Amazon.com: Want to read great fantasy/sci-fi? Then don't read these.

Want to read great fantasy/sci-fi? Then don't read these.
A Listmania! list by S. E. LaPan "darling_seadance" (Arizona)
The list author says: "I'll probably get a lot of people hating me for this list, but there are two reasons why I feel it should be written: 1. There must be other people out there with similar taste to mine, who are not interested in wasting their time reading crap. 2. If your taste is opposite to mine, you might find some interesting ideas here. I always like to know the worst thing about a book before I read it, in order to decide whether I can get past it. So I hope this list is helpful in that regard, as well. Also, if you're looking for something fantastic to read, please see my other list! If you have a question, comment, or recommendation, please email me. My email's on my profile page."

1. The Fall of The Kings by Ellen Kushner

The list author says:
	"I can't say enough good things about Ms. Kushner's previous novel, Swordspoint. But this one is slow, disjointed, and completely falls apart at the end."

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2. Merro Tree (Del Rey Discovery) by Katie Waitman

The list author says:
	"The reviews were astoundingly good, which made this a horrible disappointment. The writing is nearly childish, the story dull, and the character's relationships are trite and unbelievable."

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3. Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card

The list author says:
	"People will hate me for this, but I hated this book. The story is completely unrealistic and also highly repetitive. We get the zero gravity, we get that his brother's a nut and his sister's a wuss and Ender's the best thing ever. Jeez."

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4. The Immortal Prince (Tide Lords Quartet) by Jennifer Fallon

The list author says:
	"Not two pages into the main character's introduction, we find out that he's a jerk who considers humans to be useless and despicable. Thanks, but I need to feel some sympathy for my characters, and I can't in that case."

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5. The Sparrow: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Mary Doria Russell

The list author says:
	"One of the most predictable books I've ever read. Only if you're completely ignorant to the darker workings of society will this be a surprise. It's also very unimaginative, adding nothing new to sci-fi."

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6. The Chosen (The Stone Dance of the Chameleon, Book 1) by Ricardo Pinto

The list author says:
	"Reviewers warned that the societal structure in this book could be stiff. That didn't bother me. What did was the stiffness of the writing and the cardboard characters. Also, Pinto doesn't seem to have a firm grasp of the comma."

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7. Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

The list author says:
	"Disclaimer here: I'm not a prude by any means. I enjoy sex in a book as well as the next person. But with this book, it seems the author wrote solely in order to get from one sex scene to the next. Very distracting, and no real story besides."

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8. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

The list author says:
	"All I can say (or ask) is, how can anyone read a book where you're basically told, over and over, that your species (humans) are disgusting and weak? I know we have our flaws, but really."

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9. Archangel (Samaria, Book 1) by Sharon Shinn

The list author says:
	"I read one of these- I think it was this one but I really can't recall because it was so g.d. boring. Nothing really happens AT ALL until the very end, and then it's over. Try Ms. Shinn's 'Summer's at Castle Auburn' instead. It's worth it, unlike this."

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10. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

The list author says:
	"Admittedly, I didn't get very far into this book. This author is prolific, so maybe he got better with time. This story, however, seemed to do a nice mirroring of the bible, and when I flipped to the end I found that, indeed, 'religion will save the day!' Yuck."

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11. Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

The list author says:
	"A lot of people like this series, but I found it to be a complete rip-off of the Lord of the Rings. Not only that, but it's a bad rip-off. Poor writing, unoriginal plot and cardboard characters make this a hellishly dull read."

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12. Ariel by Steven Boyett

The list author says:
	"This book drew me right in, so it was a disappointment when I realized I didn't like it. Flaw after flaw here that should have been researched- and I don't mean 'time' flaws, but silly things that add up. Hated the characters, too. All of them. Please see my review."

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13. Grimspace (Sirantha Jax, Book 1) by Ann Aguirre

The list author says:
	"The romance was not well-written enough to support the story, and the story was too weak to support the romance. The author wanted us to believe things, but never put any backstory behind them. It felt like I was continuosly being told to suspend disbelief, but it didn't work."

