I am normally dismissive of 'long' books. My general rule of thumb is anyone who needs more than 400 pages to tell a story probably isn't a good writer. Lengthy books require a significant investment in terms of time as well as emotions which is often hard to justify or feels like something of an extravagant indulgence. Even with Stephen King's frequent ringing endorsements … [Read more...]
Alastair Reynolds: Revelation Space
For someone who claims to be a lover of science fiction writing it seems mighty strange that it has taken me this long to discover the literary brilliance of Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. Part of the problem is undoubtedly a long held prejudice, fostered primarily by the Potter novels, that anyone who needs more than 400 pages to tell a story isn't a particularly good writer. … [Read more...]