How good is Stephen King as a writer?

[ravenus]

he tends to be overlong, stretching out simple plots to five or six times their proper length

This is my main grouse with King...Many a time what could have been a really cool long story/novella ends up as a stretched out, gasping for ideas, novel.

The works of his I love most:
Different Seasons - Collection of 3 great and 1 so-so (the last) novellas
Hearts in Atlantis - Beautiful tear-jerking magic realism narrative
Shining - Great isolaton fear piece
Skeleton Crew and Night Shift - Excellent short story collections

[a|one]

I liked The Stand, The Bachman books (yes especially The Long Walk), Hearts in Atlantis was great, though it tended to go a little downhill after about halfway. Tried to read The Tommyknockers, didn't find it that interesting. Didn't read Dreamcatcher, but I actually enjoyed the movie.
I think King is a pretty talented author, but I think he goes more for quantity and profit than quality, and has used up some of his creative genious already.
Would really like to read The Shining, thought the movie is awesome.

[ravenus]

Would really like to read The Shining, thought the movie is awesome.

The movie and the book have very different perspectives on the events that take place so don't be surprised by the differences. Both are great in their own way.

[Green]

I used to read King a lot years ago, loved IT, Bachman Books, Four Past Midnight etc.. I love the way he can take an ordinary person in an ordinary situation and somehow keep me riveted to every single page. The way he gets into peoples' heads and lives is better than any other, imo.

Someone's already mentioned the New England atmosphere, and the way his books link together, in a hinted-at kind of way.

Recently (last few years) I read Insomnia and loved the first half... then read Dreamcatcher and thought "hmmm". I still promise myself that I will find the time to read The Stand one of these days, but I've never gotten round to it...

What was the one he did about two princes, where one was the good prince, one was a slightly sinister one who was being manipulated by the evil wizard, and the good prince got framed for murder and put in the tower?

I read that years ago and loved it. Would like to find it again.

[Leto]

The eyes of the dragon ?

[knivesout]

That's the one.

[Green]

Cheers

[dustinzgirl]

Stephen King does have a simple style of writing, but that is also his charm. You don't have to think, examine and be a literary genious to read his stuff. What I love most about king is the way that he takes every day people, every day lives, and exagerates them, makes them more than what they are. I also adore the way he ties everything together, especially if you read him as bachman, and if you pay close attention in dark tower, there are plots and strings that tie the books together, the lives that he creates.

The absurdities and inconsistencies are there, but they are often woven in a manner that you have to be looking for them, and even then they are still plausible.

Books I hate:
The Green Mile, Rose Madder, Dolores Clairborne, and a lot of others that are just boring as hell to read.

I like him best as Bachman, and in my eyes the only books that I truly adore are the Dark Tower Series, because it is simply a beautiful story filled with people who are thrust into extraordinary circumstances and triumph, at least I think they will...eventually...

Im not saying he is the greatest, but he was the first author that made me want to read, along with Weis, Hickman and Yolen, when I was young.

[lazygun]

'Would put Stephen King in My top 3 Horror writers,probably in my top 10 writers' period.
One of the scariest for me was "It",lulled me back to the worry-free,endless sunny days of most pre-teens..building dams in stream,playing in the woods with Your Little Gang.........then he drops a Monster on you ! .
The stories "Rage" and "The Long Walk" are also favourites of mine.
Again its the empathy for youth that stands out in both these stories.And for me that is his most singular skill,his ability(at his best)to make an adult reader young again,then scare the hell out of them.
Don't get me wrong,some of his work has left me dissapointed eg.Dark Tower/Gunslinger etc.
Cannot recall the title of his recent novel about a very youg girl lost in the woods,hunted by A Something.....but enjoyed it as a return to what he is best at.
Hope this makes sense...

[Stalker]

Don't like his horror books. Love very much his short stories like "Quitters Inc." "The Ledger".

I also love his The Dead Zone, The Firestarter and Langoliers.
And The Stand...

[kyektulu]

I think Steven King is not as good a writer as people tend to believe he is.
I have read quite a few of his books. I must admit I enjoyed The Stand and still think that it is his best book so far. IT was quite good too.
Yet his writing is very inconsistent. I agree I, Brian it is somewhat incomplete.
He can set at atmosphere very well this would be his strenth in writing, but tends to go off on a tangent alot and start upon a twist in the book then seems to forget about it.
However did anyone like Dreamcatcher? What was that about... Terrible!
I read it but admit it took me a long time because it was so dull and badly written I had to force myself to finish it.

[Brys]

I can't say much about him yet, as I've only read the Gunslinger, but my thoughts on him are mixed.
In his use of language, he's not too bad - not amazing, but still a long way above the bulk of novels written. I would put him on about the same level as George RR Martin and Steven Erikson etc, just a bit below Steph Swainston, though in no way does he come close IMO to the likes of Peake, Calvino, Harrison or Mieville.
His characterisation is pretty good as well, and certainly his strongest feature.
His worldbuilding, while not on the same scale as Tolkien or Erikson etc, is very good, and while I don't like the semi-Western setting that much, I can't deny that he's done it well.
On plot, I can't really comment, as it was pretty much non-existent in the Gunslinger.

[Green]

Must say that the western theme to the dark tower has always put me off reading it. I've never been into cowboys (in fact, I find them boring as hell).

The wild west always seemed to me to be a largely American interest.

[Trey Greyjoy]

LOL,

Yes, I believe its probably a bit "America-centric" to make one's "eternal champion" an archetypal American icon. For some it certainly would be a distraction from the story.
But I think others are interested in the American west in the same way Im interested in feudal Japan or the Roman empire. The setting conjures up a lot of imagery and ideas. Even at the time, dime store novels of "tales from the American west" sold like wildfire both in the American East and in Europe.
On NPR recently they conducted an interview with a biographer of Sergio Leone's. Apparently westerns played far better and made more money in Italy than in America. Go figure!

[cyborg_cinema]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

What would you say are his strengths, and which are his weaknesses?

Admittedly, he disregards plot, rather structuring stories around situation. But his situations are engaging—the key to his success. He knows how to scare the pants off people. He is productive, setting a goal of 2000 words per day. He writes a lot of formula fiction, but The Stand is a science fiction classic.