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CriticalNovel22 t1_j67r847 wrote

Yes.

He's one of those authors that could be categorised as "writing for people who don't like to read".

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History_fangirl OP t1_j67sf8h wrote

Accurate! 😂 I might suggest him to my partner. He struggles with reading but I think he would like these books and it’s positive to have books for different reading abilities and types. I’m glad I gave it a go - after all I’m trying to come outside of my reading comfort zone, so far I think mission accomplished

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pleasereadthanks t1_j67q7yu wrote

His earlier books before he had them all Ghost written have a bit more depth, but it's essentially a formula that he uses because it sells big.

Try the first Alex Cross Book, Along Come A Spider. It's when Patterson was still actually doing the writing.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j67qdx1 wrote

Ah amazing. I didn’t even realise he had a ghost writer. But it shows because the book was garbage 😂 I usually read historical fiction Eg Sharon Kay penmann, Margaret George or fantasy Eg Robin Hobb so that might explain why I felt like I was missing the genius of these books 😂

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pleasereadthanks t1_j67qivw wrote

Trust me, I don't think anyone ever accused Patterson of being a genius! LOL he writes fast paced thrillers, most of which are garbage but there a few that are decent enough if you're in the mood for them I've found

If you like historical fiction and want some historical type thrillers check out James Ellroy. He's fantastic

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History_fangirl OP t1_j67qlfs wrote

Haha. I suppose it’s what sells, easy books to read for pleasure. I do like to be intellectually challenged a bit when I read 😂 any other crime authors you think I should give a try?

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pleasereadthanks t1_j67qz6w wrote

Sorry I edited my above comment but you might have missed it.

If you like historical fiction, James Ellroy does Crime thrillers set mostly in LA in the 1950s and he's sensational

Also have you heard of In The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco? It's a medieval Detective story.

I also like James M. Cain, Michael Connelly and Richard Stark for noir type stuff.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j67smrz wrote

Thanks so much those books sound interesting and I’ll give them a go 😊

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Irulantk t1_j67svpn wrote

If you like a mix of historical fiction and historical fantasy try Elizabeth Kostova

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History_fangirl OP t1_j67t0rn wrote

Ooo I’ve heard of her. Thank you I’ll add her to my wish list 😊

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Irulantk t1_j67t41n wrote

My favorite was The Historian by her, but its also her longest work (and imo best).

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Writerhowell t1_j683bo0 wrote

If you like historical crime, there are the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters (set in Egypt primary, turn of the century) and the Father Cadfael books by Ellis Peters (he's a monk). Agatha Christie's books are also generally excellent to read, quite devious, and they're set around WW2-ish. She wrote for decades. They were contemporary at the time, but are definitely more historical now.

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Irulantk t1_j67tcf0 wrote

I tried reading In the name of a rose. But i just couldnt. Ive read novels with that kind of language/writing style before fine but i just couldnt with this one. It killed my will to read for 6 months lol. Cause i was on i think chapter 5? But i cant DNF books, i hate doing so. So i couldnt start another book without finishing that one. So it just killed my will to read. Until i coaxed myself into letting go lol

Does it get interesting? Cause i dont wanna spend 2 chapters describing a building again

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pleasereadthanks t1_j67tseh wrote

It's dense that's for sure, I loved getting sucked into that world and plowed through it, but I could see how it's not to everyone's tastes.

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Irulantk t1_j67txj2 wrote

Yes, its very verbose, i was very into it until they reached the cathedral/abbey/whatever it was. Might give it another go

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Cruciverbalist t1_j68hjdn wrote

Christian Cameron writes wonderful medieval fiction with a strong basis is reality.

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Tweedishgirl t1_j69evuh wrote

Agree about the early stuff. Kiss the girls was a good read and a guilty pleasure but he very quickly jumped the shark.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j686z5t wrote

Thanks all - some interesting things to explore. I’ve just started a Harlan Coben book and thus far it’s much better then James Patterson 😂

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TywinShitsGold t1_j68b0yf wrote

Man, Patterson must have fallen off a cliff.

Coben’s Myron series are very superficial easy reads. Fun, but very little depth to them.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j68r2vw wrote

I’m reading Win at the moment. At least the chapter length in this book allows an idea to be developed 😂

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Ohmbidextrous t1_j68oooa wrote

I worked in a bookstore for many years and Patterson was universally disliked for his obvious motivation of selling as many books as possible. Any creative process for him stopped being a factor many years ago. He is a master of easily digested 2-3 page chapters obviously geared towards giving non readers a sense of accomplishment.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j68qt2p wrote

Can definitely relate to this description of his writing style 🥴

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BigBoxOfGooglyEyes t1_j68zg46 wrote

I'm in charge of collection development for a public library and the reason Patterson stays on top of the popular authors list is quantity over quality. I swear it seems like he has something published weekly. Last week I was reading through a list of upcoming titles and came across a toddler board book he wrote about using the potty.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j68zlge wrote

That’s hilarious - especially as I’m potty training my 3 year old at the moment 😂

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BigBoxOfGooglyEyes t1_j690n5v wrote

You'll have to wait until March for what I'm sure is a riveting story of an elephant learning important life skills. Toddlers will be on the edge of their potties.

I will say that his method of having ghost writers that get credit on the cover seems to help aspiring authors get a foot in the door because I've noticed a lot of them go on to publish their own books.

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History_fangirl OP t1_j6938hg wrote

True although the ghost writer of 1st case didn’t exactly sell themselves to me 😂

I’ve picked up Janice Hallett The Appeal at the library today for after the Harlan book. I’m hoping it’ll be good too. The blurb has interested me anyway.

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D_is_for_Doomsayer t1_j699ayf wrote

Yes, all of his books are like that. James Patterson is a grocery store novelist. Broad appeal, highly accessible, quantity over quality.

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smileglysdi t1_j69bglc wrote

A super long time ago, I really liked a couple books by him that had kids that were genetically engineered to have wings. This was a really long time ago (20+ years)

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LightspeedBalloon t1_j69c0md wrote

I liked his books as a weird middle schooler.

Probably not very good by adult standards lol.

If you like historical crime Anne Perry is fun although stay with her early stuff. She's also an irl murderer so that's a weird meta layer.

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CrazyCatLady108 t1_j69epa8 wrote

Hi there. Per rule 3.3, please post book recommendation requests in /r/SuggestMeABook or in our Weekly Recommendation Thread. Thank you!

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