Give Stephen King 99 cents to find out he doesn't like guns

I'll be the first to admit, I love King's body of work. I'm reading one of his recent book with four novellas right now.

I've known for years he's anti-gun and doesn't know jack about them, even though he's more than willing to benefit from then if it earns him some extra bank.
 
I rank King up there with Lee Child.

He doesn't know guns, doesn't like guns, but still profits from thier depiction via characters in thier books.

Looks like I will buy the Green Mile used.
 
If I only buy books or see movies from people who are pro gun, then I'll never be able to read a book or see a movie. But, I do hate to see someone who benefits from guns coming out against them. Seems kind of cheesy. Oh well, I'm sure I'll still read his books.

Todd
 
Joe Pike said:
I think Correia may be the only author I ever read that knows guns.
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Stephen Hunter knows guns pretty well, too. He released a a pretty good YouTube video and article after the Arizona shooting in favor of standard capacity mags.

And I think his books are better mysteries/thillers than most of the drivel on the fiction rack today.

W.E.B. Griffin is another pro-gun author, but sometimes his writings has stupid errors in it. Such the CAR-4...?
 
I've read 99% of everything King's written, and the use of firearms in his stories is usually just incidental, and not an important part of the plot.

It's not like we're suddenly finding out that the author of the "Mack Bolan" books is anti-gun or anything.
 
Mack Bolan was one of the things that sparked my interest in the .44 Auto Mag. But after the first hundred or so books it was just lame.

Early on I knew the writer didn't know jack about shooting, even if he did get the names, models and calbers right most of the time. A 1000 yd shot, from the deck of a cabin cruiser on lake Michigan, taking the golf ball off the tee as the Mafia don bagins his backswing....riding the recoil of the .460 Weatherby, never losing sight of his target in the 20x scope.....the Sarge might have been the best sniper in Nam, but you kind of have to suspend reality to believe that one....


Never cared much for King. Passable writer, but short on new ideas. Good telling of old stories, but not much genuinely new. Personally, he appears to be another NE elitist. Just one with a bit of talent for storytelling.
 
44 AMP said:
Mack Bolan was one of the things that sparked my interest in the .44 Auto Mag. But after the first hundred or so books it was just lame.
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I had a 9th grade literature teacher who gave me the first 75 books or so to keep me entertained in class. I felt almost obligated to like them based on sharing a Christian name, much the same as Mack Maloney.

However, I quit reading the series when Mack started carrying a Beretta 93R
 
Never was a fan of King, but it is ironic that he write violent novels. maybe he is denouncing the NRA to keep the pressure on the 2nd amendment and away from his beloved 1st amendment.

I'm in favor of keeping both amendments.
 
Stephen King's books are too scary... W.E.B. Griffin's writing is as flatfooted as a dancing elephant...

At least Lee Child and Stephen Hunter can both write, and it doesn't hurt that they both keep their tongues in their cheeks while they do so.

I find it telling that King's gun control essay is for sale on Amazon. The article linked in the Slate piece quotes him as saying, “I think the issue of an America awash in guns is one every citizen has to think about,” said King. “If this helps provoke constructive debate, I’ve done my job. Once I finished writing ‘Guns’ I wanted it published quickly, and Kindle Singles provided an excellent fit.”

If he just wanted it published quickly, he could've sent it almost anywhere: to the New York Times, for example. He's Stephen King, fergodsake -- any online news/opinion site would probably have published it more or less instantly.

One might almost think he's motivated at least in part by wanting to make a quick buck off this debate. Oh, wait... he'd never do that, would he...? :rolleyes:
 
Wait, I thought Stephen Hunter was pro-gun and it showed in his novels.

He even refers to himself as a "gun rights supporting liberal."

Lee Child though couldn't help letting his bitterness show through the eyes of his protagonist, Jack Reacher, in both "Persuader" and "One Shot", which coincidentally was made into the recent "Jack Reacher" film, which actually managed to portray gun owners and gun store owners in a good light.
 
I like King's work and I am aware he isn't a huge fan of guns. I won't be readying his essay but will continue to read his fiction.


If i could speak with Mr. King, I might point out that he is a writer and he values freedom of speech. I am a gun owner and I value my ability to bear arms.

I'd also point out that those two abilities are directly related to each other, "Dear Constant Author."
 
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If I were to stop reading every anti-gun author, or every author who has made glaring errors about guns in his books...

Goodbye, Ed McBain; John Sandford; Elmore Leonard; Robert B. Parker; James Patterson; you get the idea.

Some are outspokenly anti, as shown by King's essay. Others show consistent anti tendencies in their books. If a non-LEO /non-criminal has or handles a weapon in a Sandford book, that character will either mistake a cop for a burglar, or get overly confident and hence shot by the bad guy. In a McBain story, any non-LEO with a gun will be a bad guy.

Patterson... how many times has Alex Cross either cocked or else lowered the safety on his Glock, anyway?

Griffin and one of his co-writers had a character who carried a Colt Officer's model in an ankle holster as his primary weapon, and who would top off said weapon by inserting a round directly into the chamber...

Leonard, one of my favorites, has given several characters SIGs because everybody knows they shoot faster than other guns... His (or his characters') words, not mine.

If I like the authors' stories, I will overlook such things. Some of them, I no longer read.
 
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