[Abyss]

sky_walker;221572 said:

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...

Possibly one of the worse books ever published. And sad because Sheldon had some great 'spy/suspense/action' books like CATHEDRAL and THE CHARM SCHOOL.


- Abyss, knew it was over when the protagonist did it with the veggie alien.

[Dancer+]

I really enjoyed 'King of Foxes' by Feist, the second of the Conclave of Shadows books...I think this was potentially his best book (I haven't read Magician but the other two in the series, damn library)

Exile Returns is also reasonably good but falls short, not because of lack of competence but because I prefered Tal even though the book offers a very interesting reversal to the situation.

I can't particularly add to this thread because I haven't read Goodkind's stuff...

[Shurque's biatch]

The Cult of Dessembrae;221592 said:

I really enjoyed 'King of Foxes' by Feist, the second of the Conclave of Shadows books...I think this was potentially his best book (I haven't read Magician but the other two in the series, damn library)

Exile Returns is also reasonably good but falls short, not because of lack of competence but because I prefered Tal even though the book offers a very interesting reversal to the situation.

I can't particularly add to this thread because I haven't read Goodkind's stuff...

Actually, it may be a benefit since you still have use of your eyes...

[paladin]

I have Exile Returns sitting on my shelf right now.. Got it for like 50 pesos and a hershey kiss wrapper at the super-clearance-getthiscrapoutofmystore sale at barnes and noble. One day I'll read it.. if I ever finish this damned Wanderers Tale book, which could be up on a list of most boring crap ever written up there with Goodkind

[Banana]

well I've already posted about how I think Goodkind is a crap author but I felt that I should add that he's actually not an absolutely horrible writer.

His weak points are obviously his plot lines, character development, tendency to poach others' ideas and his very odd and disturbing philosophical sentiments. Despite all this, he's actually not a bad "writer" in terms of utilizing his narrative ability and weaving a story. Despite reading his series only because I was really bored, despite hating every main character except possibly for Zed, and despite being utterly appalled by the things Goodkind spouted through his characters' mouths... I found that there were still some very thrilling and just plain cool parts in his books that I really enjoyed.

So that being said, I still hate his writings...but they're not 100% bad

[Vengeance]

The Cult of Dessembrae;221592 said:

I really enjoyed 'King of Foxes' by Feist, the second of the Conclave of Shadows books...I think this was potentially his best book (I haven't read Magician but the other two in the series, damn library)

Exile Returns is also reasonably good but falls short, not because of lack of competence but because I prefered Tal even though the book offers a very interesting reversal to the situation.

I can't particularly add to this thread because I haven't read Goodkind's stuff...

You should really go back and read Magician, The Serpent war sega wasn't bad either....

[Envy]

I must admit I haven't read Goodkind, but I do remember Eddings fondly all those years ago. I enjoyed the Belgariad, it was much more approachable than a lot of other fantasy at the time. I gave up on the second series (can't even remember now what it was called) after it became too predictable.

However, by the sound of your posts on Goodkind, he's the type of writer that has seen me give up on reading Fantasy for the past 20 years. It's only last year when I discovered Erikson that I have started reading it again.

I've checked out a lot of the recommended reading on this list and am trying to pick out some of the highlights I may have missed in the last 20 years.

[Chiblade]

I actually liked Wizards First Rule. And I tolerated the next few books, just for the philosophical musings and to see if the plot would finally happen next. Boy was I disappointed. I quit after the one with the chimes and the old guy imprisoned in that lake or something. You know. The one that begins with the attack of the demon chicken. Goodkind is a barely talented Ayn Rand who writes fantasy and has a bad case of deficiency-of-the-imagination.

As for Eddings. I couldn't stand him. I read the Belgariad and then thought that maybe the revenge of Althalus would be better. I haven't glanced at his books since. The guy has a knack for insulting you with his word choices. As if you couldn't understand anything with more than two syllables on second and are suddenly fluent in King-James English the next. And although Althalus had an interesting premise he completely ruined any potential it had and then slapped some 0.5 dimensional characters on it and called it a novel.

