[aldiboronti]

Just joined the forum, it looks like a great place.

I bought Black House by Straub and King last week, and it`s a good, although not great, read. I started thinking about the relative merits of these two authors. I prefer Straub myself, and I don`t think King has written anything to approach Ghost Story or Floating Dragon. I`d say the best King books, judged as horror, are still Salem`s Lot and The Shining. Do people agree that these guys are not improving with age, and that their best is past?

[Erebus]

Have to disagree, actually, aldiboronti, on both counts. Stephen king is one of my all-time favourite authors and I would class him a much better storyteller than Straub. I find Straub's books good as well, but way too drawn out in some instances. Plus, I think like any good writer of the same calibre, King in particular continues to improve with age and experience. But that's just my opinion, of course, though I feel you may find some similar thoughts from a few others here in particular! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Oh, and welcome to our Forum, btw!

[Rob B]

The only other Straub I read was Mr. X, which I enjoyed.

King is consistent. I like almost all I've read by him with the exception of The Tommyknockers. Dreamcatcher reminded me a bit of Tommy, unfortunately, but it was much better.

The Shining may be his best horror, though Bag of Bones and Misery were both excellent.

[Penumbra]

King, I believe, has redefined the horror genre for us, stretching it, remolding it and taking it to places where vampires, mummies and werewolves have never been. At times he transcends the horror to state something poignantly, thereby classifying him as a rather profound writer with something to contribute beyond the value of shock. Straub has never done this and probably never will.

[aldiboronti]

King had the potential to redefine the genre after his first few great novels. But then what did we get, haunted cars, rabid dogs, guys who can see into the future, oh and aliens. I have an enormous amount of respect for King and await his books eagerly, but he usually lets me down. The guy can write up a storm but his plotting is sadly lacking these days. Peter Straub is just a far scarier writer, there is nothing in King to match the scene of the stagecoach in Floating Dragon, driving furiously through the little New England town with its terrified passengers, while outside the dead walk the streets. And Straub`s writing is of a far more literary quality than King`s with nods towards Hawthorne, James, etc.
Even Straub doesn`t scare me like he used to, but I still live in hope, and the two of them are still the best living writers of horror in the world.

[This message has been edited by aldiboronti (edited October 22, 2001).]

[Puck]

Hi
New here, first post and all. I have to say that I have great respect for both writers. I enjoy King primarily for his prose. I will read him whatever it is that he writes because his style pulls me into the story. For some reason this gets me beyond the funky characters (haunted car, Mr. Grey etc), the man knows how to spin a yarn. Straub, on the hand, is much more complex. I have to say that Mystery and The Throat are two of the best books I have ever read. KoKo and Ghost Story are right up there too. Straub also has a unique prose that is equally attractive but in a different way. You really have to pay attention when you read Straub. King is great fun.

I too found "Black House" a bit disappointing. It took 3/4 of the book to really get going. I'm not sure that one who is not a fan would be patient enough to hold on for the ride.

[venkman]

Hello all, just joined.
I have just read Stephen King's On Writing, it is an excellent book and gives an amazing insight to the way he writes.
For me, he has been my favourite Horror writer, i have explored others such as Anne Rice and Dean Koontz etc. But i find his style and characters are always a welcome treat.
His work in progress sounds good too, something about a Buick, left at a gas station by an unknown man and passed down through the years to unsuspecting people.

[Puck]

I read that too... it's amazing that he just "writes." No outline, no planning it just comes. Incredible.

[Cadfael]

Venkman... YES!, could not have put it better. I generally don't like books that ramble, and go off on sub-plots. But with King, you hardly know this is happening because you just get sucked in.

For the record, I hope King and Straub get together again in the future... both their collaborations have been awsome IMO. The only Straub book I have read was 'Ghost Story', and I enjoyed it a lot. I do have an (as yet) un-read collection of short stories by him called Magic Terror.

[Elessar]

This is a question I've always been wanting to ask.
Stephen King- Horror? I don't think so..
I mean, I think most of what he writes is somewhat hard to define. I actually use to think that a lot of what he write is either a mix between Fantasy and Horror, or closer to Fantasy than to horror.
Okay, the best example would be "the eyes of the dragon" .. but others, too..
Depends on how you define "Fantasy". For example, I would say the "Dark Tower Series" is Fantasy, for it plays in a fictive world.

A lot of other stories involve.. well, weird stuff happening in our world, and our time.. which I think is closer to Fantasy than to Horror because it really never scared me.. for example, Bag of Bones.. would you really call that Horror?
What I would call horror books:
"misery", "pet semetary", "it", ..
maybe "the dark half" and "needful things" (even though I didn't find those last two scary- I didnt like "the dark half", but I loved "needful things), ... etc.
maybe "gerald's game"? only in part, though.

But "the stand", "the green mile", "the talisman", "dolores" (I disliked that book), "insomnia", "dead zone", "hearts in atlantis", etc.. those wouldn't be horror, would they?

Even those books that I put in the horror category are not scary. Have you ever read Lovecraft? I think he must have been somewhat psychopathic or mentally ill. If you read Lovecraft.. THAT is scary.
;-)


(Don't get me wrong, though. I love King. It's just, I never really understood why everyone seems to think whatever he writes is horror...).

-- Elessar