Prolific king of horror Stephen King has some choice words for Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer. He told USA Weekend that while Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is actually talented, Meyer “can’t write worth a darn.” King also says that thriller author James Patterson can’t write either:
Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. … The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
But then King recalls that when his mom was alive, she read all the Erle Stanley Gardner books, the Perry Mason mysteries, obsessively when he was growing up. “He was a terrible writer, too, but he was very successful,” King says. “Somebody who’s a terrific writer who’s been very, very successful is Jodi Picoult. You’ve got Dean Koontz, who can write like hell. And then sometimes he’s just awful. It varies. James Patterson is a terrible writer but he’s very very successful. People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”
[From USA weekend via Celebutopia]
Many will disagree with me, but I don’t think that Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown can write, either. The prose in that book was laughable, and the characters were completely flat. He wove a good tale, though, and I learned about theology, history, and art along the way. From what King is saying Meyer might have similar appeal. Authors don’t need to write deftly in order to draw you in. In some cases, like Brown for me, bad writing can distract too much from the story though. I haven’t read the Twilight books yet, but from the excerpt of the first book available on Amazon, they don’t seem that bad. She does use flowery descriptions and it’s all a little too emotional and fraught with meaning, but teens seem to like it. Writers don’t have to please other authors in order to have a successful book, they just have to appeal to the masses.
Stephen King is shown at a book signing on 11/7/06. Credit: WENN. Stephenie Meyer is shown at the premiere of Twilight on 11/17/08. Credit: PRPhotos
I’m just glad that people think books are important enough to be worth fighting about.
Besides, it’s been a long time since there’s been a good literary feud. Maybe since the 1960s, with Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal?
Wow .. just because Stephenie can get her story out in under a million words she can’t write??? I used to love Stephen Kind until I got too lost in his books that dragged on & on .. I love Stephenie, not only can she tell a story she makes you “care” about her characters … Stephen needs to chill out his books aren’t what they used to be and he needs to step back and let the new authors take over!!
Leave it up to my favorite author to tear down the biggest pantload of crap that was the top seller in 2008. I work in a book store, and it was ridiculous the amount of people who are fawning over Stephenie Meyer’s books. Then you get that ONE person who admits that it’s just terrible, boring, the characters are irritating, etc.
Don’t get me started with James Patterson. He’s the Debbie Macomber of action/thrillers.
I personally think that Stephen King is hot and cold as wel. I’ve read most of his books over the years, have missed some of the new ones, although I did read Duma Key Recently. I abolutely loved some of them, some read like cardboard. Anyway, I agree with him on the Twilight author. I can see the appeal although the demographic is way to young fo me, but I also felt that there wasn’t a lot of writing craft that went into the one I read, but rather just an idea that would sel expanded upon.
And as for Dan Brown, I read the Da Vinci Code and that book was just horrible. And anything that you thought you learned in it, you should really research it to see how accurate it is, because I don’t think he did. I went and looked. But the dialogue was absolutely awful and although there was a lot of action, it just sort of stuttered along, rather than flowing. And the characters were like stuffies. Nothing behind the lines they said. Also I felt like I was being sold a whole host of things while reading it.
Agree Brown and Patterson are rubbish, couldn’t read beyond the first few chapters of Davinci Code it was so banal. King has needed a better editor for years (presumably he now has the power to bypass much editorial input). After loving the Twilight film in all its hokey glory, I had to read the books. Am now on the fourth one and have to say they are just enjoyable to read, and have very little in them that is as annoying as some of the mechanisms in current chick lit for adults. Is the characterisation a bit thin, the descriptions flowery and uninspired? Yeah, but she’s come up with a great story idea and run with it. I thought the books got progressively better, with Twilight being the most tedious. Have only just come upon the change in character/perspective in Breaking Dawn, will see whether it unravels the whole thing. Stephen King should worry less about what other writers are doing and work on making his own stuff as good as it used to be. The last book I read by him was tedious beyond belief, at least Meyer’s books thrill and entertain.
I never saw the appeal of Dean Koontz either.
Mande, if you think a King book is big you obviously haven’t read anything by James Michener, LOL!
hahahah!! stephen king is the bomb!
He’s spot on. Patterson, Koontz, and he nailed Myers. It wasn’t terrible writing, just exactly as he described. Overly sentimental, but sweet and not too sexual, which I also liked for young girls. I also think Fancyamazo is totally right, King himself can be great or total crap.
At first I was worried he was just bagging on Myers, thank god he wasn’t.
I’ll have to agree with him on this one – I don’t understand the appeal of the flowery writing in the Twilight series.
I used to be a big King fan, but he lost me with the Tommyknocker book, although I still think “The Stand” is one of the best books ever, and re-read it annually. Koontz – meh. I heartily agree about Jodi Picoult, that girl writes on some tough topics and always floors you with a twist at the end, her books are fantastic. But I have to disagree about the Twilight Series. Great prose it wasn’t, but it was interesting, entertaining, and full of plenty of sexual tension without once mentioning thrusting manhoods, furred chests or heaving bosoms. I enjoyed them immensely. But then I’m a huge reader, and I enjoy reading cereal boxes.
Agreed on Michener, Baho – but I adored “Centennial” and “Hawaii”.
He is spot-on – I have read him, Patterson, and I did read all the Meyer books (but don’t hold that against me!), and Patterson and Meyer aren’t literary geniuses, but what they do, they do well. Patterson writes great “airplane” books – quick reads, good stories, etc. And Meyer knows her audience, and writes well for them. Let’s all agree with CandyKay that folks are arguing over – and reading! – books. What a concept.
The difference i think is, is that Meyer targets the Jonas Brothers / Miley Cyrus Generation… Tweens that will scratch their necks because they think Edward is real….(not that i dont wish he was, but Pattinson isnt that bad)anyway moving on and King targets adults. Ofc their styles will differ. Maybe hes just constipated.
