Take a GCSE in Ramsey Campbell

I haven't read Mr Barker's booklet, nor have I read Mr Campbell's
review of it, and I don't care to read either. But this is the most
childish display of sour grapes I have ever seen. Mr Barker would do
well to remember that any review is subjective. It's altogether too
easy to extract examples of "poor writing" from otherwise well written
works of fiction; doing so does not necessarily present any conclusive
argument that those works are of poor quality. (It may *support* such
an argument, but it cannot be the argument itself.) One must also take
into account the significance of the work in question; how well it's
aims have been achieved; and it's influence and legacy on literature.
Otherwise, many great authors could be easily deflated: Just look at
Herman Melville's exposition or Isaac Asimov's dialogue, for easy
examples. No one can dispute those authors' place in literary history,
and no one can dispute Ramsey Campbell's. He's among the best of the
best.