SF Signal has posted the latest entry in their Mind Meld feature, "Books We Love That Everyone Else Hates (and Vice Versa)".
My response is included among a bunch of other cool kids.
You'll have to go check it out to see what I said.
I struggled quite a bit with it and was really only able to grapple with the Vice Versa part of it. Reading through the other responses I was able to figure out what i missed.
Though "love" and "hate" are a bit strong for how I feel about most books, they'll do for conversational purposes.
Rob Bedford came up with the last two Ender novels, Xenocide and Children of the Mind. Yes! Those two! I thought both were just fine and don't get the hate I've seen pushed on them.
What i forgot about in terms of hating what folks love: Lord Foul's Bane. Oh, dear lord I hated that book.
While hate is a strong word, I really didn't care for Dan Simmons' The Terror.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that Stross is the receiver of your "hate" over on the post, and you probably noticed that the only novel of his that I've read was on my best of the decade list. As I said over at SF Signal, it is a book I hesitate to recommend simply because I read it thinking the whole time that most of my friends, who share similar reading preferences, would not like it as much as I did.
ReplyDeletePosts like that always interest me because there are those who are very skilled at saying why they personally didn't like something, which is a communication method I respect, and those who communicate their dislike in a way that tends to make readers feel like they are an idiot if they happen to like what this person despises. I'm not so fond of that way of communicating dislike.
I seem to recall you having a less than warm regard for Claw of the Conciliator and Sword of the Lictor. Those would have been interesting picks for your part in the article Joe.
ReplyDeleteCarl: I don't begrudge other folks enjoying Stross's SF, I just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I run into is that these tend to not be books I've attempted recently. It's tough to remember exactly why I didn't like it.
Grey: Good memory. You are correct, sir. That's another I didn't think of until after the fact. Lord Foul's Bane and the New Sun books. Oh, and The Silmarillion. Don't like that either.
I totally understand, there are authors I don't get either that are still wildly popular.
ReplyDeleteHaven't read any of Donaldson's work, but as for Tolkien I agree with the one commenter over on SF Signal who likes The Silmarillion even more than LOTR. Hate to tell you, but it is one of the books I treasure.
Wow...with the Donaldson hate. Though I really enjoyed it, the book is rather divisive.
ReplyDeleteThanks for calling me out on the OSC books. I've seen really really bad things said about those books, but I recall a few scenes in Children of the Mind really moving me. I even bookmarked them.
It's been years since I read the Ender Quarter, but as different (and occasionally weird) as those last two books were - I remember them being quite enjoyable.
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