[Brys]

werewolfv2 did say in the Goodkind thread that it was a parody. It all emerged when someone suggested on the Martin forums to create a parody Goodkind forum. 20 minutes later, there was a parody Goodkind forum, and the waiting for real fans to come started. And some did - read the comments by the member named "Disgusted" - hilarious.

[Fiddler]

Yeah I went over there and had a look around, however, I'd just like to add to the worst fantasy books I've ever read part most everything by R.A. Salvatore that has a dark elf with scimitars in it. Good for it's targeted audience (alienated sixth graders) but hardly acceptable after puberty.
course I'll prolly catch a grenado or two over this one, but did he have to go on for like ten books about this one drow with a christ complex? (ohh i am soo feared by the human people i would like to save, ohhh whatever shall i do?)

[QuickTidal]

Kayasmus said:

Hi, new member here.



I have read all HP books, but I can't defend the writing or storytelling only that it is great that people are reading again. I think the books have an interesting appeal to Westerners since HP's school system is used in the UK (minus the magic) and it makes it a totally new and interesting experience. I found the first few books entertaining as light quick reads, but I was really dissappointed with the last two. I don't like the way that the books are advertised like movies, e.g. the back of the Phoenix (UK edition) had an extract from the book and not a blurb about the book. The extract was of course Dumbledoor saying 'Harry, now I will tell you everything' and the only reason its there is not for storytelling purposes but to milk the cash cow, and the revelation of the prophecy is something every reader should have known since the first book. I found the newest book misleading in its title and found that it didn't really go anywhere. I found myself reading only to see more of Voldemort. And the death at the end is hinted at not so subtley through the book.
.

Just pointing out that Half-Blood Prince (an apt title since the heart of the story is about Severus Snape and the mysteries about him), is actually meant as an overture to the final and 7th book. Think of it as The Empire Strikes Back of the Potter world. This is the one where the baddies win and the good side get's a little more emaciated from deaths and injuries. J.K. has pointed this out herself in a few interviews. This is how it felt to me.

Also, as far as my reading and loving of this series (others opinions aside): It makes me sublimely happy every time I read this series (on my fourth go round of them). They are quite simple to read, and feature great stories (including the overall arcing story that begins officially with book 3). I don't really care how well it is written. I read it easily, and I don't notice anything bad about J.K.'s writing style....in fact I feel she is decidedly to the point about things....she doesn't over-describe the way alot of authors do. Many readers I know like over-description (Stephen King, Tad Williams, ect.)....but personally I feel they sacrifice storytelling in that process. Anyway, like I said, it makes me really happy to read them, and every time I have nothing to read I am more than happy to pick one off my shelf and give it another go....as it never gets old to me.

The above paragraphs about Harry Potter are solely the OPINIONS of one QuickTidal, and should not be construed as anything more than that. He is not trying to change anone opinions about the books.

Also, sidenote: Forgot about Mercedes Lackey. I read the first book in her elven mage series (can't recall the title), and I wasn't too impressed....I can't really explain why cause it did have some interesting ideas on certain characters (a talking unicorn who could move like the wind)

[Ijon Tichy]

I am amazed to see Earthsea mentioned here twice as being the worst fantasy book. I can understand people not liking it, but come on, in a genre where there are so many hacks who can't write a good sentence to save their lifes, Earthsea's beautiful writing style alone should be enough to exclude it from Worst lists.

My chose would be "Redempthion of Althalus" by Eddings. I couldn't even finish it, I gave up around page 150, the combination of horrible style, infantile characters, atrocous dialogue, constant self plagiarism and moronic plot was just too much to bear.

BTW:)

[Morgoth]

well, I've posted a thread on the actuall goodkind forum, hoping to engage the memebers in a civilized and intelligent conversation. I do not have much belief in this, but one can never know. We may be pleasantly suprised ..

And if people find the reason for my signature and especially my nick there, I'll be very pleased

http://www.terrygoodkind.net/forums/showth...27324#post27324

[Dave]

I lurk here heaps, have done for years; I'm also really surprised to see Earthsea mentioned as the worst fantasy ever. Not only is LeGuin's prose beautiful, I also find her stories very moving without being long winded. They also often strike me as modern-day parables: fairly simple in structure and language, but often with an obvious, important and powerful message within the story. I admire that a great deal. I prefer her version of a school for wizards by far over that of you-know-who, and find it interesting that one of Earthsea's detractors (in this thread) is such a militant fan of HP. Sorry, LeGuin got there first I first read Wizard of Earthsea when I was 12, and flew through the trilogy, enjoying it a great deal. When the fourth book, Tehanu, was published some 20 years after the original trilogy had been completed, I was somewhat apprehensive about her motives for continuing the series. When I was a teenager (I was about 15 when it was published), I really didn't enjoy Tehanu (I wanted Ged to be running around using his fantastic magic powers to save the world time and again) - as an adult, I find it to be a masterpiece, and both The Other Wind and Tales from Earthsea have continued in the same vein.

