Authors you like but the majority loathes!

[Alex]

Heya, I just thought it would be fun to start a thread about which authors you enjoy reading but the majority of people dislike. The same goes for the other way around. What books do you hate while the majority seem to like them?

We all know that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and this is true in terms of books aswell. But there seem to be authors out there with a HUUGE fanbase (read: Goodkind) yet most fantasy readers I know (myself included) dislike books by the same authors.

Further I've heard/seen some amusing arguments (both on this forum and in real life) about people actually hating "mainstream" fantasy just for the sake of it and I've started calling these people elitist fantasy readers (nothing wrong with being one=). The scary thing is that I've actually caught myself being a fantasy elitist sometimes.... Especially when I met a newcomer in fantasy who is showering praise over Goodkind, David Drake or Dennis Mckiernan. Now I've put the ball in motion by stating which fantasy authors I steer clear of but the majority likes.

As to an author I enjoy reading but the majority here dislikes......... Ok... I'll say it...... I'm about to confess......

Terry Brooks....

I can't explain why, I don't have any literary arguments backing me up. It must be because he is the author who got me into fantasy and I refuse to see him as a "ripoff"=)

P.S. No excessive flaming in this thread please. People should be able to post their likes and dislikes without getting flamed out of the sky for it=)

 

[thrinidir]

As to an author I enjoy reading but the majority here dislikes......... Ok... I'll say it...... I'm about to confess......

Terry Brooks...

Terry Brooks

...and oddly enough; i completely agree about most things you say.

 

[zorobnice]

From what I have read here I have heard some real BAD things about Eddings, but I LOOOOVE him, and have re-read all of them many times.

Hey broer you can love who you want, life's too short to worry overly much about other peoples opinions.

Good thread though.

I bet we will get some startling confessions her!! hee hee hee

 

[Alex]

life's too short to worry overly much about other peoples opinions

That's true to a certain extent=)

Keep the confessions comming!

So far it seems that people are very "protective" of the authors who introduced them into fantasy, Brooks and Eddings are pretty good examples of authors like this.

 

[sic's mom]

Ok, I will admit I like Goodkind. Loved The Sword of Truth series although I will admit there were times he dropped the ball, but over all I loved the whole thing. And Eddings is another one I love. The Belgaraid is really what got me into fantasy and I will always love his books. Do I see the flaws and shortcomings of some of these books? Yes, but I don't really care. To me it is the same reason we eat and drink things that we know are not good for us. We like it anyway and don't really care what others think

 

[KatG]

Hmm, the majority gets a bit tricky here as in identifying who the majority is. Bestselling authors have millions of fans -- who would therefore seem to be a majority -- but the bigger they are, the more detractors they usually have, saying the author is not all that. Are those then the majority?

Anyway, authors I like that other people loathe: every author I've ever read that I like, pretty much. I always run into people who don't like what I like. But among the big names: R.A. Salvatore, Terry Brooks sometimes, Robert Jordan, Laurell K. Hamilton -- though I'm tired of the sex material too, Anne Rice the early years -- I stopped reading her, Stephen King sometimes, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Glen Cook, George R.R. Martin, Tad Williams sometimes, not recently, Susannah Clarke (although she's fairly new to the scene sort of,) C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, Lemony Snickett, Charles de Lint, Scott Bakker.

I wasn't a big fan of Terry Goodkind, so I've only ever read the first book. I'm on the fence about Steve Erikson's series, while acknowledging that I find him a skilled writer. And I've been pretty lukewarm about Guy Gavriel Kay.

 

[Takoren]

I also like Brooks. I hated Sword of Shannara but his later work is wonderful, and I hate that there are people who cannot see past that first work, which he wrote to combat boredom in law school, and judge every other work of his by that.

Otherwise: does Robert Jordan count? I've heard some really uncomplementary things about him, probably as many, if not more, than positive comments.

David Eddings is more of a guilty pleasure for me. I can spot just how standard-issue and simplistic his works are, but they still entertain me.

I avoided the Dragonlance stories by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman like the plague, but my wife bought it and said it was really good. Once I was waiting in the car while she was buying shoes, and she'd left her work bag in the car. Dragons of Autumn Twilight was in it. I started to read it out of sheer boredom...and when she got back I said "Dear, I've got to eat a little crow." She asked why. I couldn't bring myself to say it. She finally got it. "Enjoyed Dragonlance, didn't you?"

And on a completely superficial, that-takes-me-back level, I did.

 

[Miriamele]

I think I often have reading tastes different from the norm.

A lot of people rave about Guy Kay's Lions of Al-Rassan, saying it is his best book, but I didn't care for the book overly much and to me it is his weakest.

I heard so many people say they enjoyed Susan Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and I couldn't stand this book! I gave up a few chapters in.

Harry Potter--I'm reading the first book right now along with my daughter and although I think it's cute and amusing, I can't for the life of me understand why J.K. Rowling is now the second richest woman in the world. There are better books out there...

As for books I liked that the majority does not...this is trickier. I loved William's MS&T, and a lot of people hate it...but then a lot of people love it too so I'm not sure what the majority is.

I enjoyed Sean Russell's Swan's War Trilogy very much although I don't think it's a very popular series at all.

I loved Guy Kay's Fionavar Trilogy although tons of people think it's sentimental drivel.

 

[cgw]

Eddings here also. I agree with everything bad wriiten about his works and/but I have read The Belgariad 4 or 5 times. (the other books of his that I have read will not be re-read though)

I also like Brooks. I hated Sword of Shannara but his later work is wonderful, and I hate that there are people who cannot see past that first work, which he wrote to combat boredom in law school, and judge every other work of his by that.

