Stephen King vs. Stephenie Meyer

[Dave Rosenthal]

You may have heard about this already, but in an interview with USA Weekend, Stephen King had some harsh criticism for Stephenie Meyer. In his words, "[J.K.] Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good."
King says Meyer's secret is "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."
I confess that I haven't read a King horror novel in years. And I have never read the Twilight series (though I know my 13-year-old niece loves those books). So I'm turning to you, fellow bloggers, for some perspective.
Many of you are big readers of this genre. Where do King and Meyer rank in your view?

[Susan Kelley]

I think it's pretty arrogant to trash another writer in public like that. I'm sure it's not going to hurt her sales or prevent the next books in her series from becoming big money movies.
The great thing about Meyer's work is, like Harry Potter, is that the wild interest in the books encouraged millions of people to read. Another thing her Twilight books has in common with HP is the interest crossed generations so parents and their teenagers discussed and enjoyed the books and movies together. These are all good things for parents, writers and educators.
I'm not sure why King was critical of Twilight and praised HP. To me they were written on about the same reading level, and had equally acceptable vocabulary and grammer with minimal character development. Perhaps he should wait to judge until both of those authors have longer careers as proof of talent.
I also haven't read a Stephen King in years. His latest works seem too much the same.

[The Book Cave]

Susan, you raised some valid points. I think trashing an author is crass. Perhaps Mr. King is fearing he isn't as great as he once was. No longer known as the " HorrorOZ " lol, he sees others sitting in his throne. lol. I have yet to read Twilight, but I will get around to it before the DVD release ; p.
Rowling & Meyer's introduced many reluctant readers to become lovers of the written word. So many people who once thought reading was " uncool " or for " nerds " found it COOL to be reading either series &/or both.
As a book nerd, I am thrilled for this surge in readership.

[Mo (Un-Mainstream Mom Reads)]

I've read every Stephen King novel ever published, and I own them all too. He's my favorite author. I also own the Twilight Saga series and the Harry Potter series.

Twilight may not be on the same level as Stephen King in terms of grammar, sentence structure, etc., but it's not bad either. King writes to an adult audience with an adult level of education, whereas Meyer writes to a pre-teen/teen audience that is still completing their education. Of course Meyer's books will not be as wordy as King's, they are aimed to a younger audience. Also, why do books aimed at pre-teens/teens need to be overtly sexual? Yes, King does not shy away from sex, but he, again, is targeting adults.

I think Stephen King is comparing apples to oranges. I also think he needs to learn to have some tact, because insulting people outright is rude, no matter who they are or what they've done.

[Dave Rosenthal]

Susan, Mo: Thanks for some perspective. The fighting among Meyer-lovers and Meyer-haters is really fierce -- I had no idea feelings ran so hot. I've had to censor about half of the comments, as readers call each other idiots, stupid, retarded and much worse. The debate did make me want to read a Twilight book, though, to see whether it could possibly be as bad/good as folks say it is.

[Bermudaonion]

Of the 3 authors, the only one I've read is J. K. Rowling. I think Stephen King was out of line when he criticized Stephanie Meyer. For me, personally, his public criticism is more of a reflection on him than on her writing.

[Blodeuedd]

I do like Meyers books but I can understand King cos the books seems to be written by a 14 year old girl, they are cheesy and no where near masterpieces. Teen books can be great, but these are not original or written by someone great. They are ok, and girls like them cos the vampires are sexy, Bella is cute, and there is action and a love triangle. Of course they go totally weird in the last, very overly sexual.
Rowling is by far the better writer, but it's always good that kids and teens read so great for Meyer (even if she does seem to take much from other things and don't fess up to ever having seen or read those things).
Still I am somewhat of a Twilighter cos the first book was so cute, felt like something i would have written in my diary when I was younger.
As for King, he is no king of books either

[Alexis Lennert]

Meyers books are not cheesy they are wonderful books that have helped kids see that reading is fun and it's not something that a 14 year old would write. her books are about different forms of love that can last through the hardest situations.the strength of Edward and Bella's love isn't something you see every day, i know it has sexual activity but what teen book doesn't,that's what makes teen books sell.i like that you like her books but i disagree with your opinion of her writing ability.

