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Worst/Most Disappointing Book You've Read This Year?
I thought "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" was a very good book, but it really could have used some heavy editing.
I have to agree with you guys about JS&MN needing quite a bit of editing. I'm liking the story so far, but I'm almost half-way through the book and I feel like nothing has really happened yet. And I'm not exactly loving the footnotes either. They are interesting, but there are too many of them. I'm beginning to feel like they are either gimmicky (as if she was turning her book into the mysterious book in the story and wanted to give it more of a textbook feel, maybe?) or just lazy (like Clarke just didn't want to rewrite the section to incorporate the footnote into the story).
Anyway, I do like the "social commentary" aspect of it, and the humor, but I think that it could have been trimmed up quite a bit.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell has a great concept. I even liked the writing style (nineteenth century formal prose ala Dickens or Doyle)that added to the feel of the dated setting. But I too regret to say that for such a long novel not a lot happens. Moreover, one of the things I enjoyed about the first two thirds of the novel was the mystery. The prophesy set up this expectation and I was looking for clues to the surprising twists the story would take. The way it was written I felt there were thousands of little things I was missing. That's going to be important, I would think--I don't know how, but it will. So my expectation in the end was that all these little threads that were meticulously built up over the previous six hundred pages would all blossom in wonderfully surprising ways in the end. Only they didn't.
I still enjoyed the ride. I liked sitting down to afternoon tea on the couch and reading this very vintage sounding story, but ultimately I was disappointed.
For what it turned out to be the book could easily have been half its length, (since what I thought was set up really wasn't) but honestly, I would like to have seen it a bit longer with a more clever, comprehensive and complete ending.
As for the footnotes, I'm not a fan, but they did lend a bit of authority to the work, which is something she did remarkably well. You really do wonder at times what is fantasy and what is fact. She blurred those lines marvelously. Not too many fantasy writers can manage that. But many of the footnotes were just too long. Footnotes shouldn't run on to the next page. That just becomes annoying as it takes you to far out of the story.
About ten years ago, I bought 10 or so books by Iain M. Banks as a result of a strong recommendation from a friend.About a month ago, I read Consider Phlebas and was very dissapointed. It was not as well concieved and as speculative as I expected. And it was violent and sadistic as a bad american "blockbuster" film.
I still have the other Banks books I bought so perhaps, in time, I will try again; but probably not soon.
p.s. I really enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
I never did make it through JS&MN, even with the audio book. Too much like work & I couldn't work up any interest in any part of the world. Glad to see I wasn't the only one. I'll also agree on the I.M. Banks books. I bought one on recommendation & neither my daughter nor I liked it, even though we're very in to vampire books & between us have read & liked many of others.
Michael, I couldn't agree more that the long footnotes take the reader too far out of the story. I'm not sure which edition you read, but I'm reading the single volume in mass market paperback, and at one point I had to read through 4 pages of footnote-story and then try to find my place again in the actual story. That's just ridiculous! I am liking the story, and I have less than 1/2 of the book to read now, so I will finish it, but I'm disappointed that all the build-up seems to be only for show... Or, at the most, ambiance.
Jim, how did the audiobook handle the footnotes? I would think that would be one of the most confusing audiobooks ever!
Jim wrote: "I never did make it through JS&MN, even with the audio book. Too much like work & I couldn't work up any interest in any part of the world. Glad to see I wasn't the only one. I'll also agree o..."
Jim, I think you're thinking of LA Banks here. Iain writes SF and mainstream and, as far as I know, has never written a vampire story :-)
Though, since I am one of his fans, I'd like to know about it if he did.
You're right! L.A. Banks, not I.A. Thanks for catching that.The audio book just read the footnotes in line with the story, so by the time the big diversion was over, I had to spin wheels trying to remember where we'd left off. At least with the book, I could flip back a few pages & see. Not happening with the audio book. Since I'd zoned out due to complete lack of interest half the time, it didn't really matter.
I often found the footnotes of more interest than the rest of the story. But 3 page footnotes is ludicrous.
Robin wrote: "For me it would be Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I know many people lov..."I'd have to agree. This book was a disappointment. I was quite excited to read it. It’s a great concept and well written but in need serious editing as was noted by another member. It was simply laborious to read. I never could get through it. Plot was simply too slow moving.
Jonathan Strange gets my vote as well. I forced myself to read it right to the end but it was really hard work and it gave me no pleasure at all. No amount of editing would have improved it for me.I enjoyed Name Of The Wind though. I found it a refreshing change to the usual fantasy plots. The Road? I would not say I hated it; just that it was a bit weak.
