'I don't think King puts a single word of fluff in any of his novels.' ~ king himself admits to having, if i'm getting the quote right, 'diarrhea of the typewriter.' of course, it's all opinion. i happen to agree with him on that, though, lol.
'I find Barker completely unreadable.' ~ that must explain it, like you said, lol. i got tired of reading 400 pages of fairly uninspired writing (at least when i read king, mid-80's-early 90's, i'd read one of his books and find a total of maybe three lines if i was lucky that i was impressed by), and the fact he might as well come right out and say on the third page, 'by the end, he'd be dead.' once i started reading barker, i never picked up another king book again: i had found a writer who i thought could actually write. again, just one dude's opinion.
rather an aside, and i use king as an anecdotal example though it applies to any well-know writer, i once opened a door for a little old lady as we entered a book store. as soon as we stepped inside, she caught a passing clerk and asked, 'do you have the new stephen king book in? i'm not sure of the title, but i'd like to buy it.'
now, to me, this is just pure silly, to blindly follow an artist's work without sampling it first to make sure it any damn good. i admit i used to do this... when i was 15, my favourite band was asia, and i bought their third album 'blind' and it sucked. i kinda learned then and there that, hey, while i'm a fan and will definitely give my favourite band or author first looksies, that doesn't automatically instill quality into the work. unless i get it for a helluva price and decide to take a chance, no way i pay full price for something i can't sample first. i wouldn't automatically go out and buy led zeppelin's or the beetles' new album, either. when my money is involved, there's no blind faith (unless i'm at a book fair and am pressed for time, i'll chance a quarter on a book).
to each their own, and all that. neither of us are right or wrong given our pesonal tastes.
i should clarify the 'speed' aspect of what i said. i'd hoped it would go without saying that atmosphere and characterization and all that are established before the story gets going, just after the essentials are taken care of i don't want the plot to sit on a stump and grow mushrooms, either. set your ducks up and shoot, damnit. i say that and there was one barker story, forget the name, which was torturously dull to read, although it had a few scenes in it i'd have been proud to call my own. don't misunderstand me, either: i'm not suggesting you condense everything down to monosyllabic three word sentences.
