First Edition Cover. Thinner is the 20th book published by Stephen King; it was his 18th novel, and the fifth written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. The book was released by NAL on 19 November 1984. The novel is about an obese lawyer who accidently kills a gypsy, covers it up, and is cursed by the gypsy's father to rapidly lose weight. Fans applaud it as one of King's best novels.