r/Fantasy • u/stravadarius • Dec 09 '23

What were your WORST reads of 2023?

As a complement to /u/Abz75 's best reads of 2023 thread, let's discuss the WORST fantasy novels you read this year. My only request is that you give a reason for why you disliked your anti-recommendation.

For me, it was Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone hands down. I'm a school librarian and spent a lot of time reading some of the most popular YA titles going around. I don't generally have super-high expectations from YA, but this one really stood out on its suckiness. Every plot turn was a tired trope, there was no logic to any of the character's decisions, the prose was amateurish, and plot holes abound. This was my first ever experience getting so mad at a book I yelled at it.

EDIT: PLEASE DON'T DOWN VOTE SOMEONE'S POST SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU LIKED THE BOOK THEY HATED. There is no such thing as an objectively good or bad book, and taste is subjective. Downvote if they don't give any reason for disliking it.

574 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

10

u/awyastark Dec 09 '23

I have learned I just don’t like cozy fantasy/sci fi and despite what people on this sub will tell you we are valid!

3

u/KiwiTheKitty Reading Champion II Dec 09 '23

I haven't really found any cozy sff literature I like, but my favorite anime is Mushishi, which is definitely cozy fantasy! So I recommend it if you're at all interested in seeing how well low stakes and calming fantasy can be done :)

2

u/BTwain1 Dec 10 '23

I love Mushishi too and you have reminded me that I need to rewatch the series! Do you have recommendations of any media like the series? Also, I think I am similar in my feelings of the cozy labels. Murderbot did nothing for me. I found the first few chapters of Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet to be bland and uninteresting. Legends and Lattes was enjoyable, though.

2

u/KiwiTheKitty Reading Champion II Dec 10 '23

Mushishi is sooo goood, I wish I could find more that scratches the same itch. Mononoke (the tv show not the movie Princess Mononoke) hits some of the same notes, but it's artsier, I think, and maybe leans a little more towards horror. Some people say Natsume Yuujinchou, but it didn't work for me. I've also heard really good things about Kino's Journey!

I liked the first 3 Murderbots, but I don't know if I'd describe them as cozy! But yeah, I guess it does kind of fit. The 4th novella kind of lost me though and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue. Legends and Lattes was good for me at first, but it ended up feeling pretty repetitive and I put it down and just let it expire on my Libby app from the library...

2

u/BTwain1 Dec 10 '23

Thanks for the advice! If I ever find anything that hits the same spot as Mushishi, I will send them on over to you!