Well, I think I’m done giving Stephen King a chance. He’s gotten three chances from me already, and each book has irritated me to no avail. Each time I pick up a book by him, I expect to find the big “aha” moment where I realize why he’s touted as such a phenomenal writer. Sadly, I still have yet to find it. And honestly I’m worn out from searching. It proves my theory that just because someone may be a best-selling author (cue 50 Shades of Grey author, E.L. James); it doesn’t make them a great writer.
Does King have great ideas? Yeah, most definitely! Look no further than Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, It, Misery, The Shining. The list goes on. But just a good idea won’t do. You have to be able to carry out that idea successfully, and King just doesn’t. I love the movie versions of his books! Now those are worthy of being watched, and they’re what caused my interest in King in the first place. But after reading through some of his work, I found myself cringing at his word choices, the cheesiness and the way in which every character has the most annoying thought process that King feels he must subject us to. You want proof of this? Awhile back I did a post on his book, Lisey’s Story. If you want to be annoyed out of your mind and completely confused, read this one.
Or read Gerald’s Game (the book that prompted me to write this post). It’s about a woman who accidentally kills her husband, because he’s wanting to partake in some bondage sex, but she’s not feeling it. He has her chained to the bed and won’t unlock the handcuffs around her wrist, so she kicks him really hard where it hurts. And bam, he’s dead! And if that doesn’t sound like a dumb enough plot to you, we get about 100 pages of the main character, Jessie, trying to get out of the handcuffs. It’s a lot of boredom with bits of interesting stuff peppered in.
Honestly, the only interesting stuff is reading about the horrible experience Jessie underwent as a little girl, and even that was just sick to read. (Spoiler Alert: It has to do with her dad). And then there is a slight twist at the end, but other than that, I found myself either forcing myself to read through it or skimming past the long paragraphs describing Jessie’s attempts to get out of the handcuffs. And what’s more, I had to endure reading her annoying thoughts in her head that had about 50 different voices speaking at the same time. And each voice more annoying than the last one. Something King loves to do with all of his characters, even when not needed. Every character he writes isn’t crazy, so they don’t deserve a mindset that makes them look like psychos. It does nothing for the character but make me despise them. Not to mention, it adds to the cheesiness.
Simply put, I can now say I’ve read King and dislike his writing. He has a brilliant imagination but not the best ability at carrying it out. Is he the worst? Heck no! I can write a whole list on way more horrible writers than King. But his books are not my cup of tea. Maybe they are for you. If so, I would love to hear why. I’m always interested in other people’s views about writers, especially the writers I don’t enjoy so much. And perhaps I’m still missing that one book of his that proves he’s worthy of all the praise he garners. If so, do share!
Thanks for enduring my rant if you made it this far. And try not to hate me for disliking King. I did give him a chance…
Cozy Corner 
I never liked Stephen King’s fiction, but he wrote a book on writing called, fascinatingly, “On Writing” that is one of the best, most encouraging books of the type that I’ve ever read. Funny how that works.
Really? I’m going to have to check it out! If you aren’t a fan of his fiction but this book, than we’re in the same boat, and perhaps I’ll like it too. Thanks for sharing.