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Originally Posted by Aladyleyna
I don't like books that preach too much, and when it is glaringly obvious that the author is trying to convince me of something.
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Actually, this is fine for me, even if I disagree with the politics. As long as I am engaged (crying, laughing, or thinking about some ideas in a way that I've never done so before), I'll keep on reading it. I really enjoyed Joanna Russ's The Female Man, but her politics is more up my alley. Ayn Rand on the other hand, I don't agree with her on anything, but her books are still on my TBR list. I think Rand wrote engaging fiction despite her faults, which is why people continue to read her.
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Originally Posted by Aladyleyna
Half-assed research also annoys me. Like when an author barely does any research and bases his or her information on hearsay and 'feeling'. Axis Powers Hetalia, though not a novel, pissed me off because of that.
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I haven't read Axis Powers, but I think bad research is okay as long as the author knows it's bad research and is doing stuff for the lulz. It really depends on the tone. Bringing up one of my guilty-but-public pleasures, a mangaka like Kouta Hirano knew that Hellsing was 99% divorced from reality, and it's what makes it so fun.
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Originally Posted by Ryvyan
This, and the fact that authors would write that other people feel that said character is strong, and then qualify that with strange examples of her "strong" traits.
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THIS. It won't necessarily make a book a wall-banger, but it could make a 4-5 star book into a 3 star book if said character is a central character. I don't care about minor characters, but if what the author is showing/telling about protagonists are not consistent, then it's poor writing. Faux action girls = bad writing. Not all characters have to be strong, but writers should stop deceiving themselves.
Another manga example would be Kaoru Kamiya in Rurouni Kenshin. Nobuhiro Watsuki often stated that she's a strong and skilled swordswoman and is the equivalent of a national champion. But apparently everyone they encountered was just so superhumanly strong that she can only take down 1-2 mooks in 255 manga chapters, and she becomes a damsel in distress. Even the little boy that she trains takes down more mooks than her. So it's a bit of a shame that one of the most popular comic books of all time, with an equal female/male readership, didn't have much in the way of both a strong and sympathetic female character. But I think I should end my fan rant now and channel it towards writing fanfic >_>