Which writers have you "gone off"?

[ian]

We always talk about the writers we like and prehaps the ones we don't like or can't get into. But which writers did you used to like and then went off? And why?

 

For me it's Tom Clancy. Used to like his early Jack Ryan books, but it was "The bear and the Dragon" that turned me off him. I suddenly realised that all the charactors fell into 3 catagories;

 

1. Americans - all upstanding heroes

2. the enemy - all stupid and hate everything American

3. American allies - all in awe of everything American

 

with nothing inbetween!

Then, when the president meets Tony Blair, Tony goes up to him and calls him "old boy". Now, think what you like about Tony Blair, I can't see him saying Old boy to anyone! And it totaly ruined the book, because I couldn't take any of it seriously after that!

[Raven]

Am I right in thinking Clancy doesn't write most of the novels published under his name anymore?

 

Patricia Cornwell for me. Her early Scarpetta novels though never exceptional were entertaining fair, but they started to go down hill when she started to sniff the film rights.

[Johnny Carson Whit]

Karin Slaughter for me. I read the first 3 books of the Sarah Linton series and gave up about a quarter of the way through the 4th because essentially they are all exactly the same thing.

 

Good books, but in hindsight the only two that I think you really would benefit from reading in sequence if you want to get into the series is the first two because of the back story and introduction of the main characters, after that you can pick any of the other books and they are essentially all the same thing.

 

Murder happens around about page 20, in the middle throw in a few wrongly accused townsfolk and a bit of a weak love story and murder is solved around page 200, in every....single.....one.

 

Why she didnt just write one maybe two epic books rather than just dragging the same up over and over through what is it 8 books? i dont know.

 

 

meh

Edited April 28, 2010 by Johnny Carson Whit

[Skírnir]

Dan Brown, I think. I don't DISLIKE any of his works but I recall reading Angels and Demons - and absolutely loving it. I read the DaVinci Code after that, and then I read Angels and Demons again some time after that. When the Lost Symbol came out last christmas, I bought it right away but meh... it was really nothing special. It is as if he's writing his novels by a recipe, they're all too alike. Even though tLS was an ok-read, then still... I don't think I'll read his next book, if there is one.

[Chrissy]

Patricia Cornwell for me. Her early Scarpetta novels though never exceptional were entertaining fair, but they started to go down hill when she started to sniff the film rights.

Film rights or general malaise? I agree that she sure has 'gone off'.

 

James Patterson is my vote, alongside Ms Cornwell. He just doesn't care enough anymore, so I don't buy them anymore.

 

Lastly, that Will Shakespeare. He writes a load of good, varied stuff, and then nothing for years! What's up with that?

[Jim Mappelle]

[quote name='Sk

[Raven]

Film rights or general malaise? I agree that she sure has 'gone off'.

 

I'd go for film rights, given

the helicoptor chase at the end of Point of Origin.

 

[Chrissy]

I had forgotten about that ridiculous bit of nonsense.

[Raven]

^ I'm still trying to!

[Rawr]

Matthew Reilly. He has never been, nor claimed, to be a good writer of literature so to speak, but he can write fast flowing and fun stories. The last two, the more so adventures than action orientated tales are ridiculously bad even for Reilly's not usual high standard of prose or basically anything to do with composing a decent tale. They are horrendously hashed and it's almost impossible to take anything seriously, which is bad, as any other Reilly book, you need a large suspension of disbelief for the actions of the characters within.

 

These last two (and more than likely three) releases are like wannabee Tolkien, Dan Brown and Matthew Reilly all meshed together with great enthusiasm it has to be merited, but with the elegance of a three year old who's just discovered lego. But they would have much more originality (which again, I fairly cite, has never been in the author's repertoire).

 

That isn't a knock, as he is great at what he does, I'm also not knocking him for trying something different, that is fantastic, but it's the way it has been attempted. Disappoints me as he can hold your interest with a good story and some good pace in his earlier career.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Rawr

[Echo]

For me it's Anne Rice. I love her early vampire books, all the way up to The Vampire Armand, and the Mayfair trilogy, but then all the books became repetitive and dull, and then she went all Christian-crazy and denounced all her early stuff. It made me lose all respect for her.

