What detail of which book ruined it for you?

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:01 PM

I'll give you and example ... maybe two:

Prince of Tides. Good book, but for the fact that they have the characters walking (1) on a beach, (2) in the summer, (3) at night, (4) looking at the constellation Orion.

And ... you can't freaking see Orion in the summer sky.

Or,

Carrie. Good book, but for the fact that Mr. King compares telekinesis to classic hemophilia in it's genetic causation ... and then states that hemophilia is caused by a low platlet count. (Oh .... sooooo WRONG.)

I'm talking about books where you were really and happily sucked into the story and then one piece of crappy editing slapped you back into reality.

pshrynk · 06-11-2008, 12:05 PM

Any book where the psychiatrist falls in love with a "personality" of a multiple personality disordered patient. Or has an affair with any sort of patient a/o relative of same and does not get sent immediately to jail without the perquisite $200.

Taylor514ce · 06-11-2008, 12:14 PM

Excellent thread, I'll need to give it some thought, though. There are books I've thrown away, such as anything with "Dune" in the title, not written by Frank Herbert. I liked the Nantucket books by S. M. Stirling, but hate-hate-hated the others, the "Change" books. Not one detail, but all of the characters, the idea that SCA and Wiccans would rule the world and speak Elvish. Just all around stupidity.

But an otherwise good book, until you hit a certain sentence, and have to stop reading in disgust? I know it's happened, but I can't recall any specific instances at the moment.

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Excellent thread, I'll need to give it some thought, though. There are books I've thrown away, such as anything with "Dune" in the title, not written by Frank Herbert. I liked the Nantucket books by S. M. Stirling, but hate-hate-hated the others, the "Change" books. Not one detail, but all of the characters, the idea that SCA and Wiccans would rule the world and speak Elvish. Just all around stupidity.

But an otherwise good book, until you hit a certain sentence, and have to stop reading in disgust? I know it's happened, but I can't recall any specific instances at the moment.

Yup .... that's the idea. You were really into a book, and then you found yourself going (nahhhh ..... wrong) and suddenly you were "out" of the book and back into reality and never could really get back into the book.

Another example .... I could swear that Frank Herbert changed the color of Fremen mourning from one book to another.

Also ... as I recall, AC Clarke's 2001 originally had them going to Saturn (and not Jupiter) but 2010 had them going to Jupiter in the first book (written, I suppose to make it gel with the movie that had come out between books one and two).

Either things you know from your own experience are just ever so wrong, would never happen, or things where either the author or an editor didn't understand or remember their own backstory ... and it just screwed it up for you.

I'll give you another example ... Stephen King again (poor SK, I love his writing, but his editors suck eggs). In "It" there's a scene where the now-adult characters go visit one of their friends in the hospital ... and a glass bottle of blood being used for a transfusion falls to the ground and breaks.

Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but they haven't used glass bottles for blood transfusions for one hell of a long time now .... and stopped long before the period in which the adult characters live.

Science wrong, law wrong, backstory wrong .... whatever it was that made you go "WTF???"

GeoffC · 06-11-2008, 12:26 PM

Books by Erich von Däniken, where he makes his theories so believable that you just know there has to be a catch...

vivaldirules · 06-11-2008, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Prince of Tides. Good book, but for the fact that they have the characters walking (1) on a beach, (2) in the summer, (3) at night, (4) looking at the constellation Orion.

And ... you can't freaking see Orion in the summer sky.

Well, you can see it in August at night. But only if you consider 5 am to be at night. I think Zelda might say that's night.

zelda_pinwheel · 06-11-2008, 12:29 PM

oh, definitely. the dead of night. sometimes it's actually just the beginning of my night.

Taylor514ce · 06-11-2008, 12:31 PM

Fremen mourning color is green, I can't recall it being anything different. This most often happens to me in movies. All through Star Wars, gravity seems exactly Earth-normal, everywhere. Even asteroids. Too many examples to mention. But books, books - I'm wracking my brain.

Da Vinci Code, a British character referred to "soccer". That's not what ruined the book for me. The book ruined the book for me.