Syko, I loved Centennial (I’ve got the miniseries on DVD too) and I’ve read The Covenant. There’s a lot of research in his books which is really commendable and he crafts a wonderful story around it all.
I like Leon Uris too and he writes big books.
The Stand is also my favourite King book. He has said it’s the one his fans like the most though he doesn’t really get why.
I’m a King fan, esp of his earlier stuff but I too have to disagree about the Twilight Series. Meyer’s a new writer who has not yet honed her craft and so her writing may not be great from a technical aspect but the story and the characters drew me in and boy was Syko ever spot on about the sexual tension.
Re-reading King’s quote. It seems that unlike a lot of the haters, he at least has actually read the books and seems to understand the appeal.
Excellently said, SeVen.
I haven’t read anything by Meyer or Brown but I have tried to read two King books (It and Misery) and was bored to death and less than impressed with his writing style. I stopped reading about 100 from the end, I didn’t even care to know what happened next. If I was him, I wouldn’t open my big mouth like that – being successful writer doesn’t automatically mean you are a good writer. Which ironically seems to be his own point.
He is correct. She can’t write worth a damn. But in her defence at least people are reading when they pick up one of her books. Her writing is on the level of those popular chick-lit books (eg. The Guy Not Taken, Maneater) you see everywhere now that women are grabbing up like candy). People apparently want something light these days, as their lives are complicated enough. But it still is what it is – dumbed down trash for the masses.
So true about Dan Brown! The man cannot end a story. Great, suspenseful buildup and then…deus ex machina resolution. Literally, in the case of Angels and Demons.
Well said Syko, couldn’t agree with you more. I too have re-read The Stand, love it.
Baho, love Michener also, he keeps me glued. The Drifters is a fav of mine. Centennial is a ‘keeper’.
The only time when King’s books have sucked is when he wrote them when he was having substance abuse problems, such as Tommyknockers. He has admitted to having problems in the past. When he is off the juice he writes amazing books, especially The Dark Tower series.
Syko you made me LOL with ‘furred chests’ – TOO FUNNY!! :0)
I LOVE Stephen King and although yes he is hot/cold (loved the cardboard comment Fancyamazo) and yes some of his books do drag on, I am a devout FAN!
However, since he’s not putting books out like he used to can anyone suggest another author I can read. I’m really into horror.
King is a very good writer, but he is turning into an old crank.
It’s very nice that he has had such success, however, that doesn’t mean he should go around tearing down other writers. It’s simply rude. There is plenty of room in the world for all kinds of writers.
BTW, if anyone is interested, excellent books you might like: The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett. Not his usual intrigue/mystery stuff…set a back in the 12 & 14th centuries in England. Really wonderful books and very different from the usual fare.
Personally, I *love* the Twilight books (oh shut up they aren’t that bad, ya haters), but I agree…this is not Pulitzer material. But that’s okay, it doesn’t have to be. Even Anne Rice has written some dogs…ever try to read Feast of All Saints? Oy. And Uncle Stevie, though my very favorite author, has had some misses himself (hellooooo Geralds Game), so he can just stick it. 😉 (Still love him though, I’m definitely a Constant Reader.)
Here i try to leave a sarcastic and witty reply with out mentioning my favorite books and I fail. I love Laurell K. Hamilton, Robert Jordan and Terry Pratchett. King is a good author no doubt but I have to give credit to anyone whos ever written and sold a book. Its much harder to get published and sell that book then it is to be a size 0 blonde bombshell with big tits in Hollywood. So if Meyer isnt your cup of tea, thats alright, but at least she has talent enough to be published and sell which is more then we can say for 99% of the twats we gossip about on here 😀
To be honest i truly believe that the most important fact is that with the twilight series tweens and adults as well started reading!!!People don’t sit and read as before and whatever makes a child sit and grab a book is just wonderful.So King just be happy that reading is in and maybe you will benefit from this.
He totally knows what he is talking about…she’s crap, there is a reason why its teenage fiction. I’ve read the first two and I got the sense that she was writing for the mentally retarded. Beyond idiotic….I mean soooooooooo bad, she’s just trying to make money (and I can’t hold that against her) but there is no art,craft, or thought to her writing. Period
Amen on King’s ‘The Stand’. That was my fave and Michener’s ‘The Source’ was very memorable even if it takes him a quarter of the book to get going.
ummmm….hello, pot? meet kettle. haha
I havent really liked anything HE’S written in a few years. I hate it when people resort to knocking other people in the same field’s work. It’s tacky and kind of smacks of jealousy. OBVIOUSLY her work has a target demographic who loves it, so who cares?
**Note: Im not a fan of her work either haha, just making a point.
I totally agree with Sol. Teens are picking up a book instead of reading a magazine!! That has to account for something
I’ve been reading King’s books since middle school and always loved his stories-first vampire story I ever heard of was Psalem’s Lot-scared the crap out me and I couldn’t sleep (I was in HS so cut me a break)! But I stopped after The Watch Tower or whatever that series was-I could NOT get into it. It seemed like after his accident he started writing some waaaaay out there stuff.
I liked the Twilight series-and it is her first book so I’d hate to bash her too much, she’s just getting started. But I heard The Host was not so good, so I’ve been going back and forth on if I should get it. Anyone on here like it?
And I LOVE Koontz-esp how he always includes dogs in his stories and ultraintellegent and the are the heroes.
Real headline:
“Stephen King is yesterdays news, tries to hitch a ride on Twilight author’s fame.”
Meyer is writing to her fan base and apparently doing it quite well. King is just getting crotchety in his old age and it shows in his recent material. Nothing like his past masterpieces!!
“Twilight” is one of those books that you feel guilty for loving. King is right on point with his comments. I was ready to throw that printed abortion against the wall after reading the phrase “eyes narrowed” ten times within two pages, but if you give it enough patience, that black, black hole will suck you in eventually.
