Has your favourite author ever dissapointed you?

Daffodil · Post by **Daffodil** » 04 Feb 2012, 04:57

I agree that Stephen King lost the magic quite some time back. I think I struggled through Insomnia and didn't pick up another. My mum is a diehard SK fan so she still ploughs through as they get released but she never raves about what she has read. I read a lot of his stuff when I was younger so I guess perhaps I have grown out of it. I did enjoy Tommyknockers however but I may have been in my early 20's at the time. One of his stories that stayed with me was under his pseudonym Richard Bachman (?) a short storey 'Runners' or 'The Runners'. Loved it. I wouldn't pick up another SK book unless someone raved about it.

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » 04 Feb 2012, 16:49

Daffodil wrote:I agree that Stephen King lost the magic quite some time back. I think I struggled through Insomnia and didn't pick up another. My mum is a diehard SK fan so she still ploughs through as they get released but she never raves about what she has read. I read a lot of his stuff when I was younger so I guess perhaps I have grown out of it. I did enjoy Tommyknockers however but I may have been in my early 20's at the time. One of his stories that stayed with me was under his pseudonym Richard Bachman (?) a short storey 'Runners' or 'The Runners'. Loved it. I wouldn't pick up another SK book unless someone raved about it.

Hey there Daffodil, I think you are talking about "The Long Walk". It is one of my favourtites as well and if I could find my copy of "The Bachman Books" I would read it again right now. Hang on a sec, maybe you are talking about "The Running Man". I enjoyed it as well but not as much as The Long Walk.

StephenKingman · Post by **StephenKingman** » 04 Feb 2012, 16:58

Daffodil wrote:I agree that Stephen King lost the magic quite some time back. I think I struggled through Insomnia and didn't pick up another. My mum is a diehard SK fan so she still ploughs through as they get released but she never raves about what she has read. I read a lot of his stuff when I was younger so I guess perhaps I have grown out of it. I did enjoy Tommyknockers however but I may have been in my early 20's at the time. One of his stories that stayed with me was under his pseudonym Richard Bachman (?) a short storey 'Runners' or 'The Runners'. Loved it. I wouldn't pick up another SK book unless someone raved about it.

Its true King has changed his style after his near-fatal accident in 1999. Before, even in one of his weaker books, he mostly stuck to his tested formula of "pummel reader with hints of horror (haunted hotel, dormant telekenesis etc) with an engaging character in the lead until said horror came to a climax. Over the last few years, he has definitely spent more time on his characters and developing them. Prime examples being Liseys Story and Duma Key. Liseys Story would never have been written by the King of old such is the change in tone and development and even grammar! This change is a good thing in many of his newer books so i wouldnt agree he has lost the magic just yet. If you want proof of that check out his latest masterpiece 11.22.63!

I also enjoyed The Running Man, he wasnt far off the mark either-Reality TV is heading for the whole area of people wanting to watch their fellow humans chased down and killed for sport..

TimeKeeperApprentice · Post by **TimeKeeperApprentice** » 04 Feb 2012, 17:46

The author that disappointed me was Brian Selznick in his newest book Wonderstruck. I didn't like the way he rushed a bit.

I tried to read one of Stephen King's books. I didn't get it xD, probably because I'm 12

Daffodil · Post by **Daffodil** » 04 Feb 2012, 18:09

"Hey there Daffodil, I think you are talking about "The Long Walk". It is one of my favourtites as well and if I could find my copy of "The Bachman Books" I would read it again right now. Hang on a sec, maybe you are talking about "The Running Man". I enjoyed it as well but not as much as The Long Walk."

Gannon - yes you are right. It must be The Long Walk. Is that the one where they cannot stop or they will be punished and the winner is the last boy walking? They have to accrue their time penalties to give them time to do a poo etc? It was great.

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » 04 Feb 2012, 20:33

Daffodil wrote:"Hey there Daffodil, I think you are talking about "The Long Walk". It is one of my favourtites as well and if I could find my copy of "The Bachman Books" I would read it again right now. Hang on a sec, maybe you are talking about "The Running Man". I enjoyed it as well but not as much as The Long Walk."

