Ok. I was wrong about BH/KJA books
I am re-reading The Machine Crusade. I know that the admission for many of you is tantamount to saying "I am sticking sewing needles in my eyeballs", but I liked the books the first time I read them.
And I was defending them. I thought they were pedestrian in writing style and not nearly as insightful as the Herbert originals but then again what is? But I liked them as popcorn; better than average popcorn because they were still working within the Herbert universe and even if they were just stealing his stuff, it was good stuff to steal.
Upon re-reading The Machine Crusade, I find myself bored. Not just bored but utterly annoyed by the Clumsy Exposition. This might be due to the fact that I just read through a slush pile for a Dybbuk Press project, but I utterly hate the writing style that has to openly give the exposition.
Example: He saw Bill in the room. He couldn't believe that Bill was there. When he met Bill at the Space Station ... [a page about the entire history between him and Bill] so he had to say hello.
"Hello Bill," he said.
"Hey," said Bill but he seemed kind of sad. Just like that night when he pulled his wife out of the sand. Bill and his wife were a great couple [more pages about Bill and his wife]
Nothing ever happens because everything has to stop for the exposition. Not that you don't need exposition but outright telling everythign that's happened before to get the reader up to speed is just bad writing.
And I was defending them. I thought they were pedestrian in writing style and not nearly as insightful as the Herbert originals but then again what is? But I liked them as popcorn; better than average popcorn because they were still working within the Herbert universe and even if they were just stealing his stuff, it was good stuff to steal.
Upon re-reading The Machine Crusade, I find myself bored. Not just bored but utterly annoyed by the Clumsy Exposition. This might be due to the fact that I just read through a slush pile for a Dybbuk Press project, but I utterly hate the writing style that has to openly give the exposition.
Example: He saw Bill in the room. He couldn't believe that Bill was there. When he met Bill at the Space Station ... [a page about the entire history between him and Bill] so he had to say hello.
"Hello Bill," he said.
"Hey," said Bill but he seemed kind of sad. Just like that night when he pulled his wife out of the sand. Bill and his wife were a great couple [more pages about Bill and his wife]
Nothing ever happens because everything has to stop for the exposition. Not that you don't need exposition but outright telling everythign that's happened before to get the reader up to speed is just bad writing.