It’s like Spicegirls music: is it atrocious? Yes. Is it hella fun? Definitely.
I can’t say I read her books but a lady I know read all the twilight books and she said she is a terrible writer (boring style) but the story is good, and that each book got a bit better.
Everything at it’s own level – and to be honest the most an author wants or needs to be is REMEMBERED.
If I’m going to start comparing King to Nabokov or Dostoyevsky he can’t write a damn either.
I had problems the Twilight books at first but after a bit of acclimating to Bella’s POV, I’ve enjoyed them very much. I think it’s worth pointing out that most of series is from her POV and it’s hard to judge what’s the author’s ability and the character’s viewpoint.
However, what sold me on reading those books were the leaked sections of Midnight Sun from Edward’s POV. I think after reading them I realised she was a better author than Bella’s POV suggested.
I also think she’s improving with each book, so criticising on the basis of her early works seems a bit harsh when her first efforts got published.
Anything that captures the public imagination with that kind of following has to have more than fluke and luck going for it. I think she’s good but unfortunately easy to dismiss or undermine given her genre and predominant following. I don’t know why people can’t give a predominantly female audience some credit.
Stephen King changed after his accident and not in a good way. He’s also losing his eyesight. I know that would make me crabby as hell.
@Orangejulius – how could I have overlooked “The Source”? All his books started slow because you got background beginning with the first amoeba to ever wiggle in that part of the world, but as you got into it, and followed generation after generation, you found yourself thoroughly sucked in.
I LIKE light reading. I don’t read to especially educate myself (unless there is something I’m wanting to know more about for whatever reason). I ride the bus to work and it’s a long trip (but not for long – I just leased a house 10 minutes from work and will be moving in a week!!!) and sometimes a long wait for the bus, and I read while I wait, and while I ride the bus, and often while I eat lunch. Always a book in my bag. And I’m not looking for great authors or great intellect, I’m looking for relaxation and entertainment. Love a good mystery and can’t resist either of the Kellermans (Kellermen?), Greg Iles, Lisa Jackson or Karin Slaughter, although !!!spoiler alert!!! I can’t forgive her for killing off Jeffrey. I’m also a huge fan of Jennifer Crusie and Susan Isaacs and yes, I admit to buying everything Nora Roberts writes. Same thing every time, but always soothing and entertaining.
Stephenie Meyer = Anne Rice lite.
Agreed –
Stephenie Meyer and Dan Brown’s styles of writing are juvenile at best.
But they hit a target audience (“the masses” shall we call them) that are asking for no more than small paragraphs and 3 syllable words.
I actually find it weird when Stephanie Meyer throws an actual word randomly into a sentence for no apparent reason other than to seemingly prove she has a vocabulary.
I do enjoy James Patterson – not because he is a great writer, but because he can indeed weave a great tale and keep me on the edge of the “page” so to speak.
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Series = pure genius.
Syko – I couldn’t agree more . . . . I have not picked up a Stephen King book since Tommyknockers even though I was a die-hard fan prior to that book. Something just galled me after reading a 1200+ page book to end with ‘and they got on the UFO and flew away’, or whatever happy horseshit it ended in.
As someone who reads just about anything (like Syko), I’m not very discerning about writing styles. I read everything from cheesy romance novels to Shakespeare to Bradbury to Encyclopedia Brown. (And I am in my late 20’s!) I *love* King and have a nice collection of his books, so I would think he knows what he’s talking about.
However, I have to disagree with what he said about Dean Koontz. His books are riveting. I have never taken more than a day to read one and I read them over and over. there’s always somethign you forgot or didn’t catch the first time around.
(Prissa – If you like horror, Koontz’s books are a thrilling read. My first one was The Bad Place. My favorite is Midnight.)
I have read Patterson too and I enjoy them. I have the 1st Twilight book, but I’m struggling to finish “Cold Mountain” right now. (Boooooor-ing!!)
Right. If we’re talking about the prose and stylistic values of her “work”. She’s AWFUL.
But hey, I’m with those who are glad that people are reading.
It’s refreshing to go into a book store and not be the only dork in there. =D!
But then again, I think we’ve dissolved into this sad, ignorant culture that can’t appreciate good writing. They feel that any kind of book that causes “too much thinking” is bad. And the same with thought-provoking movies.
But then again, most Americans barely pass High School. *shudders* So I shouldn’t be all that surprised right?
Stephen King is a genius and he is right. He’s stories may be out there but that’s his genre and no one tells a better story. And he’s not crapping on these other writers but giving his opinion which he is paid to do.
Also, several of his books and novellas have been made into award winning and critically acclaimed films. Shawshank Redemption (no supernatural there), Misery, the Shining, the Green Mile, The Mist, Carrie, Stand By Me… The man knows what he’s talking about.
I couldn’t get through Da Vinci Code – the prose irritated the crap out of my. Brr.
I’ve read part of Twilight and thought it was the sort of thing 15 year old girls are allowed to like, because it’s a phase, but damn, it was crappy. The sort of thing that ends up being a guilty childhood pleasure that turns out to suck when you revisit as an adult. Like rewatching old MacGyver episodes.
I read the Twilight books only because everyone else was reading them. I will never say this to my friends who love the books but they really kind of sucked. I mean really who could fall that much in love with a guy whos skin is as hard as marble and as cold as ice???? I have also read the Host by Stephenie Meyer and I really liked that book, maybe because it was written for adults and not tweens. I think she has a future if she writes more mature stories and not silly little girl stories.
Stephen King is one of if not the best horror author ever.
