Worst SFF Book Ever

Jev

W. Blake
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
51
What's the worst SFF book you ever read, and why? Was it the insipid plot? The dull and idiotic characters? The hackneyed writing? The trite archetypes ripped off from other, better authors? Which book made you the most miserable?

Bring on the pain! Reasons why are more than welcomed.
 
Why don't you start us off then Jev - you obviously have something that's got your goat!
 
Nope, I don't. I'm in the mood for comedy here (sitting in terribly boring coursework), and was surprised the thread hadn't been made before now. I'll give it some thought, though.
 
Because I did a search for 'worst' and looked through all 10 pages, and it didn't come up!
 
I've seen far too many "worst threads". I never post because if a book is that bad, I probably put it down well before finishing it, felt guilty for a while and never picked it back up. I usually give up on back and never get very far into worse or worst. You may be wasting your time just as I've wasted some of mine.
 
Last edited:
Demon Awakens by R.A Salvatore is the worst SFF book i have read.

It was so full of clichè and every thing that is not good in fantasy that i was disgusted. It was my first fantasy book and i dont even remember why i tried. Something about my brother borrowing it and Gemmell book from his roleplaying group and he was reading the Gemmell book.

Talk about having bad luck of the draw....
 
Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard.

Also known as "Caveman learns to pilot an F-16 in three months and saves world from alien invaders with nukes." Only nowhere near as entertaining as that sounds.
 
I'd say anything by L. Ron Hubbard. IMO, he wasn't a terribly gifted writer. I tried to read battlefield Earth, but really could not get into it.

Unfortunately, i cannot think of any now that you mention it. I'll have to get back to you.
 
It's almost a toss-up, but Glassbooks of the Dreameaters wins by a narrow margin.

As for my reasons: the plot, the setting, the characterization, the ... well, the list is a long one.
 
For me it's the trilogy of words J V Jones- The reason being if a book reveals itself as really bad early on i will simply put it down and turn my back on it, J V Jones however had just enough ability to convince me to read on because it seemed she was claiming something worthy would happen ..... only 3 books later and it hasn't happened, very frustrating.
I would point out that i have been told she has since written some much better stuff that i am open to trying but for me, the unfulfilled promise of enjoyment makes these books the worst i have ever read.
Just my opinion
 
It's almost a toss-up, but Glassbooks of the Dreameaters wins by a narrow margin.

As for my reasons: the plot, the setting, the characterization, the ... well, the list is a long one.


Yikes! :eek: Thanks, Teresa... That's on my 'to read' list (somewhere down on the second or third page, admittedly, but it's there).
 
Galaxy 666 by Pel Torro (pseudonym of Lionel Fanthorpe).

Wikipedia

A tribute page

Nice article

The upshot is he churned out heroic quantities of paperback originals for Badger Books under names like Bron Fane and Deutero Spartacus. Supposedly he dictated his books into a tape recorder, transcribed them with little or no editing, and then either padded them even more than they already were if he was under his word count or improvised a rather abrupt ending if it turned out he had gone over. Now he's a writer of Forteana and a minor TV and radio personality. If he didn't exist Phil Farmer would have had to make him up. I would say God bless him but he's also an Anglican priest so he's already got that covered.

Samples of his stuff are available online but you have to read one cover to cover to get the full effect. Galaxy 666 is pretty easy to find (at least in the U.S.) and also has an incredible Star Trek rip-off photo cover. Here it is on Flickr.
 
I'd also like to add A Case of Conscience by James Blish altho thats not realllx fair. I'm told that its a good book but I just didn't get it.
Also The Squares of the City by John Brunner. Now that one WAS dull!
 
I've read so many really bad SF books (most bought at jumble sales, or charity shops, fortunately; when I buy a book full price and it turns out thus I am miffed) that no particular name floats up to the top of the cess pit.

But wasn't there a book that was so badly written that copies were taken to conventions, and there was a challenge; open the book anywhere, and read it aloud until you couldn't continue for laughing; good, trained straight-men could manage eight or ten paragraphs, nobody could do a chapter.

As far as I can tell, the author wasn't attempting a parody, but seriously trying to write the best he could, fast paced adventure and eroticism, which makes the laughter a little cruel; but isn't it something that gets reprinted because of how bad it is is impressive (Yes, I know Harry Harrison did some deliberate takeoffs – Star smashers of the Galaxy rangers, anyone? – but the idea of not realising just how bad you were managing is difficult to absorb.)
 
There are any number of really bad books, that's hardly interesting.

A far more interesting question is what books do you consider to be really bad that are generally recognised by many to be very good.

For me, something like Gibson's "Neuromancer" would be a contender.
 
There are any number of really bad books, that's hardly interesting.

A far more interesting question is what books do you consider to be really bad that are generally recognised by many to be very good.

For me, something like Gibson's "Neuromancer" would be a contender.

Well as i mentioned above,A Case of Conscience is often rated highly but after thee halfway mark I hated it.
Similar for me was Dune,which was more like fantasy than SF tho I may read it again in a few years.
 
AE being more like fantasy than SF isnt a criticism really.
Of course its fantasy like Dune is one of the most famous Science Fantasy stories there is.

Stay away from those stories like i stay away from Space Opera ;)
 

Similar threads


Back
Top