By the standards of what I enjoyed as a nine year-old?
Larry Send a noteboard - 10/09/2012 01:04:12 AM
It serves its purpose, just like any airport novel, it's written well enough to convey its rip roaring type story, and it does it relatively well.
Now if we are talking written to a standard that would satisfy elitist literary snobs? Then no, it'll never do that. But then since I daresay 90% of people have no idea about what literary conventions satisfy a 'well written' book, and instead just like what they like, which in most cases is a story rather than how 'well' it's written, that's fine.
Now if we are talking written to a standard that would satisfy elitist literary snobs? Then no, it'll never do that. But then since I daresay 90% of people have no idea about what literary conventions satisfy a 'well written' book, and instead just like what they like, which in most cases is a story rather than how 'well' it's written, that's fine.
I recently finished revisiting several children's/YA stories that I read and enjoyed when I was 9-12 years old. By those standards, the turgid prose, the unnecessary interruptions to refer to the game's imagined past, the stock characterizations, all of those were poor compared to say The Wind in the Willows, the Ramona series, or several others. It may be that because I didn't encounter these books when I was learning to deal with hormones that there is nothing that appeals to me, but I doubt my dim opinion of them is anything inveterate

But the comment about how many people might not know what a "good book" is would not be something that I would share, ironically enough. I hold to that perhaps quixotic faith that some are quite aware of what is well written and that while many may favor what they themselves might label as "trash," they wouldn't hold it in any higher esteem than something to read while taking a shit
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
This may be one of the most dire reviews you shall ever read
- 09/09/2012 09:12:25 PM
2432 Views
A review of a D&D bestiary could be more dire.
- 09/09/2012 11:29:17 PM
1518 Views
Perhaps
- 09/09/2012 11:50:20 PM
1610 Views
They are popular as they are fun, easy reading books
- 10/09/2012 12:11:24 AM
1595 Views
"Popular", "Fun," and "Easy" doesn't have to be equated with poorly-written
- 10/09/2012 12:16:27 AM
1837 Views
Poorly written by what standard?
- 10/09/2012 12:29:17 AM
1690 Views
By the standards of what I enjoyed as a nine year-old?
- 10/09/2012 01:04:12 AM
1640 Views
So like I said, by the standards of Elitist Literary Snobs
- 11/09/2012 12:03:08 AM
1700 Views
Nice attempt at sophistry, but alas, it fails
- 11/09/2012 12:38:24 AM
1641 Views
Was that meant to make any sense?
- 11/09/2012 01:43:13 AM
1852 Views
Re: Was that meant to make any sense?
- 11/09/2012 01:54:23 AM
1644 Views
I'm with Wibble on this (big surprise)
- 12/09/2012 03:07:53 PM
1724 Views
Heh.
- 12/09/2012 03:43:52 PM
1867 Views
Pretty much so
- 12/09/2012 04:19:35 PM
1821 Views
When did you put up that header?
- 12/09/2012 04:35:20 PM
1658 Views
I didn't put it up
- 12/09/2012 04:51:32 PM
1557 Views
I shall tread lightly so.
- 12/09/2012 06:15:51 PM
1677 Views
- 12/09/2012 07:25:29 PM
1529 Views
- 12/09/2012 07:25:29 PM
1529 Views
Re: Pretty much so
- 12/09/2012 08:50:57 PM
1672 Views
You apparently do not read my blog/reviews much
- 12/09/2012 09:07:18 PM
1693 Views
Actually, I read them almost never
- 13/09/2012 03:07:48 PM
1706 Views
I think my IQ dropped a little bit when I parsed what you said
- 13/09/2012 04:16:21 PM
1664 Views
Yep, your usual rebuttal... *NM*
- 17/09/2012 02:14:56 PM
842 Views
No, not really
- 17/09/2012 06:25:15 PM
1505 Views
Yes, Yes, wrap yourself in arrogance and declare yourself correct until your opposite gets bored...
