Stephen King

 

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       He radicalized novel writing. His fans love him passionately in the same way his critics hate him, but let me take a few moments to review this iconic author.

       I have not read all his works, but I have read enough to say one thing for this Maine born horror writer. No author in the last century, and thus far, has mastered the art of creating memorable (and yes, slightly weird) characters. He takes his time to tell us what his characters think of, love, hate and look like in the most contemporary language.

       Be it Carrie (in Carrie), Ted Brautigan (in Hearts in Atlantis), Leland Gaunt (in Needful things), Pennywise and Will Denborough ( in IT), Roland the Gunslinger (in Dark Tower series) etc, one character in every book will definitely be imprinted in the mind of every reader. This is a plus for him. The man is no God, as some of his readers will definitely wish, thus he has weaknesses.

       Most of his books are characteristically long. One can argue that it is because he spends a lot of time crafting his memorable stories and characters. This is 65% true. The major flaw however is his tangential writing. King, like no other writer, veers off topic. As if he deliberately wants to increase the number of pages in his work, he is guilty of veering off topic, especially in those instances when the main character is narrating the book.

       Another flaw is this: Apart from Roland the gunslinger, and probably Carrie, all the protagonists in King's works are overshadowed in character by either the antagonist or a minor character. This may not be so much a flaw, but the truth remains that in the genre where King has excelled, people like to see the protagonist as the hero he or she should be. There again, King may only be projecting the noble idea that heroes do not need to be swashbuckling; ordinary people can defeat extraordinary villains. 

       His last flaw is his simple, and usually deus ex machina, resolution to complex plots. 

       Overall, however, King is arguably the best novelist of this time. Irrespective of his flaws, other writers pale significantly in comparison to his brilliant imagination. 

       The truth remains that nobody can appeal to every reader's sense of writing or literary works. Everybody cannot be a fan of Stephen King. No matter what he writes, some will still prefer the simpler styles of Dean Koontz, the slowly developed plots of Tom Clancy, the hollywood sex and glitterati of Jackie Collins, the courtroom drama of Grisham or the intriguing espionage and conspiracy plots of Ludlum and Forsythe. Whichever one prefers, I would recommend some Stephen King Books (not as a fan but as a reader).

       The Green Mile, IT, Hearts in Atlantis, Bag of Bones and The Dark Tower series.

Review posted by: Ejiogu Uchechukwu

       Stephen King should move upwards. He is always called a rich hack because he is so popular and he writes horror but all Constant Readers know how charming, effective and talented author he is. Not only did he created pop-icon masterpieces (Carrie, Pet Sematary, Christine, Green Mile, IT) he also created a universe with his books at the vortex of which lies the Dark Tower series. His books in any genre are always struggle for masterpiece status: His post-acolypse novel the Stand is considered by many to be the best of the genre. His "Salem's Lot" is a landmark novel for vampire genre, on par with, and frequently above, the Dracula. His haunted house novel, the Shining is a showcase how to write a haunted house novel, considered by many to be the best. Christine is the most iconic haunted car story ever told, Pet Sematary is the most horrifying rendition of the Monkey's Paw and IT, a masterpiece in almost all genres, is the sum-up of all horrors, both this-worldly and other-worldly. Shawshank Redemption is the number one movie at IMDB. And the Dark Tower series is the only real rival against Lord of the Rings. With so many creative and sales successes under his belt, he should be at the fifteen at the least.

Review posted by: Cenk

       The best horror writer of all time! That's a fact. Success after success, Carrie, The Shining, Pet Sematary, It, The Stand, Salem's Lot, Thinner, Christine, Desperation, The Regulators, Insomnia, and much more!

Review posted by: Ryan

       Whaaat!?!?!? No Stephen KIng?!?!? I know his only niche is horror, he is the best at it. Just the fact that he's had so many best sellers and has been around for so long should get him on the list of best 100..Look at Tolien and Rowling. Before they wrote The Rings and Potter series and they became successful movies they were relative unknowns and if not for the movies there series' wouldn't have been "as" successful.(that's my opinion of course.and we know what they say about opions) and what about Clancy, Koonz and James Patterson?

Review posted by: schugeorge

 

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