I don't know if he is a good writer or a bad writer and to be frank I really don't care. I enjoy him, when I enjoy very few authors. Things that other people cite as weaknesses, I enjoy.

I take any critique of any author with truckloads of salt. EVERYBODY thinks they have above average tastes and intelligence when that is obviously impossible.

Some people make up crazy metrics and apply them inconsistently. (My favorite one of these is RJs supposed over fascination with clothing and description in general. True, RJ intersperses a lot of 'her dress is yellow slashed with green, etc.' But taken together, I doubt it even comes close to comparing to Tolkien's obsession with describing landscapes not to mention the elvish poems and songs.) Other people have even weirder criterion such as the percentage of main characters that die. Others confuse being bored with boring. (If I didn't like it, it must be boring.)

In the end, though, I don't even trust the professional critics. My criteria are things like 'do I enjoy it' or 'does it give me something to think about and talk about' or 'does it help me to see people and the 'real' world better' or 'is it re-readable again and again and again. No Oxford don can tell me how I am going to feel no matter how intelligent and knowledgeable he is.

Another thing to remember is that anyone who wants to inflate their ego will ALWAYS negatively criticize an author. Any critic who is always positive will quickly develop the reputation of a shill and a sell-out. A critic that is always negative will be thought as having discriminating taste. (Its not a bug; its a feature.) Add that to the fact that the vast majority (maybe all books) have a lot more people who dislike (or are apathetic) to them than those who like them. Finally, as a general rule people prefer negative reviews to positive. People may not like to see car wrecks but neither can they take their eyes off of them.

It is simply much easier to tear down an author with made up statistics and opinions dressed as fact then it is to admit that it is your personal opinion.

RJ like all authors is what he is. If you enjoy him don't let anyone's supposed knowledgeable criticism keep you from enjoying his work. If you don't like him, read someone else. If you want to criticize him, go ahead.