I’ll go with the low-hanging fruit: Mein Kampf. I’ve read it, cover to cover. As a piece of propaganda, it’s good. As an example of good writing? Absolutely not (though I will admit I have only read it in translation). Oh, and the whole fascist, racist, and generally shitty worldview of the author that he infuses into the text. And the fact that the author is literally Hitler. You 5-star that book? You’re a Nazi. Period. And as a Jewish person, I don’t look too kindly on them.
If I heard this from somebody, my first question would be what other fantasy have you read?
To be honest, when I was in high school I thought this. But then I read Wheel of Time, and then GRRM, and Guy Gavriel Kay. Goodkind fell behind each and every author as I read more fantasy.
Now, I love him for getting me into fantasy even though I now realize how hilarious his writing actually was.
Man, Guy Gavriel Kay feels horribly underrated to me.
I discovered him when I found All The Seas of the World in the library, and just the pseudo-historical setting made it seem interesting (Feels a little lazy, but it lets him tell a new story without having to create a world, which I like). Turned out, the book was really good.
And yet, I never see him mentioned.
I don’t even think Wheel of Time is that good apart from the overarching plot and some of the worldbuilding.
Shit I don’t even like how the worldbuilding is done, I just like the world. The way you get it though is really excruciatingly slow.