What's the worst fantasy novel ever IYO?

[Rob B]

Let's see this is pretty tough. Terry Goodkind is the symbol for everything that is wrong with Fantasy right now, IMHO, however his first Wizard's First Rule was somewhat readable. After that, the novels were less and less readable and more and more crap.

Everything I've seen about Newcomb points to his work being crap, but I can't really comment since I haven't read any of it.

However, the WORST book I've read in the Fantasy genre has to be Sara Douglass' Hades Daughter characters that were flat out DUMB, utterly despicable and unreedemable. The plot was very thin as well.

 

[Archmage]

Rather than pick authors who are just not talented. I will go with a few talented ones (that I like) who really dropped the ball:

Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan- this book in no way developed the series. One could read Crossroads of Twilight directly after Path of Daggers and not miss anything.

Fool's Fate, Robin Hobb- Without spoiling anything, I felt the ending was a total cop out.

Conclave of the Shadows, Raymond E Feist- Feist is now at the point where he just kills off major and supporting characters from his old novels for kicks... which is Ok, but then he just reincarnates their personalities and persona into "new" characters. In many cases he doesn't even use new names. How many Jimmy the Hands do we have to have? How many Roberts? It is like watching an acting troupe do a bunch of similar plays. The people are the same, their roles are the same, their personalities are the same, but we are supposed to believe they are different?

All of these authors I enjoy, but find series faults with these works...

Best,
Joe

I completely agree with you about Jordan...Except I will take it a step further...basically just about everything after book 6 has been completely off course and unneccessary. I am just hoping Jordan finds his way back to his original plot and that the saga ends as well as it began.

I completely disagree with you about Fool's Fate by Hobb. I found the entire saga, The Farseer Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy, to be outstanding. I look at it as one saga, although it is broken up into two seperate trilogies. It is one of my all time favorite sagas.

Peace

 

[Archmage]

Archmage,

Just wondering if you read all 6 books after Book two in Sword of Truth? And why would you keep going if you thought each one was the worst book you ever read?

I read up through book 5. I did not read books 6, 7, or 8 and have absolutely no interest in reading them. Once I finished book 5, I was like, okay...this is crap, no more for me *lol*

 

[Jasc]

The #1 award for “Most Appalling Fantasy Book Ever Written” and for the Most “Appalling Fantasy Author” would have to go, unequivocally, to Robert Stanek’s Keeper Martin’s Tale. You ain't seen bad baby, till you plow through his putrid prose.

I tried reading the first of his Ruin Mist Chronicles, "Keeper Martin's Tale", only to discover that I wasn’t actually reading a professional novel. It was more along the lines of a Grade Seven student's first creative piece. After about two hours of reading, I wanted to rip out my own eyes from the pain of reading his book.

I don’t think there is an English word for how appalling his writing was.

Stanek's prose makes Robert Newcomb (who I would rate as a close second on the utter crap scale), look like Sean Russell or GG Kay. Bad as Newcomb's books have been, at least he doesn’t resort to fake reviews (see my review of "The Gates of Dawn" here: http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7492&highlight=gates+dawn). Fake reviews? Yup. Stanek has posted hundreds of outrageously fake reviews on amazon.com-- all of them similar, all of them gushing with ersatz superlatives. In an attempt to balance the scales, I blasted his book in my own scathing review of “Keeper Martin’s Tale” (the same one I posted here: http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6901&highlight=gates+dawn ), and twice Rob has gotten Amazon to remove it.

Let me just sum it up by saying unlike George R.R Martin—a REAL author—this “Martin" is sure as hell not a keeper.

 

[Eldanuumea]

I didn't think Hades' Daughter and God's Concubine were anywhere near the quality of Douglas's Wayfarer series, but I still enjoyed them, thought they were fun. I guess I found the mythical/historical connections interesting. One of my Brit friends whose opinions on fantasy I respect suggested to me that they are primarily "women's books," whatever that means.....LOL

 

[Oorag]

It's no secret that Goodkind's Faith of the Fallen is just a fantasy rehash of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I don't like criticizing a fantasy author for trying to make his book say something, but FotF was so clusmisly executed that it is, without a doubt, the worst fantasy book I have ever read. That said, I haven't read much bottom-of-the-barrel fantasy, so I'm sure there's plenty worse out there.

 

[Traveler]

Inquisition by Anshelm Audley has to be named as well.
Also, Blood of the Fold by Goodkind. I agree completely with Dragonprince.

 

[michaelS0620]

I can't remember the precise title, but Piers Anothony's on a Pale Horse (the Incarnation Series with Death as the protagonist) was lough out loud bad. The situations were devoid of any moral ambiguity whatsoever, and the rediculously out of place, "erotic parts" were anything but.

I only later realized his audience was more the 12-13 year old set.

 

[Bardos]

Hmmm. Let's see. Books I disliked...

