# So what's your opinion of Stephen King?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 7, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915 "2010-09-07T13:52:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/61 "2010-09-07T19:48:48Z")

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> [@Darth\_Panda](#):
>
> > [@CalMeacham](#):
> >
> > Short story?
> > 
> > It was originally published as a stand-alone _novel_ as by Richard Bachman.
> 
> Yeah, I read it in Bachman books 15 years or so ago and remembered it being shorter than it is - 384 pages according to Wikipedia. Definitely not a short story.
> 
> Although compared to the 845 pages of the final dark Tower, maybe it is 🙂

Hmm. I remember it as a short story along with several others under Richard Bachman. The Long Walk is my favorite King story.

Wiki tells me it was a novel, but later sold as a hard cover with other Bachman stories.

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**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/62 "2010-09-07T20:17:19Z")

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I love him. My life, and the world of books, will be a much worse place when he dies.

I’ve read almost everything by him (Never could get into From a Buick 8 and couldn’t finish Dreamcatcher), and have re-read all of those many, many times. Each time is very good, because his stories suck me in and I can go away to Reading Land for a while.

One of the things I love about him is his outstanding writing of relationships. The end of Green Mile with the bus crash, and Paul talking about his wife, makes me honestly weep, and the description of the parents in Cujo, and the insecurities and cheating and their feelings about each other and their kid, is pure gold.

His non-fiction is phenomenal, as well.

He is my favorite writer, and I feel no need to classify him as a “hack” or a “pop” writer. I wish I get a chance to thank him, just as the earlier poster did.

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/63 "2010-09-07T20:20:13Z")

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> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#):
>
> So, I’m prepared to forgive him books like ‘Cujo’ and ‘Firestarter’ based entirely on his having written books like ‘The Shining’ and ‘Salem’s Lot’.

What’s wrong with Cujo? I thought that was one of his better ones. It had its annoying moments but overall I really liked it.

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**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/64 "2010-09-07T20:40:05Z")

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> [@Freudian\_Slit](#):
>
> > [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#):
> >
> > So, I’m prepared to forgive him books like ‘Cujo’ and ‘Firestarter’ based entirely on his having written books like ‘The Shining’ and ‘Salem’s Lot’.
> 
> What’s wrong with Cujo? I thought that was one of his better ones. It had its annoying moments but overall I really liked it.

Dammit. What’s wrong with Firestarter. Loved it.

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/65 "2010-09-07T21:00:15Z")

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But nobody says “What was wrong with _The Tommyknockers_?” 🙂

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**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/66 "2010-09-07T21:01:44Z")

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Oh, dear; I’ve got myself in trouble.

Strictly my opinion, but I think ‘Cujo’ and ‘Firestarter’ are much weaker books. I haven’t read either one since 1984, and I can’t remember a thing about them other than the most basic outlines of the plots. Whereas ‘The Shining’ and ‘Salem’s Lot’ I read back in 1980 and I can remember many specific scenes in depth (the post above, I was citing from memory, but I think I got much of it right.), and more interestingly, I can remember where I was when I was reading it. (‘The Shining’, I was touring as a puppeteer with the Binkley and Doinkle Show - we were in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan for a week’s run and staying at some pretty cool cabins not far from the lake. One evening, there was a thunderstorm that took out the power, and I kept reading by flashlight until the batteries gave out. The whole time I was thinking 'Thank God it’s mid-summer; if I were reading this here in the dead of winter, I’d be totally freaked out. ‘Salem’s Lot’ was when I was staying at a friend’s old farm house for a week, and it was just like the description of the Vampire’s house with the creepy killer who had previously owned it.)

All of which is by way of saying that to me, ‘Cujo’ and ‘Firestarter’ are clear examples of weaker Stephen King novels - an opinion which is clearly **not** universally shared… No offense intended.

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**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/67 "2010-09-07T21:06:56Z")

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> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#):
>
> All of which is by way of saying that to me, ‘Cujo’ and ‘Firestarter’ are clear examples of weaker Stephen King novels - an opinion which is clearly **not** universally shared… No offense intended.

Of course no offense was taken. I was just a kid when I read Firestarter, but that big Native American janitor still haunts me. It probably doesn’t represent King’s best work, no.

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**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/68 "2010-09-07T21:10:43Z")

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I enjoyed his earlier stuff, but unfortunately after he became successfull and known he developed _noeditoritus_. For me it began with _It_. Overall I enjoyed that book, but it could have been edited down a good bit without damaging the story IMO. The next book I read was _Tommyknockers_ and just couldn’t get into it and quit after a while. I don’t think I’ve read any of his since then. Not that I’m boycotting him, it’s just glancing at his later works, nothing grabbed my interest.

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**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/69 "2010-09-07T21:48:51Z")

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> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> But nobody says “What was wrong with _The Tommyknockers_?” 🙂

Reads like a bad parody of Stephen King. His early stuff was great, but It & The Tommyknockers pretty well soured me on King.

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/70 "2010-09-07T22:18:09Z")

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> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> I think King is amazing, and when he gets it right, he is better than damn near any other writer.

…and when he gets it wrong, he’s unbearable. That’s my opinion. I love his short stories and recommend them to even the literary types. (Except the most recent collection, which I found in the bargain bin. Rightly so.)

