How will Stephen King be viewed in 100 years?

[Narz]

King's wrote some really good stuff. I don't think he'll be remembered as a legend or anything but certainly one of the better authors of the late 20th century (don't know much about any of his more recent stuff).

I don't think he can be criticized for the sheer quantity of work he's put out. He's a writer, what is he supposed to do? Better to keep putting out books, even if slightly lower quality than just to retire & be bored.

 

[Disgustipated]

That's the thing, the endings of many of his books are lacking. He's so masterful at building up suspense, but he seems to lack that monumental ending that follows such a wonderful climax. Most of his books I have read, he is so great at building up the suspense. The Stand is one example of that. There was another book he wrote, I can't remember the name of (it was in the 90's) he did such a great job building up the suspense of the town citizens turning against each other, but the ending fell flat. But I really enjoyed how the antagonist manipulated the towns people against each other. It was very evil. It's tough to come up with an ending to satisfy such an amazing buildup. But I did like the ending to the stand, although it wasn't quite as you thought it would be after such a great buildup. What better way than to have my hometown nuked.

 

[Skwink]

That's the thing, the endings of many of his books are lacking. He's so masterful at building up suspense, but he seems to lack that monumental ending that follows such a wonderful climax. Most of his books I have read, he is so great at building up the suspense. The Stand is one example of that. There was another book he wrote, I can't remember the name of (it was in the 90's) he did such a great job building up the suspense of the town citizens turning against each other, but the ending fell flat. But I really enjoyed how the antagonist manipulated the towns people against each other. It was very evil. It's tough to come up with an ending to satisfy such an amazing buildup. But I did like the ending to the stand, although it wasn't quite as you thought it would be after such a great buildup. What better way than to have my hometown nuked.

The book you might be thinking of could be Insomnia.

 

[Whiskey_Lord]

Yeah I don't buy the argument against volume. That didn't stop Anthony Trollope or Henry James from being recognized. Not that I think Stephen King comes close to either of those two in terms of quality...

 

[Disgustipated]

The book you might be thinking of could be Insomnia.

Good book, I looked it up, but that wasn't it. But I just remember it was called Needful Things. It was a great book, but I felt a little let down by the ending.

Sadly, I think Stephenie Meyer will be remember more than Stephen King.

 

[Kyriakos]

Hm, Henry James Yes, i have read his very good story "The figure (the image?) in the carpet", years ago.
I have been meaning to read the turn of the screw for ages. Maybe this xmas is the time for that...

 

[ParkCungHee]

Yeah I don't buy the argument against volume. That didn't stop Anthony Trollope or Henry James from being recognized. Not that I think Stephen King comes close to either of those two in terms of quality...

Or Robert Howard, even.

 

[Whiskey_Lord]

Turn of the Screw is good. One thing Henry James loves is ambiguity. Try The Golden Bowl. It's his magnum opus. I recently wrote a paper on Daisy Miller, which was his first published novella.

I think Henry James even tells a better ghost story than Stephen King, because James is just better at the psychological aspect of it. He really makes you think.

 

[Shaihulud]

I love Stephen Kings book, his books introduced me to the joys of reading English, so I am biased. i think that he will be remembered as a great author.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

He will be remembered as pop-art, but that's short changing the man.

The Gunslinger is brilliant. So is the series up to Drawing of the Three. Salem's Lot s another classic.

 

[warpus]

That's the thing, the endings of many of his books are lacking. He's so masterful at building up suspense, but he seems to lack that monumental ending that follows such a wonderful climax. Most of his books I have read, he is so great at building up the suspense. The Stand is one example of that. There was another book he wrote, I can't remember the name of (it was in the 90's) he did such a great job building up the suspense of the town citizens turning against each other, but the ending fell flat. But I really enjoyed how the antagonist manipulated the towns people against each other. It was very evil. It's tough to come up with an ending to satisfy such an amazing buildup. But I did like the ending to the stand, although it wasn't quite as you thought it would be after such a great buildup. What better way than to have my hometown nuked.

Yeah, the ending to the Stand was very disappointing.

I read it over 15 years ago now but what kept me going throughout the novel was the need to understand

Spoiler :

what happened to the world, who the dark man really was, the meaning behind his powers, same with mother abagail, etc.

But then in the end all we learn is that it's basically

Spoiler :

a silly battle between good and evil.. The dark man is the devil? What? The explanation we basically get at the end is: "It's magic! Hooray!" F U Stephen King

Good book but the ending sucked.

 

[CivCube]

I don't think literature will be taught in the same way, nor is it really taught according to what is "high" or "low" even today. There will likely be more post-modern analysis on what authors were more popular or influential, with more emphasis on historical events and digital discourse.

 

[Narz]

Sadly, I think Stephenie Meyer will be remember more than Stephen King.

I've never heard of her now.

BTW, I agree the ending of the Stand was pretty poor & finishing strong wasn't King's strong suit in general.

 

[illram]

What is "high" literature anyway? That phrase kind of makes me gag.

Don't forget Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, The Running Man, On Writing, Apt Pupil, or the other fantastic non-horror stuff that King has put out.

 

[warpus]

What is "high" literature anyway? That phrase kind of makes me gag.

Don't forget Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, The Running Man, On Writing, Apt Pupil, or the other fantastic non-horror stuff that King has put out.

I had no idea he wrote The Running Man, until I googled it yesterday.

 

[Kyriakos]

What is "high" literature anyway? That phrase kind of makes me gag.

Don't forget Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, The Running Man, On Writing, Apt Pupil, or the other fantastic non-horror stuff that King has put out.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) literature has the unenviable distinction of being at the same time a field where all people regard themselves as able to distinguish good from bad, and a field where, like any field, there are distinctions and levels of importance and quality. Like we have a basic equation with x squared, y, and xy, and solve it by following a standard method, we also have simple works of art with limited scope.

The fundamental difference is that all art feeds into the unconscious realms of our mind, and therefore it is more complicated (and full of arguments) to value it than a mathematical theorem.

At least that is my view as a writer.

 

[Patroklos]

I think we need to remember that a lot of the great writers from the past also had a lot of fluff that didn't survive or hasn't seen the light of day too.

 

[_random_]

Thinking about it, I'm inclined to believe that films adapted from King's works will be more endearing than the works themselves.

 

[Disgustipated]

I had no idea he wrote The Running Man, until I googled it yesterday.

The short story is very different from the Arnold Schwargenegger movie.

edit: Why couldn't he have just changed is name for Hollywood. It's far too tedious to look up how to spell his name correctly.

 

[Skwink]

Thinking about it, I'm inclined to believe that films adapted from King's works will be more endearing than the works themselves.

Sadly I think that's how it'll be for a lot of books made into movies.