I'm not having much luck with my random reading list at the moment.
My latest disappointment was a horror story, of sorts. It was reasonably chilling, most characters showed some kind of character and it had absurd moments of hilarity to counterpoint the horror - so on that level it kind of worked.
But...it just went on and on for 350 pages at the same level of tension. The creepy things that happened in the first creepy scene, hinting at something more, just continued to happen. Creepy scene after creepy scene, all well written, but all essentially repeating the same thing. Spooky noise, check, spooky sensation, check, spooky shadow, check...and on to the intervening 'scene of normality'...then on to the next creepy scene: spooky noise, check, spooky sensation, check, spooky shadow, check.
What was lacking completely was the story arc. There was no build up. There was a climax, of sorts, but the eighteen or so creepy scenes prior to that all did the same thing. Spooky noise, check, spooky sensation, check, spooky shadow, check.
For some reason I read to the end. I guess it was because the other elements were all in place and all well handled, so I did keep going - I did have some sense of being in the hands of a capable writer - but in the end it all fell flat.
What are you reading now? Should I read it?
Blogger is bursting with fun new features at the moment. I'm going to mooch through the 'blogs I'm following' thing later. It might be an easy way to relink to you all! Not sure if I can promise PJD his deserved pole position, though, seeing as I have no idea how it works. It might not even be a linky thing at all.
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6 comments:
The only thing I'm reading right now that isn't work is The Elegant Universe about particle physics and superstrings sans math. Pretty decent, though at the moment, he seems to be wandering a bit when he got to string theory.
Gee, don't you hate it when they do that?
I went back and re-read (for the hundredth time) some Tamora Pierce and Anne McCaffrey. They have similar themes to my WIP and I wanted to see how some things were handled in each book. Also happen to love the stories and wanted that 'feeling' I get from reading them.
Protector of the Small series and Harper Hall series.
I started The Good Pig but haven't gotten far with it yet. She begins by talking about how different she is from all of us and then plugs her and her husband's books. Um, OK. Once we get going with the pig, I hope she gets beyond this crap, but it isn't making me want to read on even though she writes well.
a fully satisfying read: charles gramlich's 'cold in the light', the first of his i read...
the other books of his i rread, three in the 'talera' series, he's writing a fourth now, but slowly, because he's back teaching at university
i understand 'anthem of a reluctant prophet', by joanne proulx, and 'an evil guest', by gene wolfe, are highly recommended
Just read your comment at Robin's about getting the woman out of the wall.
Thought that was hysterical!!!
And yes. You better!!!
:-)
I've been unlucky and unhappy with the last three books I've read. I'm due a good one, now!
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