I Don't Like You!

[phenomshel]

I had to go look up the Eight Deadly Words, but now that I did....I can think of a few books I've felt that way about. Poor Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, though. How would you like to be known as the catalyst for coining that phrase??

[DiapDealer]

I despised the protagonist.

You never quite caught on that you were supposed to?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You never quite caught on that you were supposed to?

I've never understood the point of that. Why would I want to read a story about a person I despise? In the hopes that he'll end up suffering as he deserves? Hardly.

It puzzles me as much when writers of a TV series does the same thing... I don't waste my time watching a series about characters I don't find the least bit interesting or sympathetic, and I don't waste my time on books about characters I can't bring myself to care for.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by ScalyFeak

I've never understood the point of that. Why would I want to read a story about a person I despise? In the hopes that he'll end up suffering as he deserves? Hardly.

Because Covenant was one character of many. The Giants, the Lords, the Bloodguard, the Ranyhyn, and The Land itself. These were the things you were supposed to fall in love with... which was pretty easy to do considering what a puke Covenant was—and later Linden Avery. Those two characters are the most frustrating, annoying, self-loathing characters I've come across in fantasy (except for possibly Hobb's Nevare Burvelle). I loved hating them.

I'm not saying everyone/anyone should love it. Quite the contrary. Hate it all you want. I just get a kick out of hearing "I didn't like the protagonist" when you weren't supposed to.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Because Covenant was one character of many. The Giants, the Lords, the Bloodguard, the Ranyhyn, and The Land itself. These were the things you were supposed to fall in love with... which was pretty easy to do considering what a puke Covenant was

The problem is, for me at least, that just having him there at all ruined everything. If Covenant had died a few pages after his first appearance, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more, but since he kept on reappearing, I just gave up.

I live in a world filled with assholes, I don't want them in my books.

I've heard a lot of great things about those books from others though, and may give them another chance in a year or so.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

I've heard a lot of great things about those books from others though, and may give them another chance in a year or so.

Only the first six, though.
I've found absolutely nothing redeeming about the last three books (one more to go) since Donaldson decided to "revive" the series after all these years. Perhaps it's because there's no one to hate other than the bad guys this time around?