features some of Kings best writing between the clunky bits, and the descriptions of the carnage Christine inflicts are superb. Arnie’s transformation and conflict with his friends and family work as well as anything King has written, character-wise.

The book is also criticized by some for being led by a bland character in Dennis, and his narration. But for me this is my favourite part, as he is the heart of the story, and feels like friends I had growing up. One of Kings strongest suits is writing characters that you feel as if you know, and that works here. The slump in the book comes during a middle section where he is absent, which even King notes as a failing.

Highly recommended to constant readers, maybe not a good first book for people looking for an introduction to Kings work.

[Kylie Miracle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The books are always better than the movies and that is no exception here. While John Carpenter's Christine will always be a horror classic, it would've been a lot scarier if they had added in a few more details from the book. Fantastic as always from the King of horror himself.

[eidde bmal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Don't really care for Stephen King, but I did enjoy this ....

[Nicole “PrettyNikkiNerd” B · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have always loved this book! Will have you looking at your car differently and scared of the dark

[Ken Smith · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Only thing bad about this was the audio quality in a few spots that lasted for a minute or so each time. It was filled with static and couldn't hear over it

[Randy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So much better than the movie. I almost avoided this but I'm extremely glad that I didn't. The narration is EXCELLENT!

[Maddison Blair Addington · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book! Scared the hell out of me! Had nightmares after. In part, I think the nightmares happened because Stephen King spent a lot of time describing the scary scenes which prolonged my fear for extended periods. Love this Stephen King!!

[Repoman2112 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I was a kid, my mom was excited to see the John Carpenter movie that was made from this book; she always loved horror movies and still does. She was never a big reader, but she wanted to read this book. I figured it was in part because she was a 50's kid and loved the car. After she saw it, I remember asking her what she thought about both. At the time she didn't understand why they changed so much from the book - which she loved - especially the relationships between the characters. She was especially fond of the exchange between Dennis and his sister on the logistics of lighting farts. This is vintage King, and Holter Graham does a great job with the narration. Highly recommended!

[Towering_House_Woman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hellva lot better than the movie!!!! As books usually are.

[The Book Collector · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I got through the 2nd N-word before I quit. Pity, the story seemed like it had promise and I don't disgust easily. But I don't tolerate vulgar slurs.

[Phil Lowman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well read, with emotions as well. Loved the movie , but the book is "KILLER"!!!

[Matt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best narrated audiobooks I have listened to.

[Vladislava · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book is ok, not Kings best, but the way narrator reads Arny's part almost made me drop it. It's so annoying

[Sandy Topzand · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So good reading this story again. So much intricate detail, characterisation, story-telling. Good narration, although I did, at times, feel a little overkill on the voices.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've been re-reading Stephen King's works in chronological order for a few years now and always start January off with the next book. The last few books were not horror so I was looking forward to Christine simply to get back to the genre however my memory of the book from my first reading of it when I was 15 is very vague. I remembered the plot but not the details. The movie version also had drifted from my mind so, fortunately, didn't affect my reading. Christine is a middle of the road book in King's oeuvre. It has some good parts and is well-written with the second half being much more exciting than the first. I really like the high concentration on fifties music quotes and you can't help singing along, and even making up a tune when you don't know the song! For me, though, this one is on a par with "Firestarter". King can do much better. What bothered me was the slowness to get started. The first entire half of the book is all setup. The first killing is on around page 250. The lack of characters in a book of this size is limited as well. I much prefer casts the size of Salem's Lot or The Stand as King is a master at weaving their stories together. Christine spends so much time droning on about the few characters involved that I actually didn't care for any of them deeply. I had no real liking for anyone; they could have all died and I wouldn't have been surprised and Christine/Roland D. LeBay didn't instill any terror in me as the villain. Nothing of particular note stands out in this one for me. It was readable too slow and drawn out for my tastes. The ending to this book though is different from previous ones to this point as while there is a finite ending, much more so than ever before there is a real impression that the evil still exists and more of the story exists to be told.I always look for connections while reading with King's multiverse, but didn't find anything related to previous books here.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Can't guess as to when I properly read this. I just grabbed it out of a box I haven't touched in at least three years, though, so I'll make a guess. Anyway, this is one of my Mysterious Disappearing Reviews which GR can neither explain nor recover (I have now given up on even reporting the issue unless I have a list of evidence for the review's existence, which in this case I don't). So I'll keep this brief: I remember liking this, being drawn to read the rest of it, feeling pretty unsettled -- for a concept that failed in Supernatural's series one episode Route 666, the idea of a haunted car worked pretty well for me -- and all those pleasantly-chilled feelings that come with reading horror with a reasonable imagination and a willingness to suspend some disbelief.

