What are 3 Terrible Fantasy or Sci-fi Books You've Read?

[Jim]

Well I did mention 'marmite' didn't I :-)

[[deleted user]]

It goes beyond confusion.

He was ostracized by society, abandoned by his wife, depressed, and impotent. Then he is accepted and healed in events that defy known reality. He couldn't have raped in the real world, but now he can, and he is overwhelmed and probably lashing out against all the "wrongs" done to him.

Then there is the girl's mother. In our world it would be like having a second coming of Lincoln rape your daughter and having to escort him across country with trying to kill him because only he can save your land from doom.

[Brenda]

I must say the description makes me never want to read the book.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Greg wrote: "It goes beyond confusion.

He was ostracized by society, abandoned by his wife, depressed, and impotent. Then he is accepted and healed in events that defy known reality. He couldn't have raped in..."

Wait, wait, wait.

Sorry, but it sounds like you are making excuses for a rapist.

"Well, this and that bad thing happened to him."

There is NO EXCUSE for raping someone.

Full Stop.

Why is it that military men can watch friends die and have limbs blown off and still not rape?

Covenant wasn't and isn't special. Donaldson doesn't get an award for writing a rapist that happened to also save the world.

Saving the world doesn't make up for the assholish, rapey, whiny qualities of the character.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Brenda wrote: "I must say the description makes me never want to read the book."

Best review of the book yet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sabrina]

MrsJoseph wrote: Covenant wasn't and isn't special. Donaldson doesn't get an award for writing a rapist that happened to also save the world.

Saving the world doesn't make up for the assholish, rapey, whiny qualities of the character.

Have you read Perdido Street Station by China Mieville? Now that was a well done book. I can't comment too much without giving away the story arc, but very thought provoking.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Sabrina wrote: "
Have you read Perdido Street Station by China Mieville? Now that was a well done book. I can't comment too much without giving away the story arc, but very thought provoking.
"


I haven't. I have a majorly high squick factor and I was told PSS is nightmare inducing for people who aren't into bugs.

[RB]

You guys actually want me to read the book now! You made me curious!

[[deleted user]]

No excuses. In a court of law he still be guilty. But I do believe a man could behave in that way under those circumstances.

I prefer complex and interesting characters; and he is that. But I wouldn't want to invite him to lunch.

[Sabrina]

MrsJoseph wrote:I haven't. I have a majorly high squick factor and I was told PSS is nightmare inducing for people who aren't into bugs.

Oh, then stay away from it, lol, the gross factor is pretty high in the bug department, but I should add, realistically so.

Also, on that linked review... I will never understand why books turn rapists and abusers into romantic leads. OR why readers eat that sort of thing up and buy into it. I was all set to read Outlander based on numerous recommendations until I read the reviews on it.

[Sabrina]

Greg wrote: "No excuses. In a court of law he still be guilty. But I do believe a man could behave in that way under those circumstances.

I prefer complex and interesting characters; and he is that. But I wo..."

So are you saying that men are incapable of controlling themselves? Because that's sort of insulting to the gender as a whole.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Greg wrote: "No excuses. In a court of law he still be guilty. But I do believe a man could behave in that way under those circumstances.

I prefer complex and interesting characters; and he is that. But I wo..."

I believe that any asshole can act like an asshole if given the opportunity.

But I DO NOT believe that a man - if under stress - reacts in this way.

I don't begrudge your enjoyment of the character, I'm just saying that the character is completely at odds with the human nature I have witnessed. He doesn't come across as complex to me. He came across as a whiny rapist who whines a lot.

I have always witnessed people - those of us that are decent - rise to the challenge of life. I've seen people beaten down by life raise up and drag someone else out of hell at the same time.

I've never seen someone - a decent person, that is - decide that since they were down they were going to rape someone willing to help them.

[Sabrina]

MrsJoseph wrote:I have always witnessed people - those of us that are decent - rise to the challenge of life. I've seen people beaten down by life raise up and drag someone else out of hell at the same time.

I've never seen someone - a decent person, that is - decide that since they were down they were going to rape someone willing to help them. "

Well said!

[Nottyboy]

Snow Crash- Horrible juvenile writing.

Accelerando - Almost as bad as Snow Crash

The Diamond Age - Only read the first chapter, and saw that Stephenson's writing was still as awful as before.

I think I would have probably enjoyed their ideas in the form of non-fiction. As fiction, they were almost unreadable.

