Favorite Authors In Decline
Submitted by dgeiser13 on Mon, 10/23/2006 - 05:12
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I came across a good post on Good Math, Bad Math:
What authors have you given up on for good? And why?
This led me to even more posts on The 'Dredge Report, Uncertain Principles and Unqualified Offerings regarding the same topic. I can't say that I've completely given up on any authors but I will say there are some authors of which I used to read all of their works and in recent years have become a little more selective when approaching them.
I'll be the first to admit that it might not be the authors fault but instead that my tastes have changed. Does this topic strike a chord with you?
I disagree about King, and Card, Kings work has changed throughout the years and in my opinion has gotten better. Im very excited about Under the Dome, Card i havent read alot of, The Ender and Shadow series were spectacular... all of them. Empire was awesome. But of course that is just my opinion.
Robert Jordan. A cliche of an author to give up, I know, but his latest books really slow down and focus more on description than content. I almost feel like I am in a writing workshop with his newest books.
Here are some authors that have dwindled for me...
Stephen King ~ The first SK I ever read was The Shining when I was 12-16 or so. I know that seems like a broad range but I can't nail down exactly when I read it. That book scared the crap out of me. I then went back and caught up on his older stuff. I read 21 of his books published between 1974 and 1992 except for The Eyes of the Dragon because it was fantasy and written for kids if I recall. After that my interest flagged. From 1992 on I've only read 4 of his 10 published books (10 excludes The Dark Tower series) and I haven't read his last 4. I've intentionally avoided The Dark Tower series because I only wanted to read it once and didn't want to start until it was finished. I can't say that I've given him up for good but everything he writes is not a must read like it was before. BTW, didn't he say he was going to retire? His son Joe Hill has a new book coming out called Heart-Shaped Box that I'm looking forward to.
Neal Stephenson - Besides The Big U which was out of print when I wanted to read it I read his first 6 novels including his 2 collaborations. I own the first of the nine mass market paperbacks of his Quicksilver/The Confusion/The System of the World series but I haven't been able to get into it. I think Neal has gone in a direction which is immensely satisfying to himself, some historians and a few of his fans but has left the rest of us in the dust. I really hope he returns to sci-fi or I may have to give him up for good.
Dan Simmons - I have read 13 of his novels but I haven't read his last 4 books including 2 of the 3 "Hard" potboilers, Hard Freeze and Hard as Nails, and Ilium and Olympos. I have Ilium in paperback and have started it a few times but I can't get into it. His new book The Terror I have a feeling I'm going to love.
Douglas Coupland - Read his first 4 and haven't read his last 3. He could still be doing good works.
Alan Dean Foster - He was one of the first sci-fi authors I read multiple books by. I quit reading him like 20 years ago when I realized he's OK but just not that good compared to what else is available out there. I somtimes wonder if he's improved with age and I've been missing out. I may pick up something new and well received by him in the near future.
William Gibson - Read his first 5 and haven't read his last 3.
Eric Nylund - This guy is an incredible writer. I've read his first 5 and loved the first 4. I hated A Signal Shattered the sequel to Signal to Noise. Since his original stuff he's been writing game novelizations for Halo and other games and I haven't even checked any of that out. Who wants to read a game novelization?
That's all I have for now. I'd really be interested in others offerings!
Ditto regarding Stephen King. Most popular authors begin to follow their own formula after awhile, and their tone becomes too familiar, etc. I've more or less exhausted my interest in John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Crichton, David Baldacci, Anne Rice, Tom Clancy, etc, after reading about six or more of their works. Which reminds me, I have a list to make.
Oh lord, yes! Like the first site you linked to, I gave up on Orson Scott Card quite quickly. Ender's Game was entertaining, gripping even. Then the subsequent books were increasingly boring and smelled of religious leanings that didn't sit well with me.
Tom Robbins. I loved this guy after Jitterbug Perfume, which I thought was brilliantly quirky, sensual, and dealt with some truly interesting premises. The structure was also well done. The more I read of his work, though, the more I think that was a one-off and the rest of his stuff is more just quirky. That's not enough for me.
Clive Barker. Weaveworld and Imajica were intricate and well-written. After those I began to read some of his earlier stuff and just got frustrated with his style and lack of artfulness. It was like watching an entertainer who's nervous and lacks confidence. I need to trust artists will be master of their craft enough that I don't have to worry about it. His earlier work just looked like someone trying to write a novel. I can't be more specific than this because it was a while ago and all I remember is the distinct impression that he showed too much behind the curtain.
Everyone else I've given up on I have to put down to changing tastes. I used to really like Stephen King and Dean Koontz, but I grew out of that some time ago.
I'm about to give up on Card, myself, while reading Ender 4. We're getting too bogged down in the metaphysical swamp. I want action!
Which Ender 4? Children of the Mind?
Yes. Please tell me it gets better.
There's actually 2 paths in Ender's universe and you probably already know that.
I first picked up the "Ender" series before Children of the Mind came out. I read Ender's Game (1985), Speaker for the Dead (1986), Xenocide (1991). I really enjoyed the first two and I don't think I cared for Xenocide as much. When Children of the Mind came out I didn't bother with it.
Later on Card wrote Ender's Shadow which is basically the same events as Ender's Game told from another character's POV. When that series started I waited a little while and then read Ender's Game (1995), Ender's Shadow (1999), to see how the 2 books compared, Shadow of the Hegemon (2001) and Shadow Puppets (2002).
So in the 1st path I read 3 of 4 and really enjoyed the first two. I can't remember exactly why I didn't like Xenocide it's been so long.
Now in the 2nd path, on the other hand, I've really enjoyed all of the books, basically the first book in the first path and then the first 3 of 4 in the second path. I have no idea what Shadow of the Giant (2005) is like but I imagine it's good.
If you've read Ender's Game recently I would recommend starting Ender's Shadow as soon as you can. If it's been awhile since you've read Ender's Game you may wish to re-read. I found reading 2 takes on the same events back-to-back extremely engrossing.
That's good advice, re: the shadow series.
After I read Ender's Game, which was in August of this year, I immediately bought all of the Ender books, including the Shadow series. I found them on half.com for about $1 each. I'd like to finish Children of the Mind first, but I will read Ender's Shadow next.
Thanks.
buddy, have you read Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins? I really enjoyed that book.
I did, and thought it was only okay compared to Jitterbug Perfume. I like the Jesus in a closet idea. (Have you found Jesus yet? Have you looked in your closet?) But in general I thought it lacked the focus and artful structure of JP.
Yeah, I haven't read Jitterbug Perfume so I can't compare them. I do know that Another Roadside Attraction is his first novel so maybe the quality goes up from there? BTW I didn't mean to call you "duddy!" above.
Thanks for commenting, duddy!
Alan Dean Foster: once I realized he was just writing the same book over and over.
Anne McCaffrey: Her writing is so wishy-washy now, and, in the worst cases, borders on romance. (I know she started out as a romance author, but she used to write some really good SF.)