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The Wheel of Time, I gave up after book seven. I really enjoyed the first five books, but the sixth and seven were a chore to get through. But I´m still excited for the TV Show! I think it has potential.

Other books series are The Dagger and The Coin and The Realm of the Elderlings

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13 minutes ago, Nicomo Cosca said:

The Wheel of Time, I gave up after book seven. I really enjoyed the first five books, but the sixth and seven were a chore to get through. But I´m still excited for the TV Show! I think it has potential.

Other books series are The Dagger and The Coin and The Realm of the Elderlings

The latter two, boo hiss boo, you are bad people! :P Those are two of my favourites.

for me it's Mark Lawrence's series (Read Prince of Thorns, the writing and characterisation and plot put me off so much I didn't pick up any more of his work) and Richard Morgan's the Steel Remains. That book just screams look at me I'm edgy and dark and I have a gay main character look! And it's a huge turn off. Like it's deliberately trying to turn readers off.

Brent Weeks(?) Lightbringer series seems somewhat popular but I thought it was a snoozefest when I tried reading it

 

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The Twilight books, which were popular among some girls in my class back in high school. I borrowed the first and second one from a schoolmate because I wanted to see what the fuss was about ... I did not really understand it.

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Bakker's Prince Of Nothing series.  I tried it twice and found the opening prologue/chapters about Kellhaus to be OK but then the opening chapters in the faux Middle East to be so boring.  The characters especially felt cliche, their internal ruminations were flat and dull, the prose was uninteresting.  

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I hardly finish any series, apparently...

I got stuck somewhere in the third book of Prince of Nothing. Not sure why, I think it started more promising than the second volume was. Among the better things is the first prologue of the first book before the real story even starts. If Bakker was not such pretentious philosopher he might have fared better with shorter stories in the vein of Clark Ashton Smith.

With Prince of Thorns and Gentleman Bastards I was content to read the respective first books as "stand alones".

Although I was not as fond of "Fitz" as many others, I got the second volume on kindle, but have not yet bothered to continue.

But the one series where I really got stuck early in the first book and which I have to try again someday because "in theory" I am bound to love it, is not fantasy, but O'Brien's Aubrey & Maturin.

 

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35 minutes ago, Jo498 said:

Although I was not as fond of "Fitz" as many others, I got the second volume on kindle, but have not yet bothered to continue.

But the one series where I really got stuck early in the first book and which I have to try again someday because "in theory" I am bound to love it, is not fantasy, but O'Brien's Aubrey & Maturin.

I finished the Farseer trilogy but wasn't that impressed (so much emo angst, so little plausible world building), and never read anything more by Hobb.  But dropping a series or author after several books is not the same as failing to get into it.

I would highly recommend Aubrey & Maturin for characterization, historical period immersion, dialogue, some underrated humor, incredible naval technical immersion and some decent action occasionally.  But if you found it too slow, too mannered, too talky or too full of unexplained references to spars, sheets, lines, capstans, hawsers, etc then you probably won't enjoy the series.

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Lightbringer by Weeks, when I loved is other series despite the childish representations of sex and swearing

I read the Long Price Quartet and never got into it.  I did finish it, but it was a huge slog.

Wheel of Time I've finally read the first book, still have yet to start the 2nd a year later

Malazan I read 3 of those behemoths and I didn't really enjoy any of them.  Won't be treading any further there.

 

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Got an ARC copy of Doors of Stone  but just never could get around to finishing it.

 

But seriously, Malazan.  Got about 130 pages in and just couldn't stay interested.  

I stalled on First Law halfway through The Blade Itself and it took me a few tries, but I am very glad I did because it was great and the short stories and three stand-alones were even better.  

Would recommend giving Aubrey-Maturin another shot and @Iskaral Pust's description is very accurate.  

I really liked Bakker (probably my favorite fantasy series) especially the first trilogy, but if you aren't feeling it by book three, probably not your cup of tea.

