Malazan probably. So many people love it, and it looked like something I’d like, I even had a friend also reading it with me. I wanted to like it so much. After one and half books, I realized I couldn’t care less about what happened to any of the characters and I didn’t understand anything about the magic stuff, so I stopped reading.
Ya, I can see that. I really had to stick with grinding through the first two books. Top notch writing and characters (imo), but the confusion about what was going on was a tough slog to get through.
Still became one of my favourite series though. If you’re ever stranded on a beautiful tropical island and happen to have this book, I do encourage you to try it again.
I tried six times to finish the first book and I couldn’t. The tone is too dark, and the characters too unlikable. I didn’t care what happened to anyone, and eventually stopped reading each time.
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I guess I’ll check out the alternative reading order. Although six times is a heck of a lot of chances to give a series.
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So many people have praised it that I feel like I’m missing something, so I keep trying again whenever I don’t know which book to read next.
Malazan is one half of my answer here. Though I did like it. I just expected to love it, especially early on. My disappointment was immense in going from thinking it was one of the best series I’d read to thinking it just barely was enjoyable enough for me to be glad I read it.
The series started off so strong for me. I loved the first four books, book five lost me with it meandering off entirely. Then book six won me back. Books 7-10 were an absolute struggle for me. I barely finished the last two books and have no interest in returning to the world with the side books that exist.
For my tastes, Erikson dialed up the philosophical and sadistic elements way too much in the latter half of the series. I think if books 1-4 and 6 were released as a stand alone set of five, with the rest not existing, it would have been one of my favorite book series of all time.
Also I’m still annoyed that the whole Silverfox plot just… completely disappeared. Such a monumentally important character and she just suddenly ceases to exist in the story.
Basically, title. On my side, it might be unpopular, but I was quite disappointed with the Mistborn Trilogy. The world is interesting, I like the concepts, but I could just not connect with the characters? I finished the first book and started the second but could not finish it.
This is blasphemy. But I respect you for taking the risk in saying this.
I’m going to send him the Mistborn trilogy engraved in steel. Perhaps he read a copy that was corrupted by Ruin?
But how can I trust that you aren’t corrupted by Ruin?!
Look at my username. If anything Odium has his hooks in me.
Oh Teft! 😭
Have you read way of kings? Different series, better characters
I know, I might give it a try later
Way of Kings is incomparable. A shining achievement. Unfortunately each following book in the series gets worse, until the last one is just an overly long exposè on mental health problems.
I’ve enjoyed the books, but they really seem that they need an aggressive editor. Being long for the sake of being long just doesn’t work.
I didn’t realize how harsh my review sounded until re-reading it just now. I enjoyed the books too. Because the first one was so amazing, the rest were still good even though I felt like they got progressively worse with each book. I was pretty frustrated by the last one, and I was ready for it to end long before it did, but it was still entertaining. The series is a big achievement, it just needs tighter editing like you said, and I didn’t enjoy the mental health exposè. I don’t read fantasy to get messages about real world problems, I read fantasy to escape from the real world. All that said, I still strongly recommend WoK to people, I just let them decide on their own if they want to read any of the sequels.
Holy shit yes. I thought Way of Kings was incredible, and thought I found my favorite book series. Then the next book was fine, and the third book was so insufferable I quit after 800 pages. Never even made it to book four, which I hear is even worse.
Way better characters.
TBH I had the same experience. I was excited to read it since I had heard so much about it but the characters just felt sort of flat to me.
Try some of the other series by Sanderson, it was his first series, and not the best written. If you don’t like his other work too, then maybe he just isn’t for you.
Thank you for the advice!
I found era 2 of mistborn to be way better. The same magic system I liked but now you add some modern guns/etc. The characters are way better imo.
Jordan’s Wheel of Time. Inside that massive stack of dead trees I think there might be a pretty decent trilogy struggling to get out, but I wasn’t willing to read the rest of the stuff in order to find it. Dropped it somewhere around book four or five and never looked back.