Hey jayem – I’ve read Koontz and actually bought a few, but his writing is sometimes too poetic and flowery for me and I’ve been taken aback by his endings (that one about the golden rain had an abrupt & too easy ending) Although I do like The Husband, The Good Guy and the Odd series. There ias this 1 writer (I forget his name) but he reminded me of SK and I want to get more of his books. The one book I bought was about an alien manifstation that got into your body by particles travelling through the air and showed symptoms with blue triangles and blue hairs on the hosts body. Eventually they are born out of their human host and the story was the main characters fight to keep his infestation from taking over his body. It was pretty good. Anyone read that one or know the authors name? I googled his name b4 and it didn’t seem like he has written many books. The name escapes me right now…
He’s right – Twilight is a poorly-written Mary Sue story that should honestly be rotting away on the internet somewhere rather than being hailed as the next Harry Potter.
King’s writing is genius -if there’s romance it’s generally realistic. And he doesn’t dance around sex like Meyers – if it’s needed, he writes it, if it’s not, he doesn’t. The only reason Meyers finally wrote sex into Breaking Dawn was to distract from how it was easily the worst book in the series – and thus one of the worst books in the history of literature.
I really hope she doesn’t end up finishing Midnight Sun. She’s run out of muse after four books, so what does she do? Rewrite the first book. Wow, nice.
I really don’t like this whole “she’s getting kids to read” thing. If you’re old enough to read Twilight, you’ve already experienced Harry Potter. And thus have read good books. And if this is the first book Miley Cyrus-fed tweens have picked up, that’s just sad. If this is their impression of modern literature, I’m genuinely depressed.
And sorry, the whole “he’s a different demographic and he just doesn’t get it” is not a good defense. Adults AND teenagers read his books – I’ll give you five bucks if you can show me an intelligent adult who has read Twilight and liked it.
Dean Koontz’s books are mesmerizing. I read 29 in a row and they were all good. He’s only had one I didn’t like too much, a recent one where he focused on a dog, too syrupy for my liking,
Pablum for the masses.
And I agree w/the comments that SK has earned the right to make such comments. His book and movie list alone speaks volumes. I love how developed his characters are and the immagery he uses. Like in Blaze, the main character (who is mentally retarded and an outcast) feels sad when he sees a bird sitting on a telephone wire alone. That line just struck me as so poignant! And I acutally think Stephen King can tell a great love story! I really enjoyed Hearts in Atlantis and the thread he wove across the years with the two main characters Carol and Bobby. So sweet!
Judging writing/stories is so ambiguous.
I personally REALLY liked the “Twilight” series, but can still understand why others wouldn’t (p.s., Bella is an idiot… but I kind of liked how she was flawed and annoying).
I enjoyed the love story and world she created with vampires… but clearly the POINT of the story was the electric romance between Bella and Edward, from BELLA’s perspective. How could Stephen King enjoy it?
To each his own.
P.S. –
Koontz, from the little I’ve read of him, is amazing. “Odd Thomas” was brilliant. And I’m enjoying what I’m learning from Brown’s “Angels & Demons,” but – AGH – his writing is annoying. He tries to reveal historic/scientific information via conversations by characters, and it just sounds hokey.
(I can’t think of another word.)
I do not get how everyone likes that book? I mean it is terribele!!!!!!!!!!!! The people are flat and the story is just bad. I think she is a terrible aouther!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay,Stephen King is a famous well known author he can definitely write, but Stephenie Meyer is more of a love teen story where his books are horror.Stephenie Meyer has big talent she is one of my major role models and Stephen King is probably very VERY JEALOUS!!!
Finally. I thought there was something wrong with me because I thought the first two twilight books were hokey. I mean they GLITTERED in the sunlight…couldn’t she have thought of something better???
I like some of Dean Kootnz but not all of it. Watchers was the best IMO.
I think the best two books I have read in the past couple of months have been The Reader and We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Stephen King is a master at his craft.
He absolutely knows of what he speaks. For those of us who read him, he really has just continued the same story, everything is layered and intertwined. A fantastic read.
Another great one is Clive Barker.
Stephen King isn’t tearing her down as some people say. If you’d actually read the entire quote and understood it, you’d know that he was basically saying that her writing sucks (which it does) but she’s writing for a particular group of people and it works for them but not for everyone. He also says that he likes the stories and the way she’s introducing sexuality to teenage girls.
Did any of you actually read what he said? Or did you skim the first two sentences and then comment?
I’ve not read anything by any of the people King mentioned, basically as I haven’t been much of a reader since college – so am I to understand that Meyers is basically Virginia Andrews with the undead but without sex?
But I was a big fan of Stephen King when I was a teenager and for my money “The Breathing Method” is one of the best stories and bits of writing I’ve ever come across.
I completely agree with you on Dan Brown though – he has good stories but a terrible way of telling them. But you and one or two of the commentators have just scared the hell out of me saying that you’re learning “from” his books. Please, please, PLEASE tell me that you’re reading something and going to double-check it elsewhere. Otherwise we’re going to have a falling out.
The last poor unfortunate who was silly enough to mention that “you can see that it really IS Mary Magdalene in the Last Supper” is still licking their wounds. (I wasn’t being intentionally nasty to her – I was just very detailed and forensic in disproving that ludicrous notion).
There were a few really dumbass statements in Angels and Demons, but I’d have to read it again to find them.
I could not put the Twillight books down. I thought for her first books she did a fine job, particularly when taking into account that they are actually written for teens.
I do however love and adore Stephen King. Bag of Bones is incredible, and his writing is so detailed that it takes me right back to Maine. I am glad he mentioned Jodi Piccoult, she is immensly talented, and her books are certainly thought provoking.
Stephen King’s right, she can’t write AT ALL. And this is coming from a teenager who is supposed to be in her target audience. Teah Stephen all the way.
*Team.
I wish I could edit.
