Fantasy authors you (and I) should NEVER read

[dadan]

Wheel of Time is a huge waste of time as far as I am concerned. It just drags on, and on, and on, and on, and... well, you get the picture.



_________________
overnightprints discount

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by melanti

I can't believe how many of these books/authors I've read. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing on some of them.

With Lackey, what I found absolutely unforgivable in her writing is she wrote herself into one of her books. She didn't even bother to change the name, other than some creative spelling. A tiny cameo might be acceptable, but a Mary Sue with the author's name coming out of nowhere then falling in love with and dating the main character, then saving the day by knowing some random obscure facts? There's really no excuse for that behavior with a professional author

Elizabeth Peters did something similar--but it was completely tongue-in-cheek and actually quite clever. She wrote two series under Elizabeth Peters and also used two other pen names. Years and YEARS ago, she "blurbed" one of her own books using one of the names (I can't remember what it said, but it was cute and obviously a joke. -- Something along the lines of "She steals all the good ideas--I'm going to sue!")

Then in Peters' last book to finish up the Vicky Bliss series, she referred to characters in her other series (which is the Amelia Peabody series and took place in a historical setting--so long before the setting in the Bliss series) Anyway, it was well-done. There was also a character in the last Vicky Bliss series that was "reportedly" an author that had "found" manuscripts that supposedly belonged to Amelia Peabody--which would have actually been a reference to Elizabeth Peters herself! It was a rather tangled mess and only a die-hard fan that had read all the series/books would catch it. Done completely in fun for her fans to get a laugh.

I'm sure some people thought it cheesy, but I enjoyed it. I'm also sure I missed some of the references. I was done with the book before I "Got" one of the references!

[dragonbone]

Originally Posted by melanti

I can't believe how many of these books/authors I've read. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing on some of them.

With Lackey, what I found absolutely unforgivable in her writing is she wrote herself into one of her books. She didn't even bother to change the name, other than some creative spelling. A tiny cameo might be acceptable, but a Mary Sue with the author's name coming out of nowhere then falling in love with and dating the main character, then saving the day by knowing some random obscure facts? There's really no excuse for that behavior with a professional author.

I liked the herald's mage series a lot when I was a teen, but now I'm almost embarrassed to admit I've read it at all.

With Terry brooks, I started out with his Knights of the Word series and really liked it, but haven't managed to get more than a couple of chapters into anything else he's written. It's such a shame too... I really want an excuse to get the Voyage of Jerle Shanara book. The original cover art for the hardback was really unique. (And that's probably the lamest reason ever to want to read a book.)

Mmmm, and there I thought Steven King was alone in his extreme self adoration! That's exactly why I hated the last 3 or 4 books in the Dark Tower Series!

[AlbertaCowboy]

I can't count the number of times that I've laughed out loud reading this thread!
I have to say that I once adored the Wheel of Time right up until book 4-ish. Like many of you say, it just goes on and on and on and on, especially if you have developed one or two favorite characters along the way, and they DON'T APPEAR at all in a book! 1200 pages of characters you don't like is slow going! That's right book five, I'm looking at you!

I also have to say that I used to really enjoy reading R.A. Salvatore, but his writing just makes me cringe now. Okay we get it, Drizzt is going on an eternal journey of self discovery/self loathing/self acceptance... enough already.

I also just despised the Dark Tower series. I put it down after book 4 and relegated it to the role of propping up my desk leg downstairs.

Oh. that felt good.

[Greg Anos]

Most commercial writers, (and every reader ought to read Mark Twain's Literary Offenses of James Fenmore Cooper). Maybe it would reduce the bloat ware......

[radius]

Originally Posted by dadan

Wheel of Time is a huge waste of time as far as I am concerned. It just drags on, and on, and on, and on, and... well, you get the picture.

Well, it is a WHEEL, of TIME, so I wouldn't be surprised that it drags on, and on, and on, and on, and...

[=X=]

With so many Wheel of Time fans I thought I had the unique opinion that that series dragged on and was going nowhere. I can't remember which book in the series uy was that did it for me. I just remember finishing the book and thinking. His books are getting longer and he seems to be going nowhere. Which brought me to the conclusion that he had a hot series and was going to make the most out of it, at the expense of a good story.

=X=

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by radius

Well, it is a WHEEL, of TIME, so I wouldn't be surprised that it drags on, and on, and on, and on, and...

I would have expected it to roll.....

....on and on and on and on....

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I would have expected it to roll.....

....on and on and on and on....

In circles...

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by =X=

With so many Wheel of Time fans I thought I had the unique opinion that that series dragged on and was going nowhere. I can't remember which book in the series uy was that did it for me. I just remember finishing the book and thinking. His books are getting longer and he seems to be going nowhere. Which brought me to the conclusion that he had a hot series and was going to make the most out of it, at the expense of a good story.

Not really. I met him. He had another series (SF, not fantasy) that he wanted to write, but had to finish WoT first.

Unfortunately, he lost control of his material. The more he wrote, the more he discovered he had to write to tell the story he wanted to tell. He mentioned at a signing that he knew what the last scene in the last book was, but wasn't sure just how he would get here, save that it would not be a twelve book series. After reading the book he was signing at that visit, I said "He's right. It won't be a twelve book series. It will take at least thirteen..."

The final book that Brian Sanderson is completing is book twelve, but for technical reasons will probably be published as three volumes.
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by wayrad

In circles...

"...that it must roll and roll and roll, endlessly, that by virtue of determined rolling its species would continue and would increase. "

______
Dennis

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

"...that it must roll and roll and roll, endlessly, that by virtue of determined rolling its species would continue and would increase. "

Thank goodness I wasn't drinking a cup of tea there...

On a related topic, the WoT cover art has come in for its share of lampooning also: http://linuxmafia.com/~pam/cover_art.html

[AlbertaCowboy]

That is awesome! I always thought that the WoT covers looked like ads for Lego playsets myself...

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

"...that it must roll and roll and roll, endlessly, that by virtue of determined rolling its species would continue and would increase. "

______
Dennis

Now...now...now....that series was only seven books long, and science fiction to boot...

(Shut up Red! A Fontema would not make a great logo for the IMF...)

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

That is awesome! I always thought that the WoT covers looked like ads for Lego playsets myself...

DKS does lovely textures; it's too bad his human figures so often are strangely proportioned and oddly sized.