Stephen King Comments on JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer
Celebs on HP
Posted by: sue
February 03, 2009, 07:52 PM
Scores of readers let us know about a new interview with acclaimed author Stephen King, who has made some new comments regarding Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. Speaking with USA Weekend, Mr. King compared the two authors and had some blunt things to say about the Twilight author Meyer. Quotage as follows:
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."
"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."
Thanks to everyone who emailed!
318 Comments
288 Points
This is why I love Stephen King ^^
365 Points
I love that King is always sending out props to Rowling, but still: who made him the official cultural critc?
358 Points
Hmmm… Well. let me say first of all that I like Twilight (although it’s nothing compared to Harry Potter) mostly because I think the whole idea is cool. I admit, the writing style isn’t that great but the plot’s cool and, overall, it’s an enjoyable book. I think that the main reason King made such horrible remarks (couldn’t he have said it a bit more nicely?) about Twilight is that he writes horror books and probably doesn’t like the idea of vampires being vegetarian superheroes.
I’m still irrated by the fact that people keep on comparing Twilight and Harry Potter. I mean what have they got in common? Okay, they’re both very successful books, teens read, they have a lot of teen angst them and they’re both fantasy novels. But it ends there. Twilight is focused around a love story while Harry Potter is…well, everything. They’re two totally different things.
I also enjoy reading Patterson’s books, but Stephen says he’s just a bad writer with a lot of success. Stephen King is veeery successful, but I don’t particularly care for the writing style of his later books, though I love his older ones (The Shining is one of my favorites).
257 Points
I very much agree with what he said about the Twilight books. I read them and felt that she had such potential in making it a great story, but she always stayed just shy of that potential. I agree she lingered just a bit too much on the physical “hot/cold” feelings and not enough on Love that is very much non-physical or possibly supernatural. It seems to me like these books could reinforce the wrong perception that love has to be felt in a physical way for it to be true. Joe on the other hand showed that Love (in the nonphysical/supernatural way) is more a lifestyle; worldview. This Love is so much more powerful, fulfilling, and healing… Just my thoughts. ;)
1811 Points
Yes J.K.Rowling is a genius!!!!!
But i think he was a bit to hard on Stephenie Meyer,I like Twilight there not any where near as good as Harry Potter (nothing is!) but they are good i really really enjoyed reading them and most of my friends love them particuarly my wonderful friend Addie.and The Host is supposed to be really good and also to be honest Twilight wasn’t aimed at grown up guy’s….
Oh well rant over….
1290 Points
Haha I read this yesterday – so. funny.
:L
53 Points
ARE people still comparing Twilight to Harry Potter?
I really didn’t think that would last.
In case you didn’t notice, King isn’t really comparing the two sagas (that WOULD be pointless), he’s comparing the authors; there’s a big difference.
569 Points
yess!!! finally someone who says the truth !!! dont compare them!! they are sooo much difernt! one is a great autor and the other one… well stephen king said it:P
569 Points
yess!!! finally someone who says the truth !!! dont compare them!! they are sooo much difernt! one is a great autor and the other one… well stephen king said it:P
1630 Points
Well,, People are allowed their opinions but some are just better kept to ones self! I mean it’s rather rude to slag all those writers off and not very nice! :D xxx
16484 Points
I completely agree with this. I read the Twilight books, and liked the story, but I always said the writing was awful. What people like about these books is that they’re addictiv, but sometimes the writing is downright ridiculous! ^^
Thank you Stephen King ! Someone needed to say that. =)
1638 Points
hm…maybe he’s jelaous on Stephenies success.besides,she’s a “baby writer” and not that experienced like he is,so its completly justified. but Twilight books are great.
but our Jo..our Jo is a God of all writers
4854 Points
I totally agree with him. JK is an amazing writer and Stephenie isn’t. And yet, I still enjoy the Twilight series. Don’t ask me to explain, I don’t understand why either. haha
Oh man THANK YOU Stephen King hahaha. I’m pretty confident I could write better than Smeyer and I think I’m a terrible writer. Twilight is, quite simply, poorly written Mormon propaganda. Harry Potter is actually a story.
752 Points
This is what I’ve been trying to say to everyone when I explain why I like Twilight.. SM is a great storyteller not so much an author.. I was glad to read that I wasn’t the only one who thought this. I don’t think he’s dissing SM, he just answered a question honestly.
This is why I love Stephen King ^^