[Shurque's biatch]

Both are poor writers. I can look back at Eddings and pick out things I enjoy in spite of his poor writing.

With Goodkind, similar to many, I look back at a couple of interesting ideas (people are stupid, awesome fight with 30 husbands, Zed's one liners) and go, hmm, if TG could have just put them in one book so I don't have to wade through the rest of that crap to find them...

That IS the writing style. Just because Eddings is the stereotype in fantasy, if one were to only read the Belgariad as an example of fantasy, it would be a mediocre introduction. If one were to only read TG, fantasy would be doomed...

[Skywalker]

I haven't read Eddings... and gave up Goodkind about 40 pages into Wizard's First Rule.

Would you folk recommend Eddings if I had nothing better to read? (And god knows that isn't the case this year... have yet to start on Patrick Rothfuss, GG Kay, or Scott Lynch! Not to mention that copy of NoK that is taking a mysteriously long time to arrive...)

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

sky_walker;220365 said:

I haven't read Eddings... and gave up Goodkind about 40 pages into Wizard's First Rule.

Would you folk recommend Eddings if I had nothing better to read? (And god knows that isn't the case this year... have yet to start on Patrick Rothfuss, GG Kay, or Scott Lynch! Not to mention that copy of NoK that is taking a mysteriously long time to arrive...)

Iwould if you were 12 and and never read fantasy before. Other than that, no.

[paladin]

these guys are both crappy yes, but isnt salvatore the man that killed chewbacca?

[amphibian]

I voted Eddings, purely because nobody else could pull this off with a straight face:

Quote

Her power, her magic, was also a weapon of defense. But it would only work on people. It would not work on a chicken. And it would not work on wickedness incarnate.

Her gaze flicked toward the door, checking the distance. The chicken took a single hop toward her. Claws gripping Juni's upper arm, it leaned her way. Her leg muscles tightened till they trembled.

The chicken backed up a step, tensed, and spurted feces onto Juni's face.

It let out the cackle that sounded like a laugh.
She dearly wished she could tell herself she was being silly. Imagining things.
But she knew better.
[...]
Kahlan frantically tried to think as the chicken bawk-bawk-bawked.
[...]
"Mother," the chicken croaked.
Kahlan flinched with a cry.
[...]
[Kahlan knocks over a candle by mistake, plunging the barn into darkness]
In the dark, the chicken thing let out a low chicken cackle laugh.

It hadn't come from where she expected the chicken to be. It was behind her.
"Please, I mean no harm," she called into the darkness. "I mean no disrespect. I will leave you to your business now, if that's all right with you."

She took another shuffling step toward the door. She moved carefully, slowly, in case the chicken thing was in the way. She didn't want to bump into it and make it angry. She mustn't underestimate it.

Kahlan had on any number of occasions thrown herself with ferocity against seemingly invincible foes. She knew well the value of a resolute violent attack. But she also somehow knew beyond doubt that this adversary could, if it wanted, kill her as easily as she could wring a real chicken's neck. If she forced a fight, this was one she would lose.
[...]

The chicken thing let out a whispering cackle.
[...]

[she's trying to find the door, she's crying and panicking, she stubs her toe and falls down.]
With the next flash of lightning, she saw chicken feet standing between her and the crack under the door. The thing wasn't more than a foot from her face.
[...]

The beak pinched the vein on the back of her hand over her eyes. The chicken tugged, as if trying to pull a worm from the ground.

It was a command. It wanted her hand away from her eyes.

The beak gave a sharp tug on her skin. There was no mistaking the meaning in that insistent yank. Move the hand, now, it was saying, or you'll be sorry.
If she made it angry, there was no telling what it was capable of doing to her. Juni lay dead above her as a reminder of the possibilities.

She told herself that if it pecked at her eyes, she would have to grab it and try to wring its neck. If she was quick, it could only get in one peck. She would have one eye left. She would have to fight it then. But only if it went for her eyes.

