Quote:
Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze
By all means, let's judge novelists by their subject matter and not their level of craftsmanship.
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Everyone judges a writer by both the subject choice and their level of craftsmanship. It is one of the ways we do personal gatekeeping. For example, I would never consider reading a book about zombies (and the weres are rapidly joining zombies in that regard) -- not interested, don't care about them, and myriad other reasons. Consequently, I would have a tough time evaluating the author's craftmanship, if for no other reason than I couldn't wrap myself into the subject matter.
Similarly, I do not read Harlequin romances. I am not particularly interested in the libidos of women seeking 6-pack abs, so even if the author can describe a sex scene better than James Joyce or D.H. Lawrence, I'd never know it.
Subject matter and craftmanship go hand-in-hand and are not separable.