Is Stephen King as great as we think he is?

[SammyJo02]

Don't get me wrong! I love Stephen King movies! It, The Shining, Pet Cemetery! These are all some of my favorites. But when I went to read the books I realized that I didn't really care for his writing. He's very slow to get the story going. I notice myself getting a little bored and wondering when he's going to get to the good stuff. Some may argue that it's because I have seen the movies first but I don't think so. What do you think?

[Vermont Reviews]

Don't get me wrong! I love Stephen King movies! It, The Shining, Pet Cemetery! These are all some of my favorites. But when I went to read the books I realized that I didn't really care for his writing. He's very slow to get the story going. I notice myself getting a little bored and wondering when he's going to get to the good stuff. Some may argue that it's because I have seen the movies first but I don't think so. What do you think?

Sometimes a reader just likes an author's books, whether he or she is good or not.

Vermont Reviews

[e-tasana-williams]

Don't get me wrong! I love Stephen King movies! It, The Shining, Pet Cemetery! These are all some of my favorites. But when I went to read the books I realized that I didn't really care for his writing. He's very slow to get the story going. I notice myself getting a little bored and wondering when he's going to get to the good stuff. Some may argue that it's because I have seen the movies first but I don't think so. What do you think?

I enjoy most of the Stephen King books I've read. Of the three you mentioned, I've read The Shining and Pet Sematary. Those two movies were scary to me, but the books were far, far more disturbing. The books get into my head more, precisely because of the slower build and elaborate descriptions. The movies, out of necessity have to move faster and include fewer details. One exception I can think of is Shawshank Redemption. It was based on a novella, but the movie was quite long, and EXCELLENT! Having said that, sometimes we like authors and sometimes we don't. I don't believe one should feel obligated to put any author on a pedestal just because he is prolific, or because lots of other people like him. If you don't care for his writing, stick to the movies. There are too many other authors to choose from...happy reading!

[Sarah_Khan]

I personally think he is overrated. With all due respect to the people that love him ...I've read two of his books, The Shining and Doctor Sleep and they were so disappointing that I can't bring myself to try out any of his other books.

[jeffallen]

not a big fan either.

[alwaysdaddygirl]

Aloha,

Yes! He is one of the best horror writers! When he gives reviews on other authors, I read it like the bible. I would so get a tattoo in honor of his works.


Blessings?

[SparklingOne]

I personally think he is overrated. With all due respect to the people that love him ...I've read two of his books, The Shining and Doctor Sleep and they were so disappointing that I can't bring myself to try out any of his other books.

Sarah try reading "It", or "The Stand", and try some of his older short story collections too. Those are some of my favorite books by him. Both are fairly long books but the stories have a more scary slant to them. The Shining I thought only had 1 scary part in the book, but the movie was amazing. I haven't read Dr. Sleep, but mean to at some point.

[DATo]

In a word ... "no". There is an enormous difference between being popular and being great. King's success is more a reflection of the motives of his readers than a reflection of their intellectual acumen or his own. Does this mean that his readers are intellectually deficient? No. His readers read his work solely for entertainment in the present, and this is as it should be. Great writers write for the ages. I happen to be a big fan of Susanne Collins' Hunger Games. This would not be considered great literature either, but I like it so I read it, as have many other people, thus Collins, like King is a famous author ... but not a "great" author.

[ameno8907]

I know some people who really enjoy Steven King. In my own family my mother gets nightmares from his books and me and my step-dad get bored by him. Personally I have read a few of his stories and never figured out what was so scary about his writing. I didn't feel there was suspense and when I got to the point that was supposed to be disturbing I found I was still searching for more. All in all not a fan.

[TrishaAnn92]

I don't particularly care for his work. Tried reading one book of his, can't remember which one, but I couldn't finish it. I just got bored.

[DB44]

Stephen King ia a great writer, and I think will ultimately be treated very kindly by posterity. I don't like all of his books. I loved his earlier works, but confess to being disappointed by some of his later work. He is not a must read to me now, though he once was. And when I have finally got around to reading some later works, I have been pleasantly surprised. But the sheer diversity of the man is astonishing. Yes, he writes horror, but many people have been quite astonished to hear that King wrote things such as Shawshank Redemption, The Body and even The Running Man. Some of his short stories and novellas are disturbingly good. I found the twist in the ending of Strawberry Spring unforgettable. The Long Walk was astonishing, particularly considering how very early in his career it was written. The Mist, one of his older novellas more recently filmed was very well done. More recently still, A Good Marriage, one of his more mediocre stories in my view, made quite a good movie. And who can forget Quitters Inc!

Stephen King most definitely does not write literary fiction, nor does he write for an audience of critics. Nor does he rely on government grants because no one wants to read his works. He is popular and actually sells books. If anything is going to stop him being regarded as one of the greats, that will be it.

[Kourtney Bradley]

I've always enjoyed his books, but I do feel like the stories take a long time to play out. There are often times in reading his stories that I feel a "lag."

[Gnome]

Of the few Stephen King books I've read I've found them best when I can let my imagination run wild. My first King book was Cujo which I read at age 11 on my first transatlantic flight when the lights were dimmed and I was already psyched out from the trip I was going on. I only read it because one of my friends was going through a hard Stephen King phase and had given me the book for my birthday.

Since then the only book I've been able to finish was Misery, in part due to length. I'm not a huge horror fan. If you hand me a 500+ page horror book my eyes are going to glaze over. I'll watch the movie versions if I'm in the mood for Stephen King.

[Glittery1]

My answer is yes, yes and yes. And the movies all pale in comparison to his books.

[Ant]

It is of course all a matter of taste but to me he is perhaps one of the greatest modern writers. I don't get bored reading his books even in some of the "slower" sections.
I have never bothered to read any of the Harry Potter books and only ever watched half of one film, got bored and did something else....I can't see what the fuss is about, reading and writing styles are a personal thing, each to their own etc. One persons idea of a good or great writer can differ vastly from another but which one is right?