There were a surprising number of books this year that were looked forward to, but turned out to be below par in one way or another. This can possibly be attributed to increased quality output from new and rising authors. It is also sometimes a sign of burn-out, particularly in well-established authors. Of course, sometimes burn-out is just what an author needs to get revitalized and churn out more excellent works.

Without further ado, the year's biggest reading disappointments:

1. The Dark Tower VII: Stephen King caps his seven-volume, generation-spanning opus with a work that relies too much on deus ex machina as a plot device, besides turning the final conflict at the Tower into a slinging match. At the same time, this work brought tears to the reader's eye a few times. The concepts of the multi-verse and the wheel of Ka are fully fleshed out, and some notable characters introduced. Possibly over-inflated expectations and a sense of reading meta-fiction deflated this book.

2. Ken Follett's Whiteout: Possibly one of the worst novels of the year, this book would likely be rejected by Harlequin Romance were it submitted them. Unsure whether it wants to be a romance or a techno-thriller, it fails at both. The science is weak, and the romantic scenes insipid. The predictable plot could have been written by a grade school student and the product placement is nauseating. A poor delivery by the author of masterful works like "The Pillars Of The Earth" and "The Eye Of The Needle".

3. Days Of Infamy: Harry Turtledove slips with what is likely the first in a new series in his reinterpretation of Japanese-American military relations circa 1941. This could be because he was focused on his other series in progress, Settling Accounts. This book, however, had more than the usual flaws, While most characters are still cut from cardboard, except perhaps Jiro, the Japanese fisherman, the serious flaw in this book is the lack of detail on reactions in Japan and the US to a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. There is also no backstory to the invasion itself.

4. On Paradise Drive: David Brooks' disquisition on exurbia is more about why materialism works and how it fulfils the American soul than about the dark core within the American dream - debts, disaffections et al. He discredits American, and thereby modern values through painting them as unimportant distractions in the larger perspective of Home Depot happiness. He describes shopping as the creative impulse of the American consumer, rather than the pretentious wish-fulfilment it is for most. He calls this an 'impulse to Utopia', ignoring the pathological aspects of materalism as a source of joy. Excuse me while I get myself a latte and hop over to Ethan Allen for a look-see at their new catalog.