Stephen King at his worst

[nine9]

Originally posted by urgeok
uhmm...lets see ..

author .. with a past ... maybe an alcoholic ...
nasty things happen .. people die ...
author somewhat redeems himself ...


its not just that its his formulae

prologue
today
flashback...
today
flashback
today.

holy cow .. it all ties in togerther !!!

and his prose ...
everything explained for you in great detail.

I wish i could articulate what i mean better ..
all i can say is i read everything that came out when i was younger and then it started to dawn on me that although he was good at hooking you into wanting to 'see what comes next' it wasnt all that interesting.
I just found myself less and less involved.
Recently i went back and read one or 2 books to see if he had improved. I hated Insomnia, I hated Desperation - even worse, and i couldnt read more than 30 pages of Black House or whatever that shit was that he wrote with peter strawb.

The type is rank with smugness ... its tired and worn .. as is most of Horror fiction.

There just arent that many good authors .. i found myself reading
better authors outside the genre and once i did that - i couldnt go back to crap.


that being said - my ceiling is someone elses floor .... so its subjective ... all i can say is that i also thought King was the cats ass, until i got exposure to what i found to be were better authors.

Do you read Classics? Because I have read a lot of them. I have been always very critical about writers in general because I have read most of the best. My brother is a writer and passed on some great books to me. Still being very well read, I think that SK is one of the better modern writers. The quality of his writing is far better than say Dean Koontz or John Saul. Even if the stories are good...........can't stand the writing.....I am just spoiled by reading so much better.

I am not a snob...............do like some trendy authors.....but if I could do better............well I don't want to waste my time, and I am NO writer. :rolleyes:

[urgeok]

Originally posted by nine9
Do you read Classics? Because I have read a lot of them. I have been always very critical about writers in general because I have read most of the best. My brother is a writer and passed on some great books to me. Still being very well read, I think that SK is one of the better modern writers. The quality of his writing is far better than say Dean Koontz or John Saul. Even if the stories are good...........can't stand the writing.....I am just spoiled by reading so much better.

I am not a snob...............do like some trendy authors.....but if I could do better............well I don't want to waste my time, and I am NO writer. :rolleyes:

i dont think i'm a snob - but i do read modern classics ... and once I got a taste of what i consider to be far superior writing, its hard to go back.
Reading Stephen King is like a huge step backwards..
I never liked Saul - i think he's awful - always did. Koontz is a better science fiction author - he should stick to that.

its the same thing for movies with me ... since seeing more complex and compelling horror films - i cant watch pedestrian slashers anymore .. they bore me to tears ...

[lee challenger]

I can't believe the comments made accusing Stephen King sticking to a formula.Can someone tell me how these stories are similar: THE SHINING
CARRIE
CUJO
BAG OF BONES
PET SEMATARY
DREAMCATCHER
THE STAND
MISERY
INSOMNIA
CHRISTINE

I could go on but I think you get my drift
The only connection is that they are all horror/supernatural/thriller stories but they all have a totally different formula/plot and character types.
Yes you may come up with a couple of titles with similar themes but any author who has written as much stuff as King has will have some of that in his locker.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by lee challenger
THE SHINING
CARRIE
CUJO
BAG OF BONES
PET SEMATARY
DREAMCATCHER
THE STAND
MISERY
INSOMNIA
CHRISTINE

but they all have a totally different formula/plot and character types.

uhmm.. no there have been several repeated character types ..
the troubled author ..
the grizzled wise oldtimer

i read this guy progressively from the 1st book on as they were being released.
Its not like i read one or two then said ..meh ..

It just started to feel like the same book over and over again.
I thought Salems Lot was his best book.

He's just not that great a writer in the opinion i developed over years of exposure to his, and other works.

I thought Peter Strawbs Ghost Story was more interesting than anything Kinbg ever wrote ...
And i thought Strawbs Shadowland was brilliant until i discovered it was lifted largely from Robertson Davies: The Manticore.
Proving once again - there isnt any more origionality in horror literature than there is in the films.

[Kitty]

Stephen King?
dude does any onme even read his books any more?
i just watch the movies!

Bats
Cujo
it some other just cant think of them right now!

[The_Return]

Originally posted by Kitty
Stephen King?
dude does any onme even read his books any more?
i just watch the movies!

Bats
Cujo
it some other just cant think of them right now!

Bats? What? I checked on IMDb...no movie he was involved with called Bats...I searched google...no book called Bats...:rolleyes:

[Angra]

Originally posted by The_Return
Bats? What? I checked on IMDb...no movie he was involved with called Bats...I searched google...no book called Bats...:rolleyes:

He hasn´t. Let it go..

[Buffy_101]

I hated Dream Catcher, i liked it at first but half way through i hated it. I also didn't like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.

[MichaelMyers]

Wasn't a big fan of "Bag of Bones" and "The Green Mile".

[crazy raplh]

the worst was langoliers.