tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post3199794816279840309..comments2024-03-05T11:26:21.204-06:00Comments on All the World's Our Page: Everything in moderationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-689854808421821632011-01-16T11:16:37.882-06:002011-01-16T11:16:37.882-06:00It's pretty spoiler-free stuff, but still sens...It's pretty spoiler-free stuff, but still sensible to avoid if you want to go into the books totally fresh.<br /><br />Just finished the third one (you can skip the rest of what I'm gonna say (g)).<br /><br />And wow. <br /><br />The plots became... preposterous in places. The characters reacted in unbelievable ways. The whole thing was just a fraction nutty, and I finished it shaking my head, wondering if the man had an editor at all, and not feeling overly favourable about the series in total.<br /><br />And yet I couldn't put it down while I was reading. I just read 1300 pages in two days. So, like Dan Brown, he was definitely doing something right here, and I stick by my last conclusion- that was Lisbeth Salander. I think anyone who's read all the books would have to agree she's a memorable and totally unique character.Claire Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15286952159573145712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-61928293384336160662011-01-15T21:41:31.563-06:002011-01-15T21:41:31.563-06:00Hey Claire - I ended up skimming the rest of your ...Hey Claire - I ended up skimming the rest of your message as I've successfully avoided spoilers for Larsson's books (despite the fact that everyone I know has read 'em and keeps trying to get me to read them) and I've borrowed them from my parents and will try to read them soon. <br />Just got over skimming two Julie Garwood romances and I'm rather soured on bad writing at the moment. I feel like gagging afterward at the wasted time.Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-85405495198515516112011-01-15T20:52:15.032-06:002011-01-15T20:52:15.032-06:00Rach, re restraint and mystery- yes, I think you&#...Rach, re restraint and mystery- yes, I think you're exactly right. I read something yesterday on this exact topic- an interview with author Pamela Callow at Novel Journey- who mentioned something she learned from Elizabeth George's writing book:<br /><br />>>Suspense is created when the reader cares about the character, not the plot. That is something I think about while I am writing. I try to create plots with twists and turns, and create suspense about how my characters will navigate them.<< <br /><br />I thought that was pretty spot on, and very much along the lines of what I think happens in Larsson's books.<br /><br />http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/2011/01/author-pamela-callow-interviewed.htmlClaire Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15286952159573145712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-33294452407309982452011-01-15T20:51:05.732-06:002011-01-15T20:51:05.732-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Claire Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15286952159573145712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-27504513537592737742011-01-15T20:47:42.119-06:002011-01-15T20:47:42.119-06:00Hi all!
I should probably have qualified my comme...Hi all!<br /><br />I should probably have qualified my comments on TGWTDT to say that it's by no stretch of the imagination a *technically* good book. At many more than one point I wanted to poke my own eye out at the awful, awful writing and technique, and yet I still finished it enthusiastic about reading the next book.<br /><br />Which I've just finished, and it was EXACTLY the same, style wise (no surprise there). I'm now halfway through the third, and I've come to the firm conclusion that the major thing keeping me reading is this: Lisbeth Salander. She's an interesting, unusual, and extremely unpredictable character. I don't know what she's going to do next, and I want to find out. And I've somehow come to care about her quite a lot. All the head-hopping, the dreadfully overdone backstory and detail- somehow I'm still wading through it.<br /><br />Which needs another acknowledgement- it's most certainly not everyone's cup of tea (g). In fact, I know far more people who've hated it than I do people who've liked it.<br /><br />Nonetheless, you can't dispute the success- something worked, and more than ever I think it's that odd lightning strike of an unputdownable character.Claire Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15286952159573145712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-86231208896293375722011-01-14T02:33:53.946-06:002011-01-14T02:33:53.946-06:00Excellent post, Claire. I'll have to make sure...Excellent post, Claire. I'll have to make sure I see MY BOY JACK ... and you may even have persuaded me to pick up my copy of GWTDT again, which I discarded somewhere around page 100. :-P<br /><br />In re restraint and mystery ...you know, I've been pondering this, and I reckon every writer could benefit from a little study of the nuances of mystery and suspense writing, even if they're writing in completely different genres; because no matter whether we're writing sci-fi or romance or historicals or YA or contemporaries or fantasy, we all want our readers to be in a state where they're dying to find out, "what happens next?"<br />Hmm ... I think I feel a mystery reading- binge coming on ... (g)Rachel Walshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15406943046329566026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-82726122567105443602011-01-13T08:13:14.874-06:002011-01-13T08:13:14.874-06:00GWDT didn't do much for me. And I agree about ...GWDT didn't do much for me. And I agree about the industrialist storyline. I haven't seen JACK, though it sounds good. <br /><br />I dunno... I'm beginning to think good books simply are. That there is some strange alchemy that makes them so. Because so many factors can make a book work for me, and the only common factor I can pin down IS that elusive quality that makes me say "yes!" <br /><br />Thought provoking post, Claire. :)Kristen Callihanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01448274676402616525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-86238534432930985632011-01-13T07:18:14.859-06:002011-01-13T07:18:14.859-06:00You got further than I did in the Dragon Tattoo. I...You got further than I did in the Dragon Tattoo. I got half way through, put it down and didn't pick it back up. In some ways I feel guilty because I hate leaving things unfinished but there is too much to do and not enough time and it just didn't appeal to me. You make me think there's a lot to learn from it, whether I like it or not. Maybe I'll go back and finish it sometime. Or not. <br /><br />SpeshS.P. Bowersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-89710799926852517092011-01-13T07:00:41.559-06:002011-01-13T07:00:41.559-06:00I *loved* MY BOY JACK. Though I didn't analyze...I *loved* MY BOY JACK. Though I didn't analyze the way the story was told until you laid it out, I can see it now. I haven't read the Larson books. They're really not my genre. Good post, Claire.Zan Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00166450116524323462noreply@blogger.com