Most over-rated book(s)

[Clayden69]

easy....... Harry Potter

[Red2111]

o.0 my biased aside ... care to explain why you think the books are over rated??

[jahnfriederik]

Harry Potter was written for children/young adults. In that context it excels, may even be unmatched.

 

On the other hand, it offends me that Eragon/Eldest etc are even considered Fantasy. I think between RJ and Robin Hobb, maybe throwing in a little Star Wars and Ursula Le Guin, you've basically got the whole plot covered. Except all these writers are far superior to Mr Paolini. And all of them deserve films much more! (granted, if Eragon is the standard of movies, I might settle for not having one...)

[Kadere]

As far as my tastes are concerned everything by Robin Hobb is HIGHLY overrated. I hated the Farseer Trilogy. But I thought Harry Potter was great for the most part. I can't think of many overrated books, at least not right now.

[Blackhoof]

I found farseer unsatisfying.

[Hallow]

Surprised no one has said Sword of Truth yet. What has happened to the hate?

[Majsju]

Surprised no one has said Sword of Truth yet. What has happened to the hate?

 

Hard to be overrated when pretty much everyone already hates it.

[Basel Gill]

Are we limiting this to SF&F? Cause I'd like to nominate Catcher in the Rye.

[Red2111]

i think Twilight has been a bit over rated both as a book series & a movie series. i say this because with both those series, the critics decided to compare them to Harry Potter which in itself isn't fair

 

 

the series by itself is good for the target audience, but when you compare it to a series like HP which is one of the leaders in the teen lit category, it deminishes the quality of the lesser series.

 

 

 

i also have to agree that Inheratance Trilogy, Spiderwick Chronicals & Fableheaven are over rated as well.

[Hybrid]

On the other hand, it offends me that Eragon/Eldest etc are even considered Fantasy. I think between RJ and Robin Hobb, maybe throwing in a little Star Wars and Ursula Le Guin, you've basically got the whole plot covered. Except all these writers are far superior to Mr Paolini. And all of them deserve films much more! (granted, if Eragon is the standard of movies, I might settle for not having one...)

 

Just a little Star Wars?

 

I'd nominate Eragon, except that I don't know anyone who actually considers it to be remotely good.

[Elayrin Eleazar]

Definitely "Twilight" - although I think that the books are better than the films.

What else...? Oh, yes, Eragon! I haven't read more than the first book, but that was enough. How can anyone create such a main character? I wanted so slap him on every page... oh how I wished that his dragon would come to her senses and just eat him... that would have made a great ending!

(Actually, I know quite a lot of people who like Eragon, but I've come to the conclusion that they haven't read a really good fantasy book yet, so they have nothing to compare.)

 

Another series I really consider to be overrated: this whole Shannara-thing by Terry Brooks. I tried several times to read the fist book - but after no more than 200 pages I had to give up. Stereotypical characters, stolen characters, stolen plot/plot twists... I had never expected to find a book that I couldn't finish, but Terry Brooks taught me better.

[Hybrid]

(Actually, I know quite a lot of people who like Eragon, but I've come to the conclusion that they haven't read a really good fantasy book yet, so they have nothing to compare.)

Or they simply haven't watched Star Wars.

 

Another series I really consider to be overrated: this whole Shannara-thing by Terry Brooks. I tried several times to read the fist book - but after no more than 200 pages I had to give up. Stereotypical characters, stolen characters, stolen plot/plot twists... I had never expected to find a book that I couldn't finish, but Terry Brooks taught me better.

Forgot about him. Yeah, Sword of Shannara is Lord of the Rings in Middle Future Earth.

[Vambram]

Definitely "Twilight" - although I think that the books are better than the films.

What else...? Oh, yes, Eragon! I haven't read more than the first book, but that was enough. How can anyone create such a main character? I wanted so slap him on every page... oh how I wished that his dragon would come to her senses and just eat him... that would have made a great ending!

