Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...
HAS A BOOK BY YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR EVER DISAPPOINTED YOU BADLY?
You all know I'm a huge Christopher Pike fan, don't you? I even dedicated a whole section of my blog to the man...Well, that doesn't prevent me from being super-critical of some books he wrote. There are a number of them I rated two stars...and even one!!! The fact is, I love his wild imagination, but sometimes the execution is poor, or a potentially cool concept becomes a mess when translated into a novel...or simply, the book hasn't aged well. I realised years ago that Pike's writing can be all over the place, so the thing doesn't faze me that much - especially now that I've read all the books he's published so far (except for one). At least he's never boring 😉.
BUT! I've had an unexpected sad experience lately. After loving the Dark Passages duology by Ilsa J. Bick, and really enjoying her standalone novel Draw the Dark (both YA, but mind you, of the mature variety), I was prepared to love her popular Ashes trilogy (again, dark YA) to bits...and here I had to throw the towel 3/4 into Book 2 😢. Here's an excerpt from my mini review that explains why:
Ashes has got all the Bick trademarks that made me fall in love with Dark Passages or that I didn't mind for it to have [...] except in this case the recipe ultimately didn't work for me. It may be that the series employs a few tropes that I dislike [...]. It may be that there are TOO MANY CHARACTERS [...]. It may be that the plot is convoluted in places, or does some wild jumps. Whatever, reading became a chore, and I decided to call it a day.
Contrary to the Pike situation above, I didn't expect this at all, especially since the first installment in the trilogy was pretty decent. Well, at least I'm in good company...lots of people on Goodreads seem to have had the same experience as me with this series. Sorry Ilsa, you're an awesome human being and an equally awesome writer, but...this one didn't work for me.
Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the month of March:
- March 1st: If you could have any job in the world, what would it be and why? (a question I submitted)
- March 8th: Share a new-to-you series you love
- March 15th: Would you like to be paid to blog/write reviews? (a question I submitted)
- March 22nd: How do you choose what to read next?
- March 29th: Do you leave blog comments? Do you respond to comments left on your blog?
I'll be back on March 1st, and I'm looking forward to your answers because I have a feeling they'll be fun!
Now tell me something...has a book by an author you usually love ever let you down?
Christopher Pike? Who's THAT?
ReplyDeleteKIDDING
It's funny though how we can have a favorite author (or one we just really like) and still have disappointments. I guess it goes to show we're nt gonna like EVERYTHING someone writes.
And yes- The Echo Wife discussion is coming- although not today apparently like I'd planned. :(
"It's funny though how we can have a favorite author (or one we just really like) and still have disappointments."
DeleteI didn't think it was possible, but heh. I also DNF an A.S. King book, while I usually like those.
"And yes- The Echo Wife discussion is coming- although not today apparently like I'd planned. :("
LOL, take your time. Looking forward!
Oh my gosh it didn't happen this WEEK. I didn't post all week. Maybe next. :) I did finally post something though...
DeleteI have faith in you! 😉
DeleteIt's coming! :)
Delete💃
DeleteI find it hard to go back to an author after I have been disappointed. It's especially difficult if they seem to be going in a different direction than that which won my heart. I am all about growth and change, but sometimes the result may not be "my jam".
ReplyDeleteSome authors write in a number of genres, so it's understandable that some might not work for us if they're out of our confort zone. What shocks me are the books that apparently follow a formula that worked for me in the past, but put a spin on it that make me dislike them.
DeletePike really can be all over the place sometimes, and I agree, not everything aged well or was executed as well as it could have been. (I feel like there's a pun for Execution of Innocence in there somewhere, one of the first to come to mind.) Even his worst stuff though... I can't seem to completely hate it. Must be true love (with a side of fair and needed criticism). 😅
ReplyDeleteLOL, we can be lenient when it comes to someone who means a lot for us like him. Which won't prevent us from telling it like it is 😅.
DeleteI'm never going to DNF one of his books for sure.
The thing about book series is that, not all the books will be as good as the first one. In my experience, I often find the second or third or even the last book in a series as being annoyingly bad. I've never found a series where all the books are written just right because book series aren't written all at once and if they did, well, it's still a challenge to get them right, right?
ReplyDeleteIt used to be that if I found an author I like, I would read their back catalog if they have any and most of the time, I'm disappointment those books aren't like the ones I had read. It's easier to disappoint yourself if you only read authors you like because no one author can write great books all the time unless they are insanely talented and even if they are, it does not guaranteed a reader will love their books. It's mostly about personal preferences I think. Now I look at storylines instead of who wrote it.
I guess with reading, you do get disappointed but then you moved on because there are so many more books you can also be disappointed by and if you linger on them, well, you'll just have a very bad time reading.
Have a lovely day.
"no one author can write great books all the time unless they are insanely talented and even if they are, it does not guaranteed a reader will love their books."
