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Which Fantasy Author Did You Find Most Disappointing?
I think Liveship will probably help you to enjoy the Dragon books more. You learn about Bingtown and the Rain Wilds mainly in Liveship, and grow to love those areas and some of the characters then. Without that background, I can see why the Dragon books would be less than impressive. Kind of like if someone had ready Tawny Man before Farseer, Tawny Man would suffer from a lack of world/character building that was already done in Farseer.
Dawn wrote: "Gwyanna - did you read her Liveship series before Dragon Keeper? Dragon Keeper is more a follow up to Liveship than Farseer and Tawny Man, so if you hadn't read Liveship, that might explain not lov..."I must in the way miniority of not liking the Liveship series. Maybe I need a reread or try another series by Hobb.
Gwynna wrote: "*waves* Hi everyone! This is a great topic (and reading through, it seems like I'm in good company in my dislikes). I won't bother to harp on Twilight as it's been done so well by so many: suffic..."
Also, I loathed the Dark Tower. You're definitely not alone :D
I couldn't do the Liveship books, enjoyed the Farseer and Tawny man ones though.
Also, agree on the last 3 DT books. Though 4 was all kinds of ARGH.
Also, agree on the last 3 DT books. Though 4 was all kinds of ARGH.
Ala wrote: "I couldn't do the Liveship books, enjoyed the Farseer and Tawny man ones though.Also, agree on the last 3 DT books. Though 4 was all kinds of ARGH."
I'll definitely have to give Farseer/Tawny Man a try, I've just been wary because of LS. :)
Farseer is good stuffs. My other self raves about them, and I like them well enough.
The Tawny Man books are a continuation of the Farseer story, and weren't as good as Farseer but they were still worthwhile.
The Tawny Man books are a continuation of the Farseer story, and weren't as good as Farseer but they were still worthwhile.
Jessie wrote: "Also, I loathed the Dark Tower. You're definitely not alone :D"Ala wrote: "Also, agree on the last 3 DT books. Though 4 was all kinds of ARGH."
Oh, good. Last time I made that kind of statement about DT in polite company I got a pillow thrown at me. :)
Yeah, 4 bugged me a bit too, though I really enjoyed the present-day scenes and I've always wanted to know more about Roland's life before he started chasing Walter.
And the rewritten beginning to The Gunslinger was infuriating to me.
As Ala's aforementioned other self, I do indeed rave about all things Farseer. Give em a shot, Jessie
The Dread Pirate Grant wrote: "As Ala's aforementioned other self, I do indeed rave about all things Farseer. Give em a shot, Jessie"I've already added then to my 'next-to-buy' list. :D
I couldn't get into Dart Tower either. I made it to book four and then I just couldn't any more. Book four ruined it for me, and I am a big King fan!
Book Four of DT: Ruinating the series, one reader at a time.
That does seem to be the breaking point. :)It kind of felt like he'd signed a contract for 7 books but ran out of steam right after murderous trains, and just kept plowing ahead. I hope they do better with the movies.
It makes me sad. Drawing of the Three was the first one I read, when I was 11, and I fell so completely in love.
/mope
*throws pillow at Dread Pirate Grant*
Ala wrote: "Book Four of DT: Ruinating the series, one reader at a time."lol
truer words were never spoken!
I've heard that book four is the worst one in the series. I didn't like it, that's for sure. The first three were okay, with my favorite being the first. I may continue it one day.
I got through it and found it good..in bits. Not being a King fan I saw a lot of the things I usually don't like in all the volumes, but it had moments of excellent writing and story telling. I loved the opening line of the series. I think that may be what drew me through the entire series.
Book 4 on its own is ok. As a prequel, of sorts.
But as book 4 in the series it was just wrong. And bad.
But as book 4 in the series it was just wrong. And bad.
The first was honestly the only one I liked. The rest that I managed to slough through, I merely tolerated or hated. Four was when I totally gave up, however. I don't think I'll ever be going back to the Dark Tower.
I found book three to the best out of the Dark Tower series, because it was the one with the most action, but it ended on a cliffhanger.
Pretty girls throwing pillows... *wipes tear*
So....happy....here
So....happy....here
Well that goes without saying. What other kind of woman would you find in FA?
I just finished "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I was not at all happy with the last 200-300 pages. He's a very good writer, in that he moves you through the story...but the story was just so convoluted and I wasn't exactly sure why I had to read through various parts. To me, there just wasn't enough payoff to have to trod through all of the various sub-plots and plot turns. Maybe I expected too much. Hard to say with so much praise having been heaped on it. But the plot was disjointed and stuff looked like if he had a chance to re-write it, he could have easily dropped 100-150 pages with no problem. And I still don't understand the point of Deanne, Dianne, Deanna. Waste of a good complex character, IMO.Overall...easily most disappointing book/author I have read.