Her instincts screamed that such action would be the most foolish, dangerous thing she could do. Both the Bird Man and Richard said this was not a chicken.
She no longer doubted them. But she might have no choice.

If she started, it would be a fight to the death. She held no illusion as to her chances. Nonetheless, she might be forced to fight it. With her last breath, if need be, as her father had taught her.

The chicken snatched a bigger beakful of her skin along with the vein and twisted. Last warning.

Kahlan carefully moved her trembling hand away. The chicken-thing cackled softly with satisfaction.

From Goodkind's Soul of the Fire, published back in 1999.

[Vengeance]

Gods I had blocked that crap from my mind. Wow that is just....A killer chicken....Funny

-Vengance would go toe to toe with said killer chicken any day of the week.

[McLovin]

paladin;220370 said:

these guys are both crappy yes, but isnt salvatore the man that killed chewbacca?

In more ways than one, yes.

Not to mention the Drizzt Do'RunItInTheGround series...

[Banana]

in my mind the difference between them is this:

Eddings writes by using a standard fantasy writing formula, he's admitted it himself and hey it actually worked for at least one series. He doesn't offer anything inspiring or masterful in his books but he also doesn't do anything too awful. His books are just a big blah to us veteran readers but they're good start up fantasy for younger readers.

Goodkind poaches ideas of his fellow writers, hero worships his own characters, spouts out ridiculous ideals and opinions through his characters, creates an all powerful character who can't control his ability through the course of 7 books (instant deux ex machina for the lazy writer), and then tops it all off by creating over the top adolescent fantasy spurned scenarios ranging from glorified gore/torture to depraved rape scenes.


guess who I picked?

[Krupee]

ok, that quote from Soul of the Fire might just change my opnion on this matter. I was laughing my ass out by the end, as i thought someone was making fun of goodkind with a mimic of his writings, but when i found out it was actually part of one of his book I was shocked. That muist be some of the worst crap I've ever read.

But im still not completely conviced.

PS: (Yes, I haven't read soul of the fire, i just managed to get through the first few pages before throwing it away.)

[Vengeance]

Banana....You dirty old man.... You went with the depraved rape scenes....If that was the case you should check out Kushiel's Chosen. Way better writing and lots of good sex and rape...

-Vengance likes a little rough stuff once in a while

[Skywalker]

Raymond Luxury Yacht;220367 said:

Iwould if you were 12 and and never read fantasy before. Other than that, no.

Gotcha chief! No Eddings for me...

And LOL @ that excerpt about the chicken

[Obdigore]

McLovin;220379 said:

In more ways than one, yes.

Not to mention the Drizzt Do'RunItInTheGround series...

Yes, he killed Chewy, on direction from the studio. There has been a interview, let me see if i can find it when i get home, that R.A. said he wanted to kill drizz't, but Wizards wouldn't let him, and they own the character.

Meh, Maybe I just like him (even though I'm not buying his new books) because he introduced me to Fantasy. Dunno.

[mxlm]

Krupee;220355 said:

.

people lets be fair. Goodkind was semi-partialy-minorly-abysmally good in his first few books. So was eddings. Goodking deteriorated in around three books. Eddings took nine. .

Excuse me. In Goodkind's first book, a demagogue convinces a bunch of medieval villagers to ban fire.

Abysmal, yes. Good, not a fucking chance

[Mentalist]

Hmmm... The only Eddings thing I've ever read was The Elenium and it... wasn't horrible.
Goodkind i've never read before and i hear lots of bad stuff bout him. But, apparently i've owned a translated copy of "Wizard's first rule" for quite a while now (just finally got through organizing the SFF section of my electronic library). I'll reserve my opinion untill i've read goodkind for the educational purposes.

[Cold Iron]

results look conclusive. i liked eddings when i was young, but it was pretty cheese-ball.

i need no further evidence, i will never read goodkind.

[Werthead]

Quote

Umm, out of interest why wasn't Feist included on this...

