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King vs. Meyer

Wolfe and Irving, Vargas Llosa and Garcia Marquez, Amis and Barnes – those of us who love a good literary feud can now add to the list reigning horror author Stephen King, who lashed out at the upstart Stephenie Meyer in an interview with a reporter from USA Today – and threw in a few more barbs at James Patterson for good measure. Anyone who’s concerned that readers no longer engage with criticism should have a look at the comments section appending the story, which at the time of this writing was nearing 1,200 responses.

From The Guardian:

King compared the Mormon author to JK Rowling, saying that both authors were “speaking directly to young people”. “The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good,” he told an interviewer from USA Weekend.

King also drew a comparison between Meyer and Perry Mason mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner. “He was a terrible writer, too, but he was very successful,” he said, going on to criticise prolific thriller author James Patterson – “a terrible writer but he’s very successful” – and fellow horror author Dean Koontz, who although he “can write like hell”, is sometimes “just awful”.