I read the thread on favorite time travel books and heartily agreed with many of you. (LOVE Replay and Time Traveler's Wife!) But what about your least favorite? This genre is a favorite of mine so I have become particular about what makes a time travel novel successful.

I'll start the list of least favorite with Discipline by Paco Ahlgren. Pacing was an issue; I do believe I fell asleep at some points and lack of action is not good in a book on time travel! The twist or "payoff" at the end didn't justify the 400-something pages I had just slogged through.

My least favorite would have to be Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove. It is basically The Ugly American does ancient Rome. Just awful story of modern woman who has to tell everyone she meets in the past how awful everything is, how wrong they are , and spends her time between being horrified and smug.

I actually enjoyed Household Gods. The main character takes a long time to grow up and realize a lot of her preconceptions were mistaken, but I think its a much more realistic portrayal of what a person would actually do if they travelled back in time. Far more likely that nothing happens beyond living life than becoming Jean Laborde.

It is a realistic portrayal of a stupid arrogant person, and she would have been unlikely to live as long as she did.

I completely loathed, despised, detested and abominated Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.

After reading this idiocy, I succumbed to the pleas of an LT friend and attempted To Say Nothing of the Dog, which I liked even less than the first one. I lasted 27pp and threw it away.

#5 - why was that (re Doomsday Book)?

John

Message edited by its author, Sep 21, 2009, 4:28pm.

>6 I did not respond favorably to the writing, I found the set-up tediously overextended, and the plague(s) irksomely conveniently mirroring each other just that last bit too much.

Too far to go for too little reward. I accept that many others feel passionately but oppositely (ugly word, think I made it up) to me, and more power to 'em. I won't be competing for the last copy of the book with any fan.

My two least favourites are 1632 and Outlander. I couldn't bring myself to finish either of them.

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 8:30am.

Outlander suffered from tedious overextension to me, too. 1632 I remember reading and liking well enough, but I can't now remember why. Seems unlikely that I'd enjoy a re-read, based on the synopsis.

#7 - I enjoyed it, the Medieval chapters much more than the contemporary/slightly in the future ones. I thought the Medieval characters (esp. the village priest) were well drawn and the growing sense of doom well described. I've never tried any of her others.

>10 I wouldn't be the one to recommend her work to you. I thought the medieval characters were slightly anachronistic, but not in any awful way...just that no one grabbed me, from the narratrix on down.

What about alternate history novels? Any of those appeal to you? I'm always recommending Islandia to people, its portrait of an agrarian society has always appealed to me.

I like "alternate historical fiction" and have a number in my collection (see the relevant tag in my LT catalogue). Particular favourites are Fatherland by Robert Harris and Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson and Harry Turtledove's works.

For me, I do like the premise of alternate history, time travel, alternate worlds etc.

But I don't like the ones who set their short story or novel in a war, or as a result of a war being won by the 'other side' (and being set soon after)

The odd thing is, I don't mind some military sf.
But I don't find much compelling in books that cover fighting or war detail from earth history - even with the 'twist'.

For that reason, an anthology I bought called Roads Not Taken just didn't engage me. john257hopper would probably like it more. It's a shame as the book sounded appealing to me, just wasn't when I read it.

(If touchstones don't work, the url is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/188060/...

I disliked Harry Harrison's Stars and Stripes Forever so much that I'm mildly embarrassed to admit having read it. I'm even more embarrassed to admit having read the second book in the series, though I learned my lesson at that point and have avoided Harrison since.

Robert Conroy's 1901 was bad in some similar ways, but merely bad, not dreadful.

For me there is no doubt. My least favorite timetravel story is Timescape by Benford. I always finish the books I start, but this became an exception. It dragged on and on and never got anywhere. I got within 80 pages of the ending and had to abandon the reading project. It felt like dying slowly.

I have a new least-favorite time travel book: Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove. Bad, bad, bad.

The time-travel aspect was nicely handled. The POV character was a sanctimonious, self-righteous sow, sent back to the second century CE, and became not one whit less sanctimonious or self-righteous. Why the inhabitants of Carnuntum failed to avail themselves of the crucifixion option is a mystery for the ages. I searched my lumber pile for big enough pieces at several points, forgetting you can't actually crucify a fictional character. Bummer.

Message edited by its author, Oct 4, 2009, 11:35am.

#16 - I have that book waiting to be read on my shelf. I like other Turtledove I have read, but maybe will leave this one until last....

>17 I would encourage you to leave it. But at the very least, leave it for last!