Popular Books NOT Worth the HYPE!

Chatting through some popular reads I do not understand why they are so popular!

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[cazevans]

If you are FOUR BOOKS into a series and you aren't enjoying it, quit!
It's wild that just because its "popular" you have to get through 7 books to finally understand the hype or enjoyment

[francescatelari]

I didn’t read Fourth wing, but I have a theory. I notice that the majority of the people that have like Fourth wing are people that don’t read fantasy usually or that don’t read regularly in general so they don’t have experience or knowledge in the genre or a super developed sense of criticism. And I think that the last group is because of TikTok where there are a lot of people that don’t usually read so the book been popular arrive to more people that don’t read regularly. Let me know what do you think about it
(Sorry if there are mistakes, English is not my first language)

[FernandaOliveira-vwof]

This is the first time I’ve seen someone saying Sorcery of Thorns doesn’t worth the hype! I remember reading it and feeling bored most of the time, even though the magic system was interesting. But the characters were ok and the plot was a little too predictable…

[annaaabananaaaahh]

The Atlas Six imo - it was written like the author swallowed a thesaurus. NOTHING happened, and none of the characters were relatable - spoiled rich kids that spoke in convoluted sentences to show to educated they are. I'm convinced if the book didn't have official fanart of the characters (all strikingly hot, btw) it wouldn't have blown up online the way it did.

[hi.raya_]

I just know Fourth Wing is going to be here, I just read it and gave 2 stars… & that’s me being generous

[vaultbunny]

Once you’ve read one Bridgerton book you’ve basically read them all. So no worries with just sticking to the show lol

[maudhaugland]

I'm currently reading A Day of Fallen Night, and I do agree about the plot pacing. However, I still find it really entertaining, especially how different the countries are culturally and politically, although it's by no means my favourite fantasy series 😅

[tabitaaitonean]

I’ve not heard ONE bad thing about Sorcery of Thrones! I feel so SEEN rn!!

[elizabeth.n]

Yo, Daughter of the Moon Goddess should get an award for biggest disappointment. Like I spent a month trying to get past the first like 30 pages. A book that bad should not be allowed a cover that beautiful.

[tanisha]

I agree on Wheel of Time. I was especially disappointed because I kept hearing about how the series was different because it changed gender dynamics and dealt with realistic characters rejecting the standard fantasy tropes. Instead I felt like it was majorly tropey, the themes were clumsy, and the characters were so boring. There was also a lot of “men this, women that” kind of humor that annoyed me. It was a bummer because I’m actually okay with skipping the action and focusing on the slower stuff, but that style of writing just doesn’t work if you don’t find the characters interesting.

Also, so many of the people who say it’s their favorite series grew up with it. I’m not a teenager with endless amounts of time to kill, so I can’t justify slogging through hundreds of boring or bad pages for one good moment.

[codysmovingcastle]

Sorcery of Thorns was really magical and all vibes so that's what I enjoyed about it! I actually preferred Mystery of Thorn Manor though.

[emimelon]

i think it’s funny that you didn’t enjoy daughter of the moon goddess because it was too fast-paced, because that’s what i loved about it! it didn’t dwell on small plot points but instead was consistently exciting and each chapter was different than the one before

[AlexATheEngineer]

So agree with the Bridgerton book: Kate has so much less agency in the book and how they come together, the writers really did a stellar job making changes for the show that just make more sense for the love story between Kate and Anthony and show that they both *choose* to be with each other.

[pkmadsen]

I agree with many of your assessments. And what we all must keep in mind is that not every book is for everyone. That's why there are so many books out there, thank goodness. It would be boring if we all liked the same things. We have different life experiences that color our choices and tastes. Example: when the first Harry Potter came out, it blew some people away. My personal opinion is that a big part was that perhaps this was their first exposure to such a big fantasy book/world. For others, like myself who'd read a lot of fantasy by that point, it was okay but not obsessive. I feel that is similar to what is happening with books like Fourth Wing. Then add the element of hype, social media, and peer/mass movement hysteria. What it boils down to is that we like what we like and don't judge others for their liking. Read as thou wilt.

[LadyLenabeth]

Totally agree about Sorcery of Thorns, I was so disappointed by it given the premise and the hype!

[LilTheLah]

I could not agree more with Bridgerton and Sorcery of Thorns. I have no idea why these books are so hyped! It is funny how I loved other books you mentioned at the same time 😂

[reminiscentoss]

Girl you are literally me with all the more fantasy leaning romantasy/fantasy in general. Silly I know, but I feel so much better about my reactions to some of these know.

[raqueld]

Totally agree with you about fourth wing! Glad I’m not the only one!

[amaresuify]

If you're not enjoying Wheel of Time just stop. Don't read millions of words because you think you should and not because you like it.

If you do want to try and look at it differently in the hopes of liking it better here's some thoughts. Engage with the themes that RJ was exploring. There are a lot, but two of the biggest were the rejection of the chosen one trope and that war is a tragedy.

Rejection of the chosen one: A big thing in the series is that while Rand is the chosen one, he can't do it by himself and its cruel to ask that of him. Everyone is important and contributed to the final battle against the Dark One. Without everyone helping they will fail; Min's visions about the lights fighting against the darkness is very relevant. Combined with how it's shown that Rand can not be everywhere to deal with everything and even without the Taint the pressure would be enough to drive anyone mad.

War is a tragedy: RJ fought in Vietnam and it left a big impact on him and his writing. The lack of battle scenes is the point. When you're fighting you only see what is in front of you, you don't know what's going on ten feet away, let alone across the battlefield. And you'll miss the big epic moments because you're focused on staying alive. You're on The Shadow Rising so pay attention to the Aiel and how you gain the most Toh in battle. RJ was really trying to emphasize that war is not glamorous. War is not something you should look forward to or enjoy. It's brutal and mean and a tragedy.

The Wheel of Time is a very themes focused series. The tight third person limited pov means we are intensely focused on the viewpoint of whoever is the pov character at that time and only know what they know. RJ was also very good at showcasing exactly how that person views the world and how it effects their actions.

I'd also say WoT changes subgenres as it progresses. Books 1-3 are very standard adventure fantasy. Here's the group, there's the McGuffin, let's go get it. Books 4-7 are more standard epic fantasy, but in a lot of ways it's what created what we think of when we say epic fantasy nowadays. Books 8-10 are politcal fantasy. #theslogisalie it's just a different subgenre. Book 11 is where RJ really seemed to have figured out how to marry epic and political fantasy. And then 11-13 are Sandersonesque epic fantasy.

But really, if you're not enjoying the books just stop reading. Not every book is for every person no matter how popular.

[aubrey]

I honestly didn’t start loving Wheel of Time until I was like halfway through the series! I just kept going and halfway through I was like “wait, I think I’m loving this”. I say keep trying!!