Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Doobie
I've read Stephen King books. Even "good" ones like It, Carrie, and the Shining. And I have to say, I still don't think he's that good. His payoffs are lame and/or stupid, he abuses cliches, and he recycles his ideas constantly (ie: unexplained child psychics of plot convenience).
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You consider Carrie one of his good ones? Most King fans (and I know a lot of them) consider that on the lower end of King's work. His payoffs aren't always the best, and yes sometimes he uses cliches, but not always.
Desp, what King is one of the best in the world at is creating fully realized, three-dimensional characters that you fall in love with (or despise) by the time the book is over (or they die). For example, in
The Shining there's one hundred pages of characterization before they even get to the Overlook hotel. And yes, Cell is not the greatest example of his character development skills.
I've read my fair share of Gaiman, and it's very hard to compare King to Pratchett, but it's not that King doesn't compare to those authors, he has a very different style, very different visions. They are all very talented in different ways, but Stephen King wouldn't have risen the way he did over other great authors at the time (like Peter Straub) if he wasn't great at what he does.