# Worst Best-Seller (Novel?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872 "2015-04-30T05:16:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/81 "2015-05-08T12:42:15Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > CalMeacham writes: > > \> . . . just have a look at the works of Lionel Fanthorpe that I mentioned earlier . . . > > You didn’t mention them anywhere in this thread. Sorry. I’ve written about them recentl;y on this Board. Thought bit weas here. Fanthorpe never had anything on a best seller list\*, but he had a surprising amount of stuff published. It’s all of it amazingly, jaw-droppingly bad. \*that I’m aware of. If he did, it would surely be a cosmic disaster. All the people and books suggested in this thread – Dan Brown, James Patterson, the author of _The Celestine Prophecy_, Richard Bach, even L. Ron himself cannot begin to approach the awfulness of Fanthorpe in full flower. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/82 "2015-05-08T19:51:48Z")
Some years ago, I tried reading a Dungeons and Dragons novel…I don’t recall the title. It was awful. The writing was childish and naïve. It read like a high school student had written it. Nope: one of R.A. Salvatore’s, and on the best seller list. I was so disgusted I tore the book apart. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/83 "2015-05-08T20:06:43Z")
I’m with **Cal** : _Battlefield Earth_ is the worst novel I’ve ever read, and it’s probably the worst novel I ever will read. It’s the novel that taught me that yes, it really is acceptable to pick up a book and then to discard it a few chapters in, because I really should have done so with it. > [@](#): > > The science is laughable To put this in perspective, the only two bits of science Hubbard actually got right in that book, his stopped clock moments, were: 1. Herbal tea is good for a stomachache. 2. Horses operate on principles unrelated to teleportation. You could probably find Harlequin romances that make for better science fiction than that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/84 "2015-05-08T20:20:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To put this in perspective, the only two bits of science Hubbard actually got right in that book, his stopped clock moments, were: > > 1. Herbal tea is good for a stomachache. But oddly,\* some\* herbal teas will _give_ you upset stomach. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/85 "2015-05-08T20:56:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Lots of women also believe that “The Handmaid’s Tale” is one of the greatest books ever written. Gah. It’s really bad post-apocalyptic fiction, and no, the movie is NOT a documentary, mmmmkay? Ahem, lots of _men_ really like The Handmaid’s Tale, too. In fact, lots of people in general like it because it is an excellent book and deserves to be mentioned nowhere near this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Haldurson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/51bf81/32.png) [@Haldurson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haldurson)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/86 "2015-05-08T21:47:14Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Authors and books aren’t anointed in this process because they’re the next Hemingway or Faulkner or even King; they are chosen through the most cynical possible process because they might be the next Rowling, Collins or **shudder** Patterson. Or Clancy/Crichton/Cussler _if we’re lucky_. there’s a difference between someone who’s a good writer and someone who can tell a good story. King may have a few good stories in him, but his writing isn’t particuarly good. He may know how to start writing, but he doesn’t always know how to stop or edit or to create relatable characters. Crichton is one of the most overrated writers I’ve read. I mean **The Andromeda Strain** was fun, but nothing else of his that I’ve tried reading was very good at all. Occasionally he has a good idea, but his research sucks and he clearly doesn’t understand his subjects (or doesn’t really care). Clancy knows his subject, but he can be unreadable at times ( **Red Storm Rising** anyone?). Michener was invited to talk at my university graduation after he wrote **Space** , and all I could think of while reading it is “what a trashy embarassment”. I couldn’t believe that someone actually read that novel and then decided that he should talk to any graduating class. Anyway, you might like the books – I like a lot of books that I know are not especially good. And so much that appears on the best sellers lists are simply trashy novels. Because people love trash. And the average person is not particularly discerning. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/87 "2015-05-08T22:18:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > He didn’t write all those books. Those were written by committee, of which he was a part. I’m assuming this is a joke. If not, how 'bout a cite? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/88 "2015-05-08T22:27:18Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m assuming this is a joke. If not, how 'bout a cite? I asked for the same cite. But it is well known IA had research assistants. ---
