well, while I didn't really dislike the main characters, I more tolerated them, but some of the minor characters are quite interesting, plot is pretty good, but in the second, and even more in the third, it just gets weird, particularly towards the end. still, you might as well read them, they aren't as good as some books (LoTR) but I did stay up well past midnight reading them, so they aren't completely repulsive, and they are easy to get into