Your thoughts on authors who aren't very good anymore?

[FergieTCat]

Stephen King - he was my favorite author for decades. No more...

Michael Crichton - he has become too political...

Since Michael Crichton died last year, unless he has unpublished books in the vault, someone else is writing them for him.

As for my list, I think Danielle Steel needs to throw in the towel. And I agree about James Patterson.

 

[babytrees]

Agreed - I especially like Faye's books!

Jonathan is my favorite....their son is an author also....not even close to their talent but okay.

 

[bethbuchall]

I love Jonathan and Faye Kellerman....sometimes one of them will slip into but in the next book will redeem themselves.

Maybe I should try them again. I used to love both, but I gave up on them a while back. In fact, they were the first to come to mind after Patricia Cornwell when I saw the thread title.

 

[bethbuchall]

Lillian Jackson Braun (The Cat Who...) is just phoning it in (actually, I'm not sure she's still alive!)

Oh, yes. That's another that I stopped reading years ago.

 

[bicker]

Since Michael Crichton died last year, unless he has unpublished books in the vault, someone else is writing them for him.

Well that is actually sort-of what happened. I recently finished Pirate Latitudes, which was a book he evidently wrote a few years ago, and was just sitting around on his computer. AFAIC, it wasn't political in nature.

There is another Crichton book coming out next year.

 

[babytrees]

Maybe I should try them again. I used to love both, but I gave up on them a while back. In fact, they were the first to come to mind after Patricia Cornwell when I saw the thread title.

Beth-the most recent Jonathan one is one of the meh's(still better than most authors IMO)....but Faye hasn't had a book released lately.

I've recently gotten into Sandra Brown....give her a try.

 

[bethbuchall]

Beth-the most recent Jonathan one is one of the meh's(still better than most authors IMO)....but Faye hasn't had a book released lately.

I've recently gotten into Sandra Brown....give her a try.

Thanks! I'll put her on my library list.

 

[RUDisney]

I think James Patterson has gone way downhill. The last few books I read of his just weren't nearly as great as his earlier work.

I agree about Stephenie Meyer never being good.

Overall, I agree with the comments about James Patterson, though the last Alex Cross book was reminiscent of earlier Cross books. One of his better books of late, but overall, he has definitely gone downhill, though I continue to read everything but the YA stuff he puts out.

I can: 1996 -- The Green Mile, Desperation, and The Regulators. Bag of Bones and Hearts in Atlantis weren't certifiably bad, but weren't great. Then it was a few stinkers in a row before I gave up completely.

Stephanie Meyer actually went the other way. Her best, and perhaps only "great" work, was her last book, The Host.

While not written well, the Twilight series brought me back to my youth in a way that not many books have done. The Host, however, had me wanting to poke my eyes out to end my suffering. I only finished it because it was for book club. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have finished it. I found it very cookie cutter in that I knew what was going to happen long before it did because it seemed to follow a plotline recipe. Though, that genre is definitely not my cup of tea, either, so I'm not the best judge of it.

 

[Jennasis]

I can: 1996 -- The Green Mile, Desperation, and The Regulators. Bag of Bones and Hearts in Atlantis weren't certifiably bad, but weren't great. Then it was a few stinkers in a row before I gave up completely.

Stephanie Meyer actually went the other way. Her best, and perhaps only "great" work, was her last book, The Host.

I HATED the Host. I tried repeatedly to get past the first 5 chapters and finally just gave it back to the student who lent it to me.


I think James Patterson has gone WAAaaaaayy downhill.

 

[bicker]

Surprised that you didn't like The Host. You usually have pretty good taste.

 

[dansamy]

Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. There became a point somewhere along the way where it just got boring. The first few were magical and transported the reader to Pern in an immersive experience. The last few were just the same plot again with new names.

 

[acejka]

James Patterson and Jodi Picoult... Both big disappointments to me lately. James Patterson used to be my number one favorite author too

 

[ZephyrHawk]

For me it's not usually that an author has gone downhill, but that an author who was never all that good to begin with may have had one or two inspirational novels. This is especially true with series. It's rare to find an author who can capture the same interest in later books as with their first one or two. However, I'll make specific mention of Jacqueline Carey. I loved the first novels of her Kushiel's series, and her Banewreaker series, but the more she puts out, the less interested I become.

Authors whom I have read a majority of their work and still think every single one is genius are pretty few and far between:

Neil Gaiman
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.K. Rowling (although book 7 was a bit of a letdown)
DH would have me mention Jim Butcher who, starting out mediocre, has improved rather than gone downhill

King's work has certainly lost their luster. I can't think of the last King book I thought was truly quality story telling.

I don't actually have any comment PK Disney Dork, other than that my DH lusts after your ring collection.

 

[englishteacha]

I like Kathy Reichs.
I love the Cat Who books, but I agree that they're getting weak. I'll still read them, though.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I too can no longer get into Stephen King, Patterson, and like a pp said, Crichton became too polical. Last one I enjoyed of his was about time travel, and I forget it's title.

I was terribly disappointed in John Grisham's The Associate. But I'm going to give The Firm a shot, since Amazon readers gave that high marks.

I recently discovered Steve Berry. I started with the Venetian Betrayel. I hear he is compared to the Davinci Code author, but better. (though I've not yet read Dan Brown so I couldn't say). I started with his Venetian Betrayel. If you like the characters in that one (which I did) he writes several more with the same characters.

I also like Ken Follett (The Hammer of Eden was my first), and Stephen Coonts (Saucer, was very good).

If you like Science Fiction that's not too out there, I recommend Rober J. Sawyer. It was one of his books that inspired the series Flash Forward.

 

[bicker]

I found that FlashForward was th only Sawyer book I could stomach, so if you happen to like that one, don't expect that you'll necessarily therefore like the rest.

 

[frndshpcptn]

I too can no longer get into Stephen King, Patterson, and like a pp said, Crichton became too polical. Last one I enjoyed of his was about time travel, and I forget it's title.

I was terribly disappointed in John Grisham's The Associate. But I'm going to give The Firm a shot, since Amazon readers gave that high marks.

I recently discovered Steve Berry. I started with the Venetian Betrayel. I hear he is compared to the Davinci Code author, but better. (though I've not yet read Dan Brown so I couldn't say). I started with his Venetian Betrayel. If you like the characters in that one (which I did) he writes several more with the same characters.

I also like Ken Follett (The Hammer of Eden was my first), and Stephen Coonts (Saucer, was very good).

If you like Science Fiction that's not too out there, I recommend Rober J. Sawyer. It was one of his books that inspired the series Flash Forward.

I loved the Steve Berry books - until his latest (the Paris Vendetta). I just can't get into it. It starts out SO slow.

Totally agree with everyone on James Patterson and Jodi Piccoult too - never read them anymore.

Nelson Demille is still really good - I think.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Bicker, I liked Frameshift, The Terminal Experiment, and Calculating God (as well as Flash Forward). I could not get into his Neanderthal series.

 

[bicker]

That was the second Sawyer book I read, so maybe it is just that series that sucks.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I loved the Steve Berry books - until his latest (the Paris Vendetta). I just can't get into it. It starts out SO slow.
.

Oh bummer, I haven't read that one yet. I'm reading a book called Daemon that I'm really enjoying (author is Daniel Suarez), and it's about computer hacking, but at a whole new level. DH read it first, and was disappointed in the ending. So I won't chime in yet until I'm done. But so far, I think it's quite good, and Amazon readers give it 4 stars.