I rarely abandon books. But not due to any determination to finish every book I start. I just do research before trying something and perhaps have low standards.
I've looked into Bulwer-Lytton, but if I were to try one of his books, it would likely be Paul Clifford rather than The Coming Race. I could just tell that one wouldn't be a book for me.
It reminds me a bit if The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. That one also starts well, but then becomes a long, dull slog.
*Incidentally, I never understood why "It was a dark and stormy night..." was considered such a bad start to a story. Yes, the full Bulwer-Lytton sentence is too long. But I find nothing wrong with the sorter, oft-quoted sentence.
The full sentence is:
Quote:
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It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.
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