Looking at the wikipedia summary, I don't remember the last part of the novel, which is odd -- but the rest definitely stuck in my head.

[Dovie Renee Milstead · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

At the edge of my seat. That I start to look for Christine and Roland LeBay, on my long night drive home from work. That any moment that I may get caught in that single minded purpose of his! That unending fury!
Love you Stephen King!!!

[Eric Matthew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book but the chapter breaks cut out certain words.

[Tennille Covington · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great story but SK is super long winded...yep that's it

[Michael Darnall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is why they make books into movies. Great story. Great plot. Great characters.

[catellington · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hell hath no fury - save a 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine.

Steven King, the great Master of Horror, goes way wide with this tale of sheer terror. Christine is one of King's greatest novels ever, and it will make you think twice before buying a vintage vehicle?no matter how mint its condition.

Christine is my five-star recommendation. You'll surely be up late with this one, turning pages into the wee hours. Excellent book!

[rainpebble_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Christine by Stephen King; (3*)Ever wondered about those guys who say: "I love my car", and look like they really mean it? Have you ever sympathized with wives and girlfriends who had a pained expression on their face as they complained: "He loves that car more than me"?Christine is a 1958 Plymouth Fury, as red as the blood spilt during every term of ownership, in one of author Stephen King's best horror stories about man's abiding passion for cars, the need for speed, a greedy jealous love, and an obsession that turns into possession.Arnie Cunningham is a lonely dork, bullied and rejected at school because of his looks and demeanor, in a plot thread reminiscent of King's earlier book, Carrie, with the tormented being pushed to breaking point and taking bloody revenge on their tormentors. In Christine, the bullies are rebel Buddy Repperton and his gang, who torture weaker kids whenever they get the chance. Arnie's only friend is football playing jock, Dennis Guilder, who narrates the story as a witness to the unfolding horror and ensuing tragedy. Arnie's talent and passion is for auto-mechanics and he yearns for his own set of wheels. When he sees Christine, rusting and rotting away, in caustic old timer Roland D. Lebay's driveway, it's love at first sight.Unknown to Arnie, Christine is possessed by a malign evil force that at first seduces and then destroys every owner.Arnie's attitude changes with his taste in clothes. His mood becomes darker and belligerent as he fixes up Christine, wins the most lusted-after girl in school, Leigh Cabot, and then alienates both his parents and Dennis.For a while, Christine becomes the only good thing in Arnie's life. She makes him feel invincible. But, like some bad people in society; the narcissistic, the sociopathic, those with no conscience who use, discard when there's nothing left, then move on to the next victim, Christine is spiteful, seductively evil and relentless in her quest to take her owners on a fast ride straight to hell.Like Arnie points out: the thing about love ... it eats ... it has a voracious, all-consuming appetite, leaving no room for anything or anyone else.How far will you go for your love?When you look at that prized possession in your life, that which Stephen King might have referred to in another of his stories as a "needful thing", ask yourself a question: do you own it, or does it own you?Creeeeeeepy!~!

[Brandon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love that in the end Arnie tried to save his mom. Poor Arnie just like Carrie.

[onlyfiction · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

King’s love for American cars was a significant part of his early career. Christine reflects on that with themes of youth, maturation, cars, friendship, and terror!

Christine is not my favorite King novel. I would place this well below others like The Stand, The Shining, or The Dark Tower on my personal list. It’s still a pretty enjoyable King novel. Despite rocky patches, it was enough to put me on the King's path I’ve been on ever since.

I think the first issue I had was the length. The 700-page book normally doesn’t bother me, but for Christine, it was overwhelming. For me, there were too many chapters without enough substance. Initially, I was expecting graphic descriptions of twisted events that kept me awake at night. Although I hate saying this, I could not get into some of this book.

A few scenes made my skin crawl, and I flitted through the pages, getting that “Classic King” feeling. When that happens, it’s amazing. Things went quite a few pages later, and it left me hanging. In reality, a possessed car was not as scary as I thought.

[booknookretreat7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Second time was just as good as the first time. I had forgotten some stuff in the book as I hadn't read it for years, so it was really cool to re-read it.