Interesting. I resemble that remark. I remember the book (SoS) reading very easily and enjoying it but it was soooo derivative of LotR and also I can't stand the "reluctant hero". If he went past both of these sticking points, I would consider his other books.

 

[tracyt1800]

Harry Potter--I'm reading the first book right now along with my daughter and although I think it's cute and amusing, I can't for the life of me understand why J.K. Rowling is now the second richest woman in the world. There are better books out there...

I'll second JK Rowling. I started reading them with my daughter, too, and finished them for myself once my daughter was old enough that she wanted to read them on her own.

In the world of semi-fantasy, I have to say Dan Brown. I thought The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons were both page-turners. I had pretty much figured out the who's & why's before he revealed them, but I enjoyed the stories. Deception Point and Digital Fortress were OK, but I'm glad I listened to them on audiobook rather than reading them.

Tracy

 

[Lowlander]

I believe I'm one of the few people here on the board who likes David Drake's Lord of the Isles series.

And of course John Marco's Tyrants and Kings. Many people seem to hate these novels. I really like these books although I have to admit that's mainly because there is such a great villain. Renato Biaggio rocks !!

 

[Davis Ashura]

Piers Anthony. I can re-read his books and spot the flaws, but he and Eddings are who really got me into fantasy after I quickly ran out of Tolkien, Brooks, and Donaldson.
Oh yeah. I'll put Brooks and Eddings as ones I love.

 

[Gear]

I also like Brooks. I hated Sword of Shannara but his later work is wonderful, and I hate that there are people who cannot see past that first work, which he wrote to combat boredom in law school, and judge every other work of his by that.

I feel the same way. I failed to enjoy the Sword of Shannara series but his other work was much better.

I hate the Harry Potter series dispite its popularity..Your right Miriamele there are better books out there.

I used to like David Eddings work (except for the Dreamers series). But now I can't seem to enjoy them as much as I used to.

 

[Reading_fanatic]

The ones I like are
Robert Jordan- Wheel of time series is one of my favourites
David Eddings- Both the Elenium/Tamuli and his belgariad series
Margaret Weis/ Tracy Hickman/ Julian may- Most of their books I like that they wrote/co-wrote
David Gemmell- Love his books
And I also enjoyed the Harry potter series especially the last book.

Ones I dislike
Raymond E.Fiest- Anything other than Magician
Lord of the Rings- Before i get killed over this I loved the Hobbit but could never get more than halfway through the Two towers.

 

[ChrisW]

I find it funny and sad that most of the authors listed so far are all bestselling authors. Sounds to me like you're all a bunch of closet elitists if you truly believe that the majority of fantasy readers loath those authors.

 

[KatG]

Oh that's right -- I forgot Piers Anthony. But only some of his books I liked. And Alan Dean Foster, the same, I guess.

J.K. Rowling is, I think, the richest or second richest person in Britain, but she's not in the top batch for richest woman in the world.

I loved Guy Kay's Fionavar Trilogy although tons of people think it's sentimental drivel.

I found the characters in the Fionavar novel unbelievable and rather nauseating in their beliefs, not sentimental, so I really couldn't get into it. Lions of Al-Rassan I found much more workable and the writing style had significantly improved. Isn't it funny how we have such different reactions to these people?

If he went past both of these sticking points, I would consider his other books.

Try Running with the Demon and its sequel -- contemporary fantasy, dark brooding warrior hero instead of reluctant one, and pretty good. Also, some of his comic stuff is great fun.

I find it funny and sad that most of the authors listed so far are all bestselling authors. Sounds to me like you're all a bunch of closet elitists if you truly believe that the majority of fantasy readers loathe those authors.

You're sort of missing the point of the thread, dude. As I said earlier, bestselling authors are greatly loved, but also greatly hated, and fans of these books often get flack for liking them and saying that they do. I believe you are familiar with that experience. So we're talking about books that many people say should not be bestsellers, but which we like, and books which many people praise, but we didn't get into. Mid-list authors, it's a little harder to talk about on this issue, as many people have no clue who they are, much less whether they hate or love them. We really only can talk about bestsellers when it comes to this issue. There's nothing elitist about it. We're saying we liked the books.

 

[ChrisW]

But to say the majority loathe them is just stupid imo unless you believe that they should be loathed even if you personally like it.

 

[cougs]

Kim Harrison is pretty much a guilty pleasure of mine , and i've occasionally been given a hard time about Stephen King. Thats ok though, I enjoy them, and thats all that really matters.

I haven't in awhile, but i used to love reading Michael Crichton (sphere, andromeda, etc).

*edit* I couldn't leave out "the man", Tom Clancy...something about his books just make me smile.

 

[KatG]

But to say the majority loathe them is just stupid imo unless you believe that they should be loathed even if you personally like it.

Huh? Look, forget about the word majority. Books you like that other people like too, but a lot of people say they dislike. How's that?

 

[Macklyn]

Since I joined the forum I've really only taken note of two authors works that get flamed in a passionate manner. WoT and SoT.
I have to say I find it odd - the flamers make it clear that they've read the authors they dislike extensively. That just doesn't compute.
I can understand a moderate amount of criticism in a series you keep reading, but the passion of the criticisms I've seen at times shocked me.
Why would people keep reading a series they dislike that much?

That being said I'm a big fan of WoT.
I also enjoyed the first few books from SoT.
I enjoyed dozens of the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels.
Hell, I even enjoyed some of McKiernans books.
There are different levels of sophistication in fantasy. Some are serious and some are more fairytale. I usually prefer the more advanced stuff, but I can enjoy the others in a different way, too.