The Elenium by Eddings
Shadowkings by Michael Cobley*
Beyond the Pale by Mark Anthony*
Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. (Well, that's not total crap, but, still, I found it dragging at times and with a boring-out-of-mind main character.)
Crown of Fire (I think that's the title) by Ed Greenwood
Thornkeep by Elain Cunningham


(The ones with the asterix are the ones I couldn't even finish.)

 

[Calandra]

I'm sure I haven't even read anything that is remotely like the tip of the iceberg as far as bad fantasy goes, and I hope I can keep avoiding it.

But one's that stand out for me as being particularly bad are:

Sword of Truth - anything after book 2
Sara Douglass - The Crucible (I think that was the title)
JV Jones - The Baker's Boy

 

[bigbry]

Shadow Moon by Lucas and Claremont

Never go into Willow so that might have hurt this. I was really ready for this George Lucas and favorite X_Scribe Chris Claremont, never got to page 20....

 

[Priestvyrce]

Shadow Moon by Lucas and Claremont

Never go into Willow so that might have hurt this. I was really ready for this George Lucas and favorite X_Scribe Chris Claremont, never got to page 20....

While I liked the movie, Willow , I thought that this book was just plain boring. I,too, didn't get very far into the novel.

 

[Ingen_Jegger]

I completely agree with you about Jordan...Except I will take it a step further...basically just about everything after book 6 has been completely off course and unneccessary. I am just hoping Jordan finds his way back to his original plot and that the saga ends as well as it began.

I completely disagree with you about Fool's Fate by Hobb. I found the entire saga, The Farseer Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy, to be outstanding. I look at it as one saga, although it is broken up into two seperate trilogies. It is one of my all time favorite sagas.

Peace

*SPOILER FOR ROBIN HOBB* do not read if you have not finished the last book!

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Books and Tawny Man trilogy. It was just the ending of Fool's Fate. That last two chapters. (Without giving anything away) She really did not resolve the big character dynamic... and the death of you-know-who was only done to give her an easy way out and allow *blank* to be with *blank*.

Did you understand any of that?

Best,
Joe

 

[Erfael]

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Books and Tawny Man trilogy. It was just the ending of Fool's Fate. That last two chapters. (Without giving anything away) She really did not resolve the big character dynamic... and the death of you-know-who was only done to give her an easy way out and allow *blank* to be with *blank*.

Did you understand any of that?

Best,
Joe

Just to be nice to people, a nice big spoiler warning may be in order here.

 

[Ingen_Jegger]

Just to be nice to people, a nice big spoiler warning may be in order here.

I tried to be a cryptic as possible, but I threw a spoiler warning in there just in case. Thanks.

 

[Archmage]

*SPOILER FOR ROBIN HOBB* do not read if you have not finished the last book!

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Books and Tawny Man trilogy. It was just the ending of Fool's Fate. That last two chapters. (Without giving anything away) She really did not resolve the big character dynamic... and the death of you-know-who was only done to give her an easy way out and allow *blank* to be with *blank*.

Did you understand any of that?

Best,
Joe

[size=+2]SPOILER WARNING[/size]

I think she resolved it quite well. In the end, Burrich was Burrich. He showed strength, and conviction, and love, for his children, for his wife, and for Fitz. In the end, he embraced that about himself which he rejected and hated, to save his son. Just as he did when he pulled Fitz out of the grave and brought him back to his body from Nighteyes. That resolved his biggest character dynamic and expressed his greatest strength. That because of love, he was able to push aside what he despised, to help those that he loved. Burrich, ever the protector, ended as the protector. I think the resolution is evident.

 

[magze]

I agree its great that everyone has different views on books i have to admit i have enjoyed the Sword of Truth series except the last two ,Pillars of Creation and Naked Empire but i seem to be in the minority

 

[Richardb]

I have tried the first three Goodkind novels and... blech. Awful stuff.
Janny Wurtz novels are just awful (not the Empire, those are great).
War of the Flowers was abysmal, the antidote for goodness...
Lord of the Isles... god's I get a hairball just thinking on it
Sara Douglass novels (I've tried several, so I have to generalize) are like a nice anestesia if you want to numb your brain.

But that's just me. All popular books, I know, and popular authors.

 

[AuntiePam]

The #1 award for “Most Appalling Fantasy Book Ever Written” and for the Most “Appalling Fantasy Author” would have to go, unequivocally, to Robert Stanek’s Keeper Martin’s Tale. You ain't seen bad baby, till you plow through his putrid prose.

Someone at Amazon posted a fantasy list and raved about Stanek. I found some excerpts on line and was really glad they were there; saved me some money.

Made me wonder why some good writers I know say it's hard to get published.

 

[Priestvyrce]

Someone at Amazon posted a fantasy list and raved about Stanek. I found some excerpts on line and was really glad they were there; saved me some money.

Made me wonder why some good writers I know say it's hard to get published.

Supposedly Stanek is the one who wrote all those rave reviews.