We all have our different tastes and sometimes you just read a book at the wrong time. Have you every read a book and not liked it then for some strange reason re-read it and loved it? Recently I re-read Dune because as a teenager I had not been impressed; sadly I still find it weak & pretentious :-)
Worst book I've read this year (so far) has to be Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson. I heard it was only the first of a series of 5, and I just can't imagine so much trash actually making it to mainstream fiction. Every single hackneyed, cliched fantasy element is blown completely out of proportion with a horrible, awkward writing. Saving the "world" from impending evil and doom with the power of a magical ring? Really??lol, obviously there are people out there who liked it, so this book just made me wonder if I really just don't like traditional fantasy elements.
I agree Marian. I pick up a new fantasy book and read the blurb and if it says 'Young farmboy/kitchen-hand discovers he is the only person who can fulfil the prophesy and defeat the evil King/God' I put it right back. Actually I hate any plotline that elevates a lowly farmboy into 'greatest swordsman/hero in the world' which accounts for 90% of fantasy and includes Star Wars as well :-) I still read them but it annoys me. I prefer leading characters who barely make it to the end of the book using just luck and maybe previously untapped, but believable, skills. I don't mind if they discover they have some magical gifts but I would rather they did not suddenly become the greatest magician that ever lived. An example of that the latter might be Raymond Fiests otherwise excellent 'Magician'; the boy Pug was quite likeable but the man he became just annoyed me.
In the Lord Foul series, the hero, Thomas Covenant, does not save the world, nor does he use a magic ring to do it. The ring, made of white gold, is a symbol of Covenant's power to encompass opposites. He is a leper, his body living and dying at the same time. The villain of the piece, Lord Foul the Despiser, is trying to destroy the world, which for him is a prison. His only real power is to corrupt the strengths of others. Covenant is immune to this, since for him strength is a weakness. He does nothing, but makes it possible for others to do everything.It has its flaws as a story, I will admit. Many people have said they couldn't stand his self-pity, or certain other parts of the stroy that are unpleasant. (Trying not put in any spoilers here.) I liked the dsecond trilogy better, as the story is more linear than circular, but the language is so overdone it sort of spoiled it for me. He was trying for a poetic style but it was just too OTT.
It is not anything stereotypical, though.
Robinhj wrote: "I prefer leading characters who barely make it to the end of the book using just luck and maybe previously untapped, but believable, skills."I hope you'll check out my books, then. My hero, Tarkas, doesn't even know what a sword is, and certainly doesn't want to be a hero in the service of the gods. He gets his fighting abilities from a bottle (think 'hair color', not 'booze'). But the god who gives them to him screwed it up, and now the potion isn't isn't working quite right. The Book of Prophecies is published annually, in multiple volumes, but the 'prophecies' in them are so vague as to be almost meaningless, and require a lot of interpretation, which may not always be done right. His greatest strengths are the Songs that he spent his life learning, but when the gods attach magical side-effects to them, he stops Singing. In the end it's just him and a sword that doesn't exist, that he doesn't know how to use.
The Flame in the Bowl Unbinding the Stone
A Warrior Made
My least favorite was Twilight (the 1st) it just dragged on, and I thought Bella was way too Mary Sue-ish- all these guys throwing themselves at her (Mike, Jacob) and she goes after the vampire. I enjoy a lot of teen-oriented fiction, a lot of it transcends age in its appeal, but this one definitely had the feel of being written for swooning high school girls.A non-fiction book, that I didn't even bother finishing was "Why I Don't Believe in Atheists" by Chris Hedges- a book debunking extreme atheists like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens. He was making some good points, and even if I agreed with him, it was just way too negative.
Robinhj wrote: "Actually I hate any plotline that elevates a lowly farmboy into 'greatest swordsman/hero in the world' which accounts for 90% of fantasy and includes Star Wars as well ..."Without a doubt - though I'll be a hypocrit here and say I so throughly enjoyed my first reading of Princess Bride - of course I've seen the movie and I look at the "farm boy" in this as more of "tongue in cheek" - I loved the book and the movie. But no other farm boys please!
Princess Bride was an homage and a parody of the genre, and as such had to have something like that. Notice that Westley took five years to do it though, unlike the cliche, where the hero picks up his weapon skills almost instantly.
Marc wrote: "I hope you'll check out my books, then. My hero, Tarkas, doesn't even know what a sword is, and certainly doesn't want to be a hero in the service of the gods...."The few reviews I could find about your book all comment on the wry humor of it. That's something I delight in, so I've put it on my to-read list. Any chance of a Kindle version in the works?
I'm curious about the cover of the book as well. It reminds me of Piers Anthony, so if I was looking at your book in a store I'd probably pass it by without a second thought. (I don't say that to be insulting, but I do judge books by their covers, and especially fantasy novels.)
This is why I love GoodReads - I come across new books and authors I normally wouldn't! Robin, I'm about 75% through Crown Conspiracy and it's all I can do to put it down! It started out a little slow for me, but I'm loving it. Looks like I'll be picking up the sequel when it comes out.
