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Which Fantasy Author Did You Find Most Disappointing?
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Chris I was just "talking" to a friend here about why we like certain books and not others. I've come to the conclusion that we can't always express what it is we like or dislike about a book or author. I mean a book may seem "slow" to us, but then in the hands of another writer a book filled with detailed world or character building may draw us in. I'll probably never be a Gaiman fan, though I've "mildly liked" some of his books. I think it's just his "written voice". Some love him other not so much...I think it ends up being true of most books and writers.
I love finding new and upcoming authors in the genre because they are often more likely to put new spins on old ideas or just throw out completely unfamiliar and new material. I'm not often disappointed, but by far the biggest let down was Peter Orullian. "The Unremembered" looked so promising. 'Twas not. Tor pushes his stuff too, and I can't for the life of me understand why.
Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Chris I was just "talking" to a friend here about why we like certain books and not others. I've come to the conclusion that we can't always express what it is we like or dislike about a book or au..."Fair enough! Sometimes it's simply that gut feeling we just can't shake; an indescribable attribute that holds paramount truth for us, even if it doesn't even register for another. Never makes it any less valid. Thanks, Mike.
R.M.F wrote: "One of life's most bitter lessons: revisiting books you enjoyed as a teenager. "
Ugh, so true
Chronicles of Amber was a big disappointment for me...couldn't finish
...wow. That's an example of difference in tastes. People sometimes get very...upset with me when I dislike a book they love. Then someone dislikes a book or books I love.We're all different I guess.
If we all liked the same books there would be no need for GR at all.It was Jo Walton who gave a name to the phenomenon, of going back to a book you enjoyed in youth and discovering that it's disappointing. This term is The Suck Fairy. As in, "Gosh, the Suck Fairy got to LITTLE WOMEN and now it's full of the oppression of women!"
Marcus wrote: "Chronicles of Amber was a big disappointment for me...couldn't finish"I finished them but I didn't enjoy them.
Too bad. I have a "special place in my heart" for the first Amber series. It may be because it's one of the first fantasy series I "stumbled into" back when.
yeah I think the Amber series may have been better recieved if i had read it as a child but as an adult, I was frustrated by the slow pace and the pages and pages of landscape scenery changes that just seemed to drag on. I appreciate the idea but don't need four pages of description every time it happens. Maybe I've just been spoiled on more adult fantasy in recent years and expect a lot of action and intrigue in my fantasy stories. When I saw how popular the Amber series seemed to be, I thought it would be a great option but once I started reading it aloud with my girlfriend at the time, I got through like the first two books before I couldn't handle it any more
I am going to say I was disappointed in George R.R. Martin. It is not that I dislike him, I just think there are so many better written fantasy books that I just can't justify spending the time to plod through his very long tomes.
Ohh, ditto Valerie. I started the first and it ended up being a DNF. Have never been motivated to pick it back up.
I finished the first two. Give me Sanderson, any day.
Love Sanderson and GRRM...anything by either author...they just know how to tell good stories
GRRM was a surprise for me......Surprised that I really don't like his series.
Mike, you and I agree on the Amber books....mostly ;)
Love..... Sanderson.
Carol. wrote: "Ohh, ditto Valerie. I started the first and it ended up being a DNF. Have never been motivated to pick it back up."^This
The rubber-necking of it all is what I think makes a lot of people keep coming back. I can't do it.
I suppose when Terry Goodkind got too Ayn Rand-ish, that kind of turned people off. I got turned off just hearing about it. And then when the stories didn't go anywhere anymore...that was a bummer.
Was a book that I was extremely let down on. As a matter of personal taste I want to like the book, but on every category (save for that) which I judge books of being meritorious for some sort of recognition or praise this book falls flat. Synopsis of the reader's reaction (me): I saw the end coming almost word for word before I was halfway finished, and it was painfully slow to get there. The story was not very original, VERY clichéd, and poor character choices by the main protagonist which other died because of her actions.
For further reference read my review.
Chris wrote: " Was a book that I was extremely let down on. As a matter of personal taste I want to like the book, but on every category (save for that) which I judge books of being m..."That sucks! I know the feeling, though.