[Vladd]

Laurell K Hamilton, her Anita Blake books started off ok but as the series progressed the sex scenes got longer and more frequent until the books seemed to be soft porn novels with some action scenes.

[Nienna]

When I was a teenager (about 15) I used to read all the Louise Rennison books, like Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, and think they were hilarious. When I was about 19 or 20 I went back to them again because I wanted a laugh and to my greatest woe realised how immature they really are. I guess it's not a bad thing, nor am I slandering against Miss Rennison, because the books are aimed at mid-teens, so it makes perfect sense if you're that age, but I was a little disappointed when the veil of disillusionment (ie. the idea that I was mature when I was 15) was lifted.

[pickle]

Laurell K Hamilton, her Anita Blake books started off ok but as the series progressed the sex scenes got longer and more frequent until the books seemed to be soft porn novels with some action scenes.

 

I totally agree I read the first 10 or so and then got fed up of nothing actually happening beyond her sleeping with everyone and everything!!! I think the same happened with Christine Feehan Carpathian series once you read a few the others just appeared to be the same story with different names.

[KarenMac]

Last year I was really enjoying books by Christopher Brookmyre

Edited May 1, 2010 by BookJumper

[iamnotreal]

I've really gone off Jim Butcher, especially the Dresden Files series. The first one was good, but then he went into werewolves. I enjoyed the characters, so I stuck with the books, and I really enjoyed the third one, but then he went on to vampires! The vampires began featuring far too heavily for my liking, and I just went off the series.

 

I hate vampires and werewolves. They're bland, IMO.

[Heffalumpi]

For me it would have to be Jodi Picoult. I really enjoyed the first couple of books but they do all seem to centre around a moral issue and have very predictable outcomes. I have a few books of hers on my TBR pile that I have not read but to be honest I don't think that I am going to get to them anytime soon.

[BookJumper]

I hate vampires and werewolves. They're bland, IMO.

Then they're not written properly there's no such thing as boring character types, just writers who don't know how to manage them.

 

I would say I've gone off Stephen King in the sense that (with the exception of his incredibly perceptive non-fiction on the craft of writing) I don't like the stuff he's been writing for the past ten or so at all; however his back catalogue of enthralling stuff is vast enough to keep me going regardless... !

[corina]

Patricia Cornwell for me. Her early Scarpetta novels though never exceptional were entertaining fair, but they started to go down hill when she started to sniff the film rights.

 

She started getting 'high on her own supply' in my opinion. Thought she was pretty good.

 

Wally Lamb is the one for me as the answer to this question.

[Kell]

[quote name='Sk

[chesilbeach]

I mostly tend to go off chick lit authors. They start off well, but when their writing never develops and they get stuck in a style, I quickly go off them. Katie Fforde definitely fits this bill, and Alexandra Potter started brilliantly, went downhill so far, that I almost didn't buy any more of her books, but she has started picking up again with the last couple.

[corina]

I mostly tend to go off chick lit authors. They start off well, but when their writing never develops and they get stuck in a style, I quickly go off them. Katie Fforde definitely fits this bill, and Alexandra Potter started brilliantly, went downhill so far, that I almost didn't buy any more of her books, but she has started picking up again with the last couple.

 

I would add Marian Keyes to this as well. Her last book wasn't even funny however she admitted she had depression when she wrote it.

[Ooshie]

I completely agree! I've not read anything of his for years now and I don't think now that I ever will. Sad, really, because I adored his earlier works.

 

I was the same, Kell and BookJumper, I loved all his earlier work up to Misery, which was just too gruesome for me. I thought he really lost his form after that, but I did enjoy his short story/novella collections and Needful Things. However, my 15 year old and I read Duma Key at the end of last year, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Coffin Nail]

I'd have to agree on the Stephen King front.

You know when you're a youngster and you drink or eat too much of something and it makes you barf, maybe it's the same with authors.

[Emmaline]

Lastly, that Will Shakespeare. He writes a load of good, varied stuff, and then nothing for years! What's up with that?

 

This made me choke on my lunch. Good one!