Stephen King slams ‘Twilight’ author

The Twilight series, Stephanie Meyer's adolescent tales of vampire romance, have won over hordes of teenage fans, inspired Twilight-themed rock bands and been picked as a New York Times editor's choice. The film has taken $186 million at the US box office over recent weeks and turned Robert Pattinson, a previously unknown British actor, into an American heartthrob. But there's one person who isn't impressed: Stephen King.
 
King, now the grand old man of the light horror fiction scene, was comparing Meyer's books with the Harry Potter series. "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn," he told USA Weekend. "She's not very good".
 
Meyer, a Mormon, has had some criticism in the past for her over-use of adjectives and adverbs, and her 'overly Byronic' tragic hero. But generally, her books, which she says are based on classics like Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, have been very well received. As one critic put it, "This dark romance seeps into the soul."

The four books in the series - Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn - have sold 25 million copies in 37 countries worldwide. At the end of 2008, they occupied all four top spots on USA Today's year end bestseller list.
 
Needless to say, Meyer's fans have begun to strike back. "King is no Gabriel Garcia Marquez," said one, "so I don't understand why he gets to say who is a good writer and who is not." Touché. ·