I'm sure if you did a count, there'd be more 'bad' books out there than 'good.'
@Greg Yeah, just check any Starbucks corner with all of (what I call) "Twinkie" books. Books of no nutritional value whatsoever.
There is a phrase for that: Extruded Fantasy Product.
George RR Martin, because he decided to neglect his book series in favor of TV, so much so that I refuse to read any more of the books he puts out in the series. Too many great authors and series out there to put up with that nonsense.
As to GRRM, he has hit the jackpot, big time. He has made enough money from the TV sale that he can do what he likes now. He has worked at writing all his life (and he is not a young man) to achieve this. He cannot afford to not do this -- he has a wife, children, a mortgage. If it were you, you could not afford to say no to TV, and neither could I.
Brenda wrote: "As to GRRM, he has hit the jackpot, big time. He has made enough money from the TV sale that he can do what he likes now. He has worked at writing all his life (and he is not a young man) to achiev..."Speak for yourself. I would most certainly not switch to TV, and I certainly wouldn't start a writing a book series, and then not bother to finish it.
Oh, he will finish it. Or if he doesn't the suits will. There is now too much money at stake, you understand -- don't waste worry on it. In a sense by selling it to major media he has lost control of the property, forever -- just like George Lucas has, by selling STAR WARS to Disney. But he is compensated with enough money to live on for the rest of his life, and to send all his kids to Yale and the grandkids as well. Weep no tears for GRRM, he is golden.
Remember too that he may now no longer have a choice. Even if the book is written and ready to go, there may be clauses in the TV contract that prevent the book from coming out until the TV series is caught up. In a fight between the TV guys and the book publishers, the TV guys will win, always.
I read an article the other day that the TV show may reveal the true origins of Jon Snow before the books do. If that is true, I don't see how anyone would be able to forgive GRRM for his slow writing.
But consider the two markets. The number of people who read, even who will read, the books is tiny. Compare it to the kajillions worldwide who will see the TV show, when it airs and then forever and amen on DVD or download. Who should the creators cater to? Whose love do they really really want?
Don't get me wrong. I won't fault the TV creators at all. They have a huge audience to cater to and absolutely should move forward with the story. The fault lies with GRRM who isn't concerned with the TV creators telling major plot points of his story before he does.
He has no choice. They now are going to do what they are going to do. They may even be holding the book back, so that the TV show can go first.
He actually did have a choice. Martin himself said he was planning on having TWOW done before the series caught up to him, then even though it would be tight, he planned on having ADOS done in time for them to start filming it. However, in usual Martin fashion, he got caught up doing other things instead of writing the series, so now he's screwed. Remember, he release ADWD back when the TV series first started. Now it's halfway through season 5, and he still isn't finished with the next book.
I know him, but not well -- I have friends who are much better friends with him. One of them said, "George has written himself into a paper bag. And it's dark in there, and he can't find the way out."
James wrote: "He actually did have a choice. Martin himself said he was planning on having TWOW done before the series caught up to him, then even though it would be tight, he planned on having ADOP done in tim..."This is the reason hubby refuses to read the books. Why bother? The books will never be what they could have been so the TV show is (now) where its at.
I don't read GRRM but I understand the pain.
For me, Gaiman hasn't lived up to the hype. But that's probably more of a case of "the hype" being over-the-top and not a reflection on him as a writer. Too many people gushed too much about him to me and I was unable to read his stuff without a certain level of expectation.
Agree on that one, Jason, that the hype likely had a lot to do with my reaction to Gaiman, but honestly, I'm not that impressed. More to the bizarre than I enjoy.
Carol. wrote: "Agree on that one, Jason, that the hype likely had a lot to do with my reaction to Gaiman, but honestly, I'm not that impressed. More to the bizarre than I enjoy."I've liked a couple of the half dozen books of his I've read, but mostly my reaction is "ho-hum".
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What is it about his writing for you? The characters? The plots? The way he weaves his stories? What about his work fails to captivate? That's not a judgment, I'm just genuinely curious.