For the first time in a long time, I gave up on a book.

Submitted by Eroe777 t3_z0ka3v in books

(A bit of a rant)

I hate doing it. I was annoyed by the setup that was driving the plot, but I was willing to struggle through, because the payoff at the end is usually pretty good.

Then the authors needlessly killed off a major supporting character in the name of ‘protecting government secrets’, and threw in one of the most infuriatingly obvious plot ‘twists’ I have encountered in a long time- team the murderer with the co-heroine. There’s a couple hundred pages to go. She will figure out he’s the murderer within 110 pages, and dispatch him with just enough time left to rejoin the other heroine and resolve the main plot. Which also includes a blatant Elon Musk espy that I’m really not enjoying reading about at this exact moment.

I’ve read the other 30(!) books in the authors’ continuity, and it’s clear they are running out of ideas. The last one I read had a ridiculously far-fetched (but still barely scientifically plausible) plot resolution, and my patience is running thin.

I’ve enjoyed reading these novels for more than two decades, and I feel like I’m abandoning old friends. But I do t know if I can handle it anymore.

(I won’t name the book in this post, in case anybody plans to read it, but I will provide it in a subsequent comment if anyone wants to know)

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sam_narase t1_ix61ujg wrote

I used to force myself to finish books, but now I just dnf them if I can't get into them. Sometimes it's the plot, or the writing, or just that I can't connect with the characters. There's no shame in it. I hope you have better luck with your next read.

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Eroe777 OP t1_ix63ws7 wrote

I am jumping around among several series, primarily sci-fi and fantasy. I have found Asimov to be a particular challenge to get through, mostly due to his style, but I’ve powered through them.

This series is techno-thriller/mystery in a contemporary setting. That authors’ style is very readable and the pacing is always spot on; one of my favorite things about their books was the unusual places the characters tended to end up- the basement of the Natural History Museum, Tierra del Fuego, the old subway tunnels beneath Central Park, a cave system in the middle of Kansas, the Donner Party campsite, the canyonlands of southern Egypt, etc. weird places that NOBODY sets the climax of a story.

But this time, Elon Musk Guy is out to prove the Roswell Incident really did happen, and the FBI is busy murdering its own agents to keep it under wraps. The book before this one, they used some quantum theory jiggery-pokery to explain how a creature from a parallel universe came to earth and started killing people by acting like a giant mosquito.

They’ve gone from straight mystery/thriller to plausible if unlikely scientific explanations for seemingly supernatural occurrences, to crafting mysteries and conspiracies around famous and semi-famous events like Roswell and ‘what ever happened to Geronimo’s rifle’, and a previously unknown Audubon folio. I quit.

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Pedantic_Girl t1_ix6k06l wrote

I have to admit that I am dying to know what the series/book is!

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Eroe777 OP t1_ix6ocvc wrote

The series doesn’t have an official title, it’s usually referred to by the main character’s name- Pendergast. The authors are Preston and Child. This particular book is in a separate series in the same ‘verse; the main characters are an archaeologist and a rookie FBI agent, both of whom were established in the main series.

If you like techno-thriller/mystery adventures, the books are very entertaining, especially early on. The writing is generally pretty engrossing, the pacing is brisk, and the primary protagonist, Pendergast, is a terrific enigma of a character. Over the course of a couple dozen novels you go from knowing virtually nothing about him to knowing quite a bit about him, but still feeling like you know almost nothing about him.

Despite my dissatisfaction with this book, I encourage anyone who is interested in the genre to give the series a try. Start with ‘Relic’ and ‘Reliquary’ and go from there.

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GraniteKiwi t1_ix6ohaa wrote

It's been awhile since I've read >!Preston & Child!< but if this plot isn't one of theirs I might actually die of shock. The early books are so much fun!

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KatJen76 t1_ix69zm1 wrote

This is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby, not another thing in life you've gotta just get through. If you're not liking a book, move on. Save your grim determination for dealing with utility companies and insurance and shit like that.

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puckgolf t1_ix61kp1 wrote

Proud of you!

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[deleted] t1_ix77s04 wrote

Bravo, it's a tough thing to do. It sounded like it was DOA though, on to the next great book.

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elRigs83 t1_ix7uoe4 wrote

It happens. Especially in lite novels when you get to volume 12 plus stuff just gets too complicated

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elizabeth-cooper t1_ix8639x wrote

What book?

You can use spoiler tags in the text box.

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Eroe777 OP t1_ix9sxod wrote

Diablo Mesa by Preston and Child.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_ix9uduc wrote

I thought it was average but readable enough to finish. I agree they're running out of ideas.

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bookant t1_ixa3j7d wrote

Interesting. I've been a big fan of theirs since Relic first came out back in the day. I loved the early stage of their career when it was a standalone books (even if an occasional character did cross over).

They totally lost me once it became the Pendergast series and he became this ridiculously omniscient cartoon of a super hero. There was that trilogy about his evil brother. After book two of that I just up on them completely.

The Nora Kelly stuff has got me reading them again. Even if this one was a bit more "out there," for me it didn't come anywhere close to the excesses of the Pendergast series.

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Volcano_Tequila t1_ix9kr4p wrote

As you get older, you will do this more and more, partially because of a been there, done that feeling you can get after having read many, many books. You might even do this multiple times in a row, as I have. But then, you fall under the spell of a book like Jane Harper's The Dry, and you realize hey, it's not me, it's the books.

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sweatyone t1_ixaiyf4 wrote

I give up on more books than I finish. Even bestsellers.

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