One Man Book Club

Book Reviews for Families

The Lame List 2016!

[Cue drum roll]

Introducing…

The Lame List 2016!: The books I read in 2016 that I wish I hadn’t.

In order:

10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

5970105

My Review

What am I missing?

I didn’t feel the love for Discworld I was expecting. The color of Magic was weird, and the not-all-that-interesting story wasn’t enough to help get me past weird.

9, 8, and 7. The Queen of the Tearling, The Invasion of the Tearling, and The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

capture

My Review of The Queen of the Tearling 

My review of The Invasion of the Tearling

My Review of The Fate of the Tearling

I kept on with the series because the story was intriguing. A kingdom of Queens and magic. Chosen ones who must learn to accept their role as hero. Immortal bad guys. Questions to be answered. Flashbacks that fill in the missing pieces of the story.

Then, the ending happened. It was awful, and with that ending all the annoyances came rushing back. All good will was lost.

Too much social commentary. Too much shade thrown at religion. Too much sex and language. Too much awful. Not enough awesome.

I wanted to know how it ended. Now I know.

Unfortunately.

My recommendation? Stay away.

6. The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

19755850

My Review

This book has a lot of fans.

I am not one of them.

I wanted to read it for my kids, and they might actually not hate it. But for Dad, forcing myself through the dry, high-school-English-class writing was terrible.

How it has a 4.2 avg rating on GR is beyond me.

5. Arena Mode by Blake Northcott

19086685

My Review

Area Mode could have been awesome…

…but it’s not.

Sometimes, if the story is compelling enough, it can overcome bad writing.

This, however, was not one of those times.

4. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

11183955

My Review

Boring plot. Unlikable characters. Awkward 1st person. The magic system was weird, abstract, and random. It’s almost like there wasn’t a story being told…things just happened.

There are a few things the author did very well. For example, I can tell you exactly the body type and attractiveness of each female character. I can tell you what, how much, and how often the main character ate. And–most importantly–I can tell you the color of eyes, hair, and definition of the jawline of each male character.

Oh, also…apparently, when it comes to male eye color, cinnamon is a valid color choice. I wonder what the abbreviation for cinnamon is on a driver’s license?

Barf.

3. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

18277656

My Review

The Eye of Minds (which is a completely meaningless title, as for as I can tell) was hard to read,  full of boring characters, and shoved a weird plot down your throat.

It was oddly violent, too.

I’m sure James Dashner is a nice guy, I just don’t like his books.

2. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child NOT BY J.K. Rowling, “Adapted” (which means wrote fan fiction and turned it into a play) by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne

29058155

My Review

The haters have it right…there’s no way these words were written by J.K. Rowling.

The Cursed Child has plenty of magic.  But it totally lacks magic.

Just over-hyped fan fiction.  Move along, nothing to see here.

  1. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

28585207

My Review

Boo.

I’m completely disgusted. I’ve recommended this series to so many people.

I take it all back.

Stay away.

About halfway through. . .

“She popped the third and final button free and he let go of her to toss his pants into the sand nearby, taking his undershorts with them. Her mouth went dry as she took in the sight of him.

“Rowan had been bred and honed for battle, and every inch of him was pure-blooded warrior.”

Ew. Barf. BARF.

I was warned about what came next, but I thought it surely couldn’t be that bad.

It wasn’t.

It was worse.

What used to be a fun series I was happy to recommend to my daughter skipped R and went straight to smut.  I never finished this one.  I heard from others who did finish it got worse and ended horribly.

Boo to the publisher for marketing this to teens.  Boo to Sarah J. Maas for changing the rules half way through.

One Man Book Club

,
←
→

28 responses to “The Lame List 2016!”

  1. Love the idea of the Lame List.
    The Colour of Magic……..sigh…….I already forgot what this one was bout. I was bored, too.
    Your Lame List is the perfect spot for it.

