Good Series You Couldn't Finish?

[chris777]

Looked for a similar thread and found one that started in 2006, but the OP was posting other book genres. So let's focus on Fantasy only. And try and make it something "popular", someone might have heard of, and or that may received decent reviews by others. Also original series only, sequels don't count. And lastly you have to have given the series a fighting chance. If you read 1/3 of the Malazan or WoT's first book, and stopped the series..that doesn't count. At least give the series a chance by reading the whole first and/or second book. My thoughts are, if you liked the book enough to start it. At least give the second book in the series a chance to redeem the first..maybe? I'll start.

I don't have many I think. I have this desire to finish anything I start. Including books. So it's very hard for me not to finish a series even if I don't like it. OCD i think. =)

Coldfire Trilogy - C.S. Freidman.
Pretty sure I made a post about this series. I really liked the plot and the ideas about this book. The plot and mythology of it all was pretty cool. But the characters sucked. The story was boring, and the ultimate badguy was just remade every book.(Oh no, there is a more eviler person behind it all! Oh no, they too are just a pawn for an even more eviler evil!) And I even read the second book in the series hoping it would get better. It didn't...and I've never considered reading the third.

Farseer - Robin Hobb
Read book 1. At the time didn't like it enough to read book 2. This was one of the first I put down. I do feel like it gets enough praise that I might try book 2 sometime soon. I just didn't care enough for it and had(have) a bunch of other books to try. It was too political for me. I was hoping for a real assassin, like the Vlad Taltos series. But instead got a boring poisoner who can talk to dogs....

Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula LeGuin
I really didn't like the way this story was told. She's a fine writer, but the story telling prose(or style?) just turned me off...a lot. I really wanted to like this series, but read all of book 1, never touched the others.

I could also add American Gods by Neil Gaiman. But that's just a single book, and I only read maybe half. So, for this setting, it doesn't fit. Since I didn't give it a fair shot really.

[Wulfgang]

Sword of Truth Series - Terry Goodkind
I am probably going to rankle several fans with this as it is an immensely popular series, but I got four books in and just could not do anymore. Zedd is just about the only character I found enjoyable. I don't even know where to start with a critique really; just thought it was terrible across the map.

[Andor]

Coldfire trilogy is the only real series I have stopped so far, the two main characters just didnt do anything for me, the Hunter was the only reason I kept reading, might pick up the second sometime but I doubt it.

Oh and I stopped Drizzt Icewind dale trilogy 3/4 of the way through the first book, finished the first dark elf trilogy but just found the whole thing very very basic, only really picked it up after playing the neverwinter games as a kid and took a liking to the forgotten realms setting, also didn't finish Elric iirc because Game of Thrones had just arrived and I couldnt wait to get started on it

[Skynjay]

Sword of Truth Series - Terry Goodkind
I am probably going to rankle several fans with this as it is an immensely popular series, but I got four books in and just could not do anymore. Zedd is just about the only character I found enjoyable. I don't even know where to start with a critique really; just thought it was terrible across the map.

I believe the title says "good" series.

For me it was Crown of Stars by Kate Elliot. I am going to finish it someday, but I just stopped reading it at some point, and every so often think to myself, why?

Oh, and Shadows of the Apt, but that is because my library doesnt have it and they never released past book 4 for US kindle.

[Kazaxat]

The Dark Tower - Stephen King

I read The Gunslinger with high hopes, having heard so many good reviews of the series and not having read Stephen King before in any capacity. I found myself incredibly disappointed though, and had to force myself to finish the book. Perhaps the style just doesn't resonate with me, but I found myself not liking the characters, the world, or even the writing. If I do pick up the series again it will be at some unforeseeable point down the road when my tastes have perhaps changed a bit.

[Rexington]

I read the first two books to "The Black Company" by Glen Cook. After finishing the second book I realized that I just didn't care. At all. It did lead me to finally reading Game of Thrones though.

[Twinner]

About King's Dark Tower series.... The Gunslinger was written so many years before most of the rest of the series I think you would find that the style changes as you go along. I would encourage anyone to get through books 1-4, and if they still don't like it then it would be a good time to stop. By the time I read Drawing of the Three and Wastelands (books 2 and 3) I was totally hooked.

As for the topic... I have not been able to finish the Black Company series (yet). I find some aspects of the story compelling, some of the characters outstanding, but am often just not interested enough to keep going.

[Rulkez]

I believe the title says "good" series.

For me it was Crown of Stars by Kate Elliot. I am going to finish it someday, but I just stopped reading it at some point, and every so often think to myself, why?

Oh, and Shadows of the Apt, but that is because my library doesnt have it and they never released past book 4 for US kindle.

I see them on the US Kindle store.

[murf99]

The Dark Tower - Finished the first 3 books but never felt like picking up the 4th. It was ok. Maybe i'll give it another shot someday.

The Godless World trilogy - Read book 1 and part of book 2 but The Blade Itself arrived in the mail and I've never had a chance to get back to them. That was 3 years ago. I thought they were good but so much better stuff to read first. I plan on getting back to them next year maybe.

The Black Company - Bought books 1-3 and read the first one. Not sure if I'll continue. 50/50

The Wheel of Time - Got to Crossroads and never finished it. I really wanna see how this story ends but don't know if I have the tenacity to make it through.

[Seak]

The Dark Tower - Stephen King

I read The Gunslinger with high hopes, having heard so many good reviews of the series and not having read Stephen King before in any capacity. I found myself incredibly disappointed though, and had to force myself to finish the book. Perhaps the style just doesn't resonate with me, but I found myself not liking the characters, the world, or even the writing. If I do pick up the series again it will be at some unforeseeable point down the road when my tastes have perhaps changed a bit.

You gotta try The Drawing of the Three at least, it's completely different and has one of the best gun fights I've ever read.

Anyway, I've been stalled on Wheel of Time for years. I started just before he died and when he did, I just stopped. I keep trying to go back, but then I stall again. I'm on book 7, about 200 pages in (at least I claim). I hope to finish, maybe even this year with the ending and all, but who knows with how long I've been saying that.

[Lucas Thorn]

mervyn peake's gormenghast. i really wanted to finish it. i really did. but it's so dense.

also, peter hamilton's, well. any of his books, but in particular the night's dawn series, which i started but didn't finish. mainly because of the excessive number of characters. i ended up getting a management job while halfway through this book and it's not the kind of thing you can read in your lunch breaks. you really need time to keep track of everyone. it's worse than the malazan for that... i really loved what i was reading, but never finished.

[Ninefingers]

Malazan. There's just too much.

[Johnny B]

I could not finish the first book in The Night Angel Trilogy. I don't even consider this a good book by any stretch of the imagination although it does seem to be popular for reasons I cannot fathom. The writing was poor, the characterization and world-building were non-existent, and I'm not even sure that there was a plot. It was easily the worst thing I've ever attempted to read as an adult.

[henderson]

Acacia trilogy by David Durham
Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
War of Lights and Shadows by Janny Wurts

[Skynjay]

I could not finish the first book in The Night Angel Trilogy. I don't even consider this a good book by any stretch of the imagination although it does seem to be popular for reasons I cannot fathom. The writing was poor, the characterization and world-building were non-existent, and I'm not even sure that there was a plot. It was easily the worst thing I've ever attempted to read as an adult.

Ya, but that isn't a good series you couldn't finish. Just a popular book you didn't like.

Ill add a odd one though. I was obsessed with Pern as a kid, but stopped reading them around "Dolphins." Now her son is just cashing in on the titles, and I haven't even tried.