(Actually, I know quite a lot of people who like Eragon, but I've come to the conclusion that they haven't read a really good fantasy book yet, so they have nothing to compare.)

 

Another series I really consider to be overrated: this whole Shannara-thing by Terry Brooks. I tried several times to read the fist book - but after no more than 200 pages I had to give up. Stereotypical characters, stolen characters, stolen plot/plot twists... I had never expected to find a book that I couldn't finish, but Terry Brooks taught me better.

 

The Sword of Shannara was originally published in 1977.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara

 

Terry Brooks admits that he got ideas from Tolkien's epic trilogy, but he was not the first good author to do so, and he certainly was not the last. Please check out this discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara#Literary_significance_and_reception

 

The first Shannara trilogy was the very first in Fantasy that I read, waaaay back in 1982. I really enjoyed the Shannara novels, and still to this day believe that they are better than a lot of the stuff that passes for epic fantasy these days.

However, my most favorite series of all time, regardless of genre is The Wheel of Time.

My second favorite Fantasy series of all time is the Malazan Books of the Fallen.

[Clayden69]

hi guys, in response to my first post about Harry Potter; i dont actually think its over-rated was just seeing what sort of reaction i would get(sorry for doing something childish, but glad to see a "grown-up" forum;)), usually get slammed completely for a statement like that on almost every other forum anywhere on the whole internet!! i personally think that in a way Harry Potter is the best thing to ever happen to literature because of the sheer number of children who have become interested in reading again. i did enjoy the 1st 4 books more than last 3, but only because i was 12/13 when i read the 1st 4 and 5 wasnt released until i was 17(ish). i still list The Hobbit as my fave book because of the level of enjoyment i got out of it when i read the 1st time as an 11-yr old. thinking back i preferred most of Enid Blytons(in my opinion the greatest childrens writer ever) and Roald Dahls books over Harry Potter when i was younger

 

 

im beginning to think that Robin Hobbs books may be the most over-rated. ive read the Assassins books and found them.... good, but only just falling into that category. i say they r over-rated as they were built up to b so amazing. i have the 1st book in the liveship series and had to put it down after 150-200 pages, which i have never done with a Fantasy novel ever

[Elayrin Eleazar]

Terry Brooks admits that he got ideas from Tolkien's epic trilogy, but he was not the first good author to do so, and he certainly was not the last. Please check out this discussion: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara#Literary_significance_and_reception]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara#Literary_significance_and_reception[/url

Well, it's perfectly okay to get inspired by other authors' works, and a lot of fantasy novels basically share the same themes. Jordan used them, too - young people driven from the safety of their homes, their long journey an image of the difficulties of growing up etc.... Nothing wrong with that, especially since every author changes these themes according to his own needs and makes them his own themes by doing so. Brooks, however... I had the impression that it was just "Let me see... I take this idea and this one and hey, wait, here's another one, I take that, too, and oh, those characters sound interesting, why not put them in my book as well, and then I'll add a little bit of this idea and of that idea... hey, look, now I've written a whole book!"

 

i personally think that in a way Harry Potter is the best thing to ever happen to literature because of the sheer number of children who have become interested in reading again.

Exactly!

[Hybrid]

To be fair to Brooks, TEOTW drew from LOTR fairly heavily as well, beyond even what Jordan admitted.

 

The difference, in my opinion, is that even in TEOTW there are boatloads of new characters and worldbuilding separate from the LOTR inspirations. You can see this in the rest of the two series. Shannara goes downhill pretty quickly once Brooks has to use his own material. WOT takes off, and doesn't look back.

 

EDIT: And I wouldn't put Brooks in the same tier as Eragon quality-wise, since Brooks is at least a decent author (in his early work).

[Blackhoof]

sword of shannara is Lord of the Rings with different names attached.

 

sad, really

[Rufae]

I begin with Red Seas and Red Skies by Scott Lynch. The first book was cool and this one started well, but the ending sucked big donkey chestnuts.

