# Let downs!



## Jeko (Aug 28, 2012)

Has anyone ever been let down by a book?


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## Nemesis (Aug 28, 2012)

Yes, but I normally just stop reading a few pages in =)


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## Jeko (Aug 28, 2012)

Mark Walden's Earthfall let me down. As his most recent work, and one after the greatly pleasing HIVE series, I expected a lot. 

It felt like playing Gears of War without a controller.


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 28, 2012)

Only when it was rapidly pulled from beneath me.


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## Gyarachu (Aug 28, 2012)

I don't know, I always seem to enjoy the ride. It's only a little while after I'm finished with a book (or if I go back to re-read it) that I'm able to realize how terrible it is. I can pretty much get sucked into the story no matter what. _Eragon_ by Christopher Paulini is such an example. I read it when I was very young and loved it, but a couple of years ago I went to re-read it and couldn't get past the first few pages. Such a shame...


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## Nemesis (Aug 28, 2012)

I use to adore books by John saul, then I really got into writing, now I can barely make it through his book.


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## Fin (Aug 28, 2012)

Yeah, once you become educated with the actual mechanics to write a book, a lot of ones that used to seem amazing are mediocre at best. But, fortunately I'm still able to shut off the technical part of my brain and be amused by any story.


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## cullmeyer (Aug 28, 2012)

Several years ago I read _Accross The Nightingale Floor_ by Lian Hearn -- a feudal Japan historical fiction. Loved it! ... I tried rereading it a few months ago... for shame!


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## HKayG (Aug 30, 2012)

Really? I'm going to have to go back and read it to see if I feel the same!


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## cullmeyer (Aug 30, 2012)

Don't get excited, HKay! That's just my personal opinion. =) I'm sure many people still adore his work.


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## tepelus (Sep 11, 2012)

The Historian, in particular the final confrontation with Vlad. That was a big let down! Read 500+ pages and that's it?


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## AZzed (Sep 13, 2012)

Most of the 'classics'.


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## Jeko (Sep 21, 2012)

'Napoleon Xylophone'

Honestly, I don't know why I bothered either.


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## Comrade Yuri (Oct 2, 2012)

Noxicity said:


> Yes, but I normally just stop reading a few pages in =)



Heh! Me too. I've stopped reading as early as page one, just based on grammatical mistakes or writing style. With so many books in the world to chose from, why should I spend time reading something I'm obviously not enjoying? 

On a related note, I've also felt disappointed with the conclusion of a string of books; say, a trilogy. Authors so often start off strong, then lose their way before reaching a solid, satisfying conclusion. If a writer only has enough good material for two books, then I'd gladly thank him for not stretching it into three. Some ideas actually play out quite well in a smaller form factor. No need to pad things out, just shut it down and move on. 

Yuri


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## Comrade Yuri (Oct 2, 2012)

tepelus said:


> The Historian, in particular the final confrontation with Vlad. That was a big let down! Read 500+ pages and that's it?



Yes, a thousand times yes! After all that agony, the cat and mouse games, and the head trips, Vlad is dispatched like a rank amateur? Very disappointing. Why in the world would such an ancient creature walk into a situation like that, without a half dozen contingencies?


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## Jeko (Oct 3, 2012)

Dancing Jax, by Robin Jarvis.

It takes sooooooooooo long to get nowhere. And the characters were dull as Jack Dee's dishwater.


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## rockoo315 (Jul 28, 2013)

All The King's Men.  I didn't read the entire book.  I got to page 50 and couldn't continue reading any more because of the author's writing style.  I've been told that the book is an American classic but couldn't connect to any of the character's or the story.  Maybe I'm not giving the novel a fair shot, though.


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## Blade (Jul 28, 2013)

Noxicity said:


> Yes, but I normally just stop reading a few pages in =)


Solution! ukel: I generally do not go into a book with a great deal of anticipation unless I have either loved else something by the author or it comes highly recommended by a good friend. however if it is not working for me I bail out early.

Actually the major potential source of "disappointments" are books I read and enjoyed many years ago. WTF happened? I have learned that ancient favourites and classics are dubious territory.:icon_shaking:


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## tabasco5 (Jul 30, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Has anyone ever been let down by a book?



Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, As I Lay Dying, and plenty of other best books ever written come to mind.


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## Jeko (Jul 30, 2013)

> The Great Gatsby



How so?


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## tabasco5 (Jul 30, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Great Gatsby, How so?



While the writing was superb, I thoroughly hated the story (and setting and characters).  I have a rather, well, narrow view of what makes for good story and it just didn't fit.  I don't think it is necessarily a bad story per se (obviously since so many people love it), it is just not a good story to me.