Sandi wrote: "Stuart wrote: "Quicksilver, the first book of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. I liked Snow Crash and the Diamond Age, so was really looking forward to reading it. It's very well written, and I f..."
I also really enjoyed Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, but as for Quick Silver I couldn't get into it. I tried to push through but ultimately I put is aside.
Marc wrote: "In the Lord Foul series, the hero, Thomas Covenant, does not save the world, nor does he use a magic ring to do it. The ring, made of white gold, is a symbol of Covenant's power to encompass oppos..."I really enjoyed the Thomasa Covenant series. I have the same complaints with his self pity, but I liked that fact that it steers pretty clear of the atypical fantasy plot line for the most part. I did finish the first series, but felt no motivation to read the second.
Ironically the only reason I read this series of books was a random encounter with another SciFi/Fantasy reader in a book store who told me how much he loved reading them as a kid.
Regarding Thomas Covenant, what I thought was stereotypical about it was the whole "massive evil, one man with the power to save the world" idea present in the first book, whether he does end up saving it by the end of the fifth, I don't know. I actually thought the character concept of Thomas Covenant is pretty neat, just poorly executed. Like Marc said, the language was waaay overdone... for me, what kills a piece of work more than anything - and believe me I've liked a few books with dumb ideas - is how bad the writing is. Oh, giving a giant, who steers a boat, the name of "Saltheart Foamfollower" kind of, eh, made me facepalm. =PSorry I ranted a little, it just really wasn't my type, I probably should've done some research before plunging into it without knowing anything about it.
I'm curious about the cover of the book as well. It reminds me of Piers Anthony"I had no input into the cover design for Stone, otherwise it would have been quite different. I believe the lady who did the art for that later moved to Mundania Press, which does a great deal of Piers' work. I know she did at least one cover for him. The cover for A Warrior Made was based on my original concept and modified with my input. Ditto for the back cover blurbs.
it was the whole "massive evil, one man with the power to save the world" idea present in the first bookUnfortunately he doesn't save the world. The only thing he can do provide hope to the people of the world so that they don't fall into despair. Lord Foul cannot be destroyed, only weakened. He cannot be removed from the world without destroying the world. The series doesn't really have a happy ending.
=P Marc, that actually salvaged the idea of the series a little bit in my mind; I appreciate "unhappy" endings, for some reason. Thanks for letting me know :)
Danielle wrote: "Robin, I'm about 75% through Crown Conspiracy and it's all I can do to put it down! It started out a little slow for me, but I'm loving it. Looks like I'll be picking up the sequel when it comes out...."Danielle,
Thanks so much for letting me know - Not being able to "put it down" is the best compliment anyone can get. I'm actually doing a re-reading of book 3 and I found myself in the same situation last night!
I'm going to have to go with Boneshaker by Cheri Priest. It was on a bunch of lists of the best steampunk books, but I couldn't get past the mediocre writing style and boring characters. The worst part was that the prologue was written really well, so it was a tease which set me up for disappointment when all sense of style was lost. That was one I ended up throwing against a wall and moving on.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It wasn't horrible, but it definitely didn't live up to the hype in my opinion.
I'd have to say The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway. I had such high hopes for it, I love stuff that is quirky and weird...but in the end I REALLY couldn't stomach the writing style. The narrator was WAY too enamored with his own cleverness. I haven't read any other Harkaway, so I don't know if his other books are like that.Actually, I agree w/ Luke as well -- American Gods would be a close second for me.
The strange thing is, American Gods grabbed me really hard in the first couple pages. The whole prison thing and the revelations immediately following pulled me in faster and harder than just about any book had ever done.But then it eventually slowed to a crawl, and never picked back up.
Eldest by C Paolini is the worst so far this year. I'd hoped the young author would get better in his second book instead of worse. I suppose since he had early success, he never had to struggle enough to become a good writer.
DavidO wrote: "Eldest by C Paolini is the worst so far this year. I'd hoped the young author would get better in his second book instead of worse. I suppose since he had early success, he never had to struggle en..."I've always wondered if he'd be any better now. He hasn't really published anything since those books as far as I know, and at the time I loved them, but I didn't know enough about good writing to know any better.
DavidO wrote: "Eldest by C Paolini is the worst so far this year. I'd hoped the young author would get better in his second book instead of worse. I suppose since he had early success, he never had to struggle en..."There are a number of good young authors far more deserving of praise than Paolini, but his parents were more adept at marketing. Look up a young lady named Kieryn Nicolas, she's got a spy adventure (Rain) that she wrote when she was younger than Paolini, and a dystopian sci-fi that she wrote when she was about his age.Flawless Ruins
DavidO wrote: "Eldest by C Paolini is the worst so far this year. I'd hoped the young author would get better in his second book instead of worse. I suppose since he had early success, he never had to struggle en..."I read the first three books (Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr) but never got around to reading #4, Inheritance. Doesn't speak too well of the suspense does it?
