Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

We've all had those great expectations smashed. Really high rating, all your friends loved it and yet.............so lacking.

For me.

The Name of the Wind
The Black Prism

I think the thing these both have in common is I didn't like any of the characters. There was hardly any humorous moments.

From a read years ago general category.

Slaughterhouse-Five
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road

I too hated NoTW. The other book that everyone love but I hated was Prince of Thorns.

The Eye of the World
The Final Empire
The Deed of Paksenarrion
The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Name of the Wind
A Court of Thorns and Roses
The Way of Shadows

Emma wrote: "The Eye of the World
The Final Empire
The Deed of Paksenarrion
The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Name of the Wind
[book:A Court of Tho..."

That is quite the list!

3 for 3 on NOTW...........just sayin' :)

Perdido Street Station
The Shadow of the Torturer
Legend

F' these books :)

Oh, and I loved NOTW....

Oh, also disappointed with:

Black Sun Rising
The Baker's Boy

Chris wrote: "F' these books :).....Oh, and I loved NOTW...."

Unusual..... none of the four are on my to-read list.

Given 70% of people give it 5*'s I'm sure you're one of many who will rebuke the 30% who made it here first.

The Eye of the World
The Black Company
The Blade Itself

Probably the most popular I didn't like is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't forget reading books lightly.

In fantasy... The Dragonbone Chair comes to mind. Also American Gods even though I gave it three stars (I could see how it was a good book. It just wasn't a good book for me)

I've also DNF'd The Sword of Shannara twice now at 20 pages in. Another book I DNF'd twice before finally making my way past it was A Clash of Kings (I DNF'd before Blackwater both times)

Ian probably gonna get skinned alive for this but for me its the malazan book of the fallen. I got throughGotm and halfway through Deadhouse gates Not that I hated it but I just didn't know what is going on/why/ who's who etc. Very tough and tiring read

I had a quite the list of huge disappointments and/or DNF last year, which totally bummed me out:

The Name of the Wind
His Majesty's Dragon
The City & the City
A Discovery of Witches
A Darker Shade of Magic
Red Rising

And in the general genre the first one that springs to mind that everyone loved and I didn't finish is The Shadow of the Wind
Maybe it's a 'wind' thing,,?

Dani wrote: "I had a quite the list of huge disappointments and/or DNF last year, which totally bummed me out.."

Red Rising was barely passable for me. I finished, gave it three stars but it was a struggle especially those first 50 pages. I haven't decided yet if I'll read the next two. People claim they get way better but I didn't like the writers style.

Darker shade of magic I rounded up to 4*'s but there were points where I was bored reading it and I didn't like the ending. Again can't decide if I'll read the future books.

Jarek wrote: "Ian probably gonna get skinned alive for this but for me its the malazan book of the fallen. I got throughGotm and halfway through Deadhouse gates Not that I hated it but I just didn't know what is..."

Malazan leaves me bankrupt after reading those books. I can completely understand people wouldn't want to put themselves through it even though I love it.

Red Rising is improved by the narrator, if you get a chance to listen to the audiobook. Tim Gerard Reynolds is great. He also did the Riyria books.

Grace wrote: "A Clash of Kings ."

I had a hard time with a Feast of Crows. I took me 4X the time to read vs the earlier books.

Chris wrote: "Red Rising is improved by the narrator, if you get a chance to listen to the audiobook. Tim Gerard Reynolds is great. He also did the Riyria books."

Ya he makes everything better. I got the book on a one day Kindle sale for only $1.99 and hesitated knowing he was the narrator.

I also have have a bit of a problem with shadows linger the second book in the black company. I mean I really like the story its interesting and all but for some reason its a very slow read and I tend to find something else to read all the time and putting it off although Ian way over halfway through. Don't know when ill finish it since Ian finishing up emperor of thorns at the moment( fucking awesome by the way:D), started the expanse with leviathan wakes. Just over the prologue into chapter one but it managed to get me interested already and then a buddy read for the demon cycle starting Sept. Also I have a hard cover It staring at me from the shelf;)

The Eye of the World: all the female characters ate terrible!
The Lies of Locke Lamora: just couldn't finish it.
American Gods: another dnf, I was just so bored.
Uprooted: totally over rated.
Under Heaven: most pretentious book I have ever laid eyes on!

And anything by Terry Brooks, sorry I just don't like being charged real money to read the same story over and over just in a different time.

