Books you just can't get into

[Talysia]

I'm going to have to add Robert Jordan's New Spring to my list. Try as I might, I just couldn't get into it. I found the WoT series was all right once I got into it, but I haven't read it in quite a while, and just couldn't get into New Spring. It's funny how literary tastes come and go.

 

[Fried Egg]

Heh you can atleast agree it wasnt as good the first Foundation books ?

Well I personally enjoyed Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth just as much as I enjoyed the original trilogy. They were admittedly quite different but none the worse for being so.

To be honest,the original Foundation books were hardly exciting.

I beg to differ. Each story centered around a crisis in which events (and the future of the Seldon plan) hung in the balance. Call me sad if you like but I found that exiting!

 

[Connavar]

AE35unit is Hard SF fan social,political stories arent his thing.


Speaking about Fantasy i found R.A Salvatore to be horrible. All the bad side of fantasy was in his book that i read.

GRRM series was beyond cliche and uninteresting.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

GRRM series cliche? I think that is the first time I have heard that. What did you find to be cliche?

 

[AE35Unit]

Spot on Conn tho i do like some soft sf too

 

[Connavar]

GRRM series cliche? I think that is the first time I have heard that. What did you find to be cliche?

Everything !


Frankly much of fantasy specially modern fantasy is full of clichè but if its good and interesting you overlook that.

I couldnt overlook in GRRM's series.

Mostly i couldnt stand the bland characters that was so uninteresting. Only the dwarf Tyrion was semi interesting.

Didnt help either that i havent seen more lame pseudo medevil europe world than his....

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

How far in the series did you get Conn? (don't worry, I'm not going to push you to finish, just curious how much you read )

 

[Tansy]

I alas gave up on WOT after enjoying the first 3 or 4. Not sure which book killed it for me but I didn't reach book 8 think it may have been 6 or 7. Will have to check when I get home as I can tell by the mark on the spine showing where I got up to Book 8 is still sitting there unread after about 6 years and there it will remain as life is too short for any more WOT

 

[Clansman]

Many of us persevered with WOT, but at times it was difficult. the 7 through 10 books really bogged the story down, and the once-good character Perrin was destroyed, and Rand is just an angry shell. I still am convinced that the story ran away from Jordan, and he just couldn't rein it in, at least not in time to finish it. That and too much braid-pulling. It should have been done in 8 or 9 books, not 12.

I have high hopes for Sanderson's finishing it. I have heard good things about his writing, and he is in my virtual TBR pile.

 

[paranoid marvin]

The writing in Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series is painful at times. I DID manage to finish the series , but only because the premise was brilliant - the execution (ie the author's narrative) was not

 

[manephelien]

I did manage to finish it, but I found the writing in Frankenstein almost unreadably turgid at times. If that wasn't bad enough, I hated the way Mary Shelley tried to cram the moral of the story down the reader's throat. I don't like being preached at. I don't know how or why, but it was somehow obvious that the story had been written with a pen rather than typed. Don't ask me why! That said, I find most Victorian writers unreadable, I've never managed to finish Pride and Prejudice, for example.

 

[Connavar]

How far in the series did you get Conn? (don't worry, I'm not going to push you to finish, just curious how much you read )

I almost finished the first book. I had less than 50 pages left.

Couldnt force myself more. I didnt care at all what was happening in the story.

Only forced myself to read more than the first 150-200 pages cause my brothed loves the series.

Usually we share the same taste in books. Big love for Gemmell,certain crime series etc

Only thing we dont have the same taste in is he likes most epic fantasy series naturally and i dont . He made me read Eragon

 

[AE35Unit]

I did manage to finish it, but I found the writing in Frankenstein almost unreadably turgid at times. If that wasn't bad enough, I hated the way Mary Shelley tried to cram the moral of the story down the reader's throat. I don't like being preached at. I don't know how or why, but it was somehow obvious that the story had been written with a pen rather than typed. Don't ask me why! That said, I find most Victorian writers unreadable, I've never managed to finish Pride and Prejudice, for example.

I've had trouble with victorian or older writers too. The only Dickens novel i've managed to read was the brilliant Oliver Twist. And oh that is a good book! Don't fancy his other books as much tho,like Tale of two Cities which must have THE most long winded first passage of any book!
As for Frankenstein or The modern Prometheus i thought it brilliant,and it is a cautionary tale which explains why she rams the message down our throats i suppose . The first McGuffin ?

 

[Ground Cinnamon]

The absolute worst book I've ever read in my life was The Death of Sleep by Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye. I like a lot of McCaffrey's stuff, or at least her characters, but this story had absolutely no conclusion and no point.

After 6 books, I too have to give up on the Wheel of Time, and I hate quiting on something. I just can't bring myself to read another line describing the eternal pomposity of his female characters. The massively drawn out plot of the series might keep my attention if Jordan's arrogant, thick headed characters would actually have a change in their stone hearts. I'm just too tired of their idiocy to continue.

But I'm not bitter at all.

 

[Ross]

I read "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever" (the first three in one book) and I wasn't over fussed about it. It was reccomended by an Uncle of mine saying it's one of the best trilogies he's ever read.

Thought the first book was poor up until around 230pages into it and then it only got ok.

Second one was better but not upto much.

Third one did bring me around alot on the trilogy but was expecting much much more for the trilogy as a whole but did really enjoy the third book.

It did take me some doing to get into but won't be purchasing the 2nd trilogy until I'm totally out of other books.

 

[AE35Unit]

Gonna have to add Dune to the list i'm afraid. Try as I might i just couldn't find the interest to keep going. In fact I was losing the will to live!
Also another i've been reminded of,Aldiss's Barefoot in the Head. I hadn't a clue what was going on!

 

[Hypnos164]

Thomas Covenant - managed a 100 pages and then gave up, just so turgidly written and slow (this was 20 years ago tho...)

Dusk by Tim Lebbon - my most recent "could not finish" - interesting world but the characters are so mean, whiney and vile I just kept wishing something really bad would happen to them ... then I gave up.

 

[Self]

Thomas Covenant

x2 to that.

I'm going to throw a few around which may ruffle some feathers.

The Dark Tower series (King) - managed to drag my way to book 4, then couldn't go any further.

Dragonbone Chair (Williams) - couldn't make it through book 1, may try again one day.

Prince of Nothing (Bakker) - strong start, lost total interest by the end and did not finish, again, may pick it up again one day.

Malazan (Erikson) - LOVED book 1, book 2 murdered me with the army story line, mind numbingly boring for me. I will attempt it again when the series is complete based on how much I loved Gardens of the Moon.

Sorry if any of these are repeats, I didn't read the whole thread but guessing these are more likely peoples favourites based on how many people rave about them.

 

[AE35Unit]

Never tried any of the Dark Towers books,they fantasy or SF?
Well much as I love Niven's works Ringworld Throne goes in here too! The first 2,brilliant,but its the dodgy third cousin that I have issues with. Just nothing like the others,no sense of wonder,just a pointless meandering book about vampires.
Anyone read the 4th one, Ringworld's Children?

 

[Self]

Guess Dark Tower would be more Sci Fi.

Just thought of another one - think I had been trying to block it from my memory...
Gene Wolfe's New Sun. Perhaps the worst dribble I have ever failed to complete, again, I know people rave about it, but I can't comprehend it! Horses for courses hey.