4 ms·

Steven King has his own style of writing and it's quite possible to dislike it while enjoying reading in general. I read Insomnia, some short stories and about

by phaus 7y ago

Steven King has his own style of writing and it's quite possible to dislike it while enjoying reading in general. I read Insomnia, some short stories and about 100 pages of Needful Things. Needful things is on the very short list of about 5 fictional books I disliked so much that that I gave up on them. He's a great guy that gives a lot back to the community in Maine (where I grew up), but I don't care for his writing. His book on writing, however, is pretty great.

rubicon33 7y ago
I assume that's true of all writing - It's subjective, whether or not you'll enjoy that particular piece. That's why I was hoping to hear many answers from this community of like-minded people as well as (hopefully) some justification for their answers.
- phaus 7y ago
  I wouldn't try to talk you out of giving Steven King a shot. He's a good writer, I just don't like his writing. As for my own recommendation, Phillip K. Dick has a ton of great short story compilations if you're into Science Fiction. Technically he's not the most gifted writer, but he was good enough and his ideas were very creative. To give an example, he wrote the stories that inspired Total Recall, Blade Runner, Imposter, A Scanner Darkly, Paycheck, The Minority Report, and many others.
RaceWon 7y ago
> style of writing and it's quite possible to dislike it while enjoying reading in general. Fair point, well made. I too don't like everything he's written, however I do think his short stories have a wide appeal. I was getting down on myself today for how little fiction I have read in the past 6 months, or maybe more, and King is typically a decent jump start for me. I'm currently about 120 pages in on "The Executioner's Song" -N Mailer but it hasn't captivated my imagination... I find the dialogue trite. The only other book I had with me today was "The Hunt for Red October" -T. Clancy. I've read it already, but its been like 10 years, so started in on that again even though I reread way too many books. BTW all comments were plused.

by phaus 7y ago

rubicon33 7y ago

I assume that's true of all writing - It's subjective, whether or not you'll enjoy that particular piece. That's why I was hoping to hear many answers from this community of like-minded people as well as (hopefully) some justification for their answers.

phaus 7y ago
I wouldn't try to talk you out of giving Steven King a shot. He's a good writer, I just don't like his writing. As for my own recommendation, Phillip K. Dick has a ton of great short story compilations if you're into Science Fiction. Technically he's not the most gifted writer, but he was good enough and his ideas were very creative. To give an example, he wrote the stories that inspired Total Recall, Blade Runner, Imposter, A Scanner Darkly, Paycheck, The Minority Report, and many others.

RaceWon 7y ago

> style of writing and it's quite possible to dislike it while enjoying reading in general. Fair point, well made. I too don't like everything he's written, however I do think his short stories have a wide appeal. I was getting down on myself today for how little fiction I have read in the past 6 months, or maybe more, and King is typically a decent jump start for me. I'm currently about 120 pages in on "The Executioner's Song" -N Mailer but it hasn't captivated my imagination... I find the dialogue trite. The only other book I had with me today was "The Hunt for Red October" -T. Clancy. I've read it already, but its been like 10 years, so started in on that again even though I reread way too many books. BTW all comments were plused.