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Ellison is extremely hit-or-miss. His best work is timeless, in my opinion, and is some of the best short fiction ever written. However, about 90% of his short stories that fill out his collections tends to feel horribly dated and overly "gee whiz! Ain't that neat!" pulp adventures.Quote:
Originally Posted by teejay17
But I agree that when Ellison is ON, he is really ON in his fiction.
What's the big deal about him? I haven't read any of his books, but I want to know if in your opinion, his works have literary merit, and if not, why he receives so many accolades.
Thanks.
He is popular because he understands working class pragmatism, and respects it, in the same way that Henry James understood the Victorian upper caste. King's work endures because his fantasy credibly upends the no nonsense working class sensibility. You can see this in all of his protagonists. Carrie is the outcast who satisfyingly takes revenge on the high school pecking order. Cujo is the everyman's dog who is supposed to be a loyal friend, not a demon. Pet Sementary is about that same American everyman who gets sucked into an immortality which may not be a very good thing. The janitor in the green mile (I think) gains power which challenges what he had been certain of as an old man.
The problem with King, even at his best, is that he is oversimplistic about good, evil, and messianic triumph--and he wrote (and may still write) a lot of trash which probably only gets published because he is the author of Carrie and Salem's Lot.
I've had enough, and working class though I be, prefer the enduring riches of an aesthete like Henry James.
You guys are probably going to ostracize me :lol:, but I've actually liked the few books of his that I read.
I know there's been some sort of controversy going on about King since someone (I think it was Harold Bloom) objected to his being admitted to the American Writers' Association, or being awarded some distinction, or something like that (as you can see, I'm not clear about the specifics :lol: ).
But I agree with an assertion I read somewhere, that the originality or merit of his works (which are not the ordinary horror fare) lies in that he perverts the American middle class world, turns it upside down (this has been already mentioned by Jozanny), and makes commonplace people and things become sinister. And this never happens suddenly, as might be expected of a lesser writer - creepiness and evilness are built little by little, by accumulation of details and little events... and tension also builds slowly but steadily... Maybe that's what's so interesting about King: his ability to show us the American dream gone horribly wrong.
That said, I must admit I wouldn't like to sleep in the bed of a guy who can think up such hair-raising stuff :alien:
I really think that's with any author. A lot of works can be hit or miss, whether it's Stephen king or Charles Dickens.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pecksie
My opinion is try him out, it won't hurt. I'd start with his more popular and well known novels before really exploring the rest. Trying Salems Lot, Carrie, Pet Sematary, ect. You can even look him up on amazon and see what books people rate better then others.
Personally, I like him. I wish a lot more people would stop being so pretentious about his work and just try him.
I will admit that I genuinely like one King shorter story, The Long Walk. It is well paced, and I found it a credible alternate reality that did not rely on the usual bag of tricks that King shakes up for his output, but the end of it was a kind of sputtering mea culpa which was a tad confusing.
Carrie, is a minor commercial masterpiece. Misogynist? Perhaps. I argued that in another forum, but the story works, scared the wits out of me when I read it at 14, and Sissy Spacek made the role her own, but like I indicated in my first post, King publishes too much material that is utterly ridiculous, and doesn't know when to quit.
The Stand, which his fans ooo ah and goo goo about, is nothing more than an overwrought retelling of apocalypse followed by creationist rebirth. I hate it. All those characters developed for what? To battle a devil and win and woohoo, humanity gets a second shot.
And with some of his novels, you are better off leaving for classic cartoons like Bugs Bunny. Far too many to list.
Even though King is the only famous person from my state, I must admit that I haven't read anything by him since I was in high school. I do respect him, though, because he has given a lot back to Maine. He's donated millions to the state university system, art and reading programs, and public libraries.
If I could change one thing, I would probably wish Stephen King to be a normal writer than a horror writer. King is a talented writer, unforutantely most of his stuff is supernatural.
However some of the movies based on his books are great movies. For e.g. Shawshank Redemption , Green Mile , and Hearts in Atlantis.
I read green mile. There is a little bit of supernatural stuff, still it is a good book.
I abolutely don’t like horror , sci-fi, travelling into past/future literature. However King has a good style. His book – On Writing is a nice book. I want to give him one more try.
Could any one suggest me his normal books (no horror/no super natural)?
I think this is one of the problems with the publishing world you can easily get 'stuck' in a particular genre, you build up a fan base and all the publisher is interested in is when the next horror novel is ready. I guess though that he has enough money to break from the genre and write what he wants, should he so wish, but I doubt he would sell many copies should he announce to the world that his next book is a romance!
It is a long time since I read anything by Stephen King, over ten years, but I seem to recall (at that age) I thought he a fair enough writer, though his plots would soon turn crazy in order to conform to the wants and constraints of the genre - shame.
Different Seasons is good, it is a collection of four novellas including The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redmeption, which are both excellent. I am reading Blaze right now, and although its not as well written as some of his later stuff, it has a really good story and I am really enjoying it.
There is nothing wrong with horror and there is nothing wrong with a writer choosing to write in the horror genere, or any other genre, just becasue one person might not like it , does not mean they should not write in that genre anymore
I think, perhaps, the problem with your statement is twofold. First, why would you classify horror or the supernatural as abnormal? Horror happens around us everyday as does a belief in things supernatural (consult your favorite religion). Writing about those things isn't abnormal.Quote:
Originally Posted by ravilobo
Secondly, I think it's difficult to classify 'horror' as a genre. What makes a horror book? Generally, a horror book is like any other book in that there is a theme, there are characters, there is a progression of story and there is an outcome. The horror aspect of any given work is fleeting and momentary. Would you consider Dicken's A Christmas Carol a horror book, for example? What about Puzo's The Godfather? Certainly horrific things happen in either of those books.
One could create quite a long list of King's work that has nothing whatever to do with the supernatural. The same could be said for his work that probably shouldn't fit into the common perception of what a horror novel is comprised of.
I think to defend the threat starter though he did state that he didn't like horror novels "I abolutely don’t like horror, sci-fi, travelling into past/future literature". With it he is not necessarily attacking the genre (however you define it) but merely stating personal preference.Quote:
Originally Posted by SkullFarmer
For me too I have read and seen some films based upon King's novels and feel that they are weakened at times by some bizarre supernatural encounters, reminds me a bit of X-files. At times you have a fairly good episode involving a serial killer and then it turns out to be a bounty-hunting alien who can transform appearance at will!
Thank you for saving me Neely.
I don’t have anything against horror /sci-fi books. By choice I don’t like them. Harry Potter is a widely famous series. However that is not my cup of tea.
I don’t want to totally ignore King, because he is a talented writer. Since I have a taste for non-horror/ non sci-fi literature, I am looking for the ones written by King.
Sorry, didn't mean to come off as prickly as I did. :)
Dolores Claiborne and Misery are good ones, neither are supernatural but one is scary (Misery).
The Shining does have supernatural elements but it's primarily about a man's battle with himself.
Cujo isn't supernatural, but has some horror elements.
Gerald's Game is a good one too, nothing supernatural there.
I think King's literary Kung-Fu is really that he understands people and every one of his characters are interesting. I would agree that sometimes the stories themselves turn south but his characters are always fun to read about.
King has a lot of short stories too that would possibly fit your criteria. They are probably further and fewer between though and you'd have to buy 10 you wouldn't like to read one that you might like.