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[Nilocy]

I hate Old Man's War for ending way to soon. It was such an amazing book that it needed to have more pages, seriously it was toooo good.

[Mondark]

Reality Dysfunction (by Peter Hamilton) really bugged me.  I quite like the series as a whole, but (like Awayfarer mentioned) it felt like almost every other scene was yet another sex scene.  He toned it down later on, and, I think, redeemed himself with the rest of the series, save the actual end, which felt kind of like a cop out.

Other than that, the trilogy is actually quite good.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Really, you just scoot the whole 800 some star cluster right out of the galaxy, and vaporize all the souls?!

[Kagus]

Desperation.

Normally, I respect Stephen King (yes, even after the way he finished the Dark Tower series.  But I was able to listen to the whole shebang in one swoop, didn't have to wait for ages before the finale came), but Desperation was just a hollow God-fest of the kind I'd expect from Koontz.

And the fact that he had to rope in one of my favorite characters from Rose Madder into the mess just made things even more bleh.  I lost a lot of respect for King after reading that.

Let's see, there was one other...  Dang, what was that one called?  It was some crime novel with two wisecracking investigators (man and woman, in one of those on-and-off relationships) taking the case of some missing girl.

The damn thing just couldn't keep me going.  It was all just so much fluff.  It was a pillow with binding and a witty title, not a book.  I eventually dropped off from reading it, and I've never done that before. 

I picked it up again later on and finished it, just so I wouldn't have to think about it as "unfinished business" anymore.  It was fluffy, cliché, and dull right up to the very end.  That's when the nut-brained author forgot which book he was writing in and wrote an ending for a completely different story. 

Wait a second, what?  If you want a conflict resolution between two characters to be important and/or poignant, make sure you've actually GOT a conflict for them to resolve!

Well, you should probably also check to make sure you have characters first...  That helps.


Just wish I could remember the name to it...  That's got to be the broadest description of a novel I've ever heard.

[Alexhans]

Harry Potter Book 7.

Beginning and middle were meh, ending sucked
 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Come on. It was stupid. No big duel, just a spell, which then reflected Voldermort's spell, and killed him.

Heresy!!!!

HP 7 WAS FLAWLESS !!! (In my opinion)

It's not the moment but who you get there...

HP series are one of my favourite books series and I've read a lot of FS and SCI-FI.

Before reading them I though that it was a lame thing for kids but after reading the first 4 I had to admit I'm a big jerk full of prejudices  
--------------

Now getting into the purpose of the thread...

All Kafka books I've read.
The Castle, 'El Proceso' (I dont know how it is translated, the trial or something), the methamorphosis... Short stories... the guy is just crazy... he doesn't get anywhere and just wastes my time... he should be a painter or a musician if he is feeling so confused.

[The Mad Engineer]

The Awakening.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In a nutshell:
This is Jane.  See Jane be oppressed.  Rebel Jane, rebel!  See Jane commit suicide.

[viskaslietuvai]

I liked Ender's Shadow, thank you very much.
Although it is just Ender's game by a different view point, so it may not count. I liked some of the other Bean books to (although the last one ends badly).

Yeah I liked Ender's Shadow too, but it is basically the same story, different perspective, so I didn't want to lump it in with the boring crap.

I'd liek to add another annoying one. Hagakure. The abridged one. It's the book of the samurai or some such business. Hoo-boy that's boring. And borderline insane.

Example passage:
"A person who is said to be proficient at the arts is like a fool. Because of his foolishness in concerning himself with just one thing, he thinks of nothing else and thus becomes proficient. He is a worthless person."

Translation: Specialization is for idiots!

Next:
"A person who does not want to be struck by the enemy's arrows will have no divine protection. For a man who does not wish to be hit by the arrows of a common soldier, but rather by those of a warrior of fame, there will be the protection for which he has asked."

Translation: You die because you are a sissy!

[Toady Two]

Aldous Huxleys "Brave New World" Its a classic but it didn't move me at all. I read Orwells dystopian 1984 first and that had a huge impact on me.

