I've compiled a list of fantasy authors that people have claimed to be "overrated." My own comments are included, but if you're looking for something to do, you can take this as a meme. Or you can comment. Are any of the overrated authors that I haven't read any good? Are there any other overrated authors that I didn't include?
Anthony, Piers - I wouldn't call him overrated. Everyone knows his books are fluff.
Attanasio, A.A. - Haven't read.
Bemmann, Hans - Haven't read. Never heard of him either.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer - Haven't read.
Brooks, Terry - I've read two or three books by him and all I can say is, "Eh."
Card, Orson Scott - Ender's Game was awesome. The few other books I've read didn't stick to my mind.
Donaldson, Stephen R. - Haven't read.
Douglass, Sara - Haven't read. But I have a copy of Threshold on my to-be-read pile because I've seen a good review for it.
Drake, David - Haven't read.
Eddings, David - I've read one book which was in the middle of a series. I was not impressed.
Feist, Raymond - Haven't read.
Goodkind, Terry - Haven't read.
Hamilton, Laurell K. - I've only read Lunatic Cafe and some of her Anita Blake short stories. I can't say I was particularly struck by her writing.
Haydon, Elizabeth - Haven't read.
Hickman, Tracy - Haven't read.
Jacques, Brian - I've read a few set in the world of Redwall. At the time, I thought they were pretty good, for novels about anthropomorphic animals.
Jones, J.V. - I've only read The Barbed Coil. I don't really remember much about it.
Jordan, Robert - Haven't read. His huge books scare the heck out of me. You could kill somebody with one of those.
King, Stephen - I have only read his novella "The Langoliers" and started the first chapter or two of Pet Cemetary. I'm not that much of a horror buff.
Lackey, Mercedes - I've read her sporadically, usually just random books in the middle of series. I don't particularly like or dislike her work.
Lee, Tanith - What?! Tanith Lee is great. All hail Tanith Lee!
Martin, George R.R. - Haven't read although have heard people absolutely hating him or absolutely loving him.
McCaffrey, Anne - I've read her older books which I thought were pretty good. Have no idea what her newer books are like.
Modesitt, L.E. - Haven't read.
Newcomb, Robert - Haven't read. Never heard of him.
Paolini, Christopher - Haven't read. I'd hesitate just because the author's a teenager.
Paxson, Diana L. - Haven't read.
Pierce, Tamora - I've only read her Song of the Lioness quartet. The first two books were pretty good, but I was disappointed with the later books.
Pullman, Philip - I thought the His Dark Materials trilogy was brilliant when I finished it. Count Karlstein is hilarious. The Sally Lockhart series is on my to-be-read pile.
Rice, Anne - I have only read the Mayfair Witches trilogy. That was weird. I've only read the first chapter of The Mummy and put it down because I was bored.
Rowling, J.K. - I have only read the first Harry Potter book. I just don't get why everyone gushes about it. It's derivative.
Rusch, Kristin Kathryn - Haven't read. Never heard of her.
Stevermer, Caroline - I don't think she's overrated. She's not prolific, but what she has written is good.
Tolkien, J.R.R. - But he's the guy who jumpstarted the whole genre!
Weis, Margaret - Haven't read.
Williams, Tad - Haven't read.
Added: 10/16 - Elizabeth Haydon, Caroline Stevermer; 10/17 - David Drake, Raymond Feist, L.E. Modesitt
The only author on this list whose books I've read, is Stephen King. I used to read them consecutively, and then take a break. I really like his writing and imagination. I started to read "The Hobbit", but couldn't get into it.
It seems to me that most fantasy authors are overrated. It is the rare genius like Tolkien, and Robert Jordan, that really bring the fantasy genre to the next level.
Btw since you seem to enjoy looking at the fantasy genre critically, perhaps you can stop by my blog sometime which is specifically about the process of writing a fantasy epic. I even have a sample chapter linked in the header and would love whatever critiques you have.
*wanders in via hypocorisma - thanks for linking my generators, by the by!*
The thing about Bradley is that she was startlingly good and original in her time. She wasn't actually a great writer, but she told a great story and she broke ground.
I'm fond of Donaldson, but he isn't all that and a bag of chips. But I'm not sure how he can be "overrated" when everyone I've talked to seems to loathe him with a fiery passion.
Jordan's awful. :D I got through a book and a half of Wheel of Time, and while there was some good stuff, there wasn't nearly enough of it to justify all the blather and ripoffs.
Goodkind isn't overrated. His problem is that he wrote 1 or 2 good books and followed it up with like 10 bad to mediocre books. Just buy the first two and get the rest from the library.
My problem with the Piers Anthony books is not that they are fluff, but that they are formulaic fluff. It's the same plot every time. The only thing that changes is the order and the names of the characters.
Stephen King: I've only read the Dark Tower books, but they are fabulous. Not sure if I'll read any of his other books though.
JK Rowling: I agree she does borrow from alot of different sources, but she makes good use of them. I've read all of the HP books and I liked them because they made me feel like a kid again.
Chad--I'll try Goodkind once and see how he's like. In fact, I'll try all the authors I haven't read at least once just to say that I have read them. But really, I can't judge an author by just one book though...
Milly--I really liked "The Hobbit" but I know Tolkien isn't the most concise writer. Besides, what's fashionable in writing styles change from year to year and perhaps most people who can't get into Tolkien's books just aren't used to that kind of writing.
J.R.--I wouldn't say most fantasy authors are overrated. Perhaps the more famous ones are. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of these authors have work in the traditional high fantasy genre. Personally, I think the best fantasy work done these days is done in the edgier subgenres mixing speculative elements with literary tropes.
Manon--I will keep that in mind when I try Bradley one of these days.
MyName--Anthony's formulaic fluff mostly applies to his later Xanth books. Some of his books, though, did have a spark of something like "A Spell for Chameleon", "On a Pale Horse", and the first two books in his Mode series. I will have to try King's Dark Tower books some time. As for Rowling--sure, they make people feel like a kid again, but I still don't understand all the hype surrounding her. There are plenty of other children's fantasy authors who do a similar or better job of the boy-becomes-wizard genre and they're still languishing in obscurity.
I think you have not really hit the nail on the the head with terry brooks - everyone runs at breakneck speed, but no-one breaks their neck, which is a shame cos it may have made the books worth reading with a couple of random breakings.
Also the Robert Jordan thing. Wheel of time.... Cos if you have lots of time read this, I got to 5 before threats of bitter suicide crossed my mind. I can't believe it continues.... TROT
