The Dark Half covers a lot of classic King territory (the main character is a writer, to name one trope) to the point where there's a "been there, done that" quality to the narrative. But the familiar elements matter little, because this is a strange and absorbing entry in the King canon - one that has sadly garnered little respect or acclaim over the years. That's not to say that The Dark Half, with its story about a novelist who "kills" off his pseudonym and ends up at the tail end of said pseudonym's revenge (a very King-esque plot if ever there was one), is considered to be a bad work of fiction... you just don't hear it mentioned in the same league as the established classics. A shame, given that this novel served as a brilliant meditation and deconstruction of the whole "Stephen King is Richard Bachman" ordeal, in which Bachman was exposed as a King pseudonym. As such, The Dark Half is required reading for all King fans.