Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

Authors / Series you no longer recommend?

28 replies

IceRebel · 21/03/2019 08:09

I love when people recommend books and authors to me, it certainly saves scouring the shelves looking for the next gem. However, recently i've been more hesitant in passing on some brilliant books to others. Perhaps it's unfair of me as most of the books i've actually really enjoyed, but I don't want others to be left frustrated by long waits, or series which start off strong then taper off into jumbled chaos.

I was just wondering if anyone else has ever felt this way?

One to start off which has caused me much frustration over the years, is Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicle. It's such an immersive and detailed series, but it has been hanging unfinished now for 8 years.

OP posts:
DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 22/03/2019 03:37

Thinking about it - the other part of this is popular series continued by another author when the original writer dies. Not only does it seem all about the money, but the books never live up to the originals.

Felix Francis might be Dick Francis’ son, but his take on the series is not worth reading. Ditto the author now writing Robert B Parker.

That goes also for attempts to finish books left unfinished by their author’s demise. I’m looking at you Jill Paton Walsh.

Thank goodness for Sue Grafton who ensured that her series would not continue after she was gone.

DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 22/03/2019 03:31

JD Robb’s “In Death” series. To be fair, it held pretty strong for 30+ books, but the latest few have been terrible; I’m not convinced she’s not using a ghost writer.

Mary Moody’s autobiographical series about running away to France at age 50. Started out a bit smug and then got unbearably so.

Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. Up to about book 6, super entertaining, gory, urban fantasy. And from then on, basically not-so-soft porn devoid of any attempt at a plot. Her other series didn’t even have a 6 book grace period.

TheWanderingMinstrel · 21/03/2019 17:23

I find that often when authors write many books in quick succesion (such as several books in a 2 or 3-year time period), the latter books are usually not as good. Lucy Vine is a recent example. I loved her first two books and couldn't stop reading them, but had to put the third down after some time (though I think that was mainly due to the nature of the materialistic blogger main character... or at least that's how she was coming across, she was travelling around the world and had to see all the GLAM places rather than take the time to learn about the cultures. I've also known of a few authors who are "hit or miss" with their books, regardless of order in which they were written.
I can't think of one particular author that fits your question, but I do know of a few where it is the opposite case, where their books improve with time, such as Mike Gayle.