[DarkRoast]

Firstly, people love to jump on the comments of other people they don't like, make assumptions and skew them in a negative way, without giving too much thought to what the person was actually saying or meaning by their comments.
Secondly, I don't think whether a person is nice or not, has anything to do with being talented and able to offer the world something of value.
Secondly and a 1/2, it would be a dull world if all authors were banal and inoffensive all the time.
Thirdly, a person's public image doesn't really tell us much about what they are like as a whole person. It just tells us if they are good at marketing.
Fourthly, I am also surprised that so many readers haven't heard of him.
Still thinking about fifthly...