Jann – very eloquently put. I agree 1,000,000,000% ;0)
Oh and I think I am going to buy a Jodi Piccoult when I leave work – can anybody suggest the first book of hers I should buy? That would be much appreciated! Thanks
After reading the comments, I think I may have to fill the holes in my reading of SK. I sort of gave up on him for a while, and as I said I read “Duma Key” and I have started “Blaze”. I (favorite of all if you want to try just one was “The Drawing of the Three”. And yes, as I think I mentioned before, anyone learning things from Dan Brown needs to do some further reading, because a lot of his “knowledge” is taken out of context or even cut from whole cloth.
If you want some excellent works of fiction to read though, try Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series. I didn’t like the side books about John Grey so much, but I absolutely adore her main series. And yeah, there is always Clive Barker, although I hated the last book he wrote (can’t even remember the name of it right now), I love his books of blood and others from that period of his writing.
Oh my god! Celebitchy those are the exact reasons I did not like the Davinci Code. The writing style drove me crazy and the characters were about as interesting as watching grass grow. Well-researched and informative but the writing style turned me off… Angels and Demons took me an entire summer because it was the same story as DC and reading one chapter was such a struggle!
As for Twilight, I love the books because of the story but a lot of the prose is repetitive and laughable. Stephenie Meyer definitely needs to invest in a thesaurus.
I had Twilight for years, and when I attempted reading it, I couldn’t finish it.
Not only am I sick of the modernized vampire-meets-not a vampire stories, I felt it was a shallow love story with unlikeable characters. Bella was by far the most dependent, pathetic trainwreck of a character I’ve ever read about, and Edward Cullen was overbearing and angsty.
The use of imagery was boring at best, and if anyone’s wondering why Twilight is successful, it’s because teenagers and young adults are gullible enough to go out of the way to throw money at the mention of the word “vampire” and that Robert Pattinson was a piece of meat for screaming girls.
The Twilight books being good for young girls? Puh-lease. Edward is an abusive, controlling stalker who is good looking. If my sister got involved with someone like that, you better believe I’d be stepping in and getting her away from him. Bella gives up EVERYTHING in order to be Edward’s girl/woman. Education? Forget it, she’s got a man to take care of her. Being independent? Forget it, when he leaves her she slips into a pseudo-coma. We really want young girls to aspire to be Bella and land themselves an Edward of their own?
Well, all I got to say is that vampires who avoid the sun because they will sparkle and look fabulous is so lame that I can only imagine the author who not only comes up with that concept but then writes a bunch of books about fabulous sparkly vampires is kind of terrible.
While reading Stephen King’s word I thought that Dan Brown too is an overrated writer. Well, I thought that he is one of the worst writers ever, actually.
Also, you should read this comic if you’re on the Twilight fence.
Prissa-
Any book by Jodi Piccoult is fantastic. The 10th Circle, Mercy, and Change of Heart are great.
I’ve never read any of Stephanie Meyers books, simply because a friend told me she writes like a 5 year old.
I guess my friend was on to something…
Prissa – It’s called Infected by Scott Sigler. (I haven’t read it, I just Googled some key words!) It looks pretty good though, so I might have to check it out. He wrote another one called Contagious, if you’re interested in his other work.
Koontz is very overly descriptive, but I think that’s part of what I love about his books. They give you the opportunity to visualize what’s going on so vividly, as if you were there. (He’s famous for a “third-person omniscient” point of view; it really drives the story along as you see what’s going on through all these people’s eyes.) I would give it another shot. His earlier work is better – Phantoms, Strangers, Watchers, Intensity.
Dan Brown is the Thomas Kincaide of writing. His plots are horrible & his writing style is infantile. That being said, his word vomit is mildly entertaining. At least I can laugh at it while I’m reading it.
As for Meyer… I’m in the middle of the last book & I can’t finish it because its’ so painfully stupid. I inhaled the first 3 books, but they are just so damn dumb!
First of all, King is right; she can’t write worth damn. Its like Sweet Valley High, except with vampires, werewolves, & a moron of a heroine instead of size 6 blonde twins. GAWD, the melodrama is exhausting to read!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about brain candy & I fully understand & support everyone’s right to read what they chose, but the books by Brown & Meyer are literary shit
Oh, and, Not only am I sick of the modernized vampire-meets-not a vampire stories, I felt it was a shallow love story with unlikeable characters. Bella was by far the most dependent, pathetic train wreck of a character I’ve ever read about, and Edward Cullen was overbearing and angsty. is right the eff on.
ChristinaX is 100% spot on. Wonderful descriptions
Thanks caribassett, I will check each of those out! :0)
jayem – Yes! Yes! Yes, that’s it! It was really good, very gorey – if you like that kind of stuff (which I do). He reminds me of SK a little.
Dan Brown is a horrible writer. I couldn’t get into The Da Vinci Code because the writing was so distracting. So bad…
I think the difference is that Steven King writes books to just be books. (don’t always translate well into movies) And Dan Brown and Stephanie Meyer write books with the intent of them being movies. They are almost screaming out to you MAKE ME INTO A MOVIE! but that’s just my opinion.
I understand why teenagers might like this, but i don’t understand the throngs of adult women going nuts for this. I was not a SVH girl though, Pet Semetary was something I read very young.
SK is a genius. He does “disturbed” like no one else. Sure, he put out a few stinkers (Lisey’s Story, Cell), his earlier stuff is downright amazing.
I never totally understood all the hype about the Da Vinci Code either, although I did enjoy it, it was mostly because of the cryptograms / puzzles in the book. Which I typically figured out long before they were revealed.
Dean Koontz did well with Intensity, haven’t read much else.
Stephen King has earned the right to be a crotchety fart. Let him reign. He knows how to freak people out like no one’s business.
Okay, first, just because something is written for teens (or even children) it doesn’t mean the writing has to be crap. Have none of you ever read “Harriett the Spy?” Read the book, not seen the movie. It’s a terrific piece of fiction.