I've enjoyed the HP books I've read - the apparently inferior first two - a great deal. Her writing style reminds me a great deal of Roald Dahl's children's stories, and that's high praise. But I've never felt any great urge to continue reading the series; it just didn't seem to be interesting enough for me to keep going. I think 2 books is more than enough, when it comes to a series, for one to expect to be hooked if you're going to be (for example, GOTM did not hook me at all, and the first half of DHG the first time through I found to be a very tough slog...if the ending of the Chain of Dogs hadn't been so good, I might have given up on Erikson after DHG). I wasn't hooked by HP. Maybe I'll read the others if I can borrow them from a friend sometime down the line, maybe I won't. I doubt I'll lose any sleep over what I might be missing out on. I can't understand how anyone could think that children becoming interested in books again could possibly be a bad thing, except from an uttely selfish "I just hope it doesn't directly negatively effect me" way.

I can't stand anything by Eddings, possibly because I never picked up his works when I was young enough. I find his use of English appalling, and that is something that bothers me a great deal when I come across it. Sometimes his dialogue is alright, but generally the rest just annoys me too much to continue. I couldn't finish the Belgariad, mainly because I was re-writing almost every sentence in my head to improve the prose, and I found that tiring. I can't put a finger on specifically what it is I dislike about his prose, because sometimes simple writing can be very beautiful...but I found Eddings' prose simply to be garbage.

[stone monkey]

Well, that was an interesting argument.

To wade in with my tuppence worth. I dislike the HP books because I find them mediocre. The writing is hackneyed, the characters are trite and 2 dimensional. The stories themselves have little internal logic - everything in them happens by author fiat, not because the logic of the story [or even the nature of the characters - such as it is] propels them.

The things are also manipulative in the extreme of their intended readership: the only reason Harry's good at Quidditch is because it's "wizard football" and being good at that makes boys identify him as a hero figure [whom they might wish to emulate]; Hermione's cleverer than the boys because most girls that age regard themselves as cleverer than boys, thus she becomes an identifier figure for girl readers. This is clever, but only in the hard-headed marketing sense.

You could argue that it's got kids reading again and that's a good thing; but the truth is that they never stopped. A survey done [by the BBC iirc] at the time of the whole Goblet of Fire hysteria noted that the sales of childrens' books had actually remained stagnant but that the sale of non-Potter childrens' books had actually decreased.

I wouldn't say that the sex and violence in ASoIaF is unnecessary or gratuitous; they are integral to the atmosphere of the books - it serves to evoke that grim n' gritty world which you can't do properly without being unflinching about the unpleasant details. And it's intended readership are adults after all.

[ObsoleteResolve]

As a way to earn myself a place low in the eyes of all others, I have to say that the latest foray's by Mercedes Lackey are pretty damned bad. The Obsidian Whatever Trilogy thingy with her and that other fellow.

However, I have read her Valdemar novels like a great, big, queer, and they're decent. Nothing to write home to mother about, but they're light, entertaining, and usually not too long (it's usually told in trilogies in the world, with a few one shots). They're better than the Obsidian Thingy.

My main problem with Marco's Jackal of Nar. Okay, for one: I expected the main character to be an utter ass. Really, I did. I mean, he's the great-big-scary mo'fo of the Empire.

But. No. He's whiney. He's a b*tch.

Okay. I can deal with this.

Wait. Waittaminute here, people. What say you? He sees this girl, and amazingly falls in love with her and has an affair? You're putting the sh*t I hate about movies* into my books? I KILL YOU AND YOUR CHILDRENS.

The b*tch of it was, it could've been good. I rather liked the world, the writing wasn't the worst I've read, it could've been interesting. However, it also couldn't have been more pandered to the movie demographic. I mean, Christ, at least Lackey, who's no wordsmith by any stretch of the imagination, has a in world reason for such stupid, enough that I can go, "Okay, you're stupid, but I'll accept it." In Marco's it's just, "Oh, hey, if these two don't get shacked up, this story'll go nowhere, and I'm so stupid that I can't do anything besides have main-character just become nonsensically in love with this character!"

.david
*-I despise the nonsensical love story. Okay. They, um... like f*cking? Um... that's the sole basis of their "love"? They just suddenly fall in love like soulmates from the very beginning?

[McLovin]

Ah yes, Jackal of Nar was very disappointing because you could see there was a better book in there struggling to get out. Runelords was the same way, IMO...

[ObsoleteResolve]

Oh. Yeah. I forgot about the rape.

You're reminding me of why it was so bad.

For that I thank you.

Although, I think I need to go scrub out my brain because of the fact that I read it...

.david

[Werthead]

Quote

Freedom of speech does not apply here. It's a privately owned board. The owner makes the rules about what speech is tolerated. Individuals that choose not to follow them don't last long.

Morgoth, you are a brave individual. However, the above phrase sums up the problem with attempting to engage these people in 'civilised discourse'.

Actually, I was the one (well, one of several) who suggested creating a dedicated Goodkind-bashing forum after the moderator on the original board suggested taking the idea elsewhere. WW2 took the idea and ran with it. The most disturbing thing about the mock-board is that statements made on the proper Goodkind boards are frequently far more ludicrous than anything posted on the mock-board so far.

I would heartily recommend not telling anyone on any Goodkind forum anywhere what boards you frequent. The risk of inflaming troll attacks is too great (the most fanatical Goodkind fans I've encountered - not the moderate Goodkind fans we seem to have here - seem to harbour grudges against any Goodkind critics and troll other boards at the slightest provocation).