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#64950 23/05/03 07:53 AM
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As subject says, inspired by "favourite book" thread. (Where there is positive, there is negative. And I am always the negative - not to mention proud of it.) This is my blacklist of books that range from "never read again" to "run run run far away" to "bloody godawful; please burn":

Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr - I only read this book, the first in the "epic" whatsitsname series, and I don't intend to pursue the sequels. The basic premise is good, but the execution is dirt-poor. Kerr writes like an amatuer, with awkward prose, repetitive dialogue, repetitive storytelling, and a bad attempt at Ye Olde English that mixes modern and archaic bits together to create a deformed bastard child. The characters are unmemorable, except perhaps Nevyn who is half-decent. What's with all the "keening" and substitution of "something" with "somewhat", anyway? (Referring to the deformed linguistic bastard child.)

Rhapsody: Child of the Blood by Elizabeth Haydon - Another first in a series, and whose sequels I will never pick up. Meet Rhapsody, the most beautiful woman ever, with endless compassion and an endless empty space between her ears where a brain should have been. The book is not bad: setting is okay, plot is half decent, there are interesting secondary characters, but all of these are ruined by the presence of Rhapsody. She is perfect, period (a fact that is mentioned in the book at every opportunity): a skilled swordswoman, a powerful "Singer" who apparently can alter just about everything, an embodiment of virtue, a former prostitute (although the profession, of course, leaves no scars on her perfect psyche). Her beauty is such that men go mad with lust at the sight of her, and many of them are all but groveling for her attention. Traffic accidents occurred because the cart-drivers were staring at her. And to make things worse, Rhapsody thinks people look at her like that because she's a freak of nature. (Transparent attempt on the author's part to make the character sympathetic, which fails miserably, by the way.) According to people who have read the sequels, it only gets worse as Rhapsody proceeds to become a queen of a pseudo-elven race, kicks some demonic behinds, and in general makes Superman look tame.

Spellfire by Ed Greenwood - The whole book consists of very little apart from action scene to action scene to more action scene. The characterization is close to nil. Shandril Shessair, a runaway barmaid, finds that she has an inherent super-power of spellfire (oh-so-original!) and is hunted down by evil buffoons who manage to be less intelligent than Shandril herself. Shandril is accompanied by a wimpy mage named Narm whose only purpose is to be her TWU WUV (true love), to have her worry over him and vice versa. The characters in this novel all have the depth of a tissue paper. You think Forgotten Realms/D&D novels are pulpy? Spellfire brings out the worst of them all. The prose is a bore, bloody tedious to read. (And please don't tell me I'm not intellectually advanced enough or have short attention span. I have read books like Mists of Avalon and The Silmarillion, kthx.)

Drizzt novels by R.A. Salvatore - Salvatore's style is not really my cup of tea in the first place, and all his books are all about action scenes after other action scenes. My gripe with his books is not with the style, though, but with the character. Drizzt Do'Urden is an uber swordsman who has defeated a dragon, a balor, among other things, and has never lost in a "fair fight". Combat scenes are described in excruriating details which, while not bad in itself, are repetitive as hell. "Dance of death" this, "dance of death" that. I didn't know that "swordsfight" is synonymous with "tango"! Basically, Salvatore keeps producing more and more Drizzt books, and all of them are about the same, with all the suspension of watching a Powerpoint presentation of growing grass. To add to the tedium, Drizzt is one really big angst puppy. He angsts about, oh, everything. Everything also seems to remind him of his homeland and its Omg!Evil!People!, and he entertains so with his pretentious monologues and journal entries. I pray that some orc will eventually skewer him with a rusty spear.

Earth's Children by Jean M. Aules - The first book was fairly interesting. I made the mistake of picking up the second one, where the story became some sort of bizarre Caveman Harlequin-esque pr0n. The painfully purple and overly elongated descriptions aside, Ayla ranks just below Rhapsody on the Perfect Superwoman scale: she is beautiful, she's tragic, she's abused and raped, and she thinks (in the first book) that she's ugly. Her TWU WUV, Jondalar, is also just as perfect to match her. I'm sure they'll end up producing litters of perfect children. The length of Jondalar's, ah, manhood is mentioned several times. Plus the fact that Ayla is the only woman ever to be able to accommodate him whole.

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I agree with your opinion about Jean Auel and her Ayla - it was an interesting plot in the first book but then... "Gone with the wind" in fur, bear skin and stoneage people <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
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I like Kathering Kerr as mentioned in your other thread. I also like R.A.Salvatore <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (Please no flamage at me, each to their own, Im sure you love stuff I dont <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />).

I agree about Jean M Auel. I loved the first book but the rest of the series is a steady down hill decline. As for the sex scenes, if I wanted to read porn Id get Penthouse forum, at least the fantasy there has variety, Jean's sex scenes are identical in every respect. Read one read em all.

Apart from that I cant really think of any authors I hate, if I dont like a book I stop reading and promptly forget it. If I remember any Ill be sure to post <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />



I will call you "Squishy", and you will be my squishy! OW! BAD SQUISHY! - Dory, Finding Nemo
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I like Kathering Kerr as mentioned in your other thread.


Carrie will probably want to skin you, now. That thread isn't mine. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Quote
I also like R.A.Salvatore <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (Please no flamage at me, each to their own, Im sure you love stuff I dont <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />).