Secondly, crap writers get published. All. The. Time. Being published doesn’t mean you’re a good writer. It just means you’re published.
Third, while Steven King has had a career of both highs and lows writing-wise, he has enough great books under his belt (including some dandy non-fiction essays) that he has the gravitas (yeah, I said it) to come out and say this thing if he wants to. It doesn’t make him an old coot. It means he’s foolish enough to still care about the world of letters.
Oh, and to you silly tw*ts who think Steven King is jealous of this Twilight writer? He craps better fiction. M’kay?
Doesn’t Meyer’s vampires sparkle? When they bite you does that mean their fairy dust mixes with your blood?
King has more than earned the right to give his opinon about other writers. He has sold millions of books…at least, unlike actors, he’s giving opinions on his area of expertise, not on politics, the economy, the environment, or whatever.
I love King and he IS a good writer–by which I mean he knows how to construct a sentence, how to use grammar and language properly; a skill we tend to discount all too often when we talk about authors.
King has never pretended to be Dostoyevski (which I know I’ve just misspelled and am too lazy to look up–sorry!). However, neither is his work “fluff”–his plot, character development, dialogue, and narrative are all very well done. Some of his books I love and have re-read dozens of times…others have not engaged me at all. But even the ones I only read once had memorable moments, good pieces of this or that (a scene, a description, something) that stayed with me.
He was spot-on about Koontz, too. When Koontz is good, I really enjoy his books (the Odd series, ‘The Face’ to name a few), but when he’s not “on” his books are awful! You’d think they were written by someone else entirely.
Poor Dan Brown…if only he hadn’t gotten famous, so many people wouldn’t have discovered what a bad writer he is!
Another excellent writer is Susan Howatch–one of my favorites.
Twilight is something that I just cannot get into. The characters, the plot, and the writing are just too flat for my taste. Yet, I can understand why some people like the series and when it comes to literature, everybody’s a critic (I’m no exception). I would also like to reiterate, as some have already done, that being published does not make you a good writer. It just means that the publisher was apt enough to see that the masses would eat it up and pay up. You can like Meyer’s books but I don’t think that her actual writing abilities are defensible. Rowling on the other hand, I would liken to Jane Austen; a hit with both the critics and the masses.
Meh. I think it all comes down to “what you are into”. Some people enjoy the twilight-esque books, while others are more into deeper books….
I will say one thing though, calling Stephanie Meyer a bad writer doesn’t make YOU any better, Stephen.
Doesn’t matter how much success you have had, who the hell are you to critisize somebody else’s skills? Shut your mouth!
Prissa— I love Jodi Picoult’s books and I think that “The Pact” “My Sister’s Keeper” and “Plain Truth” are my personal favorites.
My sister’s keeper is being made into a movie and I have a feeling I’m going to be disappointed. The mother is being played by Cameron Diaz.
I haven’t read the others yet already mentioned because a decent bookstore is over an hour away.
King has a way of drawing you into a story, to make you feel like you are a part of it. Once I finally started reading his Gunslinger series, I realized what a genius at his craft he is – many of his stories have been intertwined into that epic. I got so mad at the ending I threw the book across the room. I never do that.
I’ve read the Twilight series. It’s ok. It was well written enough for me to pick up all 4 books but not well enough for me to tell people they have to read it.
When someone requests my recommendation, I steer them to Robert Jordan, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Sophie Kinsella, Anne Rice, Koontz, and King as the top of my list. Maeve Binchy is one of my secret favorites for girly stories.
Personally, I can’t get through a Stephen King book to save my life, and I’ve tried. Does that mean he’s a terrible writer and has no talent? No, and I would never say that.
I thought a critic’s job was to provide a critique, which is constructive criticism- not a generalized bashing, and King managed to work in pot-shots at Earle Stanley Gardner, Dean Koontz, and James Patterson as well.
He also indirectly insulted Meyer’s readers, implying they’re all young girls who get cheap thrills from Meyer’s vampire. If his intent was to influence younger readers about their reading choices, I think all he managed to do was to come off as a pompous ass.
He’s entitled to his opinion- I just wish he found a more respectful way to express it.
A bit late to join the discussion and I haven’t read Twilight and probably never will, but a shout-out to those of you who like Michener — Baho, Daisy, etc — I love love love The Drifters. Must be my favourite. Also loved Space, Centennial, Chesapeake, The Covenant (on South Africa, yay!), Texas, Alaska, Hawaii…
I love Stephen King too and Koontz, but agree that both have had better ones and sh*ttier ones. The Da Vinci Code was a struggle. I’d rather read the long long speech in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand than trying another Brown novel…
He’s right, she’s not very good.
Like Bodhi said, it’s just like Sweet Valley High but with vampires and some werewolves. I was actually thinking more along the lines of The Babysitters Club, though.
After reading all four books, I can honestly say I’ve forgotten major chunks of the story. I was really into them while I was reading, but it’s like one of those movies you see, then can’t seem to remember the characters names or what the hell happened. Mindless, forgettable fun I guess.
I do love Stephen King and many of his books have stuck with me since reading them. I know he has a tendency to drone on and on and ON at times, but I’m glad cause I usually don’t want the book to end.
I feel the same way about Dean Koontz and the Odd Thomas series. I’ve read a bunch of his other books, but I can never seem to remember the names. Kind of like a Led Zeppelin song.
I guess it’s good that kids today are reading something, I just think she’s way over-rated. It’s not quality she’s putting out, but to each their own. Just leave me my Stephen King and I’ll be happy.
dovesgate – I actually LIKED the ending of the Gunslinger series. It just seemed so apropos! But I feel your “pain” after the such a long journey to have that kind of ending was kind of a let down…
Stephen King hasn’t written a good novel since he got hit by that van, so for him to knock the likes of Koontz & Patterson is like Kenny Rogers knocking Popeye’s Chicken.