Jason wrote: "We have all the best! :)"Aww, flattery will get you everywhere.
*buys round of Belgian ale, Killians or scotch for everyone*
*hugs Carol, buys second round*
Well, can't be a piker...next round.
I am now following Grant and wiping a tear from my eye.And I reiterate, we have the best women. Ever!
Aside from my wife of course! LOL But she is a member of this group, so alls good. :)
Other than myself (as that would be vain of course) Jason I believe we have the best group here. Congrats.
Thanks, Mike! That means a lot to me coming from you! :)
Aww, I missed a pillow fight. *sob*Another book I was surprised to dislike: Patricia McKillip's Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Mostly because I love McKillip with a fiery, boundless, slightly-inappropriate passion, and I've *never* not liked a book of hers. Her earlier ones are generally my favorites, but this one, almost the earliest and a World Fantasy winner, felt desperately clumsy and had nothing at all of her usual lyricism and vivid metaphor.
/grumble
Joe wrote: "I just finished "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I was not at all happy with the last 200-300 pages. He's a very good writer, in that he moves you through the story...but the story was..."Ack, I just bought that book yesterday! I hope it's not too much of a disappointment for me. :)
Cheryl wrote: "Joe wrote: "I just finished "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I was not at all happy with the last 200-300 pages. He's a very good writer, in that he moves you through the story...but t..."I love love love NotW. And The Wise Man's Fear, the sequel. Rothfuss foreva!
Jessie wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Joe wrote: "I just finished "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I was not at all happy with the last 200-300 pages. He's a very good writer, in that he moves you through th..."LOL, Jessie! Hopefully, I'll become a fan, too.
Joe wrote: "I just finished "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I was not at all happy with the last 200-300 pages. He's a very good writer, in that he moves you through the story...but the story was..."I felt the exactly the same way. Glad to see there are some that feel the same way, it feels like the people who love the book overtakes the ones like us.
Cheryl wrote: "Jessie wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Joe wrote: "I just finished "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I was not at all happy with the last 200-300 pages. He's a very good writer, in that he moves..."Hopefully. If not, I know a fair amount of people who just find him not to their taste.. but that's how I feel about Terry Goodkind X-(. To each their own :D
I didn't like NotW either, but the writing was good enough I am going to give Rothfuss the benefit of the doubt and keep readingand we do have great women here...even though I might be biased...
I just tried to ignore the NOTW hate lest I show my ass :). Nice tho it is. To each their own ;)
MrsJ, Deerskin was based on an old...old folk tale which she adapted to the modern work. I laid it aside.Gwynna, I found Forgotten Beasts of Eld slow going also. no hate, just blah, sort of.
MrsJoseph wrote: "While I typically love Robin McKinnley, I was SUPER disappointed in her book Deerskin."I hear you. I am a huge fan of The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Deerskin was the first (and there have been subsequent) of her books I didn't like. I put it down to my reaction to the subject matter, since I think it was well written.
Don't get me wrong. Rothfuss is a very talented writer. He can move you through a couple hundred pages and you can't seem to stop reading. I just found the plot to be disjointed and stretched. More like a problem with whoever was alpha reading and editing him. So hard to control those things on your first book out of the barn. It was disappointing to me, because of all the hype. I just expected a lot more.
Lord, we went from pillow-fighting to mooning pretty fast there. I feel like I'm back in 8th grade having a pj party. :DI did love Deerskin (McKinley is a favorite of mine in general) - but it was a hell of a departure from her usual subject matter, and so very intense.
Her latest, Pegasus, annoyed me a bit-- though only toward the end, where we went from her usual pacing to about warp two. I felt like I had whiplash by the end of that one. Plus, argh!! on the cliffhanger.
Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "MrsJ, Deerskin was based on an old...old folk tale which she adapted to the modern work. I laid it aside.Gwynna, I found Forgotten Beasts of Eld slow going also. no hate, just blah, sort of."
I'd heard it was based on a fairy tale of some sort...but after reading the book I was totally not interested in the original.
Oh, the grossness of what I remember from the ending was just TOOOOO much.
I've heard both good and bad about Pegasus... not sure if I want to check them out...but I LOVE The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown.
Tracey wrote: "I loved Pegasus - but I had no idea it was the first book of two (or howevermany). You're right - she ramped it up - and I was still looking at the pages I had left thinking "she can't wrap this up". And she didn't. Argh!!"Yep, exactly my reaction. I was in swoony McKinley-love right up until then. She does human/intelligent-non-human relationships so very well, I wanted a telepathic flying horse of my very own. :)
MrsJoseph wrote: "but I LOVE The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown."
Harry is one of my favorite characters of all time. :)
No worries Joe :). Besides you're a Hobb fan so you have redeeming qualities ;)
Yes! Harry is great but I loved Corlath, too.
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I'll give it another try after I plow through those books, then. Thanks! I was a bit crushed not to love a Hobb book.