    Also, HP and the Cursed Child. I borrowed it from a colleague. He hates it, I already told him I have low expectations. Now, I just need a day with nothing else to do, nothing that might distract, not even house work….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. My heart! You didn’t like Color of Magic? *dramatic reeling and fainting*
    Well, I’m not surprised. Rincewind seems to be a real hit or miss with people. I loved him though. Keep trying the Discworld book though, you’ll come across a sub-series that tickles your fancy…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Ahh yes, Empire of Storms was disappointing- I didn’t have as visceral reaction as you did, but I did think it was jarring and wasn’t very well done. And I’m so, so glad I quit the Queen of the Tearling series!!! If it doesn’t get better, then I can’t imagine how much less I’d like the rest of it. Colour of Magic isn’t the best place to start tbh- I started with Mort and never looked back. Hahaha I frickin’ hated Girl of Fire and Thorns- what exactly was that book apart from her food diary!?! Ughhh

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yep, Empire of Storms caught me right in my sensitive spot. Many of the folks I write for are parents looking for books for their kids, and I’ve been advocating for Sarah J. Maas since she was still publishing her stories online. The graphic nature of the sexual content inEmpire of Storms went way beyond her previous books, and makes it so I can’t recommend them any more. Not to mention Bloomsbury is marketing it to teenagers! Anyway, like you said beyond that the booked sucked in general. One day I’ll try Discworld again. That’s why I gave it a try… Because it’s so addored.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. I’ve always found negative or low star reviews way more helpful than 5 star reviews so I love the idea of the Lame List.

    Of those you listed I’ve only read Cursed Child. It’s not anywhere it should be when compared with the main series. Sadly it’s not likely to be going anywhere soon. My head canon would make a better version than what was published.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Oh god, that made me happy that I didn’t continue with the Sarah J. Maas books. I only read the first one, thought it was alright but not worth continuing. Especially the main character annoyed me. Characters like her are a reason why I just can’t read YA any more. Too perfect. And the upcoming love triangle kept me away as well.

    I didn’t bother with ‘The Cursed Child”. Actually, I stayed away from everything that came after Harry Potter. Apart from the Fantastic Beasts Movie. I liked that one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I definitely won’t read Sarah J. Maas anymore, either – she went from slightly racy to certain smut in too short a span. Not for me, either.

    And Land of Stories fell really flat for me, too.

    I love Terry Pratchett – but some of his individual titles flopped in my view as well. Color of Magic is not as good as a lot of Discworld. My favorite arc in Discworld is Death and company, and the City Watch.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m glad we agree! Makes me think I’m not as crazy as I feel sometimes. I’m certain I’ll find some Terry Pratchett to love, those are likely great suggestions. I’ll take a look at them.

      Like

      Reply

      • I think there’s been a big push in the last decade or so to “accept” certain things as “the new normal” – for example, smut masquerading as NA “risque.” Yes, this is new because up until very recently, most cultures considered this not okay – not around teenagers, at least – and personally I feel that needs to be the focus again. I choose not to read erotica – but as an adult who is capable of understanding all that means, and I will just politely select a different book/series. If my 13 y/o son was reading a “YA” novel and something like that was thrown in about halfway through, I would freak out – and that should be the norm.

        Liked by 1 person

      • That’s what people often don’t seem to understand these days – if we disagree with their opinion of a book, for valid reasons, we can all politely disagree, and there really doesn’t need to be a big fight over who’s “right” or “wrong.”

        Also, a lot of younger bloggers (I’m thinking especially YA/NA reviewers who don’t have families of their own yet) are looking at several of these authors through a different lens than those of us who are parents.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I haven’t read anything in this list (thankfully) except for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I didn’t know it was “adapted” and JK Rowling didn’t write it. Now my disappointment in the book makes sense. Thanks for the warning!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. I appreciate reading the reflection of someone who did NOT love the Cursed Child… I’m obsessed with the Potter series, love Rowling’s Casual Vacancy and enjoy the Galbraith series; but I was so disappointed when this “extra book” (as it’s touted) came out. It felt cheap, like fan-fic that Roth and Meyer produced after their series to earn a few more bucks. I know I will eventually pick the read up, but for now, I’ll keep pushing it down further and further on my TBR list.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment