We can't all be Stephen King, but then we don't all want to be either.

His new book is reviewed in the NY Times today and the review is another indicator of how big-time publishers are failing the reading (and writing) public.

'The Dark Tower': Pulp Metafiction
By MICHAEL AGGER

Some quotes:

". . . would anyone read these things if they weren't by Stephen King? It's not an idle question. King has built the series into a monument to his ambition."

"At times, the series feels like a dumping ground for his wackier notions (a talking monorail that likes riddles) and for the further explication of ideas from his previous books (the superflu from ''The Stand'')."

The big guys in publishing (in this case Donald M. Grant in association with Scribner) are still pushing the same 'ole, same ole' by their brand name writers whether or not they're still turning out good books. The controversies surrounding Ann Rice's latest mess "Blood Canticles" is a perfect example. Amazon.com was literally swamped by negative reviews, which Ms. Rice answered with the venum of one of her vampire characters essentially accusing her readers of failing to worship her sufficiently. (Full disclosure time: I was one of the reviewers that hated the book.) You can go to the site for Blood Canticles at amazon now and all the bad reviews are gone. Although she still only rates three stars for the book the remaining reviews are glowing (and none of the reviews is from readers, just professional reviewers.)