Because Feist's worst book (Krondor: The Betrayal) pwns Goodkind's best (Wizards' First Rule) into the ground.

This was a tricky one. Goodkind is a fool, a very bad writer and a peddler of an outdated philosophy. Eddings wrote some of the worst books I've ever read in my whole life. But Eddings at least is entertaining for kids. And he didn't have the chicken.

[paladin]

Feist also admits that he lost interest and was just doing it because he was supposed to. Or at least that's what he said in the intro to Talon of the Silver Hawk(which I actually enjoyed). Most authors won't admit when it becomes a job instead of a hobby

[Abyss]

Of course, if i wanted to shite disturb, i would point out that Goodkind routinely outsells Eddings (and any number of other fantasy lit authors), just based on a summary scan of bestseller lists for the last few years.

- Abyss, ooh, look, my eyes are bleeding out.

[polishgenius]

Yeah, Feist had a period when he was only writing for money, and it showed. I think he's improved a little now.

Also Magician is still a bloody good book, and he had moments of brilliance later on too.


As for Eddings v Goodkind, I've read very little Goodkind, because I can't be arsed with the struggle, but what I have is very difficult to read for being so badly written. On that basis, he's worse than Eddings, who's earlier works are good entry-level fantasy, and enjoyable. Also, very readable.

Granted, he deteriorates and it was 'The Crystal Gorge' that broke my brain from being able to read anything to losing interest halfway through even good books (for anyone who stopped at Althalus, be very very glad), but still.

Also, I'd like to nominate Erik Van Lustbader. On the basis that the first book of 'Ring of Five Totally Irrelevant Dragons' is the most boring thing I've ever read.

[Skywalker]

polishgenius;221569 said:

Also, I'd like to nominate Erik Van Lustbader. On the basis that the first book of 'Ring of Five Totally Irrelevant Dragons' is the most boring thing I've ever read.

In a similar vein, I'd recommend Sidney Sheldon for the Doomsday Conspiracy. If you used its pages as toiler paper, you'd be doing it an honor. Here's an amazon.com excerpt:

Quote

A science-fiction--yes, science-fiction--novel from the master of soap. And one with a MESSAGE, too, just like the sf of yore--the clich‚s of which Sheldon shamelessly recycles as he ham-handedly depicts an earth under threat of invasion by aliens ticked off at- -what else?--our destruction of the environment....... Sheldon's first male lead in many years--is assigned by NSA to locate the 11 people on a Swiss bus who saw the crash of a ``weather balloon.'' It takes only a chat with the bus driver for Bellamy to learn that the ``weather balloon'' was really a downed UFO containing two alien bodies. It takes talks with all the witnesses, however--Yank, Soviet, Hungarian, etc., each tracked down in the novel's repetitive first two-thirds with minimal sleuthing but maximal scenery-stuffing--for him to learn that each is killed right after talking to him:

"It was an international conspiracy, and he was in the middle of it.'' And so are: the aliens (``a form of vegetable life'' whose eyes ``resembled Ping-Pong balls'') circling earth in their mother ship, waiting to see whether world leaders will respond to their secret plea to halt pollution; the missing third occupant of the UFO, dying for lack of pristine water; and the international cabal, led by "Janus,'' that's killed the witnesses with the intent of fighting the aliens and continuing earth's exploitation.

In the livelier last third, Bellamy, resorting to clever spy-tricks and help from a winsome whore, runs from Janus--whose identity you'll spot chapters away--while plotting his downfall. The fitful action climaxes in an Alpine showdown, with the celestial calvary soaring in for the rescue. Inane as SF (and seemingly cribbed in part from sources ranging from John Campbell's ``Who's Out There?'' to Whitley Strieber's Communion); mediocre as a thriller, even Sheldon-style; but fascinating as one top author's earnest if inept effort (backed by a polemical postscript) to voice the kind of warning that H.G. Wells did with so much more style.