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Originally Posted by HarryT
Sacrilege! How can you say that about the finest exponent of the English language since Dickens?  |
Easily. A bad book is a bad book, regardless of origin. Good prose can't save a bad story, though bad prose can kill a good one.
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Seriously, though, it just goes to show how different things do appeal to different people. I love all Eddings' work; in particular "The Redemption of Althalus" (which I'm well aware that many people can't stand).
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I haven't read that one. It may be an exception. As I said, Eddings has a smooth prose style and a gift for dialog. I just wish he'd find more stories to tell with different characters. I also wish the authorial strings weren't quite so evident. Eddings works with bright primary colors with strong outlines so you aren't required to actually think about what you read - everything is very clearly delineated and obvious. (I think of such things as "popcorn" books - escapist literature for when you don't
want to be challenged by a book, but just want a few hours distraction.) Personally, I like to get lost in books, and prefer more depth and complexity. It's hard to drown in a shallow pool.
I enjoyed The Belgariad, plowed through The Malloreon out of duty, and tried and failed to read The Elenium. (One of the few books I
didn't finish.) After that, I gave up. Too many other books to read.
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Wouldn't the world be boring if we all had the same tastes?
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That would depend upon the tastes. Personally, I'd sooner recommend work I think is good than warn against work I think is bad. There are enough books written that I doubt we'd run out of things to talk about, even if we
did think alike on what was good.
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Dennis