The books ordinary fans hate but you love

Thadlerian

Thadlerian

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I think the title says it all in this one, but nevertheless;

What books do you like, often (last) part a series, that you know series fans dislike, and would have preferred not being counted in it?

My examples:
Tehanu by Ursula Le Guin.
This is my favourite Earthsea book. It reads much like a work of ordinary fiction, but with elements of magic, like in magic realism. Still, this is the book that I see most negative reviews of; people feel it doesn't fit with the original trilogy (Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind don't even seem to be notied...).

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams.
The last part of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that Adams made it to write. Far darker and more serious than any of the other books.

Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake.
The unfinished third book of Gormenghast, vastly different from the first two, but a merit in its own right.
 
I agree with Titus Alone - it was certainly very different from the first two Gormenghast books, but I think it had to be different, and it was still an excellent novel, far better than most novels. I thought it was finished though - it was Titus Awakes that wasn't finished (there was supposed to be quite a lot of that, but only the first few pages were actually legible), and Titus Alone had a very definite conclusion.
 
I've heard that Titus Alone was published after Peake's death, and that it's hard to say whether he saw it as complete and ready. That's what I meant with unfinished.
 
Titus Alone was first published in 1959. Mervyn Peake died in 1968. My edition of the Gormenghast series had a couple of introductions on Peake and they had some information on this (and on Titus Awakes). Peake was seriously ill when it was published, but as he began the next one I think he was happy with it.
 
Most critics regard that whilst Titus Alone is alomst like an additional Gormenghast book that has been clumped post-humously into a so-called Gormenghast trilogy it is very much a completed book. Brys is right, Titus Awake was the unfinished work.
 
I liked Tehanu very much as well, although I wouldn't go as far as to name it my favourite Earthsea novel. But I think this book is the one in which we get to know Ged better, as a person and not as a mage. His power, after all, was not what counted most. I thought this was a bit sad, but altogether very interesting ending to the series.
 
finvarre said:
I liked Tehanu very much as well, although I wouldn't go as far as to name it my favourite Earthsea novel. But I think this book is the one in which we get to know Ged better, as a person and not as a mage. His power, after all, was not what counted most. I thought this was a bit sad, but altogether very interesting ending to the series.
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It doesn't end there. You'll have to read the short story Dragonfly and the novel The Other Wind to get the full picture.

The Other Wind is much like Tehanu but not just confined to Gont. It concludes the series pretty well.
 
Yes, I've read the Dragonfly but it's not about Ged and The Other Wind is on my to be read pile of books. Anyway, when I read Earthsea for the first time,The Other Wind didn't exist so I've always considered Tehanu the ending... glad there's more to discover yet.
 
Shoegaze99 said:
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "ordinary fans". Could you clarify?
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I assumed the title of this thread was more along the lines of "Books The Majority Of Fans Hate But You Like" but I could be wrong...:confused:
 
And other reviews are saying otherwise:( I shall have to go and buy it sometime soon. Despite my huge to-read pile, it would still go straight to the top... I'm a sucker for epics;) Get it read before A Feast for Crows gets released, I hope.
 
GOLLUM said:
I assumed the title of this thread was more along the lines of "Books The Majority Of Fans Hate But You Like" but I could be wrong...:confused:
Click to expand...
Um, yeah, that was pretty much my point.

I see "ordinary" fans as those who write Amazon reviews like "This is great, etc, etc" without actually presenting any reasons that such and such book is different from others of the genre. Which seems to be a majority, at least among the reviewers.
 
Thadlerian said:
I see "ordinary" fans as those who write Amazon reviews like "This is great, etc, etc" without actually presenting any reasons that such and such book is different from others of the genre. Which seems to be a majority, at least among the reviewers.
Click to expand...
Interesting.

Thanks.
 
pyan said:
Battlefield Earth (cringe, cringe)
Click to expand...

Does it break any new ground science fiction ? No , but that's not the point . Battlefield Earth is a flat out fun and entertaining book to read. It's got action, danger, suspense over the top outrageous villains and equally over the top heroes and , some good tongue in cheek humor. It's like reading one of those great old books from the golden age of science fiction and I wouldn't have missed it for the world . L Ron Hubbard could craft a very good and entertaining story.:cool:(y)
 
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