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14. A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day

The list author says:
	"Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this was published only because it had a gay love story. And with all the great gay books out there, that's a shame, 'cause this isn't great. I actually thought Callan was a backstabber through most of the book- great character development!- he's actually the good guy. Poor writing as well."

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15. Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee

The list author says:
	"Pointless book. The characters are insane and unlikable, and I find no reason to relate to them or even pity them. The story is disturbing and has no resolution."

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16. Lilith's Brood by Octavia E. Butler

The list author says:
	"I actually read all three of these books, hoping they would get better, but they never did. I didn't like the idea behind this. Things were hinted at here that could have made it better, but never fully explained. Nasty books."

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17. The Broken Crown (The Sun Sword, Book 1) by Michelle West

The list author says:
	"Couldn't get into this. The characters were unlikeable and I couldn't relate to or sympathize with them at all. The story was also worn out and unexciting."

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18. Swords Of Haven: The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher by Simon R. Green

The list author says:
	"I couldn't get into this. The characters were pretty static, and the prospect of slogging through this book after the dull first few chapters was too much for me."

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19. Elfland (Aetherial Tales) by Freda Warrington

The list author says:
	"This actually started off really well- the characters were fully developed and interesting, the writing was good. However, all of the emotional scenes (romance or otherwise) felt cheesy and contrived to me. The dialogue and writing went south fast. Blech."

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20. The City & The City (Random House Reader's Circle) by China Mi�ville

The list author says:
	"This is not a fantasy. Or sci-fi. It's a mystery, with fantasy elements. You might really like this if you enjoy mysteries. I don't, and I didn't."

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21. Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun) by Mark Charan Newton

The list author says:
	"Sterile. What a disappointment. The premise is excellent, but the characters and story are so dry that I couldn't even get through half of this book."

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22. The Poison Master by Liz Williams

The list author says:
	"Ms. Williams is very skilled at creating believeable worlds. I read about 1/2 way into this before realizing that I was completely bored. Also, Ghairen seems to do a weird character change after they move to his world. Uncomfortable."

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23. Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin

The list author says:
	"One of the cruder books I've read. I usually don't mind that kind of thing, but this was really uncomfortable, especially the way women were talked about. Ick."

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24. The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks

The list author says:
	"Boring. I usually try to read at least 50 pages of a book before giving it the heave, but I don't think I even made it that far into this one. It felt like a waste of time."

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25. Weaveworld by Clive Barker

The list author says:
	"I read more than half of this book before putting it down. The concept was interesting, but that was all it was- a concept. Which was dragged on and on for pages and pages, with absolutely nothing happening."

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26. Little, Big by John Crowley

The list author says:
	"This started off well, but was so dense and encompassing by the middle... It was hard to discern a real plot, and actually felt like you were being swamped by the prose. Weird book."

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27. The Dreaming Tree by C. J. Cherryh

The list author says:
	"Like 'Little, Big', this book started off beautifully, but the plot and characters eventually drowned in the overly-heavy prose. The mists of Faerie were a little to misty here, making it hard to see anything of importance."

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28. The Assassins of Tamurin by S. D. Tower

The list author says:
	"This started off really well, and had a lot of potential, but I just couldn't become interested in it. My attention kept drifting while I read, and eventually I gave it up for boring."

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29. Tinker (Elfhome, Book 1) by Wen Spencer

The list author says:
	"Could not get into this. I picked it up several times but it just never caught my interest."

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30. The Deepest Sea by Charles Barnitz

The list author says:
	"The reviews for this were amazing, and since it wasn't at my library, I bought it. What a disappointment. Couldn't get into it, and found that I really didn't want to. Didn't like the main character, weird story... uck."

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31. The Year of Our War (GollanczF.) by Steph Swainston

The list author says:
	"What IS this? Ugh, I feel dirty having ever tried to read this. Pointless."