 

Sword of Shanananananana..... I tried it several times but each time lose interest around page 100 or so.

 

In non-SF/F.... I would say Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Just boring really.

[Hybrid]

I begin with Red Seas and Red Skies by Scott Lynch. The first book was cool and this one started well, but the ending sucked big donkey chestnuts.

 

Agreed.

 

Overall, I felt like the plot of the second book was more chaotic and out of control. It was the same premise as the first book, but Lynch did a much better job of tying the heist plotline in with the main plotline in that one, so that it seemed like a natural progression. In Red Seas and Red Skies, the switch was much more jarring, with all sorts of new characters jumping out of the woodwork at the same time.

[Jon Paul]

The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield is simply a dick and I am sick and tired of everyone trying to construct him as some tragic and philosophical hero.

[Basel Gill]

The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield is simply a dick and I am sick and tired of everyone trying to construct him as some tragic and philosophical hero.

 

Thank you! That's close to what I felt, plus I simply found it boring.

[Elayrin Eleazar]

I've found another one - no book, but an author: Wolfgang Hohlbein. I don't know how well he is known in non-German-speaking areas, but here in Germany he is THE fantasy author. He has written about 200 books (young adult/children, fantasy, horror, sci-fi) and it's impossible to find a bookstore without Hohlbein's books.

Okay, what's positive about him? Well, he writes a lot of books... and he really has some good ideas. He doesn't focus on a single genre, but on a variety of them; therefore, he's interesting for all kinds of readers, not only the typical fantasy reader.

But, well... after 50 pages of one of his novels, you start to feel bored. Why? Because after 50 pages, all his vocabulary is used up. I haven't seen any other author with such a limited vocabulary - it's always the same, in every book. No, that's not a simple, straightforward style, he simply writes boring, unmotivated, uninteresting. Let's have a look at his characters: well, basically he has about two male and two female characters which he uses for all his novels. Okay, hey, they have different names in different books, but you'll always find the stereotypical hero with absolutley NO real character profile. And even in those books where he succeeds to create a character that's somehow a bit more interesting - he always transforms those into pictures of pure misery. You won't find any character that tries to make the best of his situation, no - even those with kick-ass potential end up whining: "No, this can't be happening to me! This is a nightmare, this is not real! This can't be true! I have to wake up!". No Hohlbein book without hundreds of those sentences...

And last but not least: Writing a book is one thing, writing a good ending another. A good ending can save a mediocre book, a bad ending can kill the best book. And what about Hohlbein? He kills them all. All of his books - he doesn't write endings, he just kills them.

[mockeryjones]

im beginning to think that Robin Hobbs books may be the most over-rated. ive read the Assassins books and found them.... good, but only just falling into that category. i say they r over-rated as they were built up to b so amazing. i have the 1st book in the liveship series and had to put it down after 150-200 pages, which i have never done with a Fantasy novel ever

 

I concur. I don't know who started the rumor that Robin Hobbs has ever produced anything worth reading but whoever it was should be sued for intentional infliction of boredom.

[Hallow]

im beginning to think that Robin Hobbs books may be the most over-rated. ive read the Assassins books and found them.... good, but only just falling into that category. i say they r over-rated as they were built up to b so amazing. i have the 1st book in the liveship series and had to put it down after 150-200 pages, which i have never done with a Fantasy novel ever

 

I concur. I don't know who started the rumor that Robin Hobbs has ever produced anything worth reading but whoever it was should be sued for intentional infliction of boredom.

 

Each to his own. The Robin Hobb books are probably on my top 5 list of favorite Fantasy series.

[ironisles]

Dennis L. McKiernan. Pretty much anything he wrote. Absolute rip off of LOTR. I believe he wanted to write a book set in the future of Middle-Earth but the estate said no. So he wrote his own series .. scene for scene almost from LOTR.

One of the few books I've stopped reading in the middle.