I tried The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy years ago and didn't like it either.

Welll Jarek, I haven't read the Malazan series yet, but can understand where you're coming from. I'm going to start the series in October and as excited as I am about that, I simultaneously have this tiny (annoying) voice in my head asking me "What are you getting yourself into now?!" because so many people have warned that this series requires rather hard work (and yes, I know there are helpful websites, but you still have to find the time to read all that too).
With the limited reading time I usually have I probably shouldn't start something that people say requires hard work! Yet, again many people say that it's totally worth the effort and anyone that reads Fantasy and wants to be taken seriously (and who doesn't) has read and loved this series.

So, down the rabbit hole I go and I guess I'll find out soon enough if I can keep my eye on the ball.

I'll probably get back to it and at least finish deadhouse gates. I don't like to leave books not finished. I try to choose my reads carefully so that doesn't happen. I took like 2 months off from Gotm half way through. On a good note when I got back to it I read the other half in no time. So maybe there's still hope in the malazan for me:)

Sounds like there is!

I generally am a liker of well rated books thankfully. I know lots of people who just don't like what the mainstream reader likes.

I hated: The Black Company and Uprooted, and am starting to distrust YA ratings, especially reviews loaded with memes and "OMG I totally ship this or ship that" or claiming allegiance to a team in a love triangle. Now I feel like an old crone yelling at people from my porch

I rate reviews filled with memes!! Now I feel old too...

Dani Discovery of Witches was terrible!!!!! Finally someone who thinks the same. All my friends who have read it loved it. Not me. I DNF'd at around 40%.

I thought it was absolutely terrible but I was a little sorry to not finish it because I thought the narrator had a very pleasant voice (Jennifer Ikeda).

I also disliked the Earthsea cycle. Gave up during book #2

Tracey the Lizard Queen wrote: "I rate reviews filled with memes!! Now I feel old too..."

No need to feel old at all. I had to look up what "memes" even means... Yep. Not kidding.

I've had to look up so many things, "ship" and "on fleek" to name a couple and I still don't understand how either of them relate to the things they're intended to

Dani wrote: "Tracey the Lizard Queen wrote: "I rate reviews filled with memes!! Now I feel old too..."

No need to feel old at all. I had to look up what "memes" even means... Yep. Not kidding."

That really does make me feel so much better!! Haven't got a clue on "ship" though?

Tracey the Lizard Queen wrote: "That really does make me feel so much better!! Haven't got a clue on "ship" though? ."

I just use urban dictionary whenever I don't know.

ship
N: Short for romantic relationship, popularized in fan fiction circles.

V: To endorse a romantic relationship.

Ah, that kind of "ship". Seems obvious now!

Tracey the Lizard Queen wrote: "Ah, that kind of "ship". Seems obvious now!"

It wasn't obvious to me until I read it and then I thought of despicable me "Light Bulb!"

Hehe and here I was thinking as in "that ship has sailed" as when the ship was done. Ugh I just can't keep up. I guess having young kids it'll only get worse.. Unless people don't have to talk in the future or something

A Discovery of Witches annoying and inconsistent protagonist, overbearing vampire lover who treats her like a child, and that vampire yoga scene...

A Court of Thorns and Roses Mostly just boring, but it felt like I was reading cheesy romance through parts of it.

Queen of Shadows I've never been more angry at a book. Characters doing completely out of character things and doing 180s left and right, a protagonist who actually regressed as a character. Way to ruin a great series.

Shadow Scale I was so disappointed in this sequel to Seraphina. Everything that made Seraphina a great book was missing in this one.

I tried to read the book Dani and I had to roll my eyes so many times. Like Tammie said above overbearing vampire was irritating.

My list popular but disliked.

A Discovery of Witches - Agree with Dani and Tammie.
The Name of the Wind - Hated Kvothe
Eat, Pray, Love - I still get irritated when I think about this book. It was just completely not for me.
Dead Ever After - Margret I know all about shipping and this was the biggest shipping disaster of my reading life. Haha an author can of course write what they want, but I still can't get over who Sookie Stackhouse ended up with.
Twilight - I'm too old for this book. My BFF loved it and also gave me Eat, Pray, Love to read. Our tastes just don't gel.
The Way of Kings - It was a slog to read. I was often bored.
Cry Wolf - Bored and I just don't like mated storylines.

Another one I forgot to add. The Historian So boring!

