"The Long Walk" was one of the first things he ever wrote, while in college, and it was inspired by his anger over the Vietnam War. How he saw America as feeding its young men to a war machine, just lining them up and marching them off to their deaths. "Dolores Claiborne" is about the patriarchy. "Rose Madder" has a woman married to an abusive, dirty cop and his cop friends all protect him.
I've not read The Long Walk but I read Delores Claiborne and didn't find it too overtly political. Some subjects seem to have been in literature since the dawn of time. And sometimes you have to dig a little more to get to the political content.
BTW, Rose Madder was the first book I've ever abandoned. Up until then, I finished every book I started whether or not I was enjoying it but I just could not with the the S&M in the very first chapter of RM and didn't care to find out if the rest of the book had a similar tone.
His recent novels have been more name dropping political tho. But, hey, when you're Stephen King you get to write whatever you want and who's going to tell you not to? 😂 Not your agent or your editor and certainly not the publisher.
Your first statement...yep, that's what I don't care for. All books are going to have themes (well, maybe not Harlequin romances <g>) and often those themes will be political or at least a commentary on something about the current social mores. As long as it's done subtly, and preferably without a side being taken (or at least if a side is taken, then an attempt at trying to understand the other side is preferable to me), then I'm fine with it.
And your second statement, about being Stephen King...absolutely <g>.
