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Further misadventures in The Dark Between the Stars. Anderson is narrating a frantic three page evacuation scene on a mining platform on a gas giant, because he doesn't seem to have the attention span for scenes of any longer length. The family evacuating has a two year old son, Rex, who is scooped up by his grandfather, Del, when the evacuation starts. Then, when they clamber aboard their escape ship, Rex's father Patrick passes him to Rex's teenaged sister, Shareen because Patrick needs to pilot the ship. Del is then described as fussing over Shareen, who decides to pass Rex back to Del in order to go and help her father and mother at the helm. Anderson does not describe what this help consists of.
So basically, in the span of three pages, Anderson forgets where the toddler is twice. This book is miserably sloppy.
In Jim Butcher news, I'm nearly finished with book 3 of the Dresden Files, which is the one I quit on a decade ago. It turns out that the secret is to listen to James Marsters read the audiobooks- he is a masterful Harry Dresden, and manages to make what remain pedestrian and awkwardly shaped books into occasionally quite compelling adventures. Still not sure if that's enough to get me through 12 more of them. Possibly if they actually do get better, and possibly if they get better the way SG-1 got better in Season 4- the writing wasn't much improved, but the weight of continuity had somehow accumulated enough that the stories were automatically deeper and richer and more nuanced because of three seasons of context.
So basically, in the span of three pages, Anderson forgets where the toddler is twice. This book is miserably sloppy.
In Jim Butcher news, I'm nearly finished with book 3 of the Dresden Files, which is the one I quit on a decade ago. It turns out that the secret is to listen to James Marsters read the audiobooks- he is a masterful Harry Dresden, and manages to make what remain pedestrian and awkwardly shaped books into occasionally quite compelling adventures. Still not sure if that's enough to get me through 12 more of them. Possibly if they actually do get better, and possibly if they get better the way SG-1 got better in Season 4- the writing wasn't much improved, but the weight of continuity had somehow accumulated enough that the stories were automatically deeper and richer and more nuanced because of three seasons of context.