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From: res@ihuxn.UUCP (Rich Strebendt @ AT&T Information Systems - Indian Hill West; formerly)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Donaldson/Covenant --Another Opinion Heard From
Message-ID: <1103@ihuxn.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 23-Jun-85 18:31:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxn.1103
Posted: Sun Jun 23 18:31:01 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Jun-85 06:45:52 EDT
References: <2343@topaz.ARPA>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 31

In response to (much edited original posting):

> Like any good compulsive sf lover, I'll take a shot at almost anything that
> can be found in the science fiction/fantasy area of a bookstore 

AHHHH -- a kindred soul!!!

> I have not read more than half of any book by Stephan R Donaldson. I've tried,
> but:
> 
>   o I could not relate to the main character.
>   o Said protagonist (and perhaps others -- memory blissfully dims) had a
>     remarkable and off-putting propensity for obscure, dumb ephithets.
>   o Opening any of the books at random, any paragraph I read was more likely
>     than not to be extremely badly written -- overwritten, wrong words used,
>     clumsy, trying to do all the work and not evoking anything.
>
> I can believe there is something of interest and value inside these books.  I
> just couldn't get through the surface for it.

It looks like I did a little better(?) than you -- I read two whole
volumes and part of the third before I gave up in disgust.  I found the
protagonist to be a first order jackass, the dialog to be unconvincing,
and the prose to be pretentious.  I pressed on with the stories,
however, in the hope that there would be some redeeming value -- about
a third of the way into the third volume it became clear that NOTHING
could save the story.  I guess I do not find anti-heros entertaining or
depressing story lines amusing.

					Rich Strebendt
					...!ihnp4!iwsl6!res