My 10 worst books of 2023 

So I've not done a deep-dive analysis of my year in reading, but 2 of my biggest disappointments come to mind. First was a thing called The Actual Star, by maybe Monika Byrne(?) or something like that. It was profoundly annoying to me. It was a sort of challenging book in that it included lots of intellectually deep concepts, many based in areas where my education has not really gone as far as possible (philosophy? I think I'm talking about you, for one). So I got the storyline, except for little chunks written in languages I don't read ( there were bits in Spanish that I mostly got but not entirely, and there was a pigeon spanglish that I eventually fell into more or less), which is I think a disservice to readers. Yes, Americans should learn more languages. Also, yes, it's challenging to get many Americans to basic literacy in English. But my point stands. Anyway, the structure was weird, and in the end, I think it was basically a ton of work for an okay storyline. So that was Not A Favorite. And then my beloved Gemma Files completely let me down with her Hexslinger trilogy. And for me it was a crashing jar. Usually I really love Files' work. She's creepy and nasty and she writes for adults. She's insidious and she doesn't, overall, care about happy endings. She includes tropes I adore (haunted films, horrid institutions, revisited folklore) in clever and not obtrusive ways. She's even written some western-themed short stories I really enjoyed. But this trilogy was just a mess. Way too much going on in way too few pages (for which thank the saints, but there was a lot of background info that didn't get included and would have helped), way too many divergent storylines, and way too much butt stuff. Now mind, I'm a grownup and I can read porn and porn-adjacency like a grown-up, but there are degrees of explicit that work well in different types of stories, and dropping chunks of hard-core porn into a western fable ... I'll just say I didn't think it was handled well. Plus, lots of really intriguing bits got swept sideways like clearing a table with the sweep of an arm. There were big opportunities in some of the characters and settings that got brushed under the carpet of a basically tedious narrative which, tbh, I strongly feel was way too damn LOTR transported to the old west. I kind of hated it. And really and truly, I usually love Gemma Files.

Darkplace is one of my favorite shows ever, so I was super hyped for Terrortome. But aside from the occasional great joke, the gimmick just can't really sustain itself in book form for too long

William W. Johnstone is an interesting case. A large number of his books actually seem to be the work of his niece (?) Jo Ann, cos he died several years ago but she seems to have continued writing books under his name (with her self, "J. A. Johnstone", as co-author) in a sort of "V.C. Andrews" type of way.

I’m freaking out a bit. Not sure where I heard about Hidden Pictures but I got it on hold from my library and picked it up. It was next on my TBR. Not now though. Ha!

Interesting selection from many different years. There are always books that I'm kinda lukewarm about but then there are books that tick me off. This year it was Mister Magic by Kiersten White which only worked in terms of story because the lead was as dumb as a rock and Mister Lullaby by J. H. Markert which failed in keeping something like ten story threads in play and then ended on a cliffhanger.

All those books have crap covers too. You really can judge a book by it's cover, especially the Snoozen Files. That didnt pass my first page, last page test (in a bookshop), an easy fail. I think King should remove more of his books from print, booktube will come to a grinding halt but I'm sure there's a down side I dont see🤭

I can't deny that it depressed me a bit, during Occult Detective October, that so many people latched onto Jim Butcher's Dresden files as the thing to read. There's simply so much better stuff out there in that genre.

Completely agree about Hidden Pictures. I was so annoyed I had paid for it.

I liked Hidden Pictures although it certainly wasn’t my favourite read. I think it’s a perfect bridge as introduction to someone from YA/teen to adult specifically in mystery/horror:thriller as there is definitely a gap in the market for that.

Oh, Olly! So many books on your list I enjoyed! 😂 Wait until I diss your men’s adventure fave. 😜

I'm with you on Maeve Fly. I found it disappointing. Her 2nd novel sounds interesting though. I'll give her another try.

Ahhh I loved Maeve Fly but Bert didn't like it as much!

I'm just starting the audiobook for the 10th Dresden book. LOL The series has its moments....

Olly! Have you read “It rides a pale horse” by Andy Marino? If not I think you would enjoy it; very unique take on cosmic horror and the writing is beautiful

OMG The Stud? I just read that this year, and I had to DNF it. I just couldn't waste my time with it. It was my first, and last Jackie Collins.

