Ace Double Reviews, 84: Wright/Wobig

[ecbatan]

Ace Double Reviews, 84: The Pictures of Pavanne, by Lan Wright/The Youth Monopoly, by Ellen Wobig (#H-48, 1968, 60 cents)

Here we have something quite obscure. Lan Wright, at least, is not unknown, though he may be all but forgotten. Here's what I wrote in a review of an earlier Wright book: Lan Wright is a UK writer, full name Lionel Percy Wright (

Comments

[realthog]

"Lan Wright, at least, is not unknown, though he may be all but forgotten."

But not by me. Back in the day, his books had a definite charm and he could keep one turning the pages. I certainly looked out for his name.

(Which may, of course, only go to say how dire so much else was . . .)

[ecbatan]

That's the thing -- he could keep you turning the pages. I don't think his work ever held up to close examination, and I was disappointed with the endings of both novels I read, but I still enjoyed the reading on balance.

[realthog]

I'd think that's probably a fair assessment. For some reason, for me his work slots into the same mental pigeonhole as Lloyd C. Biggle's and E.C. Tubb's -- perhaps Colin Kapp's as well. None was a literary titan, yet all guaranteed that time spent with their fiction would pass fairly quickly. This by contrast with so many other, interchangeable writers whose work was competent enough but drab.