Gannon - yes you are right. It must be The Long Walk. Is that the one where they cannot stop or they will be punished and the winner is the last boy walking? They have to accrue their time penalties to give them time to do a poo etc? It was great.

Yep, I thought that you meant "The Long Walk". The contestants have to walk at (I think) four miles an hour. Everytime they drop below that speed they are given a warning. Every walker has three warnings, after the fourth time they drop below the four miles an hour they are executed by the soldiers following them in trucks. Great book, King builds up the suspense beautifully as the book goes on and the characters are wittled down.

prestalive · Post by **prestalive** » 06 Feb 2012, 22:18

never before. My Shidney Sheldon's stories are always attractive.

Mistborn · Post by **Mistborn** » 19 Feb 2012, 22:33

J.R.R Tolkien, "The Silmarillion" By far the most dissapointing book I've ever read. I used to be quite a fan, but that book turned me off.
[/bn]Also, Robin Hobb and her books about living boats ( cant seem to remember the name of the books. Possibly the Rainwild Chronicles.) Kinda threw me off from her as well. I loved everything else of hers but those books. Entirely dissappointing.

Freyia · Post by **Freyia** » 10 Jun 2012, 13:56

Mikhail Bulgakov

"The Master and Margarita" is a staggering magic book. It takes you all. You will live in this book when you will read it. Second book like that is "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

"Heart of a Dog" is a very funny at first glance. But this is not truth. It is really serious novel.

Short stories and plays by Mikhail Bulgakov are excellent too.

perusaphone · Post by **perusaphone** » 10 Jun 2012, 14:57

My favourite author died in 1916 so cannot vouch for any misdemeanours he may have committed during his writing career...... but thanks for the opportunity to express my views !!!

Candis · Post by **Candis** » 17 Jun 2012, 05:15

I agree that Stephen King's creativity well seems to have dried up a bit, but I'm still looking forward to his sequel to The Shining.

That said, the most disappointed I have ever been with an author is Anne Rice. I read Interview with the Vampire when I was 11 years old, and immediately fell in love with the main character Louis. From what I can gather, she seems to have based this beautiful character on her own fears and loneliness. Unfortunately, when she was able to better deal with her problems and depression(good for her!), she ended up hating her own character and it shows in her work. Eventually, she ended up finishing the Vampire Chronicles Series by leaving Louis out of the last few books

. I understand she just got tired of writing him in, but I really am so very disappointed!

Sorry for the rant, but I really am like a dog with a bone on this subject!

kel · Post by **kel** » 19 Jun 2012, 17:18

I don't know that I have ever had a favorite author. Any author will disappoint me if I read too much of their work. Once I find similar phrases and/or similar characters, which is bound to happen, something is lost. I love the freshness of a new voice and I read quite a few first novels. I will sometimes read a second book by an author whose book I have just finished and really enjoyed, but never more than that for at least a year or two. Luckily, my memory is not great, so by the time a couple years go by I'm good to go with authors I've liked in the past (if I can remember who they were!)

Marilyn · Post by **Marilyn** » 12 Jul 2012, 16:22

Yes--I am a big fan of Haruki Murakami, and I was sorely disappointed when 1Q84 was a rambling mess. It was too long and too unbelievable. I know his other books are surreal and "unbelievable," but they do resonate on some psychological level. This one just didn't work. And it was 900 pages of not working.

tbughi1 · Post by **tbughi1** » 13 Jul 2012, 09:18

Bernard Cornwell has started to let me down as of late in one area. In his Sharpe series, he went back and wrote several books to fill in the blanks of the original stories. However, I've found them to be a bit dry, repetitive, and vastly predictable. My enthusiasm for his other worked propelled me through the first four filler novels, but I've since run out of gas. I'll have to take a long break from him now and get back to his novels once I've had a change of pace.