On the other hand, I've immensely enjoyed works by Roger Zelany, William Gibson, C.J. Cherryh and John Shirley.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

MrsJoseph wrote: "I hated The Name of the Wind, too. *shudder* All my friends love it but I thought it mostly sucked ass. I never finished it. "

I don't count... I has a sad...

;)

Re: PSS - I'm not exactly a bug fan, but didn't find it too horrific. It was kinda wtf at first, but my interest bypassed that. That said, I'd probably think you giving it a pass is a good idea.

[[deleted user]]

Each to his own, but I f*cking LOVED PSS

[Sabrina]

Chris wrote: "Each to his own, but I f*cking LOVED PSS"

No kidding, Chris! PSS was such a mix of the truly bizarre and yet somehow familiar. China's writing style is excellent and you really are immersed in his world. The awesomeness of the Weaver just blew my mind. Then towards the end of the book, I was actually wishing someone would just put the poor people out of their misery, lol, and you can't beat the strangest aerial-combat sequence in fiction. I was right there with Colleen, going WTF?

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Colleen wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "I hated The Name of the Wind, too. *shudder* All my friends love it but I thought it mostly sucked ass. I never finished it. "

I don't count... I has a sad...

;)

Re: PSS - I'm ..."

Of course you count! I should have checked reviews first. ;)

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Oh, good. I'm happy again. ;D

[Greg]

Nottyboy wrote: "Snow Crash- Horrible juvenile writing.

Accelerando - Almost as bad as Snow Crash

The Diamond Age - Only read the first chapter, and saw that Stephenson's writing was still as awful as before.

I read C.J Cherryh's Downbelow Station and really had troubles getting through it. I had also bought Cyteen, which I believe is the sequel, but I never read it after having such a hard slog through the first.

[Jack]

Ala wrote: "Oh, and everything on this shelf of mine, I find terrible."
Ah, John Ringo, when he's good he's very, very slightly better than average, and when he's bad, he's horrid. Haven't read any of the rest, but I should make a shelf like this. Hmmm... "Shelf of Shame" has a nice ring to it.

[Jack]

Hmmm... now I have to dredge back in the memory banks...
1) Wolfe, G., "The Shadow of the Torturer"--Nowhere on the book was there a warning that a) it was part of a trilogy and b) nothing was resolved in this volume. That's one of my fatal author errors. I've never read anything else by Wolfe, and never will. (Yes, it is a personal thing, but no, I'm never going to change that.)

2) Kent, Steven L., "The Clone Whatever". I swear he had to sleep with someone to get this published. I have no idea what he had to do to get the sequels published.

3) Tolkien, J.R.R., "The Lord of the Rings". I have no idea why this was popular. It's long, wordy and pointless. I read it in the 60's, said, "Huh, well that was a waste," and never looked back until the movies came out. At which point I skimmed a copy and confirmed my earlier opinion.

My 1-star review list is wide and vast, but these stand out as either extremely bad, or very divergent from the common consensus.

[Ken]

Pickle wrote: "The Lost Symbol
180+ chapters in a 300+ book is ridiculous. Some chapters were less than a page and there was no reason to have them so small at times. God awful book ."

Ha, there was a reason. Every chapter ended on a stupid mini cliffhanger. Since the writing was terrible he figures that this will keep you reading

[Ken]

MrsJoseph wrote: "

And Eternity
The ..."

The Piers Anthony for you. Take an interesting concept and mine it till its dead dead dead.
The Incarnations of Immortality started out as pure awesomeness and then each book was just a bit less than the previous till it just becomes terrible.

[Ken]

Jim wrote: "Steve wrote: "Steve wrote: "I personally thought The Real Story (and the rest of the Gap series) was one of the best SF series I've ever read. Of course, I also thought Lord Foul's Bane and the rest of the Thomas Covenant Boo..."

Life's like that Steve. Seriously it might well be worth checking them out. It is all so subjective, and we do ourselves no favours unless we remember that :-) ."


Ha, my thoughts exactly. Some of the books listed here are some of my favorites...others not so much. I am a huge Donaldson fan.
I haven't heard anything good about Way of Kings...I didn't bother with not for any reason like that. Basically its another 10 book series and I didn't want to wait 20 + years for the resolution.

[Ken]

W.H. wrote: "2. Otherland by Tad Williams, which was a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed his Memory, Sorrow and Thorne Series."