I used to read the Sweet Valley High and the Cheerleader series and all that Bantam crap when I was a young teen – it was very much of its time, it knew it’s market and it stayed there. (Don’t look at me like that! I read other things as well!)
Now to be fair to Dan Brown – whilst Angels and Demons wasn’t very good, and his DVC characters were remarkably thick (his characters not being able to immediately spot mirror-writing was particularly unforgivable) – I never got angry at a book like I did when I attempted to read some shite that Tracy de Chevalier one wrote on Artemisia Gentileschi. I read a Lisa Appigneisei (?) once, it was hilariously-bad. Flashing eyes and heaving bosoms a-go-go!
All writers have their duff periods – one of my favourites is Doris Lessing and I found her sci-fi stuff unreadable.
Stephen King doesn’t make unintentional grammatical errors. Stephen King is a PROLIFIC writer, and the quality of his novels sets him apart from people like Koontz and Danielle Steele. Their novels are pure formula tripe (which has a place, don’t get me wrong), and King’s are actual attempts and something new. He’s had several duds. He’s had masterpieces, as well. Stephen King is an amazing author and a very real, very funny, very open man. He has a gift for writing people. His characters react in realistic ways to unrealistic events, and the joy of even his worst offerings has been the stunning character portraits.
All that said, and with the pre-emptive statement that I have read the entire Twilight series and loved the story, Stephanie Meyer is a TERRIBLE writer.
Twilight is a great concept. Her characters are, in places, fun. The descriptive work she does, in some places (like the first 10 pages after Bella wakes up), is truly good.
On the whole…her writing is awful. There are serious sentence structure issues. The dialogue is vapid and unrealistic. Even allowing for adolescent angst, the emotionality in the books is just off-base. People feel unnatural things and react in unnatural ways. They don’t ring true and it’s a HUGE fault in the entire series. She uses more adverbs than I have ever seen in a work of prose…and it damages the work. The writing is bad. Period.
Love the books. They’re worth something, and it is a great accomplishment that this woman conceived, wrote, and published a 4-book series. But the writing is crap…and that’s just a fact.
Stephen King is a great American writer and cannot be compared to Stephanie Meyer based on 10 or so bad books out of more than – what? — 50? Read Desperation or The Stand or Four Seasons or Everything’s Eventual….then you’ll understand why Stephen King had a right to “judge” Stephanie Meyer’s writing.
I agree wholeheartedly Aspen!!
I personally think that King, though a great writer, can pass judgement on Meyer. They both write in different styles not to mention the great genre difference and considering the books that he writes and his age and sex, well of course he wouldn’t like them. But i do like the fact that he feels the need to fight for books…even if it is completely invalid.
Let’s see…the Twilight books are about Vampires right? I seem to remember a little itty bitty tiny book he wrote…think it might have been Salem’s Lot….
Stephen King is right. Stephenie Meyer is a poor writer. Trust me, as a PhD student in English, I’ve read a lot, and compared to the English Literature as a whole, the Twilight series area complete and utter joke. That doesn’t mean that they don’t appeal to many, many people. King acknowledges the fan base. The truth is, millions of people love the Twilight books, and millions of people are also immature, unsophisticated, and uneducated.
I see where Steven King is coming from…he see’s a view we dont being that this is his profession…and Twilight another chick flick about a Vampire love story really sucks……hahaha pun intended. i will say this i am not a fan of the Harry Potter crock but Dean Koontz is hot and i do like James Patterson for his rawness but it’s all about personal taste….an Steven doent like the taste of Stephenie tartar skills..and hopefully this will inspire people to go out and read more Literary beef instead of Hip Hop i love it…next thing you know Maya Angelou will do drive by book throwings…
Welll….FINALLY
someone in the spotlight has not felt embarrased to say what they really felt about twilight.
It is an over cliched piece of junk aimed at teenaged girls who have no love life and are obviously shallow and illiterate. And he gave JK the praise she deserves.
He ought to have said that him and JK work hard on making thier books.Whereas Stephanie rambles on about perfection and can’t be bothered learning how to write properly && its a hit?!?
HUH!
What is wrong with the world!
Well done, Steven it had to be said
um…I am not a Jonas Brothers/Miley Cyrus fan; I can’t stand them. Twilight is not directed at silly tween girls either. Hell my mother and aunt read them! the important thing with the Twilight series is that people who have never even READ before are reading these books and loving them…so obviously Stephenie must be doing something right.
And I don’t see how her writing is so awful either…while Stephen King can write a hell of a book and then completely drag on near the end and not know how to finish it. He has written some GREAT books…but what AMAZING thing has he done lately?
Oh but i would like to say that I think that the praise Twilight gets over Harry Potter is ridiculous. There is no comparison…Harry Potter is its own world with great stories and amazing characters. Every single character in those books are described perfectly. Those books are like a childhood to many readers like myself who grew up with reading those books and hold very good memories with them throughout the years.
I think authors in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks when the glass catches his reflection.
I feel that Stephen was harsh, yet brutally honest. He is right though. Stephenie is a TERRIBLE writer. The reason her books are popular, is because of her characters and plot. Its not really a complicated plot. Girl falls for guy, guy is a vampire, girl doesn’t care.. Not too hard, no?
I agree with Stephen on J.K.Rowling!
She is, by far, the BEST writer out there right now. Stephenie WISHES she had Rowling’s talent…
Stephenie Meyer can’t write. People are paying too much attention to the plot and the characters rather than the structure building them. She also needs to learn how to proofread.. I found too many grammatical errors.
Many people who have never read for fun are reading the Twilight series. Those people are saying this is their favorite book or whatever because it’s probably the only book they’ve read.The Twilight series is their favorite only because they have nothing to compare it to.
These Authors are targeting two completely different age groups.. How can you compare one to another? Both are great writers for their directed ages groups!
