Quote:
Originally Posted by Xanthe
Well, I don't mind it either, unless it's taken to orgasmic extent as Weber tends to do at times. I mean, it's not like we're ever going to be in a battle situation where that knowledge is critical.  |
The question is under what circumstances the
reader's understanding is critical.
Weber put a lot of work into the physics underlying his FTL travel. It governs what his combatants can and cannot do, and where they can get to in what time frame. Since the same physics that permits FTL travel also underlies part of the defensive capability of warships in Weber's universe, some notion on the reader's part of how it all works can be seen as critical for understanding the action.
The challenge any SF writer faces is how to integrate that information into a story without great indigestible expository blobs, like lumps in poorly prepared hot cereal. It becomes more pressing when the books are part of a series. You may have explained it all in detail in a prior book, but you can't assume your reader has read that book, and you need ro recapitulate at least partially for the benefit of the newcomer.
Weber can go on a bit, but given the constraints above, I think he does it better than a lot of other authors.
I could live without a recapitulation of how things work in the Honorverse, but I've been reading the series since it began. I can't assume everyone else is like me. (The nice thing about the series is that they are all freely available electronically, so newcomers
can start at the beginning, but not all will.)
Quote:
|
I'm a Tom Clancy fan too (his solo written books, not the collaborations, with Red Storm Rising being my favorite).
|
That's probably mine too. One thing that struck me about RSR compared to similar thrillers from other hands is that Clancy has a better touch with characters. He created believable people who you could admire and appreciate, who just happened to be on the wrong side, like Colonel General Alekseyev. In that respect, Weber is similar. Neither writes two dimensional protagonists, and you can understand what shaped those on both sides.
Clancy, alas, is an author who let best seller status go to his head, to the point where he no longer permits editing of his work. There were sections of the last Jack Ryan book that could have been excised with
no loss at all, as they did nothing to advance the plot or add to the story. A good editor would have flagged that in a line edit, but Clancy won't permit that.)
I've reached the point where I don't especially care if I read another of his books.
______
Dennis