Stephen King - Horror mastermind or way overrated?

Answer 1

Neither. Stephen King is one of the most talented writers of his
time,and not all of his work is Horror. Check out his material written under the pen name Richard Bachman.
While most of his work has been in the Horror category,I wouldn't
call him a "mastermind"-that dubious honor would be given to
masters like Edgar Allen Poe and H.P.Lovecraft. I can't help but
wonder how famous King's books will be a hundred years from
now-maybe it's the test of time that determines how good a writer really is.

Answer 2

I never really cared or was interested in his work until I realised that a few films that I liked were actually adaptations of his books. The stories they were based on were not what I would normally picture a "horror writer/schlock writer" writing.
Read "Different Seasons" (1982) It's a collection of four novellas, markedly different in tone and subject, each involving an inner journey of some kind.
It is very well written; the four stories are stylistically diverse and show off his considerable writing skills.
I haven't read much of his big horror stuff, (just Carrie, Salems Lot and Misery) but check this volume out. Three of the 4 stories have been turned into the following movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me , and Apt Pupil.

Answer 3

The answer to this question is opinionated. I have only read Stephen King's "IT", and it is probably the best/scariest book I have ever read. So yes, I would say Stephen King is a horror mastermind.

Answer 4

Some would say overrated and I can understand, given the celebrity status he has as a writer. Almost everyone likes him and embraces him. But for me, he deserves the attention. He is like the god of horror fiction. I don't know exactly what he does to get that way but what I know is that he has an interesting story, characters that are interesting and you grow to like and resent, and suspense if not horror. A lot of his books seem grounded in the old myths, a story told over the fire. He tells story about people and sometimes, the tragic downfall of people. Read Carrie or The Shining? Both are really good and really sad, because they are modern tragedies. He writes about hope to and some of his ending reflect hope for us. Of course, he has written a few suckers but, he's only human and human's have awrite to make mistakes. I haven't read a horror writer yet that has his type of skill. If there is one, please tell me who.

Answer 5

Horror mastermind, but years ago. He reached his peak a long time ago. His best, in my opinion, is The Stand. I place him now in the same category as John Grisham, Danielle Steele, and Dan Brown-----overrated hack!

Answer 6

He, in his best work..mastermind. Like Carrie, The Stand, The Shining, even Storm of the Century. But so many of his books are believable horror (like my favorite, The Langoliers) then turn into something stupid. Like in Bag of Bones and Insomnia. I like his older stuff much much better.

Answer 7

I think stephen king is great but i would by no means say he is the master of horror his style is good but i prefer more pschological horror styles like christopher pike

Answer 8

I think his fantasy work is really his best (The Dark Tower). I've found his short stories more disturbing than his novels, but I wouldn't call any of it horrifying. So, yes, somewhat overrated, but still worth reading.

Answer 9

One word: Hack

Answer 10

way overrated. way way overrated.