Stephen King Comments on JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer
Celebs on HP
Posted by: sue
February 03, 2009, 07:52 PM
Scores of readers let us know about a new interview with acclaimed author Stephen King, who has made some new comments regarding Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. Speaking with USA Weekend, Mr. King compared the two authors and had some blunt things to say about the Twilight author Meyer. Quotage as follows:
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."
"Somebody who’s a terrific writer who’s been very, very successful
is Jodi Picoult. You’ve got Dean Koontz, who
can write like hell. And then sometimes he’s just awful. It varies. James Patterson
is a terrible writer but he’s very very successful. People are
attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie
Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of
girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those
books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it's not particularly
threatening because they’re not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical
side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her
forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold.
And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not
ready to deal with yet."
Thanks to everyone who emailed!
318 Comments
159 Points
Yeah, he has a point – I don’t mind the Twilight books but Stephanie Meyer’s writing is very amateurish.
287 Points
Hahaha that’s is verry verrry true. In 10 years time, Twilight will be just another book, but in ANOTHER 10 years time, Harry Potter will be just as popular to the next generation as it ever has been! to LP Dantas – LOL – I’ll be joining you with an extra bucket of popcorn to watch the Twilighters reaction!!! hehehe…
47 Points
I made an account just so I could comment.
1. I am so not obsessed with Twilight, but I have read it. It’s good. But I never finished Breaking Dawn. Sorry.
2. I am very obsessed with maximum ride, written by James Patterson. he is a very good writer, and Stephan King is a big meanie to say that he is a bad writer. By the way, Maximum Ride 5 is coming out march 16.
3. I am very obsessed with harry potter. in fact, i am reading the harry, a history which is the whole reason i went to this site which is the whole reason i’m typing this.
Anyway!!! I like all the authors, they’re all so different.
62 Points
Oh Mr. King! How I love you. (I do admit I have a sort of love-hate relationship with his books. Love because he’s great. Hate because I’m such a wimp that I find myself not wanting to read on.) If you weren’t already taken, I’d marry you on the spot.
171 Points
That’s kind of harsh about Stephenie, but I can understand both sides
83 Points
To her credit, The Host was a lot better than the Twilight series. I think Meyer is definitely improving, but is she in the same class as Jo?? Absolutely not
731 Points
Oh boy, twilight fans are going to freak out. Those are harsh words in my opinion!
3423 Points
OOHHH!!!!!!!!!!! thank you! I so wish that someone would stop compairing Meyer and Jo! It really bugs me when people say Twilight is as good as or better thatn Potter! That is so not true! On the back of the UK addition of OOTP it says J.K. rowling is incomparable! That statement, I believe still remains true today!
200 Points
Stephen King you are so right! has anyone else noticed that girls usually like twilight better then guys (no offense intended to all u guys) but thats one thing that makes jk rowling way better
37 Points
OMG! Stephen King you just made my week, I have thinking that for years. I enjoy the Twilight series and all, but we all know she can’t write especially in Breaking Dawn.
81 Points
I read the Twilight series, and it was an enjoyable diversion. Will I read the books over and over? No. I kept up with the series because Meyer managed a plot that I didn’t guess ahead of time. I will say that by Book 3 I was wishing she’d find two verbs to replace “muttered” and “murmured”.
266 Points
twilight fans. Like real hard coar twilight fans, are SICOTIC.
People are going to be like “say what now?” since I’m here on a harry potter sight but harry potter fans are OKAY lol we do stuff for charity and play music and w/e else we do but its all those Crazy teenage girls, they get liike… violent to see R-pattz. Kind of like jonas brothers fans in a way. Im not saying anythings wrong w/ it. its awesome but they most definitly are SICOTIC
53 Points
To “ice-alchemist” (and all of the other delirious fans of Twilight who’s wands have backfired and as a result they were blasted by their own confundus charms and believe that Twilight is the least bit tolerable):
First of all, Stephen King is an
AMAZING writer who is above all of this debating whether what he said was “fair” or not. Clearly, he has thought through what he said and he
REALIZED that it was in fact, written for 16 year old “teenybopper” girls. Blessed with immense brain power as he is, he clearly took this into account when he said this, and as such he most likely did not judge these books, and their writing like the 62 year old man he is.
Having both a sister, and best friend who have read these books and have told me all about them, I can tell you for a fact that (both of them being ex-
MAJOR fans of the franchise) they recently came to the realization that “twilight was awfully written, but the story’s good”. You see? When fans of the book agree with the brilliant mind of Stephen King that the God like writings of J.K. Rowling are better that the trashy caveman like scratchings of stephanie meyer, it is time to concede that the fight is lost and actually admit that, not only is Harry Potter the better series in
EVERY SINGLE WAY, but also that stephanie meyer cannot write “worth a darn!”
2027 Points
omg albus1881, that was brilliant. seriously that rocked. that should be the final say. end of arguemt move on harry potter fans win :D
Yeah, he has a point – I don’t mind the Twilight books but Stephanie Meyer’s writing is very amateurish.