After Reading Some Real Literature…
I am becoming physically ill from some of what I have been reading. I just struggled through a pulp novel and am starting another one… The last one was more bearable even though annoying in different ways.
I just hit points where I have to put the book down…
In each novel, every main character is physically beautiful and possesses great prowess; their greatest fault is something like alcoholism or being socially withdrawn and this is caused by a tragic incident that was beyond their control. There are 1-2 supporting characters that fill the role of imperfect people.
Not only this, but they play off of stereotypes that I have been bored of since the 8th grade: Forbidden love, the agony of lost friendship and love, man against stereotypical evil monolithic powers that have no redeeming features.
Characters are so two dimensional. They have such simple motivations, and they are of such pure hearts it is inexcusable.
One of the only genres where the books can be said to be consistently OK are crime novels where often the murderer suffers from a mental disease so you at least get more than a few simple stereotypes — the writer has to actually develop a little depth to a person as they are both a normal person and in part a diseased person.
I need to do some research and expand into some different authors because this is just not cutting it.
I used to be able to go through a pulp novel without being terribly bothered and merely enjoy the development of the plot but after reading George R. R. Martin and before that Steven Erikson, Glen Cook and Raymond E. Feist I just cannot bear to read anything so bad.
I am going to jump into the Stephen King novels that Matt lent me because I imagine these will be good. They will be what I need until I can find something else.