Poll: How it is written or What it's about?

[Bruce McKnight]

Ugh, tough. It needs to be both. Am I the only one who read Name of the Wind and said "that was written great, but it didn't seem like a whole lot of exciting stuff happened"? Lies of Locke Lamora was, in my opinion, not quite the word artistry of Rothfuss (though it was close, in my opinion, and still great), but the plot felt so much more exciting. Maybe I just find getting nailed into a barrel of horse urine more entertaining than trying to play a lute with a broken string...

 

[Steerpike]

I liked both of those, but frankly preferred Name of the Wind. I read that one straight through and put Lies of Locke Lamora aside twice before finishing

 

[Incanus]

Am I the only one who read Name of the Wind and said "that was written great, but it didn't seem like a whole lot of exciting stuff happened"?

Definitely not. My reaction exactly.

 

[SM-Dreamer]

Re: Name of the Wind vs Lies of Locke Lamora - I read through the former rather quickly on my first read-through, loving it, but the latter I've come to a grinding halt at a certain point because I'm shutting my eyes and singing in the hopes that if I don't read further, bad things won't happen to characters I like (silly notion, I know).

But I like the writing and story in both.

So on topic - for me it's the story. When I pick up a book and scan the back, the cover, the first page, I'm looking for a world I can immerse into, a character I can get into, a plot I want to follow. I can tolerate mediocre writing (even writing I roll my eyes at) if the idea can keep me hooked.

I like good writing, though, too. I want good writing. But all the perfectly penned words in the world won't make up for shoddy setting, characters, and plot. I need to enjoy the book. For example, I'm currently reading a book where I love the world, and intensely curious about the plot, am attached to one of the MCs, but the writing to me... doesn't feel great, but it's ok. And I can tolerate that, because I want to know more.

And that, I think, is key.