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Chad_Abraxas t1_j9ostfe wrote

Unpopular opinion, but... Stephen King isn't a very good writer. He's a popular writer, which doesn't mean he's good.

I like the guy on a personal level, and his career has been an absolute banger--hat's off to him.

But if you want to read a good book, I wouldn't recommend King.

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WritingJedi t1_j9owuhm wrote

This take is really reductive. King is prolific, but he doesn't always try and write literary masterpieces.

You absolutely cannot read The Body, Hearts in Atlantis, or the Green Mile and not consider him a modern literary great.

Sure, stuff like UR and other schlocky works aren't masterpieces. He didn't write them to be.

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Chad_Abraxas t1_j9oy0a7 wrote

Sorry, I didn't realize it was "reductive" to have a personal opinion.

Better cancel me now. RIP.

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kashmir1974 t1_j9ov13p wrote

That good book thing must be subjective, unless a lot of people are reading bad books for fun. Wait, it is subjective! Son of a bitch!

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Chad_Abraxas t1_j9owduw wrote

I know! It's always subjective. Arrrgh!!! *shakes fist at sky*

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kashmir1974 t1_j9ownud wrote

insert meme of people getting yelled at for enjoying bad books

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Chad_Abraxas t1_j9oxwi3 wrote

Where did I say people shouldn't enjoy what they enjoy? I'm all for people enjoying bad books.

Hell, I unironically LOVE Neil Breen's films.

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IKacyU t1_j9ozjej wrote

He is a popular author, but he is one of the best writers out of the popular authors. I mean, out of Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy and such, he is obviously a better writer. He has quite a few duds, but he’s so massively prolific that he still has lots of good works, too.

He may not be the most literary, but he will probably be one of the authors to be remembered in future centuries. Kind of like Charles Dickens.

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Chad_Abraxas t1_j9ph8rj wrote

There are lots of other popular writers besides the ones you named. There's quite a large pool of popular writers, in fact.

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BringMeInfo t1_j9pg4eb wrote

I consider him to be a good storyteller and mediocre writer. Joe Hill (his son) is a much stronger writer, but not quite as good a storyteller.

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Chad_Abraxas t1_j9pib6d wrote

I really like most of King's concepts--the ideas are super cool--but I find his execution is often lackluster.

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