“The Shawshank Redemption.” Also “Stand by Me,” and “Dolores Claiborne.”
I’m a lifelong fan of King’s writing, but it’s undeniable he has some hits and misses, and sometimes the right people are able to take a short or lesser work of his and make something transcendent. That’s to his credit.
I haven’t seen Dolores Claiborne, so I can’t comment on that one. I’ll give you Shawshank.
Obviously not *everything* he’s ever written is a masterpiece. But pretending he’s not a good writer just because his politics are dumb is the most brain-rot TikTok shit I’ve ever heard
I do agree that the impulse to dogpile or do the “I never liked his stuff anyway!” commentary is shallow and tedious. And if you’re going to do it, god knows there are other super popular writers in fantasy and horror these days it’s more reasonable to want to distance yourself from than King.
Especially with the “bouncing boobs” thing. Like, he’s definitely not perfect. But he’s clearly at least conversed with women IRL and most fantasy/horror writers have never interacted with a woman outside of PornHub
Eh I disagree. Esp being a writer myself. His sex scenes made me dry up faster than a person with sjogrens syndrome. But you do you boo. You can love him all you want. I just won’t come to you to ask who I should read next. 🤷🏻♀️ it’s like listening to a fan of Nickelback whine.
I read a lot of King, Koontz, and similar (v cheap used paperbacks) when I was younger and on airplanes more. Truly don't understand what makes King a good author. Would appreciate insight if you've got some.
My problem with King’s critics is that 95% of them are pseudo-intellectuals who don’t actually read *anything*. They’re froth-movies that they barely remember from 1983
As for King, if he’s not your thing, he’s not your thing. But he’s got a great narrative voice, his characters are compelling & his stories strike a chord. He’s a lot more than just a cheap horror writer. Check out Hearts in Atlantis and tell me he’s not a great writer
I've only read the Dead Zone and it was one of the best books I've ever read. That said, not much of a reader, because it's hard for me. Does that make me a lowly pleb?
because he’s indistinguishable from king other than his obsession with golden retrievers. you don’t see koontz getting treated with the same kind of literary respect king does and I’ve never understood why king gets that respect.
Okay, that one I actually like. It’s an objectively bad movie, but it’s fun in a way that most of his adaptations are not.
I just get very annoyed with people who still jack off to Stanley Kubrick in 2025 when the novel is objectively better than Kubrick’s adaptation by every conceivable metric
I dug The Shining, but it was largely for the aesthetics and the acting (RIP Shelley Duvall, who shouldn't have had to endure what she did during filming).
When I read the book, I got angry at how much of the meat of the story had been scrapped. More faithful than "Running Man", but not by much.
And his most major fucked up writing to date was when he wrote that diversity isn’t needed to make great art. That’s a pretty good indicator of super bad writing.
And he just has the same kind of flavor for each book. The only book he’s written where I actually enjoyed his styling was bag of bones. The rest the premise was good but executed poorly in my opinion. Esp after reading that gross scene in IT. Plus he helped inspire at least 2 school shootings.
Be 1000% honest. Did you read those books, or did you skim Reddit reviews? You seem to have spent a LOT of time reading an author you don’t like. (And someone who has read *this* much of his canon wouldn’t make that generalization about women & black characters)
I didn’t call you a liar. I asked you to be honest if you’ve actually read those books. It’s *really* weird to read that many books by an author you admit you don’t like
I also read all of jk Rowling shit. And have seen a few Steven deal movies. Sometimes train wrecks are hard to look away from. But keep on calling me a liar and denying it.
Asking someone to be honest after they state something is literally calling someone a liar. It’s casting doubt. You don’t doubt when you think someone is truthful.
I’m sorry I hurt your feelings over a sub par author. But yes, I have read most of his books. Mainly because my friends were reading them. I’ve had to read a lot of things I don’t care for. But thanks for being condescending. Reddit came out LONG after I read his stuff bro.
But sure gloss over the child predator adjacent orgy scene and the fact that Stephen king still said diversity doesn’t matter in art. And I’m not stating a case against a work of fiction, I’m stating a case against the actual writer and his style.
Well for one, IT. Just so happened to skip that entire gross child orgy.
Sometimes they come back
The shining
Dr sleep
Fire starter
Misery
SK likes to be pretty stereotypical in his writing (every black character has buck teeth, boobs bounce boobily type shit)
Also, with almost all of these, the novel/story is objectively better than the movie. I know it’s a hot take that I think Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining is horrible. But the fact that you think “Sometimes They Come Back” of all things is even halfway decent tells me that you’re not serious lmao
STCB the movie was super campy and fun. Reading it was like “come on! Why are you a best seller?” It was like reading 50 shades of gray. Deeply mediocre.
Now I know that you’re a liar, because the story is NOTHING like 50 Shades of Gray. Now I *am* calling you a liar, because that is an absolutely ridiculous comparison lmfao
That is not one of the best horror movies of all time, and obviously I know it’s a Stephen King book. I have repeatedly & specifically cited that as an example of a shitty adaptation of his books.
Comments
I’m a lifelong fan of King’s writing, but it’s undeniable he has some hits and misses, and sometimes the right people are able to take a short or lesser work of his and make something transcendent. That’s to his credit.
Obviously not *everything* he’s ever written is a masterpiece. But pretending he’s not a good writer just because his politics are dumb is the most brain-rot TikTok shit I’ve ever heard
King at his best writes a really intense pov. He’s good at plot and theme. He has haunting imagery, and a lot to say about fear, addiction, and abuse.
But all I came up with was a realization that Maximum Overdrive was not a good movie, no matter how much I love it.
I just get very annoyed with people who still jack off to Stanley Kubrick in 2025 when the novel is objectively better than Kubrick’s adaptation by every conceivable metric
When I read the book, I got angry at how much of the meat of the story had been scrapped. More faithful than "Running Man", but not by much.
Sometimes they come back
The shining
Dr sleep
Fire starter
Misery
SK likes to be pretty stereotypical in his writing (every black character has buck teeth, boobs bounce boobily type shit)