 

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Not Prince of Nothing - The Darkness that Comes Before is the best fantasy debut in the last 20 years.  Admittedly I hard a hard time getting into the second series, still haven’t read the final book.

lets see, Dune. Love the first book but the series goes downhill until I stopped reading.  The Witcher, this is a bit awkward when you have Polish in laws, Sapkowski is like a fucking god over there.  Anything Paul Kearney wrote, just don’t like it.  Malazan gradually becomes unreadable after starting off great but flawed.  The Dark Tower, I finished it but it really drags. The Dresden Files, they say it gets better after the first book but that’s not much help when I can’t finish the first book.  The Saga of Recluce (old school).  Brett’s Demon Cycle, Fionovar Tapestry, Dagger and Coin, Outlander, Riyria, Powder Mage, Traitor Son - no particular reason for these last ones, just tried them and wasn’t into them.

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3 hours ago, john said:

Malazan gradually becomes unreadable after starting off great but flawed.

I read the first seven books of the main series, several novellas, and Esselmont's first book before I realized I just didn't care anymore.

Gave up on Dune after book three.  Liked the first two, but the third was a slog.

Read the first book of the Broken Empire, and didn't care to read any further.  13 year old badass leader of grown ass super evil dudes was just laughable.

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2 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

I read the first seven books of the main series, several novellas, and Esselmont's first book before I realized I just didn't care anymore.

Gave up on Dune after book three.  Liked the first two, but the third was a slog.

Read the first book of the Broken Empire, and didn't care to read any further.  13 year old badass leader of grown ass super evil dudes was just laughable.

I had a similar experience with Weber’s Honor Harrington series. Good lord I must have read 14 or 15 of those and I realized at some point that last one that wasn’t complete shit was book...5? At one point when it starts to spread multiple series there are scenes that happen in each book series literally copy pasted word for word. Sometimes like 100 pages. It’s like crossroads of twilight on crack

edit: ok I don’t think what I wrote there made sense. What I mean is that their are events that take place in the universe covered in different books with different characters but instead of rewriting it from a different perspective it’s copied word for word. Ambien is one hell of a drug.

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11 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

for me it's Mark Lawrence's series (Read Prince of Thorns, the writing and characterisation and plot put me off so much I didn't pick up any more of his work) and Richard Morgan's the Steel Remains. That book just screams look at me I'm edgy and dark and I have a gay main character look! And it's a huge turn off. Like it's deliberately trying to turn readers off.

I finished the Thorns series, but more out of a "well, it's not terribad and I like to finish series"-sentiment. Haven't picked up anything from Lawrence since. Had a similar reaction to Morgan.

Also, while the series may not be popular here, I gave up on Peter Brett after book 2.

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12 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I would highly recommend Aubrey & Maturin for characterization, historical period immersion, dialogue, some underrated humor, incredible naval technical immersion and some decent action occasionally.  But if you found it too slow, too mannered, too talky or too full of unexplained references to spars, sheets, lines, capstans, hawsers, etc then you probably won't enjoy the series.

It has been recommended to me since forever and I read all the Hornblower and several more nautic novels, so in principle I am not afraid of nautical terms although I have only a vague understanding of them. That I should love the series was part of my frustration.

The problem with the first book was exactly that it started extremely slow (people hang out and talk on Majorca or Menorca or whatever) and then Maturin gets shown the ship and all the rigging in such a boringly didactic way that I quit. The solution for this stuff it so have a good illustrated glossary in the back, so I can look up what a mainstay or a tops'l spar or whatever is.

But I should have the first book still somewhere on the shelves, so can try again and I will.

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1 hour ago, Darth Richard II said:

I also gave up on Brett after book 2. Rape got turned up to 11

Brett certainly is a candidate for one brilliant idea (the warding), one decent book and an absolutely horrible continuation (with the rape being only one aspect of why it gets so bad). I don't even remember if I read the 3rd book or quit already after the 2nd one.

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I did not like...

Bakker

Any Mark Lawrence I tried...until Book of the Ancestor which I have loved the first two.

Consider Phlebas, but I liked Wasp Factory.  Haven't read any more Banks.

Can't seem to get into Senlin Ascends.  I'm not sure why.  I should like it.

 

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