Stephen King is a good writer and all his books are genius but I personally think that the first 200 pages of The Stand were utterly boring reading that book gave me a complete headache. I finished the book it turned out great the beginning though not so great. Riding the Bullet was an amazing book I loved it. but anyways I also love twilight I do personally think twilight is a better book than quit a couple of Stephen Kings’
twilight lets you connect with the characters feel what Bella is feeling you cry when something terrible has happened but Stephen Kings’ books doesn’t have that affect I believe that Stephenie Meyer could have been a little more descriptive with he series but that was it I think the twilight saga is over all a very good series and I disagree with Stephen King
Stephen King is a good writer and all his books are genius but I personally think that the first 200 pages of The Stand were utterly boring reading that book gave me a complete headache. I finished the book it turned out great the beginning though not so great. Riding the Bullet was an amazing book I loved it. but anyways I also love twilight I do personally think twilight is a better book than quit a couple of Stephen Kings’
twilight lets you connect with the characters feel what Bella is feeling you cry when something terrible has happened but Stephen Kings’ books doesn’t have that affect I believe that Stephenie Meyer could have been a little more descriptive with he series but that was it I think the twilight saga is over all a very good series and I disagree with Stephen King.
Stephen King is right.
Stephenie Meyer cannot write. Most of the people I know who enjoyed Twilight are people who would not have the brain capacity to read a proper, well-structured, fast-moving book.
Number One Law Of Literature: Characters Cannot Be Perfect.
Meyer ignores this rule outright. Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Jacob, Alice, Jasper and Emmett all seem to be wonderfully, beautifully perfect or thereabouts.
Meyer squeezes her plot into the last couple of chapters of Twilight, after pages of going nowhere.
Bella gets everything she wants without any effort, and whines a lot along the way.
King is King! Meyer cannot write.
I think that Stephenie is an ok writer. But I don’t think she should be hailed as the new “anne rice, ” or the “new J.K.Rowling”… JK Rowling is way better then Stephenie!
Stephen King is like a literary genius.
Stephenie Meyer- a lucky mom who’s sold more books than she deserved.
I agree with Stephen, Stephenie’s books have so many plot holes, so many errors, and she over-describes everything!
I think its just so ironic because stephen king is one of the least talented authors around. He was rejected numerous times before published. He is one of the most prolific – but seriously – horror books are not difficult to churn out.
Anything that gets people interested in reading is a good thing. Stephen King should not be critisizing Stephenie Meyer for getting these kids off their computers and into reading. It is good if people are interested in reading it. A Mom friend of mine who hasn’t had time to read a novel in years even got into this Twilight series.
I would love to reiterate all that Twentysome already covered. He/She put it best.
I love that Stephen King acknowledged Jodi Picoult’s ability and success. She is my favorite author and I have read everything she has written, with the exception of a few.
To somewhat agree with the few Meyer sympathizers, an author is still figuring out her style and voice with her first book. Hell, I couldn’t even get through Picoult’s first book.
I have personally never read anything of King’s, but his reputation precedes him as an intelligent and gifted writer. The Stand is on my list of books to read, and from what I read of all the comments, it should be a good read.
While its nice to think “oh good people are reading again” I honestly don’t think Twilight is good for teenage girls. Edward is perfect and Bella is obsessed. Do we really want teen girls unconsciously holding Twilight as their model for relationships (media has a huge influence, especially over teenagers)? No man is Edward. Period. Do you really want the next generation acting like Bella? Who cares about education or doing ANYTHING else when you’ve got a glittery guy to take care of you? It just comes down to the fact that (other than the abstinence) I don’t think this book has the values that we want to see in teenagers, especially girls. I agree with King, if you want an easy read with good literary quality read Rowling.
Twilight is totally f-cked up; i’ve no need to repeat what others have been saying.
On the point that smeyer’s book is too long, it is. If you’re going to have tons of pages just to get some shitty plotline out, that’s definitely dragging it out too long, and its very mechanical and mediocre; definitely not poetic or formal to do that. Why else do you think the deepest of poetry only needs a few lines to get out an insightful point, and that essays from great minds are kept cut down to a minimum??
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When are crazy Twilight fans going to realize that just because you “like” Twilight doesn’t make the writing good? We all want to chalk it up too “everyone likes different things” and “everyone’s a winner”, but some people have talent and others don’t. Twilight is not a matter of style or taste, it’s just flat out bad.
For example, one line in New Moon: Aro started to laugh. “Ha, ha, ha,” he chuckled.
It’s like, “Did you really just tell us that he laughed three times in a row? Are you retarded?”
Meyer stinks. Get a straw and suck it up. If you enjoy reading shallow crap books fine, that’s your prerogative; I enjoy Britney Spears music, but I’m not going to act like her songs “profound”, “novel”, or even “good” and start treating her like she’s the next Krzysztof Penderecki. Like what you like; it’s when fans start taking that crap book seriously and acting like it’s this “wonderful” piece of writing (and getting butt hurt when told that it‘s not) that gets under my skin.
I love Stephen King. Albeit some of his books more than others. Still I don’t think he should be criticizing other authors unless he’s suddenly switched jobs to book critic.
I really don’t care how the Twilight books are written. Good old Steph has made lots of moola caboola off of them. I wish I thought up the premise.
What bothers me is how rabid some of the fans are. I have friends (early to late 30’s) that talk in Twilight code. What is that anyhow? Twilight code? They say for example OME Oh My Edward instead of OMG. The constant debate of Team Edward vs Team Jacob makes me want to pull my hair out. One of them even sleeps under an Edward Cullen bedspread. Yuck! I hope these people realize Edward and Jacob are not real people. If you say anything remotely negative about Twilight, they have a little hissy fit.
So I have no problem with Stephenie. I just don’t understand why the books bring out the Pyscho is some people.