I read Maeve Fly last week, and I completely agree. I thought I would enjoy it more than I did. Still would like to give CJ Leede another try when her next book is released. Overall 2023 was an amazing reading year for me, probably the best book-reading year of my lifetime. Unfortunately though, 2024 has not been off to a great start.

The only one of those I've read is Storm Front, which was okay, I don't mind a bit of magic, but this magician called Harry (Dresden) didn't feel any more mature than a more famous wizard called Harry....

I surprised myself by reading 135 books this year. My ten worst I read this year are, more or less in order... 10. Lost Village - Camilla Sten. I'm not sure why this didn't work for me. It wasn't badly written, and I can't put my finger on why it wasn't good, but... it wasn't. It was tedious and I quit caring about it long before it was done. 9. Sasquatch: Monster of the Northwest Woods - M. E. Knerr. Not totally bad, but bland. Call me weird, but I expect more from 1970's Sasquatch books. 8. Death Metal -- a Mack Bolan book. It wasn't really bad, but it was nothing but action and just rambled on without much impact. Even gunfights and explosions can get dull if you don't really know why they're happening anymore. And I wanted more from "Mack Bolan takes on black metal terrorists." So much potential... 7. The Speed Queen - Stewart O'Nan. Was supposed to be a badass crime novel, but ended up a tedious droning artificial-feeling snoozefest that wouldn't end. And the format -- as a letter to Stephen King, negotiating a true-crime story he was going to write -- didn't work. Stephen King writes his own stories, and doesn't do true crime. So this thing blows up on the launch pad. I only finished it because I'm stubborn. And I am punished for that stubborness. 6. The Well by Jack Cady. I was surprised to hate this so much because it has a great reputation, but man, it was bad. The writing was disjointed, the "scary" stuff was not scary, and I didn't buy into the whole scenario. 5. The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell. I love Ramsey Campbell, but short stories are his strength. He's had good novels (Grin of the Dark is fantastic), but when they're bad, they're bad. And this was BAD. By the end it was torment and I was having to skim it because I literally couldn't stand to read any more of it. Just too much pointless detail, going nowhere. Again, I love Ramsey overall, he's one of my favorite writers, but... not this book. 4. Clown in a Cornfield - Adam Cesare. This started out really good and then just turned into a boring, stupidly-conceived drudge. Hated it. And the bad thing is, I already bought the sequel before I finished it. I doubt I'm ever gonna read that. I'm starting to get gun-shy about reading newer horror novels because of things like this getting so highly praised. It's getting hard to trust reviews anymore. Mostly I'm reading older books these days, because too many new ones turn out like this. 3. Night of the Mannequins - Stephen Graham Jones. You know how Stephen King will sometimes write 90% of a really good book, only to end it with something like "And then they dispelled the evil by drowning a doll in a flashlight"? I like Stephen Graham Jones, but I get the feeling that he's the ONE guy who thinks, "That doll-in-a-flashlight idea was BRILLIANT!" He always seems to insert one stupid idea into his books that sour 'em a little for me. Like, I was loving The Only Good Indians until he said, "Okay, she's terrifying, but wouldn't it be neat if Elk-Head Woman played one-on-one basketball with somebody?" (the answer is, no, it wouldn't be neat, it would be stupid, don't do it). Well, this book is ALL stupid ideas, piled up, stupid enough to piss me off. A mannequin eating Miracle Grow so it becomes kaiju-sized, and then a guy murdering people so they won't get murdered by something else. I do not buy it that anyone is THAT crazy. Just make-me-angry levels of damned dumb. I'll keep reading SGJ, but holy hell I HATED this book, just freaking HATED it. It's all-doll-in-the-flashlight, all time time. And, maybe worst of all, it's a depressing waste of a great title. 2. Brotherhood and Betrayal - James Macecari. Supposed to be a biker book but it was just a bunch of bragging about "the street." Total bore, like listening to some old guy brag about how tough he is and how nobody knows anything but him for hours. And when you take into account how many terrible choices this guy's made, you gotta wonder why he thinks you need his advice, anyway... you're probably doing a lot better than him, already. Totally pointless and more of a pamphlet than a book. 1. Them - Mique Watson. I think I hated this more than I probably should because I got angry with dishonest "influencer" tampering with the reviews made me feel lied to, so that's a factor. It's not just him that's doing that, but this one is kinda the straw that broke the camel's back, so he's taking the brunt of my ire about that phenomenon. The guy's friends would have done him a bigger favor acting as editors instead of promoters, because this book wasn't even close to being ready for publication and somebody should have helped him clean it up, if not convince him to abort it and keep writing until he was better at it... which is something that's years away. Anyway, if you're incredibly undemanding and your intelligence cannot be insulted, and all you require is tons of gore and trying-too-hard-to-be-transgressive "let's rape a fetus" stuff, no matter how gobsmackingly idiotic or plotless it is, then here ya go, this is your book. But it's the idiotic part that bothered me, not the gory content (one of my favorite books of the year was Survivor by J. F. Gonzalez, and this borrowed from that in spots). I like extreme horror, so I know what I'm getting into, I'm not gonna complain about it being gross or in bad taste... it's just that this was just inept. It's not a story, it's just enough of a premise to string together a bunch of raping and killing, borrowed from Wolf Creek or A Serbian Film or whatever. Nobody acts like these people, human anatomy does not endure the things that happen in this book, and worst of all, it's boring. No characterization, no plot development, no narrative drive, nothing, it felt like a chore I had to do. Keep writing, but stop publishing, at least for a while.