As much as by the end of the XX century Huxleys predictions seem closer to "true". I didn't consider living in the world he presented as such a bad thing. Maybe except for the whole caste selection everything seemed convenient. Yet this supposedly terrible antiutopia was supposed to instill fear and discomfort but I didn't feel that at all. Instead I was annoyed.

[Dragooble]

Example passage:
"A person who is said to be proficient at the arts is like a fool. Because of his foolishness in concerning himself with just one thing, he thinks of nothing else and thus becomes proficient. He is a worthless person."

Translation: Specialization is for idiots!

Next:
"A person who does not want to be struck by the enemy's arrows will have no divine protection. For a man who does not wish to be hit by the arrows of a common soldier, but rather by those of a warrior of fame, there will be the protection for which he has asked."

Translation: You die because you are a sissy!

first one: so they're saying a dwarf with dabbling in every skill is better than a legendary+5 metal smith?

second one: that explains why dragons manage to slaughter 50 champions but die to an untrained recruit.

[Alexhans]

Aldous Huxleys "Brave New World" Its a classic but it didn't move me at all. I read Orwells dystopian 1984 first and that had a huge impact on me.

As much as by the end of the XX century Huxleys predictions seem closer to "true". I didn't consider living in the world he presented as such a bad thing. Maybe except for the whole caste selection everything seemed convenient. Yet this supposedly terrible antiutopia was supposed to instill fear and discomfort but I didn't feel that at all. Instead I was annoyed.

Is that the second one or the first one... I read the one that is translated as "a happy world".  The one about the indian being moved to civilization and the little Alpha guy that is inferior and feels apart.  That book is great.  How they give drugs without bad consequences to control people, "SOMA" in spanish... How the leader knows everything but sacrifices himself for the order... 

[Frogeyes]

 Twilight. It's been said before, but god damn do I hate those books.

 Actually, I've never read them. As far as I can tell, they're just fairly hacky, pre-teen girl wish fulfillment. Probably not something I'd be interested in, but the real reason I hate these books is that I used to work with several hardcore Twilight fangirls who would not shut up about them. Yecch.

[Toady Two]

Is that the second one or the first one...

Its the one you read. I know its a classic and great literature. But it just didn't get to me the way 1984 did and that itself was annoying. I really like the authors ideas though. Especially since he came up with them way before the technology for such things was common knowledge.

[inaluct]

Twilight. It's been said before, but god damn do I hate those books.

 Actually, I've never read them. As far as I can tell, they're just fairly hacky, pre-teen girl wish fulfillment. Probably not something I'd be interested in, but the real reason I hate these books is that I used to work with several hardcore Twilight fangirls who would not shut up about them. Yecch.

You should have been like "HAY BABY I CAN BE YOUR VAMPIRE <3"

Except they were probably fat anyway, right?

[Org]

I red the first one. I wanted to see what the hype was about.

I REGRET READING IT.

[Rysith]

Is that the second one or the first one... I read the one that is translated as "a happy world".  The one about the indian being moved to civilization and the little Alpha guy that is inferior and feels apart.  That book is great.  How they give drugs without bad consequences to control people, "SOMA" in spanish... How the leader knows everything but sacrifices himself for the order... 

Yep, that's the one. The annoying part about it was that through the entire thing, Huxley was trying to say "Isn't this a horrible world? Look at the Betas, brainwashed from early childhood! Look at the old people, on mind-altering drugs until they die painlessly of liver failure! Look at the people enjoying themselves in the sinful porn feelies!". It's preaching about how bad a world that really isn't that bad is. Contrast 1984 (or Darkness at Noon), both of which do a much better job of portraying a hideously bleak future, and neither of which spends nearly as much time saying "Hey look how bad this is, they do sex and drugs all day and laugh at Christians!"

[inaluct]

Huh. I loved Brave New World. I think Huxley was in favor of the happiness-oriented culture. I mean, just because he focused on the savage doesn't mean that he agreed with him.