Famous Contemporary Authors

[andave_ya]

I'm at the library, and everywhere I turn I see
"STEPHEN KING"
"DEAN KOONTZ"
"JANET EVANOVITCH"

Are they really that amazing? Should I read them?

[kathycf]

Janet Evanovich is the author of this hilarious, fluffy mystery series about a PI named Stephanie Plum. She writes some other stuff too, but her Stephanie Plum books are what I am familiar with. 8.5 out of ten stars for laugh out loud stuff. You should know that there are passages that are a bit steamy in their descriptions of Stephanie's encounters with her on again off again love interest. Those parts are few, and easily skipped over if need be.

Stephen King is decent enough entertainment, his books are horror. Some you may find too disturbing. They aren't fine literature in my opinion but they aren't outright trash either. 6 out of 10.

Koontz is...ok. Again more horror/suspense sort of thing. He tends to try to be preachy too. I would rate him a 4.5 out of 10.

[metal134]

I've always liked King. I was a HUGE fan when I was younger. I still like him, but not as much. I think it's because, the more I read him, the more I find his work hit and miss. He has some that, in my opinion, belong in the pantheon of Classic Literature, such as It, but some of his boks (such as The Dark Half, The Regulators) ar just awful.
But to me, It is one of the greatest books ever written and in my eyes rivals the likes of Dickens, Dumas, etc.

[Adudaewen]

Koontz is okay, but honestly I've never made it through an entire book of his.
Evanovitch I"m not familiar with.

Stephen King is one of those writers that he has the potential, but most of his books leave you disappointed. I"m a huge King fan, but the man just can't write an ending. A lot of his books are really disturbing, and if you have a weak stomach for that kind of thing, I wouldn't recomend it. But for a cheap thrill, King's your guy.

BTW, andave, I LOVE your avatar!

[Erna]

I've read one book of Janet Evanovich, and although I know it was a bad translation into Dutch, it's not my thing. In my opinion the story was not realistic at all, but maybe that's also because the job of "fugitive apprehension agent" doesn't ring a bell, don't know if we have something comparable in the Netherlands... And the way they act, like the FBI and CIA, I don't get, a reason for which I also don't really like American detective/crime scene series...

Stephen King is quite okay, only read one book of him and saw some movies inspired on his books. No high-literature, but a good read.

Dean Koontz I don't know for myself, but I know some people with almost the same taste for books as me who love his books. I still have to start in one of his books.

[manolia]

Well..I'm a Stephen King enthusiast.
You should try some of his best books. In my opinion the following "It", "Salems lot", "The stand" (there is an nice tv series also, one of the best in the kind), "Desperation", "Needfull things" (I think that's enough, i can go on for a while till i name them all).
Hope you enjoy them.;)

P.S Avoid watching the movies based on King's books. They are a disaster

[andave_ya]

Wow all, thanks for your help. I've read Stephen King's On Writing and profited tremendously from it. (I write fan fiction.) Evanovich sounds good though. I think I might try her, because I'm not much of a horror person. I'll see what commences. Thanks again!

[Adudaewen]

P.S Avoid watching the movies based on King's books. They are a disaster

You've definitly got that right! Essh, some of them are just down right painful to watch. Though I have to say that Cujo scared the hell out of me and was a real fun movie to watch. That is actually the only book of Stephen King that I just ADORED!



Wow all, thanks for your help. I've read Stephen King's On Writing and profited tremendously from it. (I write fan fiction.)

If you enjoyed On Writing I would recommend Danse Macabre. It is non-fiction. He writes about his inspirations and influences. Very good read. And very interesting for writers.

[genoveva]

In my opinion, King's It is a modern classic!

[Mark F.]

P.S Avoid watching the movies based on King's books. They are a disaster

Utter contrived BS, Darabont's adaptations of "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption" are both pretty good films.

Kubrick's "The Shining", although not exactly like the book is one of his better films and a terrifying experience.

Cronenberg's "Dead Zone" starring Christopher Walken is a masterpiece and my favourite King movie.

"Carrie", "It" and "The Dark Half" I can do without but they're all enjoyable. I also heard "Apt Pupil" is worth a watch.

[andave_ya]

BTW, andave, I LOVE your avatar!

Thanks! Galadriel is amazing, isn't she? I'm glad you like her too.:)

[Guzmán]

Kubrick's "The Shining", although not exactly like the book is one of his better films and a terrifying experience.


How curious. I'll admit its a great thriller, but i find it one of Kubrick's lesser films, his greatest being, in my opinion, 2001, followed up by Dr Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon in the second place.

[kathycf]

Wow all, thanks for your help. I've read Stephen King's On Writing and profited tremendously from it. (I write fan fiction.) Evanovich sounds good though. I think I might try her, because I'm not much of a horror person. I'll see what commences. Thanks again!