It took me two years to finish the series, including a 6 months break during the slog, but I’m glad that I did. It is one of the most epic fantasy stories of all time. An absolute accomplishment.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. I don’t consider “long” to be either necessary or sufficient for something to be “epic”—long is just, well, long. When a narrative with a single continuous plot gets longer than half a million words, I start to suspect it needs a better editor. When it passes a million, I know it does. There were rumours as early as the publication of the third book that Jordan was padding the thing out in order to keep his cash cow going.
(Expecting more downvotes from this, so don’t be shy—I can take it.)
I think the wordiness of WoT is the foundation for many of its strengths. The series shines IMO on (1) character and plot progression being organic and large in scope, without having clearly demarcated points where everything jumps forward a huge amount, (2) depth of world building and extent of characters, with an especially large cast that are decently fleshed out and (3) foreshadowing being carefully placed throughout the series as a nice treat for anyone that liked it enough to re-read it.
The volume of words helps to make all of those possible. In particular (3), as details can be hidden in just the volume of text that already exists without it jumping out at the reader.
None of that is to say you’re wrong for disliking it explicitly for that! Sometimes we dislike things for the same reason someone else likes it, or vice versa. I just wanted to chime in with some contrary thoughts to maybe put that wordiness under a different perspective.
He is excessively wordy, I can agree on that, especially when it comes to describing women’s clothing. But the story itself and the world he created are also epic achievements. I think more people would get to experience the latter if he hadn’t done the former.
Damn, you didn’t even make it to the truly awful books.
I dropped WoT around the same spot. The story itself wasn’t bad, but if I have to read about one more person straightening their skirt or tugging their braid I was going to explode.
Ditto. Same spot, same issues.
I suppose it is the 3rd book in the Seeker series. The 2nd one was already not great, but the 3rd was an incomprehensible piece of trash, a waste of paper and ink. I have never read something so bad, before or after. Goodkind is crystal clear when writing out his rape fantasies, and blabbers incoherently for every other part of the book. I strongly dislike rape and torture themes, so there was nothing of value in the book for me. Years later when I read the Wheel of Time series, I discovered that Goodkind stole all of his ideas from Robert Jordan and then made them significantly worse. What a hack.
I tried to reread the books as an adult and was horrified that my younger self liked them so much. I must have glossed over so much.
They were one of my favourite series, probably because they were one of the first few epic fantasy I had read.
I blame it on my naivety.
The Dark Tower series for me. I enjoyed Stephen King as a teenager, but had never read any of the Dark Tower books until a few year ago when a friend gave me a copy of The Gunslinger. And I really enjoyed it! It’s a quick read, I thought it was compelling enough to start working through the rest of the series. I made it through book 2, a little slower of a pace but I made it, book 3 was the same I feel like, maybe it dragged a little more even. By the first few chapters of book 4 , I just wasn’t having fun with it any more and put it down.
I tried to read it a few years ago and it reminded me rather quickly why I don’t like King. He writes like a coke addled alcoholic, because that’s what he is, and it shows.
I made it to almost the end of the series and then out of nowhere it switches to the most boring flashback for an entire book. I couldn’t slog through it and have never looked at the series again.
You got out at the right time. Biggest reading regret ever is bothering to read the last book.
Ed Greenwood’s Elminster series. It gets so much word-of-mouth for being the basis of the Forgotten Realms but it’s honestly some of the worst fantasy writing I’ve ever forced myself through.
A lot of early DnD stuff was awful. Even as an adolescent I could tell it was bad writing.
Two I have to mention
The first book of Anthony Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow trilogy, Blood Song, is one of my favorite fantasy books. I just really liked it. The second book was OK, the third was an absolute train wreck. I would have preferred it to be unfinished. Huge disappointment for me.
