Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop
When he wrote the first stories, he was young. He started writing them in 1970, though he didn't start publishing them until 1978.
At any rate, I've heard several people claim King went downhill after the publication of The Shining or The Stand or whatever early book of his they really liked.
I disagree, but to each his own.
|
Saying he wrote in 1970 and published in 1978 may be strictly true, but it would be naive to expect that it did not get touched between 1970 and publication.
Marking a downhill (as per my own tastes in reading) is very difficult with Stephen King; he has always been one of those that I had very mixed responses to. When he was on form (to my tastes) he was very very good, which is why I kept coming back for so long. By the mid-to-late 90s it had gotten so that I was no longer rushing out to get his latest book, and by mid 00s it got so I was only buying selected books. And now it's rare I buy any of his at all. If you look at the publication dates for the Dark Tower series you will see some correlation there. I admit that correlation does not necessarily mean cause, but Dark Tower was certainly not something that helped his cause with me.
This thread is talking about first books of series, but I tend to think about authors rather than a series. When I find an author I like, I keep looking at their work, and if they've been very good on some occasions they get a pass for being bad (to my tastes) on others - as King did over a few decades.