**Author:** ![Rutabegger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@Rutabegger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rutabegger)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/89 "2015-05-08T22:42:32Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > … some of “his” recent books were written while he was six-feet underground. … I hate this when it happens. Some of my favorite British mysteries are the Miss Seeton books, which make gentle, silly, fun of Miss Marple mysteries. I think there were 4 or 5 of them written by Heron Carvic and then dozens more written by people with pen names like Harry Carter, so that at first glance (and usually with “Heron Carvic’s Miss Seeton” printed at the top) you could easily mistake these amateurish scribblings for the real thing. Finally bought the whole set so that I never will be fooled again. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/90 "2015-05-08T22:44:46Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Runner up: _Eragon_ “Eragon”'s author was 15 years old at the time. As for much of Asimov’s output being by committee, having research assistants is part of that, and honestly, even though he claimed to type 80wpm, it is not possible for a person to publish that prolifically on their own, on that wide a variety of subjects. It just isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/91 "2015-05-08T23:07:52Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > As for much of Asimov’s output being by committee, having research assistants is part of that, and honestly, even though he claimed to type 80wpm, it is not possible for a person to publish that prolifically on their own, on that wide a variety of subjects. It just isn’t. No it isnt, and yes, it is possible-\* since he did it. \* ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/92 "2015-05-08T23:20:21Z")
I’ve read a lot of Asimov nonfiction. At least 100 titles, across many subjects. They all sound exactly like Asimov. He had an essentially eidetic memory and wrote 12 hours a day, seven days a week. And not only don’t I remember that he had research assistants I can’t find any mention of them online. I don’t mean I can’t find a name; I mean I can’t find a reference that he ever used a research assistant on anything he wrote. So, once again. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/93 "2015-05-09T01:29:15Z")
From all I’ve read, as well, Asimov wrote all of his own stuff - tirelessly, prodigiously, impressively… but personally. Doubtless he had research assistants. > [@Chronos](#): > > … the only two bits of science Hubbard actually got right in that book, his stopped clock moments, were: > > 1. Herbal tea is good for a stomachache. > 2. Horses operate on principles unrelated to teleportation… > [@DrDeth](#): > > But oddly,\* some\* herbal teas will _give_ you upset stomach. Even more oddly, so will some horses. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/94 "2015-05-09T06:44:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > From all I’ve read, as well, Asimov wrote all of his own stuff - tirelessly, prodigiously, impressively… but personally. Doubtless he had research assistants. > Even more oddly, so will some horses. _She swallowed a horse…she died of course!_ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/95 "2015-05-09T06:48:26Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’ve read a lot of Asimov nonfiction. At least 100 titles, across many subjects. They all sound exactly like Asimov. > > He had an essentially eidetic memory and wrote 12 hours a day, seven days a week. > > And not only don’t I remember that he had research assistants I can’t find any mention of them online. I don’t mean I can’t find a name; I mean I can’t find a reference that he ever used a research assistant on anything he wrote. > > So, once again. Cite? > **[Conversations with Isaac Asimov](https://books.google.com/books?id=EqJiKg6iOH0C&pg=PR17&lpg=PR17&dq=isaac%2Basimov%2Bresearch%2Bassistant&source=bl&ots=ZEBHmYxj3a&sig=L8oa7zb2zmKcrjv7yAxDRQg0Ks0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Jq1NVZA1wuKgBPn6gcgL&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=isaac%20asimov%20research%20assistant&f=false)** > > Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), one of the most popular and influential American authors of the twentieth century, sparked the imagination of generations of writers. His Foundation trilogy paved the way for science fiction that was more speculative and... ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/96 "2015-05-09T11:52:57Z")
DrDeth, that’s a book of collected interviews with Asimov published thirteen years after his death. It’s edited by someone named Carl Freedman and published by the University of Mississippi Press. Freedman teaches at Louisiana State University. He wrote the introduction, which is what you’re quoting from. He’s thanking his assistants at the university. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/97 "2015-05-09T14:20:46Z")
You were far more polite than I would have been, Wendell. Good thing you got in first. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/98 "2015-05-09T16:07:27Z")
(… James Grey … A Million Little Pieces … Bright, Shiny Morning … My Friend Leonard …) > [@Trinopus](#): > > I’d never heard of him or of these. What’s the genre? Fraudulent memoir 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/99 "2015-05-09T17:48:12Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Has anyone actually read “The Satanic Verses”? I have. It’s not as good as some of Rushdie’s other novels like _The Moor’s Last Sigh_ or _The Ground Beneath Her Feet_. It’s not bad, mind you, it’s just not my favorite of his works (that would be _Moor_, btw.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872/100 "2015-05-09T17:50:28Z")
It was all over the news: > **[A Million Little Pieces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Million_Little_Pieces)** > > A Million Little Pieces is a book by James Frey, originally sold as a memoir and later marketed as a semi-fictional novel following Frey's admission that many parts of the book were fabricated. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and abuser of other drugs and how he copes with rehabilitation in a twelve steps-oriented treatment center. > A badly tattered James wakes up on a commercial flight to Chicago, with injuries that he has no recollection of having sustained or of how he ended up... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-seller-novel/718872.md?page=6)