DeleteThat's true! What I find odd is that a book with a similar vibe to another may ultimately feel different and not becoming a new favourite. Sometimes it's because they are older books and the author hadn't found their voice yet...but sometimes it's because the author is experimenting a bit, which is commendable, but not necessarily safe for their old readers...
I mostly look at storylines too...but I have a handful of authors I keep going back to, for different reasons.
Oh definitely. No author is perfect or could continually write books that appeal to everyone. I'm reading a book right now that's the author's second book, and I loved his first book so much, but this one isn't really working for me. But I'll still read his next book😁
ReplyDeleteOuch! One would never believe it until it happens, right? but there are a number of reasons why a certain book may not appeal to us, even if we like the author...and I would give them another chance myself for sure, if the blurb appeals to me.
DeleteOh it's so hard when you're really expecting a book to be fantastic and it not only isn't, but you can't even finish it. What a bummer! But yeah, it's to be expected. Authors can't always have amazing books. Plus, what appeals to me may not appeal to you and vice versa. So what's a disappointment for me may be some else's OMG that book was AMAZING moment.
ReplyDeleteOf course! It's just, I find it odd that a book in the same vein as others by the same author can still be different enough from them that you don't like it, if you know what I mean.
DeleteI kinda agree with Lissa's comment above that book series do not always have consistently great books. While I can't think of an author off the top of my head who I would call a favourite that has disappointed me, I don't doubt that it could happen.
ReplyDelete"I kinda agree with Lissa's comment above that book series do not always have consistently great books."
DeleteThe worst thing is when it happens with the last one! It only happened to me once, but I know of people who have had a hard time with a few series finales.
The books I posted about weren't so much the storytelling, but the direction the author chose for their works. It was just "too much" for me and I couldn't recover. It's tough, especially in series when you have so much invested. I can get over "meh" books but not severe disappointment.
ReplyDeleteSeries disappointments are the worst! At least you can pretend a standalone book never existed, but not being able to finish a series you used to love must be awful.
DeleteI need tow rite my post up for this topic. i didn't really have an answer until I started reading other posts lol
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny that you keep mentioning that Pike is a favorite author of yours because I have never seen you rate one of his books positively. Myabe I don't remember the earlier books you reviewed way back.
What are your favorites of his?
Karen @For What It's Worth
Ha! I saw your post, and it's a long one 😂. I'll come back to it later in the week...
DeleteSome books of his I reviewed before we met, but I've reviewed a bunch afterwards, and no, the ratings weren't all negative by any means...maybe they made more of an impression LOL. I LOVE Remember Me (the two sequels not so much), which was the very first book I reviewed!
https://offbeat-ya.blogspot.com/2012/11/christopher-pike-remember-me-1.html
And I love his Thirst series (formerly The Last Vampire). Also Weekend, Last Act and Spellbound. Among his adult ones, The Season of Passage and The Blind Mirror.
I have a couple of series that I've been reading for more than 20 years, that's a lot of books. Every so often one of the books in a series just won't be as good as the rest of them. It happens.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. Out of 20 books and counting, I can certainly believe that!
DeleteWith taste being so subjective, it makes sense we wouldn't love every book by an author even if we've loved many others. I've had some disappointments, but as long as it wasn't anything huge that broke my trust, or if it's a series I'm invested enough in, I keep reading their books! But a lot of the authors of my faves have only written one or a few books, and I don't have auto-buy authors, so I guess I have less chance for disappointment lol.
ReplyDelete"I've had some disappointments, but as long as it wasn't anything huge that broke my trust, or if it's a series I'm invested enough in, I keep reading their books!"
DeleteI absolutely agree! Though maybe, personally, I'll make a point to read an excerpt of such books in the future before I buy them LOL.
I relate, though I haven't read Christopher Pike, I've had that happen with an author I like (Shannon Hale). I usually love her books, but the one I am reading right now (Princess Academy) just feels so flat in comparison to her other books. So, I relate. :)
ReplyDelete-Quinley
I looked it up, and it may be because it's labeled as MG/younger YA? Sometimes switching age range comes with a simpler style that won't suit everyone...
DeleteI think it'd be pretty hard to love *every* book by an author, unless they've only written two or three. The more they've written, the more likely it is you'll come across a book of theirs that you don't love. :)
ReplyDeleteI guess...but what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic when it comes to my author commitments 😉.
DeleteI don't think I know who Christopher Pike is, gonna have to do some investigating on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have a fave author anymore. Everyone just ends up disappointing me.
"I don't think I know who Christopher Pike is".
Delete😮 Friend card revoked LOL.
Seriously, it's OK...I mean, he was especially popular (in the YA market, though he's written a few adult books too) in the '80s/'90s...though he's still writing. Alas, Simon & Schuster dropped him, so he's probably going to try the self-pub route, and he isn't getting any younger (he's 67).
"I don't think I have a fave author anymore. Everyone just ends up disappointing me."
That's sad! I love to be able to rely on an author. Of course, the odd book one doesn't like for some reason is probably bound to happen...