Now my son is reading the series, and I foolishly promised to read it with him. Tried to re-read #1, and could not recall why I ever bothered to read it in the first place!
Hoping I can struggle through #4 for the sake of mother-son bonding. Wish me luck!
I loved American Gods - or rather the premise - but could not get into Ananasi Boys. Probably didn't help that I read them out of order.
Marc wrote: "There are a number of good young authors far more deserving of praise than Paolini, but his parents were more adept at marketing. Look up a young lady named Kieryn Nicolas, she's got a spy adventure (Rain) that she wrote when she was younger than Paolini, and a dystopian sci-fi that she wrote when she was about his age.Flawless Ruins "Thanks, I'll check her out.
For me Insurgent was the worst book of this year. Allegiant wasn't good either, but in the second book of Divergent trilogy I didn't see the point for most of the pages. Not at all what I expected from the high reviews.
Juliana wrote: "For me Insurgent was the worst book of this year. Allegiant wasn't good either, but in the second book of Divergent trilogy I didn't see the point for most of the pa..."OMG Insurgent was so bad I must have blocked it out of my mind! So so so disappoinitnng!
DavidO wrote: "Marc wrote: "There are a number of good young authors far more deserving of praise than Paolini, but his parents were more adept at marketing. Look up a young lady named Kieryn Nicolas, she's got a..."Cool - will definitely check her out
Last year, The Ocean At The End of the Lane.I loved American Gods, but found Ocean devoid of depth. It really was just a puddle after all.
This year so far, Tad Williams' Otherland. I guess it's dated now, but I was really expecting more depth and better writing. Had to lem it.
Kenneth wrote: "Last year, The Ocean At The End of the Lane.I loved American Gods, but found Ocean devoid of depth. It really was just a puddle after all.
This year so far, Tad Williams' Otherland. I guess it's..."
I was really disappointed in Ocean at the End of the Lane> I love Gaiman and there was so much hype but it was just dull...
Also have to go with Ocean at the End of the Lane. It was my first Gaiman and I was very disappointed. I've got some other works by him on my challenge list for this year so hopefully I'll enjoy those.
I bought The Pharaohs of Atlantis http://www.amazon.com/The-Pharaohs-At... ages ago, when I first got my kindle, and only just got round to reading it. The blurb sounded good, but the rest of the book just didn't live up to it. Something a bit more mainstream that I really didn't get at all was Ender's Game It just seemed enormously silly to me.
Luke wrote: "The strange thing is, American Gods grabbed me really hard in the first couple pages..."And John wrote " I'd have to say The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway. I had such high hopes for it, I love stuff that is quirky and weird . ."
Strange - some things are really great, others just don't click. I did like American Gods - but then I like to see old myths used as a framework for modern interpretations, old stereotypes dropped into new situations . . . Oh hell, I just LIKED it (even on third reading, last week!)
The Nick Harkaway, however, is a different kettle of fish - I have heard it called surrealistic. That said, I like it as much as the Gaiman - but I can't explain why, and I would be cautious about recommending it to other people unless I was very familiar with their tastes. I also liked Angelmaker - but as before, I can't say why, and it is not really my usual taste in reading matter.
Strange, but that's how it goes. My reviews of both can be found from my profile page.
The most disappointing book of the year for me is the one I'm reading right now, Empress of the Night: A Novel of Catherine the Great. Went into it expecting porn, and for the first part it wasn't, which was a very pleasant surprise. And then from part two, when I'm actually paying attention, blam, enter the porn. Sigh.
I'm trying to figure out if you were disappointed that the first part had no porn, or that the second part had some. :)
DavidO wrote: "I'm trying to figure out if you were disappointed that the first part had no porn, or that the second part had some. :)"
Lol, that the second part is almost entirely porn. It started great for that particular type of historical fiction novel, so I let my guard down.
Lol, that the second part is almost entirely porn. It started great for that particular type of historical fiction novel, so I let my guard down.
DavidO wrote: "I'm trying to figure out if you were disappointed that the first part had no porn, or that the second part had some. :)"Lol, this made me chuckle.
The most disappointing book for me this year was not a fantasy. It was a classic that I have wanted to read for a long time....Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. It was just so badly written, I couldn't believe it was by the same author as "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall," which is a book I really love. Sad, but there ya go!
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Weather Witch (other topics)Empress of the Night (other topics)
Ender’s Game (other topics)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)
MaddAddam (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Kieryn Nicolas (other topics)Iain Banks (other topics)
Tanya Huff (other topics)
George R.R. Martin (other topics)
Michael J. Sullivan (other topics)
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LOL - I'll never miss an opportunity to express my "less than favorable" opinion of this book - but at least it was "short" and my anger toward it fueled me through it.