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32. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

The list author says:
	"Fantastic cover. Pointless book. I read all the way through, hoping it would come to a meaningful conclusion, or even any conclusion at all, but it didn't. It just stopped. Like I said, pointless."

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33. The Iron Dragon's Daughter (Fantasy Masterworks) by Michael Swanwick

The list author says:
	"Boring. So boring. This story has a fantastic premise, and I did start to become interested, but I quickly lost interest in the characters. I found I just didn't care, since they weren't holding my attention, and the plot wasn't either."

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34. Way of The Wolf: Book One Of The Vampire Earth by E. E. Knight

The list author says:
	"Brutal. Which I can handle, if it has a point. This seemed to be brutal for the sake of action. Disgusting. I had to put it down."

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35. The Third Eagle by R. A. MacAvoy

The list author says:
	"I couldn't get into this. I don't usually mind books that are initially confusing, letting myself gradually slip into the story and learn the 'ways' of the character. But I didn't care do that here. Didn't like the character or writing, didn't see much point in continuing."

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36. Confidence Game by Michelle M. Welch

The list author says:
	"This started off really well. I was intrigued and was getting invloved, when a seriously boring chapter came up with a new set of unlikeable, boring characters. I forced my way through it, but the thought of reading more like that made me put the book down."

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37. Dune, 40th Anniversary Edition (Dune Chronicles, Book 1) by Frank Herbert

The list author says:
	"If you're going to dis one classic, you might as well dis them all- all the bad ones, that is. I tried to like 'Dune'... OK, I didn't try that hard. But the writing and character development were so DRY that I just couldn't do it."

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38. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

The list author says:
	"I didn't dislike this until I got almost to the end. Then I realized there was a lot missing here. The author wanted this to be an eye-opener, but these people are all happy-go-lucky, even though their world is over. Despite near-nuclear annhilation, nothing truly bad happens. The worries are small. Unbelievable."

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39. Inda by Sherwood Smith

The list author says:
	"Ok, this may actually have been good, but like many on this list, I didn't give it a chance to improve on a disappointing begining. It was written very childishly, and I couldn't get into it."

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40. The Story of Forgetting: A Novel by Stefan Merrill Block

The list author says:
	"Way too weird and distant for me. I couldn't get into it, although at times it felt like it might have been worth it."

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Want the entire list?

30 items will be added to your cart

The following 10 items are not able to be added to your cart through this feature. See their product page to buy or learn more.

Merro Tree (Del Rey Discovery)

The Immortal Prince (Tide Lords Quartet)

The Chosen (The Stone Dance of the Chameleon, Book 1)

Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun)

The Poison Master

Hunter's Run

The Assassins of Tamurin

The Deepest Sea

The Year of Our War (GollanczF.)

The Iron Dragon's Daughter (Fantasy Masterworks)

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Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
Magician: Apprentice forum Magician: Apprentice (Riftwar Saga) in Kindle or other ebook format?	32	Mar 31, 2013
Blood and Chocolate forum anyone else just hate this book?	16	Feb 9, 2013
Blood and Chocolate forum Being Made into a movie	11	Feb 9, 2013
The City & The City forum *SPOILER* uses of the term "breach" in this novel	1	Nov 13, 2012
The City & The City forum China Mielville	3	Nov 12, 2012
Blood and Chocolate forum twilight vs blood and chocolate?	14	Sep 21, 2012
The City & The City forum The Kindle edition is the more expensive!	2	May 18, 2012
Blood and Chocolate forum Blood and Chocolate Sequel?	0	Apr 10, 2011
The City & The City forum favorite books that you have never heard of	1	Aug 13, 2010
Grimspace (Sirantha Jax, Book 1) forum Is it me or does Grimspace by Ann Aguirre remind anyone vaguely of firefly?	2	May 13, 2010
Blood and Chocolate forum good?	3	Jan 15, 2010
Blood and Chocolate forum dirty?	5	Jan 15, 2010