So I Guess Stephen King is Not On Team Edward.

Posted February 4, 2009 by Rowena in Reviews | 18 Comments


So I guess Stephen King is not a fan of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series of books.

Check it out:

“Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people… The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”

That’s what Stephen had to say in an interview he did with USA Weekend. King was comparing Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight books with J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter books.

LOL…so what do you guys think? I read about this on Yahoo (thanks Izzy!) and laughed myself silly, but I think that Stephenie Meyer has a lot to be proud of. But what do you guys think? You can read the article that I read in its entirety, right here.

Thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with Stephen King? Why or why not?


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18 responses to “So I Guess Stephen King is Not On Team Edward.

  1. Sadly, I have to agree, I adore Twilight but as the series went on her books just got odd.
    Breaking Dawn was so off the wall that I couldn’t believe it was Meyer from Twilight writing this.(sorry no Rob Effect here, I adore Robert Pattinson) Instead of two people who love each other showing the struggle they have to overcome, it came out to be life is easy. the end. Blah!
    Although the last book of Harry Potter bummed me out, at least Rowling showed the hardship Harry went through to become a man.

  2. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I thought the end of Stephen King’s interview was funny when he told the interviewer how “girls feel about love”…

    I thought “Hmmm when was the last time Stephen King was a girl???” LOL

    I love Stephen King, but I think he also has to take into account that the Twilight books weren’t really written to target the over 50 year old male readers! 🙂

    Aw well, to each their own!

    Lisa 🙂

  3. I haven’t read the Meyer books so I can’t really comment, but I think King was dead on about the other people in the article.. Koontz is often a great writer, but sometimes he just stinks. James Patterson has some interesting plots, but I wouldn’t say he is a great writer. These people can sell books by the truckload though, so at the end of the day you have to admire their ability to reel people in. Even if you don’t like their books.

  4. I haven’t read her books, but have heard that the writing is not particularly well-done. If true, then I do think it is good that someone spoke about it (even if it may not be the nice/polite thing to do). All the media hype over the series actually made me want to further my distance from reading the books. It has created some type of craze where adults will buy the books for teen girls just because it is the thing to do/what the girls want, though perhaps not the most interesting or challenging books for them. Maybe it’s a “lesser of two evils” in a way – do you want them to read (something/anything), or not read?

  5. I agree that her writing isn’t first rate, however she is a great story teller and if you read her books with that in mind — they’re enjoyable. I thought anyway…

  6. I completely agree. Sm cannot write worth a darn and I am glad ppl are saying it. I can appreciate that kids are reading, but oh man there are such great kids series out there. I finished Twilight begging SM to make me like it. Once the torture was over I was begging ppl to stop buying it… and I work in a book store!

  7. Wendy

    God bless ‘im, I couldn’t agree more. Says the girl who gave up on Twilight after Chapter 8 because it made me want to throw-up.

    I’m curious how many of these swooning emo 15-year-old girls will still feel as strongly about this series say….20 years down the line. I just don’t see these books holding up all that well with time – whereas I think Harry Potter will have no problem on that score.

    Should King has said what he said? Maybe not. But you gotta give the man props for telling it like it is. Says the girl who is amazed she hasn’t bit her tongue clear off after seeing women check out mountains of Danielle Steel books from the library over the years. “No, no – please for the love of God let me give you a GOOD book to read.”

    But of course, I can never say that. Damn.

  8. KarLyn

    Meyer can tell a great story, but I have to agree that Rowling’s writing is far better. However, great writing and great story telling are not always the same thing. A great author can do both. Even Mr King has written a few stinkers. His writing is great, but the story itself has to hold up too. So I do think King is correct, but he could give Meyers some credit where its due. You dont sell a bazillion books and get a multi-movie deal with no talent.

  9. First – King is known for being outspoken, and if we’re being completely honest, somewhat of a jerk. So it isn’t surprising he worded it the way he did.

    Second – He’s right. Meyer isn’t a literary genius. She can tell a story, but so can thousands – millions even – of other people the world over. She doesn’t stand out from them other than for gaining popularity so quickly.

    When comparing Meyer and Rowling, who basically write for the same audience, Rowling wins hands down. She has both the technical and emotional aspects down better than Meyer and she has staying power. In 500 years people will read the HP series and still be impressed. With Meyer? not so much.

    While it’s true that King has problems of his own (will the man PLEASE learn how to write a freaking ending?!?!) he’s shown himself to be a bestseller time and again. He has real staying power in the literary world. He didn’t write a series of books pop culture latched onto and will now fade into the sunset. I think he’s earned the right to say – and do – pretty much what he wants.

    Mostly, I thought it was funny.

  10. Rowena

    I thought ouch too because though he may not like her books, others do and he could have said, “She’s not my cuppa” or “I couldn’t get into her books” but to say, “She’s not very good.” was pretty harsh to me.

    But, it is just his opinion so meh, I’ve never read his books and don’t plan on reading them so I can’t say one way or the other if he’s good or not but I know that he’s not my cuppa.

  11. Anonymous

    Harry Potter novels are about discovery of one’s self and facing your fears. Twilight is about tween romance.

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