Asimov's Foundation series had some problems, though I can't think of the details.

Something I read recently referred to tigers in Africa...

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Well, you can see it in August at night. But only if you consider 5 am to be at night. I think Zelda might say that's night.

Nope ... sorry .... that time frame will not work in the setting of the story.

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Fremen mourning color is green, I can't recall it being anything different. This most often happens to me in movies. All through Star Wars, gravity seems exactly Earth-normal, everywhere. Even asteroids. Too many examples to mention. But books, books - I'm wracking my brain.

And yet .... I'll have to try and find it ... in one single solitary book ... it was yellow.

GeoffC · 06-11-2008, 12:33 PM

5:am is after dawn during the month of August, surely not the dead of night, ZP?

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Books by Erich von Däniken, where he makes his theories so believable that you just know there has to be a catch...

Oh lordy ... don't even get me started on the holes in his "science" ... we could be here allllll day. (And, that's as defined by someone other than zeezeegoosiegoosiecutiekneeschanchenchenlien.)

Crap ... I hope I spelled that correctly.

GeoffC · 06-11-2008, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Oh lordy ... don't even get me started on the holes in his "science" ... we could be here allllll day. (And, that's as defined by someone other than zeezeegoosiegoosiecutiekneeschanchenchenlien.)

Crap ... I hope I spelled that correctly.

Cee
AR
Ay
Pee,

yes I think that's spelled correctly...

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Something I read recently referred to tigers in Africa...

You have got to be kidding .... tigers in Africa?? Crikey.

RickyMaveety · 06-11-2008, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Cee
AR
Ay
Pee,

yes I think that's spelled correctly...

Good to hear!!!!

06-11-2008, 12:01 PM	#1
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	What detail of which book ruined it for you? I'll give you and example ... maybe two: Prince of Tides. Good book, but for the fact that they have the characters walking (1) on a beach, (2) in the summer, (3) at night, (4) looking at the constellation Orion. And ... you can't freaking see Orion in the summer sky. Or, Carrie. Good book, but for the fact that Mr. King compares telekinesis to classic hemophilia in it's genetic causation ... and then states that hemophilia is caused by a low platlet count. (Oh .... sooooo WRONG.) I'm talking about books where you were really and happily sucked into the story and then one piece of crappy editing slapped you back into reality.

06-11-2008, 12:31 PM	#8
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	Fremen mourning color is green, I can't recall it being anything different. This most often happens to me in movies. All through Star Wars, gravity seems exactly Earth-normal, everywhere. Even asteroids. Too many examples to mention. But books, books - I'm wracking my brain. Da Vinci Code, a British character referred to "soccer". That's not what ruined the book for me. The book ruined the book for me. Asimov's Foundation series had some problems, though I can't think of the details. Something I read recently referred to tigers in Africa... Last edited by Taylor514ce; 06-11-2008 at 12:37 PM.

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06-11-2008, 12:05 PM	#2
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Any book where the psychiatrist falls in love with a "personality" of a multiple personality disordered patient. Or has an affair with any sort of patient a/o relative of same and does not get sent immediately to jail without the perquisite $200.

06-11-2008, 12:14 PM	#3
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	Excellent thread, I'll need to give it some thought, though. There are books I've thrown away, such as anything with "Dune" in the title, not written by Frank Herbert. I liked the Nantucket books by S. M. Stirling, but hate-hate-hated the others, the "Change" books. Not one detail, but all of the characters, the idea that SCA and Wiccans would rule the world and speak Elvish. Just all around stupidity. But an otherwise good book, until you hit a certain sentence, and have to stop reading in disgust? I know it's happened, but I can't recall any specific instances at the moment.

06-11-2008, 12:26 PM	#5
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Books by Erich von Däniken, where he makes his theories so believable that you just know there has to be a catch...

06-11-2008, 12:29 PM	#7
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	oh, definitely. the dead of night. sometimes it's actually just the beginning of my night.

06-11-2008, 12:33 PM	#11
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	5:am is after dawn during the month of August, surely not the dead of night, ZP?

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