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## escorial (Jul 30, 2013)

Satanic verses....for years I kept saying give that a go..bought it read about a 100 pages and lost interest with a headache..


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## Jeko (Jul 30, 2013)

> While the writing was superb, I thoroughly hated the story (and setting and characters). I have a rather, well, narrow view of what makes for good story and it just didn't fit.



I believe Fitzgerald wrote it not to be a good story or a bad story, but to make a point. And he makes a number of incredible points. But yes, if you read it for something and it lacked it, that's a valid reason for it being a 'let-down'. 

I'm just curious, as I'll be studying it for my A-levels next year.


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## Apple Ice (Jul 30, 2013)

Cadence, I just finished studying it for english Lit which i presume you're doing too. Good luck, may every god be with you.

Terry Pratchett in general for me


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## Skodt (Jul 30, 2013)

How do you know it is a let down if you stop after page one? That doesn't even give anything time to develop. You have barley been introduced to the story. The writing hasn't had time to grow on you. The style you may not like at first, may have a big part in making you like the book later, I just don't think you can judge a book in the first page.


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## Jeko (Jul 31, 2013)

> How do you know it is a let down if you stop after page one?



You can be let down by the introduction. I was let down by the introduction to many a book - still read some of them to the end. But, with the genres I read, if it doesn't start well... it rarely ends well.


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## Skodt (Jul 31, 2013)

On page one what can you actually judge? Especially since page one is usually just half a page in itself.


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## Jeko (Jul 31, 2013)

> On page one what can you actually judge?



Page one. I sometimes get let down by page one because I thought page one would be better. 

By introduction I mean first chapter, though. Stopping at the first page would be overdoing the picky reader thing for me.


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## OurJud (Jul 31, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Has anyone ever been let down by a book?



Not a particular book, but the author Philip K Dick.


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## Skodt (Jul 31, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Page one. I sometimes get let down by page one because I thought page one would be better.
> 
> By introduction I mean first chapter, though. Stopping at the first page would be overdoing the picky reader thing for me.



Okay a chapter that is fine. I can judge off a chapter if the book shares the theme I am looking for.


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## Staff Deployment (Aug 1, 2013)

escorial said:


> Satanic verses....for years I kept saying give that a go..bought it read about a 100 pages and lost interest with a headache..



Might be a good idea to take that as a sign, eh?


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## tony0310 (Aug 1, 2013)

tepelus said:


> The Historian, in particular the final confrontation with Vlad. That was a big let down! Read 500+ pages and that's it?




I agree. I read this too and by the time I finished it I wondered why I had bothered.  I felt the same about Labyrinth by Kate Mosse and Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates


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## columbo1977 (Aug 19, 2013)

I have been reading too much fantasy lately so I went into Waterstones to look for a god Sci-Fi and after reading the "staff" recommendation and the blurb for 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson I bought this book.

I am about half the way through the book and to be honest I am forcing myself to continue reading because I have spent money on the book, no other reason.

I'm not sure what it is, I cannot connect with the lead "Swan" I just dislike the character and just think she is ridiculous. 

The descriptions of the planets and the world itself seems strange and confusing. If I hadn't paid money for this I would definitely of just dropped it. Maybe it will get better but I doubt it.

Definitely a let down for me.


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## Jon M (Aug 19, 2013)

Dropped _Donnybrook_ after like twenty pages. _Norwegian Wood_'s been staring at me from the must-read pile, flashing that smile, those sweet purple-spotted cheeks. Guess it just seems like a waste--of everything--to slog through some pulp trash. 

Didn't have an issue with the story or characters in _Donnybrook_. The opposite, in fact. But there's no love. A character must have died every chapter up to the point I quit, at chapter four. Sad, but true: Frank Bill's just got no love for his characters. No depth beyond stereotypes.


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## J Anfinson (Aug 20, 2013)

Dean Koontz- 77 shadow street.

It started like it could have been the next "The Shining". Ended up turning all weird sci-fi. I wasn't pleased.


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## Blade (Aug 20, 2013)

I picked up a copy of Joseph Heller's _Catch 22 t_hat I happened across in a used book store recently. I had loved it years ago and was eager to give it another whirl. Unfortunately it read like wading through a swamp with water up to my waist and I packed it in after about 30 pages. I could tell it was not going to get any better.:distant:


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## OurJud (Aug 20, 2013)

Bradbury's _Fahrenheit 451_. The fact that it's chapterless was a huge factor in me dropping it, but I just wasn't feeling it at all.


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