Thursday 20 February 2014

Worst line in a book. Anyone beat this?

"XXX put on his best menacing face and stared a hole through the man in front of him."

I read this recently and to be honest it's rather put me off Indie books. Probably not forever, but it may take a while. I feel a little shell-shocked. Currently reading book 14 or Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Another reason for feeling fragile. (Do not read books 8-11!!)

Now I know it's easy to include a howler when you write 90,000 words but I especially liked this line. Not sure why, but it stood out. On Amazon the book has lots of reviews and all 4 and 5 star (apart from one chap! Not me by the way, but I liked his honesty.)

XXX was the name of the character - please insert Bert or some such.

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5 comments:

  1. Anne20 February 2014 at 23:45

    I like that Jordan quote, too. Makes me glad I clicked thru. {SMILE, wink}

    Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

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    Replies
    1. DavidjB21 February 2014 at 16:35

      I see I am not alone in finding some of his work hard to follow. Book 14 is really good so I am enjoying that at least. Which books did you miss, Anne? I actually read up to 9 and gave up then, but restarted at 12 - having seen some good reviews.

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    2. Anne22 February 2014 at 02:58

      I think I've missed a lot of his books. I have a habit of reading a few books at a time, which makes me prone to get distracted even when I like a book. When a book is Being Difficult... well, it's even easier to get distracted. {SMILE, wink}

      (I think the worst line I've found in a book is "He realized he didn't have a leg to stand on, so he went off with his tail between his legs." I still can't believe the characters responded as if that made sense, but they did. Thankfully, Harlequin's editing standards have improved since the 1960's, when they published the book I found that line in. The public library had a bunch of old ones at one point... {Chuckle, Smile})

      Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

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    3. DavidjB1 March 2014 at 14:10

      Wow, Anne. If this was a competition, I think you'd be winning. That's a dreadful line. Brilliant - if you see what I mean. :)

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    4. Anne1 March 2014 at 21:46

      Yes, exactly David. That line is so dreadful it is brilliant. I've never found a worse one... or a more perfect example of a mixed metaphor. {BIG SMILE, REALLY BIG GRIN}

      Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

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