Tammie wrote: "Another one I forgot to add. The Historian So boring!"

I've heard that...

I had quite forgotten about Twilight, Angela but I felt really really old reading that one too. I got about halfway through the first book before I had to admit to myself that I just cannot buy into this kind of YA 'insta love' stuff anymore.

Someone gifted me Eat, Pray, Love as well, but I don't think I'll ever read it. So not for me.

A friend of mine just read The Historian and really loved it. We usually like the same books so I think I'll still give it a go at some point.

Dani yeah I'm not an insta love kind of reader either. It makes me roll my eyes. I confess I actually read up to book #4. My friend kept raving about them and I thought okay it has to get better, what am I missing? I even went to the second movie with her. Two hours of my life I'll never get back. That being said I've finally admitted that this particular friend and I just don't like or read the same things. Funny that you got gifted Eat, Pray, Love. I got gifted it as well.

Yeah my mother in law gave it to me for my birthday once. Thankfully, some time later she said she realized it wasn't the kind of book I (or she herself) would read, so it's been collecting dust on one of my shelves ever since :-)

I haven't read the twilight books but I did watch the movies because my wife is a big fan of the books and movies. I didn't love the movies however I will say the fight sequence at the end of the last book was done really well. Also I done know the characters names but Michael Sheen who played the leader of the old vampire cult was awesome.

He is a great actor. I loved him in The Queen.

I read the Twilight series when I was younger and enjoyed it well enough to finish the series, mostly due to curiosity. There are a lot of things bad about the series: the messages it sends to young girls, the atrocious writing, the list goes on. BUT Meyer does know how to tell a story in a way you read it despite all its faults just because you want to know how it ends.
Then I actually studied Twilight in a university course and it was pretty fascinating some of the things the prof drew from it. He was just an awesome prof so he could really make anything sound interesting.

I read them (Twilight) and liked them at the time, but I doubt I'd be able to read them now and even finish them. I think YA fiction has changed a lot since then and now there's a lot of fresh blood changing things up (thankfully).

I am glad we are discussing this!
I had a difficult time with The Name of the Wind; among the fantasy books I read in the past is certainly the one I found shakier. I also consider giving it a go another time possibly now I will be able to enjoy it more.
Throne of Glass is totally overrated for me. It has a huge fan base but I am not sure how the first one got so relevant frankly. Although I am considering continuing with the story - I guess "peer" pressure.

So far though I tend to like everything I read - I might not be able to discern though!

As for A discovery of witches - I left it at page 100 really - I loved the writing, it feels a bit more sophisticated than the average vampire romance but I also need to resume reading it!

Aristea wrote: "Throne of Glass is totally overrated for me.."

TOG is fantasy 101. I've been reading it with my daughter and the content is clean, the characters are well written and the story is basic. You're never going to have that OMG moment but it's not awful either. I've only read the first two. Everybody seems to say book three is the best so we'll see. A lot people then hate book four. I believe five comes out next month.

Jenna wrote: "I read the Twilight series when I was younger and enjoyed it well enough to finish the series, mostly due to curiosity. There are a lot of things bad about the series: the messages it sends to youn..."

I didn't include Twilight on my list because I went in with *cough* less than honourable intentions. Had a coworker who was obsessed with it, but one day she went too far, declaring it better than the Harry Potter books.

She refused my arguments on the basis that 'oh I haven't read Twilight so I can't make a fair comparison.' So I read them to prove a point. Out of spite. All four of them. So I kind of went into it expecting to dislike it.

Hey Scott, you know that that scene in the last movie never happened in the book? Honestly, that last scene, all you saw was them standing around flexing their powers or whatever in the book until vampire guy was like "nevermind. I'm going home now. Byyyyyyyeeeeeee!"

Worst. Climax. Ever.

Grace wrote: "Hey Scott, you know that that scene in the last movie never happened in the book? Honestly, that last scene, all you saw was them standing around flexing their powers or whatever in the book until vampire guy was like "nevermind. I'm going home now. Byyyyyyyeeeeeee!"

Worst. Climax. Ever. ."

I didn't read the books so it wasn't tainted for me. I know what you mean though. I read the divergent series and liked it enough but the last two movies they totally ruined by straying from the story line.

For those who didn't like A Discovery of Witches the below review always amuses me. I recommend not reading the review if you do plan to finish the book one day or read it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks for the review reference Angela. I laughed so hard. It was spot on.