Which authors do you think are overrated?

Question

I have a few ideas, but I don't want to anger any fans of Nicholas Sparks, David Sedaris or Mitch Albom. Which authors do you think aren't worth all the fuss?

Answer 1

In my opinion, all of the above.

Yep, though some of them provide amusing pastime reading, they are often over-rated. They don't stand up very well as literature. For a book to be really good, I think, it has to meet several criteria: good sense of human nature, engaging story to the very end, a sense of humor, a sense of time and place (call that history, if you like), and a spiritual depth.

Stephen King's The Stand comes close. Otherwise, no way.

As grateful as I am for J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books (because they have produced a generation of young readers), her books are not likely, over the long haul, to stand up to J. R. R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, E. Nesbit, nor C. S. Lewis (or even the Prydain series of America's Lloyd Alexander).

I even agree that Moby Dick has been vastly over-rated. I cannot force my way through it, as many times as I have tried through the years.

The two exceptions, among all those listed in previous answers, are Toni Morrison and John Updike. Morrison's vision, style, and characterization will earn her a place in our national literary history, I am convinced. And John Updike's Rabbit series speak for a whole generation of American men. You gotta give 'em credit!

But let's not worry too much about how books that we enjoy will ultimately be "rated." Enjoy them while they last; then file them away.

It's those rare ones that we want to read and re-read, that we recommend to all our reading friends. Those are the ones that deserve our tribute: "That's a great brook!"

Answer 2

Dean Koontz. Don't get me wrong, his stuff is good but it's not great, you know? Richard Laymon, a horror writer many horror writers have praised, but he's worth a can of you know what, his stuff is horrible. RR Bakker's The Darkness That Comes Before; that was praised for being the next Lord of the Rings but it was awful. Stephen Baxter, some of the same reasons. Goes to show you critical acclaim is not always honest.

Answer 3

Nicolas Sparks, definitely. Also Charles Dickens and Herman Melville. If you don't have to read Moby Dick for a class, take my advice and DON'T read it. I have an English degree, so you'd think I'd be all ga-ga over Moby Dick, but let me tell you... there is a chapter in that book that talks about how white the whale is. After 30 pages, it starts to get old! And Charles Dickens' books are so full of handy coincidences that it makes me sick.

Answer 4

JK Rowling
John Grisham
Anne Rice
Tom Clancy

Answer 5

Stephen King. (I know I will get stomped for saying so) He is a hit -n- miss author. Authors like James Patterson and John Grisham consistently put out good books. With Stephen, you take your chances.

However, I will give him credit for actually writing all of his own books. Nevertheless, I have given up on the idea that "If Stephen wrote it, I know it's good!" notion.

Answer 6

John Grisham

Answer 7

John Updike

Answer 8

j.k.rowling
stephen king
michael chrichton

these are the current batch that sell huge amounts of books based on hype.

It sure is hard for a writer to get published if they don't write on about a fourth grade level.

But there are still some great writers out there, just not selling in the numbers that assure publishing fame, and usually not writing books that go to the screen, which is what kept the three I mentioned afloat.

Of course, everyone's a critic, and one man's hamburger patty is another man's hocky puck.

Answer 9

Dan Brown

Answer 10

Tom Clancy