Bob, I"ve asked that same question on here before and nobody has been able to ever answer me. So I"m thinking that some people probably just "force" themselves to enjoy it...Perhaps some think that because of the massive scope and complexity that I "need" to liked it regardless of whether it's well written or not....That's the only explantion I have....
I agree about the characters in his books. A well written and good book/arthur, develops characters that you would care about...Personally I never cared at all whether or not these characters lived or died....
A book that is deep in scope and complexity does not make it necessarily "good". Either it's well written or it's not....
Erickson really needs to develops writing ability at being more focused and not being all over the place....It's almost as if he suffers from ADD when it comes to writing a well put together book that flows well.....Fortunately, there are much better authors that are able to do this AND werite a good story at the same time.
What an unadulterated load of crap. It's not an authors fault if you can't grasp the theme of his storyline, when clearly thousands of other readers manage to understand it quite well. Your failure to understand does not equate to thousands of others needing to force themselves to like anything. How egocentric can you get?
If no one took the time to explain it to you, it's probably because the explanation is long and time consuming. However, as luck would have it, I happen to have the time and the need to fill it.
The storyline isn't actually that complex. First of all most of the books have one or two stand alone tales included, and by the later half of the series there are three ongoing storylines:
1. There is an alien presence poisoning the world. That "god's" body has been scattered across the world, and it wishes to re-embody itself.
2. There are old gods who resent being forgotten. They plan to destroy the new gods and the magic of their Warrens.
3. A little known about race of Tiste are attempting to invade from their own Warren.
Each stand-alone book also introduces characters that may or may not become part of the ongoing saga, although they may or may not make it to the final culmination.
However, Erikson doesn't introduce a character by having him stroll into camp one night. Nor by saving some damsel in distress, and having her join the quest.
Erikson's characters emerge in stories. They may be the main character of a stand-alone story. They may be a seemingly minor character from what seems to be a side bar, who emerges to prominence by the end of the book. Or they could simply be the only one who survived a particular event, while many of the prominent characters died.
Because Erikson's characters emerge from their own stories the reader gets to know them much better than someone who just appears. We understand the events and relationships they had and lost, which affects their thoughts and actions. We understand why they react in the way they do at key points. Points that may affect the storyline, resolve an issue, or leave a favorite character dead.
Favorite characters do die. When they die it's to advance the storyline, for the shock effect it has on the characters (and the reader), or to heighten dislike of an already hated villain. However, like GRRM Erikson will kill almost any character at any time. Don't get too attached to anyone.
The extensive background of the characters leads to the them being well known to the reader. Therefore, when one of them dies the death is more profound. There may be a great sense of loss at some deaths. In fact that happens frequently. Other deaths are grimly satisfying.
Erikson's sidebar stories serve more than to introduce characters. Many of the stand-alone stories and sidebars lead the reader to understand how each character that needs to be somewhere by the end of the series got to where he or she needs to be. A random event, observation, or short sub-plot may leave the reader wondering, "What did that have to do with anything?" The answer may come by the end of the book. It may come three books later. When it comes it's like a light switch flicking on, and everything becomes clear.
See, it's not that complicated, and it's very enjoyable for those of us who can keep up.
Nothing else seemed to work!!
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