Heya. I've commented in your LJ before and you gave me a bunch of great recommendations, I think, but almost all of my e-mail was deleted in April so I never responded. :P
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Dune is a good example of dated style: Nowadays, flip-flopping from one character's head to another in the same scene is REALLY frowned upon. It's disorienting to the reader, and it makes it hard to ground oneself in the characters. I know that Dune is all about the social commentary and the story and the greatness, but if someone were to write like Herbert does, I'd be surprised--very surprised--if he or she got published, no matter how good the ideas are.
I read Bradbury. I read LeGuin. So I've read older work, stuff that even pre-dates Cherryh's book. What makes them work for me? Well, they are good stylists. They're also good story-tellers, and they also have something bigger to say than adventure. So it's a combination: there's nothing wrong with adventure stories (Tobias Buckell's Crystral Rain seems to be doing really well), but they aren't for me.
Merchanter's Luck is hard to pin-point in its datedness. Some of it is subject matter and setting: back then, the idea of space pirates was new and
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Short answer, 'cause this comment is really ancient!!! :D
Yes, I do see where you are coming from, but I still think things like exposition dumps are more a sign of bad writing in general than datedness, since they seem quite frequent today still (I most notably think of books by people like Kathy Reichs and Dan Brown, whose rubbish I am sometimes forced to read through at work).
I'll have to re-read "Dune" soon and see if the flip-flopping bothers me any more than it did years ago. I guess if it were handled well it could be acceptable, but you're right, it's certainly not the best technique and nothing that I would advise!
I think I was referring to the head-hoppping as more of a dated technique, cause you're right, exposition dumps are prevalent no matter what decade you're in.
Don't know if you saw the review or not, but I did read DUNE last month and posted a review. :)
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Yes, you may. :)
Dune is a good example of dated style: Nowadays, flip-flopping from one character's head to another in the same scene is REALLY frowned upon. It's disorienting to the reader, and it makes it hard to ground oneself in the characters. I know that Dune is all about the social commentary and the story and the greatness, but if someone were to write like Herbert does, I'd be surprised--very surprised--if he or she got published, no matter how good the ideas are.
I read Bradbury. I read LeGuin. So I've read older work, stuff that even pre-dates Cherryh's book. What makes them work for me? Well, they are good stylists. They're also good story-tellers, and they also have something bigger to say than adventure. So it's a combination: there's nothing wrong with adventure stories (Tobias Buckell's Crystral Rain seems to be doing really well), but they aren't for me.
Merchanter's Luck is hard to pin-point in its datedness. Some of it is subject matter and setting: back then, the idea of space pirates was new and ( ... )
Reply
Yes, I do see where you are coming from, but I still think things like exposition dumps are more a sign of bad writing in general than datedness, since they seem quite frequent today still (I most notably think of books by people like Kathy Reichs and Dan Brown, whose rubbish I am sometimes forced to read through at work).
I'll have to re-read "Dune" soon and see if the flip-flopping bothers me any more than it did years ago. I guess if it were handled well it could be acceptable, but you're right, it's certainly not the best technique and nothing that I would advise!
Reply
I think I was referring to the head-hoppping as more of a dated technique, cause you're right, exposition dumps are prevalent no matter what decade you're in.
Don't know if you saw the review or not, but I did read DUNE last month and posted a review. :)
Reply
Reply
Oh, forgive me. :) I've been rather brain-dead this week. :)
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