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/lit/ - Literature

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6366311 No.6366311 [Reply] [Original]

Is he really that bad? Genuine question since I haven't read anything by him yet. I'm kind of intressted in some of his books but put off by the hate he gets around here.

>> No.6366317

The film adaptation of that book is superior

>> No.6366335

I read Cujo, Christine and Cell. I liked Cujo, the other two were dismissable.

>> No.6366357

>judging if it's worth to read an absurdly popular author by what Contrarian Central thinks of him

Read a few of his books if you must, it's pretty much always the same things.

>> No.6366366

He's bad, but if you think he sounds appealing you'd probably like him.

>> No.6366371

>>6366311
I talked shit about him for a while (never having read him), and that's probably 99% of the reaction you'll get here.

His short stories are actual quite enjoyable in my opinion, but I've never committed to one of his novels. It feels like it would drag, in my opinion. But I could easily be wrong.

>> No.6366383

>>6366311

He's capable enough. The problem is, he's inspired by Lovecraft, and for many reasons I'm not willing to get into, Lovecraft is an angry manchild airing out his unease with anything foreign (IE Foreigners) in the form of a philosophy "EVERYTHING OUTSIDE IS GONNA GET YOU!"

He models most of his work outside of that though. The more he gets away from his Lovecraft leanings in any book, the better. Despite that, he's an average writer. Not good or great, some of his work can be awful, but most of it is average.

>> No.6366384

My general feeling is that he gets paid my the pagecount. Most of his book are longer than how good they are. Also earlier books of his tend to get more positive feedback than recent stuff.

Some that I still remember:
The Stand - entertaining, but could use some trimming
From a Buick 8 - had some good concepts, but generally meh

His short story collections are pretty good.

If you are interested in the genre, I recommend his son Joe Hill. Outstanding comicbook writer and his novels and short stories are pretty amazing too.

>> No.6366391

Used to be quite the fan when I was in my early teens, took me awhile to see that all his stuff is pretty much the same. That being said ,"It" is probably worth reading.

>> No.6366401

>>6366383
>Lovecraft is an angry manchild airing out his unease with anything foreign (IE Foreigners) in the form of a philosophy "EVERYTHING OUTSIDE IS GONNA GET YOU!"

In all fairness, while that's true, it's not representative of all his work. If anything, I say most of his writing, with the exception of some of the racist boogeyman stories you're referencing (although he was a New England WASP in the early 20th century, cut a nigga some slack) is better summarized as "The universe is exceptionally large, and completely apathetic to your existence. The scales involved reduce the human race to less than a roundoff error". Which is no less pussy-aching, but it can at least be mildly entertaining to mull over.

>> No.6367016

I also read quite a lot of him when I was a teenager and I agree with the other anon that his short stuff is some of his best.

"It" had some quite compelling moments but it would have been vastly improved as a whole by a judicious edit.

>> No.6367052

>>6366311
The sad thing about him is that his prose isn't bad at all. If he had just focused his talent on producing something with actual literary merit he would have been canon worthy. It and The Stand were pretty good, but that's aboot it.

>> No.6367058

>>6367052
>If he had just focused his talent on producing something with actual literary merit he would have been canon worthy
Oh come on now. He's nowhere that good, and especially his prose isn't.

>> No.6367086

I like him just fine, but I hate how he has come to dominate the horror genre.
There's a used bookstore in my town and their tiny little horror section is 50% King 50% Koontz. That pisses me off as a horror fan.
There are so many other worthy horror writers yet all anyone ever reads is King.

>> No.6367096

>>6367086
Any recommendations for a newcomer to the genre? I've read a bit of Ligotti,, Ashton, Lovecraft and Harlan Ellison lately and enjoyed them all quite a bit.

>> No.6367103

>>6367096
Read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.
Two of the best horror novels ever written in my opinion.

>> No.6367110

>>6367103
Duly noted, thanks Anon.

>> No.6367324

>>6367058

ever read the Gunslinger? The prose in that is pretty good, sort of Gothic and very poetic. I'd recommend that to OP since its only about 200 pages long.

>> No.6367535

He's very hated here, but he's not that bad. I recommend him if you want something entertaining, but not if you want something to get intellectually stimulated.