Do you think that people are too lenient in their praise nowadays when it comes to new writers?

Any merits bestowed on current fiction has little or nothing at all to do with the writing itself. How a writer actually puts words together, i.e., style and readability, is virtually ignored. If some plot sounds interesting, especially if it's in vogue -- like vampires, "historical" fiction like The Da Vinci Code,et al -- no matter how crappy the prose, it's seldom taken into account.