Otherland, that series begged for an editor. Way Way too long. Could of been cut by at least a book. Another author that I dumped.

[Pickle]

Ken wrote: "W.H. wrote: "2. Otherland by Tad Williams, which was a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed his Memory, Sorrow and Thorne Series."

Otherland, that series begged for an editor. Way Way too long. Coul..."

ive only read his Memory Sorrow Thorn series, 3 books that were 4 book as the last book was split into 2, and that could have seriously done with an editor. 250 pages for the hero to leave castle!

I wont read anymore by Tad Williams.

[Greg]

Pickle wrote: "Ken wrote: "W.H. wrote: "2. Otherland by Tad Williams, which was a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed his Memory, Sorrow and Thorne Series."

Otherland, that series begged for an editor. Way Way to..."

I also thought the Memory, Sorrow, Thorn series dragged on a bit more than it should have.

I've looked at other Tad Williams books at the bookstore, like the Shadowmarch books, but I've never really been interested in reading any of his other stuff after that.

[Otherwyrld]

I read Lord Foul's Bane when it first came out and loved it so much I used to hang around bookshops waiting for the sequels to be published.

It came out at the right time when I was looking for a more "realistic" adult fantasy. I suspect that I would hate it if I read it today.

Now I'm looking at my bookshelves at all the books I loved years ago and wondering if I should even bother trying to re-read them...

[Kevin]

Greg wrote: "Pickle wrote: "Ken wrote: "W.H. wrote: "2. Otherland by Tad Williams, which was a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed his Memory, Sorrow and Thorne Series."

Otherland, that series begged for an edi..."

I also dislike Tad Williams ,and also though his books dragged on. I think his books would have been a lot better if they were under 500 pages each by cutting out all the lag time where the plot not progressing anywhere.

[Sabrina]

Kevin wrote: "Greg wrote: "Pickle wrote: "Ken wrote: "W.H. wrote: "2. Otherland by Tad Williams, which was a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed his Memory, Sorrow and Thorne Series."

Otherland, that series begg..."

Tad Williams is one of my favorite authors, but I do agree that some parts could have been edited down, especially the Otherland series. I felt that his newest series Shadowmarch moved at a good pace. He has a rich prose, sort of like Gormenghast, which isn't for everyone. But he is always going somewhere with it, and wraps up all the little story threads in one tidy bundle.

[Lara Amber]

MrsJoseph wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I must say the description makes me never want to read the book."

Best review of the book yet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Read the review but couldn't get the pictures to load. I have a feeling I'm missing something do to that.

[Brenda]

A truly terrible work I read once was DECISION AT DOONA, by Anne McCaffrey. Gosh, that was horrible.

[Ken]

Otherwyrld wrote: "Now I'm looking at my bookshelves at all the books I loved years ago and wondering if I should even bother trying to re-read them... "

I am planning on re rading Covenant next year after he publishes the last book in the final series. Kinda worried that middle aged brain wont enjoy it as much as my teen aged brain

[Greg]

Ken wrote: "Otherwyrld wrote: "Now I'm looking at my bookshelves at all the books I loved years ago and wondering if I should even bother trying to re-read them... "

I am planning on re rading Covenant next y..."

Sometimes it's fun going back and reliving those earlier days. I reread the early R.A. Salvatore books a year or two ago and really enjoyed them again.

Elminster: The Making of Mage is one I come back to every few years, although it might be a bit hokey for some.

And I don't think you can go wrong reading the first book of the WoT again. I've read it 3 times since high school, although now that the series is finished perhaps I won't have to read it again.

Now I suppose I can repeat the Jordan experience with Sanderson's Stormlight Archive Series. It might be better to wait 10 years until he finishes them all, however; I don't want to reread books again every time a new one comes out.

[Andy]

Twilight was crap.

Hated the Hunger Games.

I have a hard time reading Heinlein written after his illness.

[Daniel]

I've got to throw in one that was so bad I was laughing the whole way through it. It's called The Last Starship from Earth, by John Boyd. And it's a doozy.

There's a scene where the love interest consoles the protagonist (shortly after his father's funeral) by inserting her breast into his mouth and commanding him to "feast on life."

If that's not enough for you, there's also a weird Orwellian society, a robot pope, and a third-act trip off earth that's never properly explained. This one just keeps on giving.

[Jael]

by Justina Robson

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Lara Amber wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I must say the description makes me never want to read the book."

