Which one is your favorite, and why?

I  was always a huge King fan, snapping up each new book as soon as it was published. Then one of my daughters forced me to read Koontz. Having now read a lot of both, I honestly think Koontz is a better writer. Certainly King has splashier story ideas, and Koontz will probably never write the equal of The Stand. I think King just wants to be a good storyteller, and he pulls it off  - he's one of the best. I think Koontz may be trying to take it up a notch. I think he pulls it off, too. Koontz is no Hemingway - too many adjectives - but I really like what he does with them.

Agree?  Disagree?

I just realized I probably should have posted this under Horror, but I'll bet a lot of SF readers read King and Koontz as well.

Interesting discussion.  I too have read a lot of both, but don't really compare them - apples and oranges.  Koontz has changed his stuff a lot, become much more spirtual in outlook, which I like but if I read two of his books back to back I think that he writes the same basic plot over and over and his characters are too "flat".  King is a master with characters, and except for his endings which tend to be disatisfying he's in a class of his own.  MHO just keeping the discussion going.

Cheers, Margaret

I think King is a more vibrant writer. More fun to read in my opinion. When it comes to Koontz, I only like his 1980 novel "The Funhouse" written under his pseudonym Owen West.

I find it interesting how you said he was no Hemingway because of too many adjetives. Some say one of Hemingway's flaws was that he was too spare. Too minimal in his description. I just found that interesting.

Interesting.  I would have said King is the much better pure writer.  I think his manipulation of language is part of what makes him so good.  I do think Koontz is talented as well, but I've never been as drawn in by the stories or blown away by the prose. 

I think that Stephen King is the better writer in that his characters seem more life-like. I can always 'see' them in my mind when I read his books.  Also his story lines are better and definitely the language.  King just has a way with words.

I liked the early Koontz books but his last books somehow didn't impress me that much any more.