[Triumph36]

Typical fallacy - because Melville wasn't regarded as intellectual, King may fall under the same category.

The only work of Melville's I have read - Benito Cereno - is a tightly-written story that touches heavily on themes of class and race, written in splendid language.

I have read much of King's catalog, and it does not come close to this. Much of King's work is sprawling and filled with unnecessary details - plus the man cannot write a good ending to save his life. You're trying to tell me that works like Desperation and Insomnia are worthy of the Nobel Prize? If they gave out a Nobel for work most in need of an editor, King might win that one.

Stephen King is an excellent storyteller - but most of his work only lightly grazes the serious themes other writers are exploring, and does so only to advance the plot.