Best review of the book yet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Read the review but..."


It's GR. SOmething to do with "https" vs "http"

If you drop the "s" you should be able to see pics

[Doc]

Daniel wrote: "I've got to throw in one that was so bad I was laughing the whole way through it. It's called The Last Starship from Earth, by John Boyd. And it's a doozy.

There's a scene where the love interest ..."

I read the Boyd book years ago and still laugh about it!!!

[Arabella]

I have to admit after the fifth or sixth book of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony I got very tired of the same approach over and over

[Mpauli]

Palimpsest was really disappointing. I thought I would really like it, but the total lack of plot was shocking.
It's like the author is always like this: "Oh, look what I created, isn't it wonderful and surprising? And then I created this and this, and look at that."
And if you ask, if there is a story involved, it's like:"Why, isn't it enough to create all this magical stuff?" My answer is NO, but others seem to differ.

Control Point had the worst protagonist I read in a long time. I guess the author wanted to show an inner struggle, but it ended up being a character that was very indecisive and if he did something, it was always wrong and always contraticted his last decision. If the book had benn 50 pages longer or shorter, he just would have ended up on the other side of the battle.

The Wise Man's Fear. I'm like 70% done with it and it just drags on and on and on, without anything happening.
I really enjoyed the first book, which was quite similar in style, but what I found charming and forgiveable for the beginning of a series, just bores and annoys me now.

[Arabella]

Otherwyrld wrote: "I read Lord Foul's Bane when it first came out and loved it so much I used to hang around bookshops waiting for the sequels to be published.

It came out at the right time when I was looking for a ..."

You know I did that a few weeks ago and pulled Intervention by Julian May off the book shelf...say for a very slow wordy middle I still loved it. And I haven't read it since it was published in hardback 1987 ?....you are right.....makes me think we should start a new would you/have you reread.thread...what SF or Fantasy

[Arabella]

Sorry...love/hate my IPad....
What SF/Fantasy novels have you/would you reread?

[Ron]

While I really liked Dune by Frank Herbert, I thought he carried that same premise for a little too long. I did get through the 1st 5 books of this "trilogy", as it was originally purported to be. However, after that, it got tiresome. I was 10,000 years in the future with Dune as the baseline. One character was still present in the story. OK, so he was cloned over and over again, but, 10,000 years? Just a little too much for me.

Although, I did like many of his son's prequels to Dune. But, they too, overdid it for me.

So, 3 books? The final 2 of the Dune Chronicles and pretty much any one from Brian Herbert's prequels.

[Jonathan]

The worst sci-fi book I've ever read was, hands-down, Timeline:



As fun as Jurassic Park was, and as gripping as Sphere was (at least, to my seventeen-year old mind), this one was just a total waste of effort. Everything about it felt mailed-in. I hated it.

[Arabella]

Smila'a Sense of Snow was a huge seller when it came out...so I read it and liked it up to the end: when it became obvious the author had painted himself in the corner put in this dieu ex machina ( Im spelling that wrong) Anyway...he threw in this whacked out science fiction ending that came out of nowhere and I felt so cheated.
The other one that comes to mind is Peter Straub and Stephen Kings collaboration...dang my brain blanked out on the title..anyway complete ripoff of a book I read at least a year earlier called Prince Ombra...had the same exact plot points:Boy makes this harrowing journey across the US in search of an arcane artifact...horrific events occur and the world hangs in balance...almost threw the Straub King book across the room. I was floored at how similar it was...and I am going to have to add RobertJordans Eye of the World so derivative I tried three times to read it and just couldn't care.

[John]

NEXT by Michael Crichton would take my #1, 2, and 3 spot.
I read it from cover to cover and I honestly have no idea what the hell that book was about or what Crichton was trying to accomplish. I'm really not sure my copy wasn't misprinted or missing chapters or something. It was a mess and after that book alone I decided I wasn't going to finish bad books anymore just assuming it would all turn out good in the end.

[Roger]

Ala wrote: "Oh, and everything on this shelf of mine, I find terrible."

I like the concept of a WTF shelf. Pray tell, what is your definition of a 'butthurt' author? This intrigues me.

[Roger]

Trike wrote: "It by Stephen King was the book that cured me of reading his stuff ever again. It's seriously 800 pages too long and it turns out the evil is giant spider from outer space that pretends to be a clo..."

Yeah, but it was still better than The Tommyknockers.