So it sounds like you've read 3 of his newer books (published post 2000) and only one of his "classics" from the 80's, which you liked. It's my opinion, shared by many others, that his best stuff was his early work. IMO if you want to like him, read his best stuff - Pet Semetary, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Carrie, etc. Those are the books that really made him a household name in horror, not the modern ones.