I ended up voting for Goodkind, but it was close.

[Krupee]

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/04466...erBy=addOneStar

remeber thesse are all eddings fans. have fun.

[Vengeance]

I will see your eddings and add this

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0000...erBy=addOneStar

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0000...erBy=addOneStar

Enjoy

-Vengeance notes that eddings was good, Goodkind has always mostly sucked...

[Krupee]

Vengeance;222856 said:

I will see your eddings and add this

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0000...erBy=addOneStar

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0000...erBy=addOneStar

Enjoy

-Vengeance notes that eddings was good, Goodkind has always mostly sucked...

Note that:
1- nearly everyone in these reviews said that goodkind's first few books were good but he got repetitve later on. Thats exactly one everyone says about eddings too.
2- although i know soul of the fire sucks notice that it still got a few good reviews (i kow that theyre just hardcore fans, but even eddings fan got fed up with him.)
3- faith of the fallen actually got a lot of good reviews, most people like it. Unlike eddings book which didn't even get one fivestars review. meaning not even his most dedicated fans could stomach giving him a good review.

[Vengeance]

A friend gave me his last (thankgodthisshitisover) book, and asked if I could finish it by the end of the work day. I gave it back to him 2 hours later (speed reading has came in handy over the years) what a piece of shit. In the middle of a fucking fight scene that he has spent 300 pgs building up to he switches pov to Kalahn mooning over fucking Richard. Then they go into a whole bunch of his patented babbable bullshit over how everything works. Like people who are reading his shit just picked up the last book in a series of 11. Wraps every thing up in a pink bow in about 50 pages. It was pathetic.... I felt stupid after reading it. I quickly russed to my stash of erikson and pumped out some BH...

[Darkwatch]

Never read either of them.

Though this forum has basicly put me off the idea of reading any of Terry's work. But one of my friend's finds he's great, and recommends him.
Not sure what to think.

[mxlm]

I'll tell you what to think: get a new friend.

What? Why are you looking at me like that?

[Vengeance]

I second mxIm....There are some nice friends here....Not Kud13 through he's sneaky...

[Elephant Tamer]

let me say something about goodking. when i read him, i was relatively young(still am in fact) so thats no excuse for not finding him horrible. second, when i had actually finished book eight, i had not seen any of his interviews, know about his ann rynd affiliations, but i swear i had an almost perfect picture of him in my head!!! that book sucked in sso many different directions i cant even begin to state them all, and thankfully it has been done for me by various people. you can see who im voting for.

[Crop]

"The pillars of creation" by Terry Goodkind has to be one the, if not THE, worst fantasy books of all time...simple as that!

I did like the first four books though, and i will finish reading the series

-can't leave a book unfinished

[Vengeance]

Far warning, the ending of the Confessor sucks ass. Big south end of a cow going north ass, you will be made more stupid by reading the book. I highly recommend that you have a handy copy of one of Erikson’s books around for when you finish. That way you can start to revive your brain cells that Goodkind has killed off.

-Vengeance, mentions that you have been given FAIR WARNING!!!!!!!:Erm:

[Aptorian]

Darkwatch;225618 said:

Never read either of them.

Though this forum has basicly put me off the idea of reading any of Terry's work. But one of my friend's finds he's great, and recommends him.
Not sure what to think.

I'd recommend you try goodkind anyway. With as low expectations as possible you'll be positivly surprised.

The first book Wizards first rule is as a singlestanding novel good fantasy. It had this fairytale feel to it that I liked. It gets a bit sadomasochistic by the end, but all in all I really liked the story.

You can read the second book, Stone of Tears I think it's called, aswell, it picks right up where the first one ends. It has some pretty awesome moments, imagine a comic book american Karsa Orlong kept by his will in a nunery. It's long winded and the end is crap but it's definently readable despite its flaws.

Don't read any more it will scar you.

[mxlm]

A bit sadomasochistic by the end?

There's something like 70 continuous pages of sexual torture.