Most overrated writers/books

[Cryofdragon]

Books and writers that have a reputation of quality that you disagree with. I'll start with a few of mine:

Ayn Rand: Boring BS, if she wanted to write philosophy just write a damn philosophy book, but she can't do that because her opinions weren't well thought out enough to occupy a book.

Dan Brown: Enough already. He's not a terrible writer, but his stuff is average. I didn't dislike The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons per say, but there are other authors who are much better.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy: I like Tolkien, I really do. He's excellent at constructing a fantisy world and a mythology surrounding it. The Silmarillion was great, as well as the collections of his other legendary-style stories. The Hobbit was a great book. Somewhere, though, he went wrong when writing Lord of the Rings. The books simply aren't that good.

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

The Deltora Quest series. After the first series, it just got plain boring.

There's my two cents... for now.

[Moral Minority]

Harry Potter.

Seriously, the seventh book is a travesty.

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

I must have ESP or something... or maybe it was so glaringly obvious. I knew you were going to say that.

Also, I've thought of an author.
Robert Ludlum. All of his books are mediocre, bar the Bourne series. They're pretty good. I've still read better.

[Rainswept]

Of Human Bondage and Valley of the Dolls.

I dated a girl once who named those two books as her favorites. As is my custom I read both. I wish I had realized right away after reading them that she must be nuts.

I also find the whole Dune series blown way out of proportion. It's not awful like the two books listed above, but the cover claims it's "Science Fiction's Greatest Masterpiece" and whoever thinks that is delusional, or has never read any other science fiction.

[Rev. Rowan Redbeard]

I also find the whole Dune series blown way out of proportion. It's not awful like the two books listed above, but the cover claims it's "Science Fiction's Greatest Masterpiece" and whoever thinks that is delusional, or has never read any other science fiction.

I beg to differ. It has the history-building/world-building scope of LotR, but has immense social/political/religious/societal commentary, a marvelous story line, superb character development, murder, mystery, intrigue, romance, fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

Admittedly, I had to pick it up a second time before I realized how good it was, but my first time was sometime in middle school.

[Rainswept]

the history-building/world-building scope of LotR, but has immense social/political/religious/societal commentary, a marvelous story line, superb character development, murder, mystery, intrigue, romance, fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

Don't you quote Princess Bride at me, young man. That's another far better book than Dune =P

In reading this description tho, if you really do look for those listed things, A Song of Ice and Fire blows Dune away.

If I had to pick a favorite sci-fi book it'd be Ender's Game.

[Capellini]

Stephen King! Dear god someone stop him! Never have I seen so much crap come out of one person and see so many revere it as if it were gold.

[Rainswept]

Stephen King! Dear god someone stop him! Never have I seen so much crap come out of one person and see so many revere it as if it were gold.

King does OK when he keeps it short. The longer his novels get the more they tend to suck.

Anyone who wrote Shawshank Redemption can't be all bad tho!

[Capellini]

Stephen King! Dear god someone stop him! Never have I seen so much crap come out of one person and see so many revere it as if it were gold.

King does OK when he keeps it short. The longer his novels get the more they tend to suck.

Anyone who wrote Shawshank Redemption can't be all bad tho!

It's an issue of ratio. I think he wrote maybe 6 good books, out of how many total?

[Rainswept]

Ok that's true.

[Taidje Khan]

he wrote X good books

That matters.

out of how many total?

That doesn't.

[Wawizzle]

This seems to be a more of a "lets talk shit about authors we don't like" over "most overrated authors".

You know what? I think Dr. Sues is overrated. All he does is rhyme. A fourth grader can do that.

[Capellini]

This seems to be a more of a "lets talk shit about authors we don't like" over "most overrated authors".

You know what? I think Dr. Sues is overrated. All he does is rhyme. A fourth grader can do that.

I'm pretty sure the nature of the beast is such that you can't think an author you like is overrated.

[Auntie Blackbeard]

This seems to be a more of a "lets talk shit about authors we don't like" over "most overrated authors".

You know what? I think Dr. Sues is overrated. All he does is rhyme. A fourth grader can do that.

As oi see it CoD pretty much posted a conflicting / ambiguous OP .

It started out fine wythe thee naming offe two authors , then went offe track by singly out a trilogy .

Hugs an' smoochies , Auntie