The Lightbringer series by Brent weeks started off strong. The Black Prism was great in the magic system seemed unique. Second book was OK, good enough I was looking forward just enough to finish the trilogy. Then the third book didn’t finish, so I figured he just stretched out the series to milk a few more dollars from the idea. Then the fourth was similar. I couldn’t bring myself to care about the next book. Big disappointment.
HONORABLE MENTION: WoT. Made it to book 6 or 7 both times I’ve tried to read through them. Then the characters, the writing, everything, just starts to piss me off.
I am currently at Book 3 of Lightbringer, and feeling the same. Currently taking a break, will try to get back to it in a few months and see if I want to finish it or not.
Well, book 8-10 are considered to be a slog, IIRC, or was it 7-9? Well, something like that.
Dragon Riders of Pern. I read them as a kid. Tried to reread them as a 50 year old man.
I just couldn’t do it. It made me question what my young self was thinking.
Anything by Tad Williams.
I mean I loved (LOVED!) his stories, but my disappointment comes from never being willing to read them again. He paints beautiful worlds, with a rich detailed filled story….But, somewhat ironically, he is the driest author I have ever read. I just can’t do that to myself.
Wise mans fear. Jesus christ what a trainwreck.
Name of the wind has a lot of issues as well, but god damn I was hooked!
I am not even sad that the third book is probably never coming out, the second book killed all my interest.
Rothfus was like “meh, I’m already rich and famous, why struggle through a third book? I’m done!” Half of the 2nd book was stolen from Wheel of Time anyways.
Listen, if Rand had gone off to study the blade with lady sex-ninjas, I think I would remember!
His time with the Aiel was very similar to Rothfus’ whatever the sex ninjas were called.
I read the first book because I kept hearing how great it was supposed to be. I didn’t even make it halfway through the second book, lol.
I really enjoyed Name of the Wind until about 3/4 of the way through and I sat back and though: Orphan kid, goes to magic school, has male and female friend classmates, one professor seems to not like him…holy shit, I’m reading a reimagining of fucking Harry Potter.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It just did not resonate with me in February slightest and didn’t get enjoyable until the final few chapters. I can appreciate it from a literary standpoint. The prose is lovely and the tone is spot on for what she was trying to achieve, but my goodness did I feel annoyed while making my way through it.
Assassin’s Apprentice :( It was a recommendation from one of my managers at work. I loved the other series he recommended (Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling, and Kristen Britain’s Green Ranger books) so I was super excited to start. I have never read such a depressing book… I think I made it to the beginning of the third book, but I wasn’t enjoying them, and I realized they were putting me in a weird mood, so I stopped.
The Night Angel trilogy. I got about half way into the 3rd book and realized I was just forcing myself to read it. The characters sucks. The MC was either OP or didn’t know wtf to do. The authors description of women is mildly sexist. Every girl was some bombshell or ugly as a foot and their only relevance was to be some kind of sex symbol. The book series seems like a neckbeard’s paradise
I felt a bit similar with The Lightbringer, just started book 3 couple of weeks back, I was enjoying the book when I was reading, but when I wasn’t reading, I didn’t want to start reading it. So, taking a break from the series, and reading some other books in the mean time. Will try to get back to it in a few months.
Don’t do it 😆. Just read something better. Like Brandon Sanderson or R A Salvatore or Terry Pratchett or… Well I could go on but you get the idea.
Omg same! Glad I wasn’t alone with this thought. Another point I strongly disliked was the resolution of Kylars hand it was literally resolved first thing in book 3.
Mine was the Elric Series by Michael Moorcock. It’s the only book I’ve ever returned. I went back and tried to re-read the series years later and they are such a jumbled mess of things happening for no reason just to progress a plot that I couldn’t stand them.
I’m slowly reading them now, and its my first experience with them. Damn they’re philosophical. And Elric is a sad boy
Good luck, I really hope you enjoy them. I wanted to enjoy them so badly, but I can’t stand his writing.
Angel Mage by Garth Nix. I thought the concept sounded great, but the book fell flat for me.
