I used to love King, and absorbed everything he wrote. Then I read Needful Things. It was pretty good, except for the really long, drawn out, torturously dull part from the dedication to the back cover.
Actually, that's not entirely fair. The ad for Other Signet Paperbacks By This Author was somewhat entertaining.
I never looked back.
On the upside, in searching for an author to fill the unnecessarily large gap left by King, I discovered the works of Robert McCammon. Terrific stuff. I highly recommend him to fans of early King, particularly Swan Song, They Thirst, and The Wolf's Hour.