[Meredith "Riot" Nudo]

I'm not really much of a fan of either Meyer OR King, though I did enjoy "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," so I'm just looking at this from an outsider's perspective. While I don't think it's the most tactful move to publicly humiliate another writer as opposed to offering a more constructive critique, part of me wonders if the above quotes have been misinterpreted or taken out of context.

The line about "safe joining of love and sex" - could King be referring to the possibility of young women forming unrealistic expectations about the relationship between love and sex based on their literary intake? As adults, we're all too aware that there are more occasions than not where the divide between the two widens, or where one is exploited for the other. Young adult readers typically don't have the life experience to discriminate between the escapist elements of literature and those intended to reflect reality. Obviously, a suspension of disbelief is necessary to be reading a novel about vampires to begin with, but do you think there is a possibility that a young woman could subconsciously begin to form ideals and expectations of love and sex based on Bella and Edward's relationship because such emotions are intended to "humanize" the otherworldly? Maybe that is what King was getting at - it's "safe" and "not particularly threatening" and because of that it may inspire a generation of impressionable young women to carry around these unrealistic perspectives on how love and sex interact that lead them towards bitter disappointment or exploitation. I know it's a criticism that frequently gets levied on Disney movies and media targeted towards women such as "chick flicks" and "chick lit," and I wonder if King was applying that to Meyer's writing.

Again, though, I haven't read the Twilight books, or much of King in general. So my opinion ought to be taken with a grain of salt.

[M.D. Griffith]

I think Rowlings is definately better than Meyer but for King to criticise her as if he's comparing her writing to his is apples and oranges. Oh, I think Rowlings writes better than king...personally. :)

[Sharon Lee]

As a former librarian, seeing this much enthusiasm for reading a book, in this age group, I view to be a successful endeavor. Yes, I think Rowlings books are an outstanding read, and better written, but, I felt the same way that I do for Meyer's books. YEAH! a person is reading! And, if this person becomes an enthusiastic reader they will find their way to new reading material, which is what we are all in favor of, right? By the way, I just finished reading Meyer's book "The Host" and it is written at an adult reading level. I enjoyed the read and look forward to reading her work in the future.

[Dave Rosenthal]

Meredith, from what I read of King's commentss, I don't think he was delving that deeply into the potential impact of Meyer's writing. He was simply noting the reason teen-age girls are her main target audience. Your point is well-taken, though. I know my blogging partner, Nancy, resented the way Bella was portrayed -- as a helpless girl in need of rescuing. I guess the same could be said of many Disney movies, too.

[Meredith "Riot" Nudo]

I was at work, so I didn't get a chance to read through the entire interview. But the quotes you pulled were what led me to think that he may have been keeping some of the possible hazards of literature aimed towards young women in mind as he was speaking. Part of what's kept me away from picking up Twilight even out of curiousity has been the bevy of criticism regarding Bella's complete emotional and physical dependence on Edward in order to achieve completion and fulfillment as a woman. That's not romance - that's grounds for a restraining order.

If I had a child, I'd still let her or him read something like that because they deserve to see a full spectrum of how women are portrayed in literature, but you can bet I'd read to them from The Feminine Mystique right after. It's a shame that with so many strong female characters for young girls to emulate - while I'm not really into the Harry Potter franchise, I thought Hermione was a fantastic literary role model - that the one who has gained the most attention and adulation is the one who teaches young girls that every man you could ever want will fall madly, passionately in love with you no matter what, no questions asked. He'll never pressure you for sex - ever - and he will gladly overlook your most debilitating of flaws and consider you perfect. And hey - that's all you need in life! Just sit around and wait for him to come along to rescue you from debilitating plainness - stimulating strength, mind, spirit, and character be damned! To me, that's far more offensive than the possibility of her sentence structure or grammar being terrible.

There's nothing wrong with showing "a helpless girl in need of rescuing," but if you plan on making her the core of your work, then at least have the character change compellingly over time. Does she get stronger and learn lessons about HERSELF (NOT how she relates to men) over time? Or does she get weaker to serve as some sort of a cautionary tale? Not all princesses have to wield a broadsword and charge about on a horse like Xena, but if they're a central character they should AT LEAST serve a function other than waiting around for the white knight to come along and carry her off into the sunset.