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Everyone loves it, but you absolutely hate it...
metro.:
--- Quote from: Nikkoru on March 20, 2013, 05:10:09 AM ---Stephen King.
I never really read King before, outside of the first Dark Tower book which wasn't all that bad. Then I got an e-reader and with it a small mountain of mainstream popular fiction. At this point I've gotten down to the Ks, so here I am.
He's just so...repetitive... really really repetitive. He has some good characters but then he runs their characterizations into the ground in the next dozen books. He rarely if ever explains his supernatural whatever and when he does it's always a massive let down. Once you grasp his formula things become kind of like playing Madlibs. I may be accused of being religiously intolerant at times, but even I find his unsubtle attacks on Christianity to be trite and tactless.
While I wouldn't say I hate King, I fail to see the reason for so many of his books to exists. He's like Goosebumps for adults.
I'm developing a serious prejudice against American pop authors, it's disconcerting.
--- End quote ---
Try reading several of Clive Cussler's books. His writing style makes Tolkien look terse.
Ixarku:
--- Quote from: Nikkoru on March 20, 2013, 05:10:09 AM ---Stephen King.
I never really read King before, outside of the first Dark Tower book which wasn't all that bad. Then I got an e-reader and with it a small mountain of mainstream popular fiction. At this point I've gotten down to the Ks, so here I am.
He's just so...repetitive... really really repetitive. He has some good characters but then he runs their characterizations into the ground in the next dozen books. He rarely if ever explains his supernatural whatever and when he does it's always a massive let down. Once you grasp his formula things become kind of like playing Madlibs. I may be accused of being religiously intolerant at times, but even I find his unsubtle attacks on Christianity to be trite and tactless.
While I wouldn't say I hate King, I fail to see the reason for so many of his books to exists. He's like Goosebumps for adults.
I'm developing a serious prejudice against American pop authors, it's disconcerting.
--- End quote ---
King has his moments, but I've only read his older stuff -- Pet Sematary, Salem's Lot, and probably a couple of others -- and that was decades ago. My mom had similar complaints about his explanations for the supernatural. Dean Koontz is another author I lump in with King. He has a few good books (Phantoms, Twilight Eyes, The Bad Place), but after a while his writing just feels tired and pointless.
I've been meaning to go back and read other stuff by these authors to see if my impressions will be different, but I just never get around to it. I've got so much other stuff that's higher on my list.
jaybug:
Sk has a new one out that my English Novel professor was very complimentary about. Also I hear the Stand was exceptional. ANd that is what makes King so interesting as an author. He can crank out the books, but he can also write quite well. That said I haven't read nay of his books in a very long time. Why bother, it will be a movie soon anyway, right? Hey, ho, let's go! lol
chipotle. really? it's that popular? it's only a roasted jalapeno ya know? Oh, it was ripe instead of green, so that makes all the difference in the world, right? so what. It's the culinary equivalent of Alton Brown's uni-tasker.
Nikkoru:
--- Quote from: Ixarku on March 20, 2013, 12:53:43 PM ---
--- Quote from: Nikkoru on March 20, 2013, 05:10:09 AM ---Stephen King.
I never really read King before, outside of the first Dark Tower book which wasn't all that bad. Then I got an e-reader and with it a small mountain of mainstream popular fiction. At this point I've gotten down to the Ks, so here I am.
He's just so...repetitive... really really repetitive. He has some good characters but then he runs their characterizations into the ground in the next dozen books. He rarely if ever explains his supernatural whatever and when he does it's always a massive let down. Once you grasp his formula things become kind of like playing Madlibs. I may be accused of being religiously intolerant at times, but even I find his unsubtle attacks on Christianity to be trite and tactless.
While I wouldn't say I hate King, I fail to see the reason for so many of his books to exists. He's like Goosebumps for adults.
I'm developing a serious prejudice against American pop authors, it's disconcerting.
--- End quote ---
King has his moments, but I've only read his older stuff -- Pet Sematary, Salem's Lot, and probably a couple of others -- and that was decades ago. My mom had similar complaints about his explanations for the supernatural. Dean Koontz is another author I lump in with King. He has a few good books (Phantoms, Twilight Eyes, The Bad Place), but after a while his writing just feels tired and pointless.
I've been meaning to go back and read other stuff by these authors to see if my impressions will be different, but I just never get around to it. I've got so much other stuff that's higher on my list.
--- End quote ---
The problem is he extends those moments into hours, and then days.
I guess what I'm saying, he's a good writer who writes lots of mediocre books that drag down my opinion of better works because even in those you can see the same hamster wheels spinning. Like seeing a magic act after having had all the tricks revealed. You can still appreciate the skill and the craftsmanship that went into it, but your initial reaction is... "meh."
I also read the books sequentially in a very short period of time, which I do not recommend.
I've been warned away from Koontz quite loudly, and Cussler seems terrible.
Is there any modern mainstream American fiction writer who's consistently good? All I can think of is a few fantasy, science fiction, and comedic writers.
MikaMik:
I don't know why, but I cannot stand reggae music. It gets on my nerves and makes me become very irritated.
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