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What is the most godawfully bad book you have ever read? (1 Viewer)

Aznpsycho

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For me, it's Prey, by Michael Crichton.

I like sci fi. I like pseudoscience. I think nanotechnology is the future. What I don't like is godawful writing, retarded scenarios, and good ol' fashioned Frankenstein complexes.

The last sentence describes Prey. It's about some software engineering guy being contracted for a nanotech job. For some reason or another, everything fubars, and everyone has to run and hide from swarms of man eating nanorobots. Cue the minor, uninteresting characters getting killed off one by one. Then, the main character blows up some shit. Also, there's some half-hearted conspiracy to take over the world or something, but I had lost most interest by that point.

What really gets me is how incredibly horrible the writing style is. It's the 'so and so did, this, then he that', ad nauseum. Then, there's the nanobots running out of control, killing people for no reason at all, as if Asimov's attempts to stamp out this Frankenstein complex thing was completely useless.

I've heard Timeline, by the same guy, is also fairly bad, especially where the motivations for the big evil guy is to
build medieval themeparks
.

Also, don't read the Conan Chronicles by Robert Jordan. Hurrah for creepy sexual dominance themes, a ridiculous main character, and swords and zappy magic bolts shit. However, what REALLY kills me about this book is the appendix secion, where some mouthbreather makes the point of summarising everything Conan has done. Which takes up maybe 30 pages, each paragraph consisting of one of Conan's books. Which involves vanquishing several pantheons worth of dark gods, defeating a dozen mighty empires, extincting a few rare and magical monsters, and stealing enough loot to purchase half a dozen large countries.

So, what other horrible books have you read?
 

Sarah168

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i know it's a classic and i don't often bag out a classic but Gulliver's Travels was a horrible read. Booooooring.

I don't think the story itself is particularly boring but the writing made me so sleepy.
 

nwatts

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5th Potter Book, anything from Dan Brown, Bryce Courtney and Jane Austen. Prefer to die than read either of them again.
 

Gangels

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I read the first page of 'Emma' just before i cried of boredom and goddam did i cry.:)

Shakespeare is a great writer and an awesome playwright but i cant handle reading it, acting it is great but reading! I think it was because we had to analyse every damn detail of the book. "What did he mean when he wrote the word is?" Shudder!
 

cerene

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the treasured ones series by david eddings. that was horrible and horribly dissapointing

and i agree. jane austen is boring & emma is very boring
 

Gangels

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miss_gtr said:
Damn all this Austen-hate.
Austen is evil, evil i tell her. I have proof, my english teacher likes her! And she's german! Theres your proof. Bernard Cornwell is the best author ever.:)
 

Aznpsycho

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Not enough hate in this thread. Therefore:

The D&D books by RA Salvatore. More generic fantasy, big breasted dominatrix elves, and cliched morality!

Anything written by Kevin J Anderson. He's murdered Dune, Star Wars, and Arthur C Clarke. I wish this man painful anal rape for the next several decades.
 

blyss

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Aznpsycho said:
Anything written by Kevin J Anderson. He's murdered Dune, Star Wars, and Arthur C Clarke. I wish this man painful anal rape for the next several decades.
i agree completely. why couldn't they leave the dune books well enough alone? as for books i dont like...the only one i can think of is heart of darkness by joseph conrad..ok yeh maybe it shows deep insight into the heart n mind of humans n bla bla bla but it just was not enjoyable to study..its like the guys motto is why use one word when u can use ten
 

walrusbear

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heart of darkness is excellent

you are godawfully bad! (take that!)
 

absolution*

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the davinci code


not only because it makes working class scum think that they are somewhat intellectual, but also it is horribly written. no cohesion. sensationalist ideas and plot (stolen). no character development... much like this sentence in fact.
much hate to audrey tautou for selling out and breaking my heart.
 

Gangels

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absolution* said:
the davinci code


not only because it makes working class scum think that they are somewhat intellectual, but also it is horribly written. no cohesion. sensationalist ideas and plot (stolen). no character development... much like this sentence in fact.
much hate to audrey tautou for selling out and breaking my heart.
Man, i got so sick of hearing about that book that i didnt even pick it up. I remember everyone raving about her next book, sucked arse. Apparantly she couldnt find another plot to steal:)
 

absolution*

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Gangels said:
Man, i got so sick of hearing about that book that i didnt even pick it up. I remember everyone raving about her next book, sucked arse. Apparantly she couldnt find another plot to steal:)
its a 'he', twattyface. :wave:
 

blyss

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walrusbear said:
heart of darkness is excellent

you are godawfully bad! (take that!)
oh wow..well that just put me in my place..
na seriously though its not completely horrible but i can rarely enjoy books done at school because when u pick it apart and analyse every little detail of it it makes it harder to just enjoy it as a piece of writing..well thats my opinion anyway
 

karoooh

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The Da Vinci Code, The Day of the Triffids, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Emma and Jane Eyre.

God, Jane shits me.

And apart from Emma, I don't particularly mind reading the other Austen books!
 

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i'd have to say the Holy Bible, the whole book is hypocritical and pretentious and a lame attempt at trying to be objective about history when alot of the events are pure fantasy.
 

Enlightened_One

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Terrible books? This thread idea has been done to death, but it's always fun (how sad) to name the utterly atrocious books suffered through.

Anything by Jane Austen, and if anyone thinks Emma is tough try Persuasion that is the slowest, most boring book ever.

Matthew Reilly, his writing style is consist with someone in year 7 or 8.

And, of course, it was blasphemy what happened to the Dune Franchise. It should have been left at six books. None of the imitators can compare with Frank Herbet.
 

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