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/71 "2010-09-07T22:50:14Z")

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Well, there you have it.  
Stephen King writes so well, and his work flows so easily, that at least two Dopers thought a several hundred page novel of his was a Short Story.

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**Author:** ![Gil-Martin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Gil-Martin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gil-Martin)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/72 "2010-09-07T23:11:33Z")

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> [@hogarth](#):
>
> The quality of his books varies wildly.

Basically this. Mr. King’s good books, and there are quite a few of them I think, are great. Mr. King’s, um, less fortunate books, however, are not so much horror as horrible.

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**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/73 "2010-09-07T23:16:20Z")

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> [@Pbbth](#):
>
> His short story N is one of the scariest things I’ve ever read and I don’t think I’ve ever picked up one of his books and regretted the decision later.

Totally agreed about _N_. Ooohhh, scary! I mean, what a concept, right? OCD people think they ‘save the world’ every day by engaging in their OCD behaviors. . ._what if that’s true_??

It’s not King’s writing skills that hook me. It’s his ideas (see above) and his story telling. He’s a ‘meh’ writer, but a hell of a story teller. I also think that many of his best works (Shawshank, Dolan’s Cadillac, N, Gray Matter, The Boogie Man) are his short works, though my fave King work remains _The Stand_. I am psyched that he has a new book of short works (_Full Dark, No Stars_) coming out the day before my birthday. Will make birthday gift-giving excruciatingly easy for my hubby, and very enjoyable for me! 😉

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**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/74 "2010-09-07T23:30:44Z")

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> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Well, there you have it.  
> Stephen King writes so well, and his work flows so easily, that at least two Dopers thought a several hundred page novel of his was a Short Story.

To be fair, it was included in a book containing a collection of short stories…damned if I can come up with the title, right now. Compared to the Stand, Insomia, The Dome, et al…it was a DAMNED short story! 😉

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**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/75 "2010-09-07T23:44:05Z")

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> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> Stepehen King is obviously prolific, successful and popular, and that tends to make people thing you’re just a lucky hack.

Note, this is a different statement than the poll option, which characterizes him as _proficient_, and not lucky.

I was going to say I just didn’t care for him too much, but after reading the thread and the remarks (from fans) that suggest to me a lack of respect for his work, I’ll go with hack.

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**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/76 "2010-09-07T23:46:46Z")

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> [@jjimm](#):
>
> Was great, now sucks.

This is what I was thinking as well. Not quite “sucks”, but rather “tired”. I was at a cottage up north and read both an SK novel as well as a collection of short stories. The novel was tired and formulaic and completely adhered to all expectations and King conventions in every way. On the other hand, the short stories were much more fresh and innovative and were much better storytelling. I think he’s better off taking a break from horror and expanding his horizons. He still has quite a knack for storytelling, but he’s starting to write horror like he’s imitating himself.

> [@Cat Whisperer](#):
>
> Thanks to the short story, 1408, every time I go to Safeway and they’re announcing numbers over the intercom (I don’t know why - every so often they announce, “Deli, 33. Bakery, 44.” or something like that), I mutter under my breath, “NINE! NINE! NINE!” That short story scared the shit out of me

The radio frequency up north that gives you the marine forecast for Georgian Bay is a robotic voice. I believe the weather is typed and it is then broadcast automatically by a computer using a voice synthesizer of some kind. It’s like a more advanced version of Speak 'N Spell and sounds thoroughly inhuman. The forecast is on and endless loop and reminds me very much of the voice that says “Nine! Nine!” I have to turn it off the instant I get the weather info I need.

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**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/77 "2010-09-08T00:00:20Z")

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> [@Dogzilla](#):
>
> _It_ was just offensive to me on so many levels; he could have done so much more with the fear-of-clowns trope.

I think **The Shining** is King’s best, most consistent work ( MHO, obviously - it actually has a passable ending ), but I have to say I found _parts_ of **It** brilliant. In particular his chapters where the librarian character is researching and uncovering the town’s tainted history are to my mind King at his absolute peak. Ferociously good storytelling.

But the ending sucked ass of course ;).

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**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/78 "2010-09-08T00:03:54Z")

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My opinion of him is mixed. On the one hand, Delores Claiborne is a great piece of writing and it ought to be acknowledged as such. It’s his attempt to write a realistic novel without all the vampires and monsters, and he nails it.

On the other hand, there are aspects of King that don’t appeal to me – like his man-crush on John Grisham, or the way The Stand devolves into a bunch of religious mumbo-jumbo in its second half.

> [@](#):
>
> But he has an exceptional ear for dialogue and a keen feel for the soul of 20th (now 21st) century Middle- and lower-class American life.

I agree. In that respect, only Joe R. Lansdale can touch him (not that I would know much about American life, but I know authenticity when I see it).

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**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/79 "2010-09-08T00:34:44Z")

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I voted “very good.” I mostly like his short stories, though I thought _Misery_ was excellent. “1408” is my favorite of his short stories–creepy as hell, and has an ending I actually like. I want to get the audio book of it, even though the other stories on the compilation aren’t my favorites.

Admittedly, I haven’t read a ton of SK, but what I have read I’ve generally liked.

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**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-your-opinion-of-stephen-king/552915/80 "2010-09-08T00:44:47Z")

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> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> I think **The Shining** is King’s best, most consistent work ( MHO, obviously - it actually has a passable ending )

I go for THE DEAD ZONE, which IMHO has a better-than-passable ending.

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