If you do decide to try Evanovich, be sure to start with One for the Money (http://www.mysteryguide.com/bkEvanovichMoney.html)



If you enjoyed On Writing I would recommend Danse Macabre. It is non-fiction. He writes about his inspirations and influences. Very good read. And very interesting for writers.
I second that, Danse Macabre was very interesting. King often gets sloughed off as a pulpy horror author, so it is easy to forget there is a talent there.

[Adudaewen]

Thanks! Galadriel is amazing, isn't she? I'm glad you like her too.:)

Oh she is! And Cate is just positively luminous!


I second that, Danse Macabre was very interesting. King often gets sloughed off as a pulpy horror author, so it is easy to forget there is a talent there.

He is a very talented writer. And I'll give him this, horror is one of the most difficult genres to do well. And he has quite a few classics that are very well done. At least his others do give you a thrill.

[manolia]

Utter contrived BS, Darabont's adaptations of "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption" are both pretty good films.

Kubrick's "The Shining", although not exactly like the book is one of his better films and a terrifying experience.

Cronenberg's "Dead Zone" starring Christopher Walken is a masterpiece and my favourite King movie.

"Carrie", "It" and "The Dark Half" I can do without but they're all enjoyable. I also heard "Apt Pupil" is worth a watch.

Although I admit that i forgot about "The Shawshank Redemption" (shame on me! but it's been ages since i saw it) and "the green mile" i have not seen (well..I didn't care much for the book either) I do not consider "The shining" as a book adaptation (you have explained why already). The "Dead Zone" was nice..but still a drop in the ocean of crap ("sleepwalkers", "needfull things", "dreamcatcher" etc were rather painfull to watch.)

[Mark F.]

Although I admit that i forgot about "The Shawshank Redemption" (shame on me! but it's been ages since i saw it) and "the green mile" i have not seen (well..I didn't care much for the book either) I do not consider "The shining" as a book adaptation (you have explained why already). The "Dead Zone" was nice..but still a drop in the ocean of crap ("sleepwalkers", "needfull things", "dreamcatcher" etc were rather painfull to watch.)

Well when you produce such a vast quantity there's bound to be a lot of waste. Check out Victor Hugo's lesser works.

[Mark F.]

How curious. I'll admit its a great thriller, but i find it one of Kubrick's lesser films, his greatest being, in my opinion, 2001, followed up by Dr Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon in the second place.

I agree with 2001 and Dr Strangelove, though I prefer the second. A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, The Killing and The Shining are the other Kubrick films I really like. The only ones I don't think are good are Spartacus, Killer's Kiss and Eyes Wide Shut.

[andave_ya]

Hoo! Sounds like King has quite a following. Besides Danse Macabre, what other non-horror books has he written?

And, has anyone read the Torie O'Shea mysteries by Rett MacPherson? Or the Savannah Reid mysteries by G.A. McKevett? I like both of them, and read every new one as soon as my library gets it.

[metal134]

Hoo! Sounds like King has quite a following. Besides Danse Macabre, what other non-horror books has he written?

On Writing and Secret Windows, the latter of which mostly non-fiction, but has a couple of short stories.

[lavendar1]

The only ones I don't think are good are Spartacus, Killer's Kiss and Eyes Wide Shut.

Ditto -- especially the latter.

[Robert Jordan]

I've read IT 4 times in my life. First when I was 12, I'm almost 23 now and it still disturbs and frightens me on many different levels. It is a classic parable of friendship, loyalty, nostalgia, and terror, very very horrific terror. A modern day classic horror tale. For this book alone you should read Stephen King.

[Stieg]

Never read any novels by Evanovich.

Koontz I pretty much relegated to garbage, first he never breaks any patterns, his books feel like another angle on the same regurgitated story.

Stephen King is overrated, try the horror short stories of Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Fritz Leiber, and Robert Bloch. Twisted, gruesome, and funny. The atmospheric novels of Shirley Jackson, Thomas Tryon, Richard Matheson, etc. You'll get a feel where King cured his literary language from.

[MarcMcGrath]

Are you looking for famous contemporary authors or good contemporary Authors, there's quite a distinction between the two camps. The authors you named are definitely famous, and King definitely has some gems, in regards to his storytelling ability. Good contemporary authors (in my humblest of opinions) would be Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, and Don Delillo to name a few. These authors have mastered literary fiction, they together have composed some of the best and most intriguing works of the 20th/21st century.

[ennison]

Tim Binding
Frayn
Allan Massie

[andave_ya]

thanks for your suggestions, all. Any and all good (not necessarily famous) authors would be great. I really need to get my head out of the 30s and into some semblance of now.

[Moira]

Amelie Nothomb
Pascal Brukner
Michel Houllebeque

[Robert Jordan]

Alex Garland is the best modern writer that I have read. The Beach, Coma, and The Tesseract(which is his best I believe), are all great modern stories.