It's a shame Hidden Pictures made it on your list, I'm trying to get back into thrillers and that was one I was looking at picking up because all I've heard is great things! Sorry it didn't work for you

I loved The Devil’s Laughter. I thought this was so bad it was funny 😅. Garbaugust also reinforced for me my utter dislike of Jackie Collins books 😅.

Have you been watching Jennifer Brooks channel? I have was was astounded to see the latest post, the last post, because she passed away unexpectedly on January 3rd. It’s sad how Booktubers seem to be passing from this life. I’ll miss her contributions.

19 Claws was a DNF for me and I disliked it enough that I basically skimmed her novel and sent it away again. Her writing is not my cup of tea.

I know you like focusing on the positive, but I appreciate you talking about books you didn't like and why. I DNF a lot of books, so hearing you talk about why you didn't like a book helps me to think through why I don't like some, either (although, I realize you F'd these books ... wait, that didn't sound right).

The fact that Maeve Fly is on here is HERESY of the highest order.

Storm Front was definitely a bit disappointing but I’m more sad to hear that Terrortome is a bit naff 🙈

Almost ordered Woom. Think I'll skip it and go on to something else. I trust your judgement. You haven't been wrong so far, except for one. lol And that was Cunning Folk.

No surprise to see Woom here. A very predictable story, which gives its own game away within the first fifth. Ralston seems never to be far from the narrative, injecting a smugness to it all, and seems unable to cut ties with the stupid ideas in his head (eg tats for tits). That Matt Shaw isn't far away from this says it all.

I agree with you re: TerrorTome!

I too was disappointed with the Dresden Files. I quit at book two though with no chance of giving the series another chance.

Maeve Fly really didn't work for me either.

i just finished maeve fly and its a miss for me. there were many parts i enjoyed but it just didnt live up to the hype for me

Oh no, I wonder if something I like is in this list... :)

2:20 Arg, I hate it when I’m reading a book like that, where the premise is really cool and fascinating, but some part of the execution has aged like milk. I had that experience with a book called “Room One Nineteen” by Luke Keioskie, which had this really cool premise of these kids in a juvenile rehabilitation facility doing this writing group, and the book is an epistolary comprised of their work, progress reports to the teacher etc. but it is spoiled by the icky way in which various psychological conditions (plus a trans character who is considered to have something “wrong” with them) are portrayed. So disappointing given how fun the premise and format was. It was written decades ago and boy does it show, in the worst ways.

I grew up with the… I’m Ted Bundy.

Jim Butcher's Dresden is pulpy garbage but loads of fun if you can get past the ham-fisted 'pop culture' references he clumsily drops into the prose in a failed attempt at humour....