Objectively intelligent.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Coates is not a star. He’s a darling of a niche of readers who think his stuff is quality. He’s a decent enough writer, but generally a one trick pony. All roads lead to grievance. He also engages in a bit of clickbait writing by arguing for reparations. It’s not that he doesn’t have some decent points, but he’s on permanent repeat. You criticize Taibbi for endlessly milking the same media criticisms. That’s fair. Taibbi does mine the vein a bit too frequently. In the same manner, Coates see everything through a lens of race theory and grievance.

Coates, undeniably, is a star, whatever you think of his writing. He won the National Book Award and a MacArthur genius grant, and his books sell and get critical acclaim. He also writes for Marvel Comics, and seems to be working on TV and film projects. He has the sort of crossover appeal that reflects that publishers want him writing for them because he's a draw. I personally have not read any of his books, so I can't speak to them, but it's clear that he has been very successful lately.

Whatever you think of him or Sullivan, it's pretty obvious that their relative status has flip-flopped dramatically in the last fifteen years.

Taibbi, unlike Coates (and Sullivan) remains interesting because he has a bit more range, and most importantly - this is huge - he has a sense of humor. Coates takes himself brutally seriously. So does Sullivan. That makes their stuff tedious.

I decline your invitation to compare and contrast the work of Taibbi, Sullivan and Coates, not least because it has nothing to do with what I was talking about.

I’m not interested in the point you were making because I think it’s an example of Coates being a bore and a windbag. He and Sullivan deserve each other.

OK. Either way, your "bury the hatchet" point was totally obtuse.

eta: Obviously, I posted the quotes from Sullivan and Coates because of the exchange we had about Sullivan a few days ago. I guess you're bored by things that don't match your priors.