- 17/09/2012 11:12:17 PM
1786 Views
Don't try to argue with them. They've made their judgments. They are better than you.
- 10/09/2012 09:36:17 PM
1619 Views
Defensive much?
*NM*
- 10/09/2012 10:31:17 PM
883 Views
*NM*
- 10/09/2012 10:31:17 PM
883 Views
Perhaps. It's annoying, because I tend to agree with you guys - you and Tom and Stephen.
- 11/09/2012 02:32:28 AM
1629 Views
The odd thing that there wasn't any belittling on my part -see other response. *NM*
- 11/09/2012 03:17:36 AM
801 Views
For the record, I wasn't trying to be condescending in my response.
- 11/09/2012 05:52:29 PM
1642 Views
He never said you couldn't enjoy it.
- 10/09/2012 11:10:11 PM
1758 Views
He also went on to compare liking the books to having the standards of a nine-year-old.
- 11/09/2012 02:34:18 AM
1610 Views
You didn't read what I said very well then
- 11/09/2012 03:16:21 AM
1605 Views
You're right. In the context of this thread, I'm basically acting like a raving lunatic.
- 11/09/2012 02:48:19 PM
1645 Views
It's not like any of us have ever been innocent 100% of the time
- 11/09/2012 03:49:22 PM
1613 Views
- 11/09/2012 03:49:22 PM
1613 Views
I believe that they were not meant for adults.
- 10/09/2012 12:30:05 AM
1646 Views
Very few of my friends were reading the books; some played the game, though
- 10/09/2012 01:06:07 AM
1617 Views
Basically, both get dubious kudos for trying something new by the dire standards of the day.
- 10/09/2012 11:38:22 PM
1676 Views
Interesting point
- 11/09/2012 12:41:01 AM
1601 Views
Are you aware of the game's alignment rules? Some of the novels struggle with this.
- 12/09/2012 10:58:37 PM
1672 Views
Not aware of it at all until now
- 12/09/2012 11:18:57 PM
1628 Views
How is that possible?
- 12/09/2012 11:28:33 PM
1603 Views
My dad was (and is) influenced by Evangelicals
- 13/09/2012 12:17:36 AM
1521 Views
Wait, so you didn't read the Chronicles first?
- 13/09/2012 02:12:13 PM
1537 Views
No
- 13/09/2012 02:18:03 PM
1596 Views
Chronicles is considerably weaker
- 13/09/2012 11:14:38 PM
1622 Views
Needless to say, once I finish reading the Icewind Dale trilogy, I'm done with D&D
- 14/09/2012 12:38:47 AM
1760 Views
- 14/09/2012 12:38:47 AM
1760 Views
These threads are so much better than the rape threads! *NM*
- 12/09/2012 04:03:01 AM
915 Views
You're just waiting to see if I'll use hexameter in the next one
*NM*
- 12/09/2012 04:32:31 AM
745 Views
*NM*
- 12/09/2012 04:32:31 AM
745 Views
And having now finished Dragonlance: Legends, its very own sonnet
- 13/09/2012 12:31:51 PM
1613 Views
- 13/09/2012 12:31:51 PM
1613 Views
At least you didn't read the Baldur's Gate novelizations
- 14/09/2012 04:29:17 AM
1541 Views
Sssssh!
- 14/09/2012 05:10:19 AM
1597 Views
Baldurs Gate wooooo!
- 14/09/2012 04:13:34 PM
1729 Views
Eh, Star Wars Expanded Universe I could see reading. Some of them are supposed to be good
- 17/09/2012 04:37:05 PM
1969 Views
Is the review dire because of the subject or the sonnet form?
- 14/09/2012 04:24:37 PM
1649 Views
Both
- 14/09/2012 04:36:59 PM
1566 Views
- 14/09/2012 04:36:59 PM
1566 Views
it would be unusual for someone to just randomly pick books like that up
- 14/09/2012 05:05:37 PM
1875 Views
Interesting scenario
- 14/09/2012 10:16:11 PM
1575 Views
