Stephen King not a 'horror' novelist?

[Redbreeze]

I'm reading a Scott Nicholson collection of short stories called 'Ashes'. In the forward, he said Stephen King, Dean Koontz don't consider themselves 'horror' novelists, that they are 'suspense' writers, that HE (Nicholson) is a 'true' horror writer. WHAT???? So I'm half way through this book and the guy is good, however he doesn't hold a candle, hasn't came CLOSE to the chills I've gotten reading SK. Okay Mr. King, did you really say that or is this guy a wanna be, envious & jealous?

[Mr Nobody]

I guess it depends on what you think of yourself as being. Personally, I only apply the term 'writer', because I'll cross genre boundaries depending on the idea I have and where it takes me. Genre labels are usually only useful to book store clerks and librarians...and the largely unimaginitive souls that populate publishing houses these days (where the beans have come to be more important than the company's raison d'etre).
SK can call himself what he likes - it's his right. And by and large, I'd agree with him. He's more than a horror novelist and always was - his earlier works are closest to horror, but even then there were literary bits and emotional/romantic bits and whatever else. Dean Koontz is the same, though he also wanders into more surreal territory or 'magical realism' (or something; it's reality, Jim, but not as we know it)...and tbh Koontz has never had the horror ties that SK has.
So...let Nicholson pigeon-hole himself however he wants. Sounds to me like he knows he's not as good a writer overall, and so places himself outside of a proper comparison to those authors he admires and is also (probably) envious of. It's probably something he'll move beyond (and needs to, otherwise it'll limit him and he needs to see he's obviously doing something right).

[friend of Oye]

I just consider Sai King "a novelist", and a very good one at that.IM(humble)O the best.

[bobledrew]

I'm not familiar with this writer. Checked out the collection's page on Amazon, and I guess I have a question and a comment. First, is this Nicholson talking or is it Jonathan Maberry, who apparently wrote an introduction?

My comment would be -- what difference does it make what this person thinks? I find the notion of genre to be inherently limiting. King has written Lovecraftian horror (Crouch End, N.); he's written science fiction-horror (Tommyknockers, The Jaunt); he's written ghost stories (Bag of Bones); he's written vampire stories (Salem's Lot, Little Sisters of Eluria); he's written straight fiction (All that you love will be carried away); he's written thrillers (Misery)... and on and on it goes. He writes what he writes. Sometimes it fits in one slot; sometimes, another. I may well read something of Nicholson's. But the ultimate genre is that it's "Stephen King writing" or "Scott Nicholson writing."

Why bother with such restrictive categorization?

[fljoe0]

Oh, those pesky labels.

I'm sure SK doesn't just consider himself just a horror writer and probably doesn't like the horror only label, or any other label for that matter. I think maybe when he says stuff like that, he is trying to get across that he writes a lot more than just horror. He writes as much about human behavior as anything and I always think horror and suspense is his glue that holds everything together.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Umm, who is he? I know, I'll ask Wiki.

Scott Nicholson

Long days and pleasant nights

[dsurrett]

I agree with Mr. Nobody when he says "Personally, I only apply the term 'writer', because I'll cross genre boundaries depending on the idea I have and where it takes me." My last four stories have been suspense, horror, speculative, and humor. For Mr. King, three out of the the four stories in Different Seasons have no horror/supernatural elements. The same can be said for many of his works. So if SK has said he's not a horror novelist, I have no problem with it.
I've never read Nicholson so can't comment on his work, but it sounds like he was trying to build himself up.
I think it would be akin to a baseball player who swings for the fence every time at bat, and ends up with a good number of home runs, but isn't known for anything else, then saying that another player who also hits a lot of home runs but also is a gold glove in the field and knows how to bunt and hits singles "isn't a home run hitter." No, he's a complete player. Mr. King knows how to write horror, but he isn't limited to horror. He is a complete novelist.

Long days and pleasant nights.

[fljoe0]

Being labeled is one of the themes of "Misery". Poor Paul Sheldon couldn't get away from the Misery novels and as soon as he did, he was severely punished.

[kingricefan]

King writes, I read what he writes. 'Nuff said.

[king family fan]

King can concider himself whatever he chooses. Others can say what they wish. But me I will always read King.