Novel series that you can't stand.

[S'mon]

Funny you should mention those two.

I've liked all of the Middle-Earth books I've read. When I first asked my brother if I could borrow the Silmarillion he warned me I might not like it, which wasn't the case at all.

He's the one who suggest that I read the Elric books, which left me wondering why people think they're good.

Tolkien's protagonists are like children, whereas Elric is an adolescent character. Infantile fantasy vs adolescent fantasy. Hence they appeal to different demographics.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

The Iron Throne Trilogy by Dennis McKiernan. Talk about copying Tolkien, it was so blatantly derivative that it was just silly. As I was reading it I was wondering how he managed to keep from getting sued for plagerism.

If I'm not mistaken, he was threatened with a lawsuit from the Tolkien estate. He wrote the books after a long stay in the hospital, during which a friend gave him the LOTR to read. He sent his manuscript to the Tolkien estate as a fan work, and the characters were Hobbits in the original draft. They threatened him with a lawsuit, he changed the name from Hobbits to something else (I don't remember what they are called, I couldn't finish the first book), and sent it to several publishers, where it was accepted by one & published.

 

[Orius]

I actually like Toliien and Jordan, though I found the last WoT book massively disappointing as well.

I can tolerate W&H's Dragonlance.

Eddings can write well, but he tends to fill his books with a lot of garbage that ruin an otherwise good story. The Belgarion starts off well, but then goes downhill around the third book. The Mallorean is little more than a re-rash of the Belgariad, and while it has its moments, ther's a lot of crap filling it up. The Elenium I think is his best series, he puts in characters that are actually unique, and writes a fairly believable world, though he can't resist putting in scenes that are totally irrelevant. The Tamuli had good moment,s but is loaded down with a lot of crap as well, but at least it's not a total rehash of the series that preceeded it. Then there are the two books about Belgarath and Polgara. They're good in terms of character development, especially the one about Polgara, I had disliked the character before reading that book. However, he rehashes a lot of the backstory in Belgarath, and rehashes the rehasing in Polgara (about half of Polgara at least is a retelling of Belgarath from Polgara's POV).

A lot of game related fiction seems to be crap. I've remember reading some horrible series set in Greyhawk, and a series in the Planescape setting that sucked so badly I couldn't finish it.

I didn't like Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea. It was just kind of boring to me, and Le Guin picks terrible names.

The Shadow War trilogy. I found this very disappointing. I like Willow, but this series doesn't even resemble the movie at all. The world is interesting, but the writing is terrible. I think it sort of went against what I expected of the story, and I think it ruined my enjoyment of it.

 

[jdavis]

Tolkien's protagonists are like children, whereas Elric is an adolescent character. Infantile fantasy vs adolescent fantasy. Hence they appeal to different demographics.

Tolkien ends with a very happy ending, Elric finds new levels of torment with each book, that has to be one of the darkest series of books I have ever read, talk about never getting a break in life. I also never really thought of Elric as a hero, LOTR was full of heroic characters and deeds.

If I'm not mistaken, he was threatened with a lawsuit from the Tolkien estate. He wrote the books after a long stay in the hospital, during which a friend gave him the LOTR to read. He sent his manuscript to the Tolkien estate as a fan work, and the characters were Hobbits in the original draft. They threatened him with a lawsuit, he changed the name from Hobbits to something else (I don't remember what they are called, I couldn't finish the first book), and sent it to several publishers, where it was accepted by one & published.

I heard his next books were better (set in the same world but not using a plagerized storyline). I read one of them and it was depressing, I have another one which I never started(that was 10 years ago). I can't remember who recommended the first trilogy to me but that's probably for the best.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Hated, or just annoyed by?

If I had to list a series that annoyed the heck out of me (but I still kept reading...), it would be Leo Frankowski's Misplaced Engineer series.

Now, bear in mind, I LOVE "what if" stories. Lest Darkness Fall, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, and other books where one lone individual jumps back into the past and makes a difference. So that aspect I find very good about Frankowski's series.

But c'mon! Enough of the pedophilia! Okay, we get it, barely-pubescent girls were fair game in the 13th century. That's nice, now talk about something else.

Personally, after the sixth book, I don't think I'll read another of his books.

(Now, if the author of The Architect of Sleep would just get off his duff and start editing the sequel--which, he admits on his webpage, is already written and sitting in a box next to his desk, but which unfortunately d-r-a-g-s o-n e-n-d-l-e-s-s-l-y --I would be very appreciative.)

 

[S'mon]

Tolkien ends with a very happy ending, Elric finds new levels of torment with each book, that has to be one of the darkest series of books I have ever read, talk about never getting a break in life. I also never really thought of Elric as a hero, LOTR was full of heroic characters and deeds.

Not sure about Tolkien's happy ending - the world is saved, yes, but Frodo is permanently scarred by his experiences, and never fully recovers, so there's a bit of sadness. Elric is often described as an anti-hero, a protagonist lacking in traditional heroic qualities.

 

[jdavis]

Not sure about Tolkien's happy ending - the world is saved, yes, but Frodo is permanently scarred by his experiences, and never fully recovers, so there's a bit of sadness. Elric is often described as an anti-hero, a protagonist lacking in traditional heroic qualities.

I thought Elric actually destroyed the world. Frodo has nothing on Elric for angst and permanent scaring. Tolkien may of not had a perfect resolution but it was a happy ending, especially by comparison to Elric. I liked both stories but they are they are night and day different on pretty much every level.

 

[S'mon]

I thought Elric actually destroyed the world. Frodo has nothing on Elric for angst and permanent scaring. Tolkien may of not had a perfect resolution but it was a happy ending, especially by comparison to Elric. I liked both stories but they are they are night and day different on pretty much every level.

Elric didn't personally destroy the World, it was laid waste by the forces of Chaos, opposed by Elric who had allied with Law. He did blow a horn that brought a new world into being AIR though, so that's something.

In both Tolkien's LOTR and Stormbringer an old order passes away and is replaced by a new one. Frodo doesn't get his soul sucked out, but it _was_ damaged by the Nazgul blade and the Ring.

 

[Tyrion Alb]

while not really a series, per se, the Star Wars books written by Timothy Zhan (sp?) REALLY got on my nerves. it was his incessant use of "the other". he would continuously refer to character as "the other" over and over and over and over and over and over and o... you get the picture.

~NegZ

Finally, someone who agrees. I think that most people who enjoy Star Wars liked this when it came out just like a starving man would have loved a plain cracker.

Weirdo anti-Force creatures and caricatures of classic characters, IMO, ruined that series.

I'd agree with everyone on Jordan and especially that hack Goodkind.

 

[TiQuinn]

Huh. In making up this list, I've decided I must really hate fantasy fiction. Oh, well.

The Lord of the Rings: I enjoyed The Hobbit, and feel that it is the closest Tolkien gets to storytelling. The Lord of the Rings was in dire need of an editor who could've taught Tolkien something about pacing and story development. I'll echo statements that say it read like a textbook, and leave it at that.

Dragonlance Chronicles: Too many loose ends, too many characters, too many side stories, and no cohesive theme.

Fritz Leiber: Just couldn't get into his style of writing. Leiber's "voice" just left me cold.

Dune: I've tried to read this five times, and I just can't get halfway through.

Haven't read Elric, or Wheel of Time, and I'm pretty afraid too now.