Sure. So long that you don't enter "Omg how could u say dat drizzit is like so rules omg". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> (Sorry. I've just run into that kind of fanboy one time too many. Many of them can't even spell Drizzt!)

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Bleh! leet speak drives me crazy. Id rather spell the full word incorrectly than use leet speak. (u no wot i meen?) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Edit: Whoops! Sorry Carrie, no offence intended. You can put down that chainsaw....please?

Last edited by Mandrake; 23/05/03 08:14 AM.

I will call you "Squishy", and you will be my squishy! OW! BAD SQUISHY! - Dory, Finding Nemo
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Huh?
Why offence?

Carrie #64956 23/05/03 02:47 PM
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my most hated book: 'little women' by louisa may alcott. i was supposed to read it in 6th grade for school and i managed to get through about half of it before i cried and begged my teacher to let me read something else.


faile #64957 23/05/03 02:49 PM
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wow, that is a classic, i am surprised it was so bad. Mind you, that was a while ago was it not?

Carrie #64958 23/05/03 02:52 PM
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yes, it was a while ago, but i think my feelings would be the same if i tried to read it now. and it's not that the book was bad, it was just bad for me. obviously prople like it, or it wouldn't be a classic. but it bored me to tears.


faile #64959 23/05/03 03:31 PM
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Salman Rushdie - the satanic verses
and a couple of dozen others.


~Setharmon~ >>[halfelven]<<
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Well, Sence and Senceability (i can't spell...) was okay, it was hard to follow. The movie was better, so i can see how Little Women would be like that.

Satanic verses???? Sounds very intresting (NOT!)

Carrie #64961 23/05/03 06:24 PM
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Saint-Exupery: The little prince.
Kiya

kiya #64962 23/05/03 06:51 PM
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Kiya did you read it in French?? I did. The original is better thatn the translation. And above all i played in play of this book, i was the prince himself <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />


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Nope, I read it in German and English. I made the mistake and read it as a child. I hated the little prince for abandoning the fox after he had tamed him, for this cold, stupid, arrogant, selfish rose, unable to know what love, loyalty is!
Even as an adult I can't re-read it without remembering my child emotions. This book is lost for me, it's tainted.
Kiya

Ouch, old emotions come up again <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

Last edited by kiya; 23/05/03 07:03 PM.
Carrie #64964 23/05/03 10:50 PM
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carrie- my father made me see sense and sesibility in in an attempt to 'broaden my horizons' or something. i told him not to waste his seven bucks, i'd hate it. he said i might like it, and threatened bad things if i didn't go. so i went, and sure enough, i hated it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" />


faile #64965 25/05/03 03:40 PM
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I also like the books of Katherine Kerr . A few weeks ago I had the possibility to buy her first 4 books for a giving-away-price <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And in the Jean M Auel books I have to agree with most of you . I had to read for school a book and the first one was on the list of books we could choose and because it was the only book I had at home I readed it . I wasn't intrested In fantasy novels yet so I was a little bit suspicious about that book <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> . The first book wasn't bad at all (but the revieuw I had to write was bad *gg* ) . Afther finishing it I readed the other two and a year ago I also finished her last book wich I though again was better then the two in the middle but still now in my top 100 of favorite books though .

In general I didn't like the books we had to read for school , those were absolutly different from what I wanted to read . For Example "Parfum" from I don't know the name of the author anymore <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> but it is fanous book so I gess that someone will know it . I don't like reading dark books wich doens't mean that there are bad but there are nothing for me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> (I also doesn't like reading Stephen King books too ) .

Another book wich I will never forget was About a young girl who falls into Prostitution and sexual abuse ("Het verotte leven van Floortje Bloem") . I think that I was a little bit to young to read such a detailed book . It was also a book we had to read for school and I gess that I was with my 14 years ways to young and naive for such a book .I really couldn't sleep for days after reading it .

Yes in general school books were a very bad and negative experience for me , I am still wondering that reading is still one of my favorite hobbies afther all those cruel books I had to read in school .


Reach for the moon.
The worst that can happen is you'll fall among the stars.

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Patrick Sueskind: Perfume - yes, a very dark novel. I didn't dislike it but its plot troubled me.
Kiya

kiya #64967 25/05/03 09:45 PM
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Carrie: The Satanic Verse is not what you think. It is a scathing attack on the islamic religion. The book caused such outrage amongst the Islamic people that the author, Salmen Rushdi, is a marked man and has to live in hiding. (Where he is currently working on his next book "Budha, you fat f*ck!")


I will call you "Squishy", and you will be my squishy! OW! BAD SQUISHY! - Dory, Finding Nemo
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Thankx Mandrake.

It's just so boring...

Another one in that catogory that I read recently - it was a "hype" in Europe - is la vie sexuelle de Catherine M.
It got great revieuws by critics and the media ware going on about it...
But it kinda turned out like I expected. A lot of crap about the big S word and how fantastic she's at it.
To sell a lot of books.
Has nothing to do with literature at all.



~Setharmon~ >>[halfelven]<<
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Polgara, I agree. I am a complete and total 'bookworm' and read as much as I can. But all they had to do in school was tell me I 'had' to read a book and that was it. I refused to read it. I had a real rebellion against being told I had to do anthing related to reading, that a book was 'good' for me to read.

Personally I think our children would probably want to read more if they could read the "Harry Potter" books or whatever they wanted to read as long as they read.

Sorry I got on my soapbox. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />


~DragonQueen~
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